The Share Trust and Warande Advisory Centre initiated the Local Coalition Accelerator (LCA) model, which brings together local and national organisations to form coalitions that co-create solutions supporting locally led development. Coalitions serve as convenors, fiscal agents and amplifiers of locally led initiatives, enabling effective, cost-efficient and community-centred development.
Supporting local intermediaries through the Local Coalition Accelerator Model
Abstract
Despite a surge in commitment to channel high-quality funding to local actors, 2022 saw a decrease in direct bilateral assistance from Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members and a rise in funding to international intermediaries including multilaterals. However, the Share Trust and Warande Advisory Centre study, “Passing the Buck: The Economics of Localizing Aid”, estimated that local intermediaries could deliver programming 32% more cost efficiently than international intermediaries. This requires a fundamental shift in power, process and funding relationships between Global North and Global South actors. Addressing due diligence concerns and overcoming funding partners' difficulties in managing numerous small contracts is essential for improving direct access to bilateral funding and increasing the size of grants.
The Local Coalition Accelerator (LCA) model brings together diverse local and national organisations (LNOs), leveraging their unique individual strengths to better address community needs and maximise humanitarian impact.
The coalitions are formed through an organic process, including a combination of referrals from peers and networks tapped into the communities they serve. After a vetting process and orientation, The Share Trust, Warande Advisory Centre and funding partners (Vitol Foundation, Conrad N Hilton Foundation, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, and Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies) provide the coalitions with technical and financial support for three to five years. This enables them to create shared governance systems, design Joint Action Plans based on community priorities and ultimately manage funding independently.
Successfully using local coalitions as intermediaries is achieved through (see Figure 1):
Centring community voices in the Joint Action Planning process and increasing LNOs access to peers and networks.
Peer-to-peer capacity sharing and partnering with community structures, including Self Help Groups (SHG) and LNOs, to co-design and implement holistic, evidence-based programming at scale and address systemic problems.
Strengthening the enabling environment by working directly with public and private sectors so that the necessary policies, processes, and tools are in place for local actors to access the resources they need, and by partnering with providers and intermediaries to help revise internal processes.
Source: The Share Trust and Warande Advisory Centre (2021), Local Coalition Accelerator, https://thesharetrust.org/resources/2021/2/19/local-coalition-accelerator.
Since 2020, the Local Coalition Accelerator model has been adopted by Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Bangladesh. Results include:
Representation of diverse community perspectives which has led to local engagement and ownership across the programme management cycle. This is demonstrated by the Ethiopia coalition, which includes 273 SHGs in the Adama region of Ethiopia (impacting over 53 000 persons), who directly came together to constitute the Yenege Tesfa Local Coalition Accelerator (YT- LCA).
Different skills and knowledge from diverse coalition members have brought more innovative, holistic, and effective solutions better suited to the local context. For example, in Uganda, following peer-to-peer coalition member training on an innovative entrepreneurship development approach, members tailored this approach to best meet the needs of their community (e.g. people living with disabilities), building their capacity in entrepreneurship.
Breaking down social barriers and building trust among different community groups. For example, the Uganda coalition supported multiple actors in working together to build youth entrepreneurship (e.g. persons with epilepsy and excluded youth) and strengthen SHGs in Kampala.
Rapid crisis response. Pivoting from planned coalition activities to addressing emerging crises was essential for the Nigerian and the Bangladesh coalitions, with the latter responding rapidly to the floods triggered by Cyclone Remal in May 2024 and the emergency response for Cyclone Sitrang in October 2022.
LNOs enable locally led development and sustainability of projects beyond external support by ensuring that solutions are designed and driven by the community. Shifting power, process and funding enables coalitions to co-design and implement holistic, more effective and cost-efficient programming at scale, addressing systemic, multi-sectoral problems and providing a united interface to mobilise resources.
The LCA model enables a deep understanding of the context, needs and dynamics of community ecosystems. LNOs are deeply rooted within the communities they serve and can harness and share local knowledge and capacities.
Flexible funding models, strong funding partners and open communication are essential. Given the diversity of coalition actors, it takes time to build trust, secure inclusive governance and ensure responsiveness to changing community dynamics and priorities. This can compromise external demands to meet goals in set timelines.
Leveraging existing networks for information dissemination, resource sharing and collective action are essential for transparency. Coalitions are a powerful model, but there is a danger of causing a negative power dynamic in the communities where they operate. Policies and practices could lead to a sense of superiority or oppressive behaviour.
The Share Trust and Warande Advisory Centre (2021), Local Coalition Accelerator, https://thesharetrust.org/resources/2021/2/19/local-coalition-accelerator.
The Share Trust and Warande Advisory Centre (2023), Local Coalition Accelerator: Shifting Power, Process and Funding, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b2110247c93271263b5073a/t/641756ddae8f9d30c86d9136/1679251168184/LCA+Summary-+March+2023.pdf.
The Share Trust and Warande Advisory Centre (2022), Passing the Buck: The Economics of Localising International Assistance, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b2110247c93271263b5073a/t/63754f2bbf586431bd28fac0/1668632366491/Passing+the+Buck_Full+Report.pdf.
OECD (2024), Pathways Towards Effective Locally Led Development Co-operation: Learning by Example, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/51079bba-en.
OECD (2023), Funding Civil Society in Partner Countries: Toolkit for Implementing the DAC Recommendation on Enabling Civil Society in Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Assistance, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/9ea40a9c-en.
OECD (forthcoming), Valuing and Sharing Local Knowledge and Capacity: Practical Approaches for Enabling Locally Led Development Co-operation, OECD Perspective Paper, OECD Publishing, Paris.
