Listening to Aid Recipients
Posted on June 25, 2010 at 10:01 am
I often ask my readers to imagine being on the receiving end of aid, to try to think of aid from the recipient side rather than the donor side. This is not always easy to do as it requires a shift in perception. Luckily, there’s the Listening Project. The Listening Project interviews aid recipients, local government officials, religious leaders, and community organizations to find out their perspectives on international aid.
“It is motivated by our sense that if we could ask for and listen carefully to recipients’ judgments of what has been useful (and not useful) and why, over the years of their experience on the receiving end of international interventions, then assistance providers and donors would learn a great deal about how to improve the effectiveness of their efforts.”
The Listening Project has conducted exercises in 20 countries and have compiled their findings by individual countries and major themes across countries. All of their papers are very readable and interesting, even for the non-aid worker. Links to the thematic papers are found below. The first four papers will likely be of interest to casual readers of this blog while the last three will appeal to more serious students of international aid.
“Discuss Together, Decide Together, Work Together”
Presence: “Why Being Here Matters”
The Role of Staffing Decisions
Structural Relationships in the Aid System
The Cascading Effects of International Agendas and Priorities
International Assistance as a Delivery System
Related Posts:
Beggars can’t be choosers, but are they really beggars?
Good Needs Assessments are Critical for Good Programs
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