Who Should Shape the Future of Development, and How?

Center for Strategic and International Studies  |  Andrew Friedman, Hadeil Ali

The Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in January 2025 and subsequent global official development assistance cuts of $56 billion have severely disrupted international development. These funding reductions have forced over 70 percent of surveyed civil society organizations to lay off staff, with nearly 40 percent losing at least 31 percent of their workforce.

This systemic crisis stems from long-standing structural power imbalances between international donors and local rightsholders. To address these gaps, a series of roundtables held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies from September 2025 through March 2026 proposed shifting decisionmaking power to local communities. Philanthropic organizations must transition from project-based grants to unrestricted multiyear funding to help bridge the massive $17 billion annual giving gap. Ultimately, private corporations and civil society must coordinate their efforts to prevent piecemeal, inefficient interventions and ensure sustainable, locally owned development outcomes.

Comment

Western donor states are rapidly shrinking their global aid footprints. This retreat creates a dangerous strategic vacuum in developing nations. Adversarial powers will exploit these funding gaps to expand their regional influence. Non-state actors must therefore build independent local resilience frameworks.

To read in details click here