Dear colleagues,
This is not your usual Newsletter, but then these are highly unusual times. In this Newsletter we share with you our thoughts about the severe crisis in development and climate assistance and involve you in the process we are undertaking to respond to the crisis as a Community of Practice.
The Crisis
Our basic assumptions about development and climate assistance have been upended by the destruction of USAID. On top of this there is the US withdrawal from UNFCC and WHO and the reversal of its pledge to the Green Climate Fund, and the possibility that the US will not pay its current IDA contributions and withdraw from many multilateral development institutions.
This tragic story in the US is still unfolding as we write and both its extent, duration and severity of impact cannot yet be fully gauged. But one thing is clear: The current US actions, alongside the deep cuts in development and climate assistance by many European countries, mean that we will see severe declines in ODA and in development and climate financial flows more generally. Many millions of people in the Global South will suffer as a result of this man-made disaster. And many of you who have devoted your lives to making development and climate action more effective, will see your professional work and your livelihoods threatened.
The immediate challenge is for all of us to adjust to this new reality and to do the best we can to protect those who depend on us, especially the poorest and the most vulnerable, but also our families and friends whose livelihoods are threatened by these shocks.
At the same time, we — and the Executive Committee of the Scaling Community of Practice — believe that we need to seize the opportunity of this crisis to lay a foundation for stronger and more effective development and climate action in future.
Our response: A five-year campaign to mainstream scaling in the development and climate communities
We believe this crisis has implications for the future direction and work of the Scaling Community of Practice. We are convinced that business-as-usual with short-lived, stand-alone, unsustainable projects that are not owned by the countries and communities they are intended to serve has to be replaced by an approach that embodies transformational scaling – working to solve development challenges problems sustainably at scale.
We therefore have concluded that the best way forward is to organize a five-year Campaign 2026-2030 to mainstream the scaling idea and practice into the development and climate action eco-system of institutions, including governments, civil society, private sector, and external funders, and into global standard setting forums. This is an ambitious goal, but we believe we can help reach a tipping point so that by 2030 the integration of a systematic, country-led scaling approach in the development and climate communities is substantial, endogenous and irreversible.
In this vision, those resources that continue to flow from North to South and from South to South will be more effectively combined with countries’ and people’s own resources to support action at the national and local level, whether by government, private business or civil society in pursuit of long-term and sustainable scaling pathways.
And here is what we’re doing
Our plans for preparing and implementing the Mainstreaming Campaign come at a time when we were exploring how best to put our Community on a stronger and more sustainable organizational footing and financial. We have taken or are currently undertaking the following steps:
- We have leveraged the volunteer effort of the members of the Executive Committee with the part-time professional support of three colleagues: Charlotte Coogan as Program Manager; Simon Winter as Director of Transformational Partnerships; and Richard Kohl in his capacity as Co-Chair of the Mainstreaming Working Group and Co-Leader of the Initiative on Mainstreaming Scaling in Funder Organizations.
- With their support, we have developed a strategy that identifies the rationale and mission of the campaign; the organizational, leadership and governance pillars; and the principal activities the Campaign will pursue. As part of the Newsletter, you will find a two-page “pitch document” that explains key elements of this strategy.
- We have identified a not-for-profit host organization, Dalberg Catalyst, that will house our Community and actively support the Campaign, and we are developing strong partnerships with IPA and other likeminded organizations.
- We have begun an active outreach to potential funders.
- We have drafted an op-ed article for placement in a major international newspaper. It will argue that we need a new development paradigm in the face of the current crisis and that the mainstreaming of scaling in the international development ecosystem is an essential element of a new approach to development effectiveness.
An invitation for you to get involved
The Executive Committee and we urge you to do whatever you can to help address the urgent and immediate needs of those affected by the crisis.
We also ask you to join us in our effort to us shape and support the Mainstreaming Campaign. We will send you an invitation and link for a virtual all-member townhall meeting on April 2nd at 11am EDT, when we plan to brief you in greater detail on our current plans, listen to your ideas and suggestions, and explore ways to involve you actively in the Mainstreaming Campaign going forward.
The Executive Committee and we look forward to your engagement with the Scaling Community and wish you and yours the very best possible during these troubled times.
