Transitioning Power, Partnerships and Financing in International Cooperation

I’ve been feeling the strains of how international cooperation works for many years now. Not as a sudden rupture, but as a steady accumulation of pressure. If you work in this sector, whether from Canada or elsewhere, you’ve likely felt it too. It’s a familiar undercurrent that while our intents are (mostly) valid, the conditions have changed: funding, expectations, and who gets to decide what matters. 

It’s against this backdrop that in early January, our friends at Cooperation Canada launched a new report on delegated financing and shifting power in international cooperation. I prepared the report on behalf of Nexus Cooperation Inc. (Nexus), together with Rachel Logel Carmichael. We were grateful for insights and contributions from colleagues across the sector in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Africa. 

Navigating a Fractured Development Cooperation Landscape  

The work reflects conversations many of us have been having about those undercurrents. Even before the COVID pandemic and the temporary boost, and subsequent reduction, to official development assistance (ODA). Conversations about how the international cooperation system is changing and about what this means for organizations around the world working within it. 

The report landed at a moment when many of Nexus’ clients and partners are already asking similar questions, whether governments, NGOs, or development funds. As someone working closely with organizations navigating these shifts, I hear versions of these questions almost daily. Questions such as:  

• How do we operate in a context of tighter resources and an increasingly overt desire to link development funding to national interests?  

• How do we spend ODA effectively, working as closely as possible with those who request support, while also advancing priorities such as trade and security?  

• How do we, as people who work in the sector, stay effective today while preparing for an uncertain future? 

The context for international cooperation has been shifting for some time. It is now doing so more quickly. The closure of USAID is a significant marker of this change. This abrupt and arguably reckless decision reflects the pressure ODA is facing in many donor countries. Public budgets are tighter and political expectations are changing. Development funding is increasingly becoming transactional and expected to serve multiple objectives at once such as reducing poverty, increasing market access for national firms, and improving security. 

National interest has always shaped cooperation. What has changed is how explicit it has become. Decisions about where and how money is spent are now more openly tied to domestic priorities. This is not a temporary adjustment. It reflects deeper political and fiscal realities. 

The Impact for Development Organizations 

Together, these shifts are changing what it takes for development organizations to operate effectively in the system. 

Long planning cycles are harder to sustain. Five and ten year strategies feel increasingly abstract. The pace of change is fast and often unpredictable. For many organizations, this is not a future concern but one that is felt today. What matters now is less about predicting a single future, and more about being ready for several. 

What does this mean in practice for organizations working in the system? The report prepared for Cooperation Canada speaks directly to this question. Governments, NGOs,  charities, and investment funds are all trying to adjust. Often at the same time and with limited room to maneuver. 

For governments, this has meant questioning whether existing delivery approaches remain fit for purpose. Many are exploring different ways of working, including greater use of partnerships, intermediaries, and shared platforms.  

In Canada, this is not new. The government has been testing innovative financing and delivery models, and is now taking this work further through the Grants and Contributions Transformation Initiative. There is growing attention to risk, results, and the ability to move resources more quickly. These shifts are less about changing values, and more about responding to a tighter and more demanding operating environment. 

For charities and NGOs, the shift is also real. Funding is more competitive, less predictable and timelines are shorter. Partnerships matter more now than ever before. Organizations are being asked not only to deliver programs, but to continuously demonstrate their credibility, learning, and the capacity to adapt as conditions change. 

New tools are reshaping how organizations operate. Artificial intelligence is already being used across the sector. AI use is often informal and without clear guidance. Questions around data storage, access, ownership, and accountability are still being worked out. There is unequal access to AI, between organizations based in the global north and south. These are not technical details. They go to the heart of trust, governance, and responsibility. 

Financing models are under review. Organizations are looking at diversifying their sources of revenues. They are also being asked to think differently about how money flows and how risk is managed.  Are funds pooled, delegated, or leveraged? For charities, this raises additional questions about compliance within an evolving regulatory framework.  

Taken together, these shifts are rapidly reshaping the operating environment. Some long-standing assumptions no longer hold. The tools and rules are changing for good. Adjusting in real time is now part of the work of staying effective. 

How we look at it at Nexus

This is the context in which we and our team at Nexus are working. We are part of this shift, not observing it from the outside.  

Like many of the organizations we work with, we are engaging with the sector as it is, in real time. Supporting governments, NGOs, charities, and funds as they navigate change, deliver on their mandates, and prepare for what comes next.  

Our focus is practical. Helping organizations stay effective today with approaches and strategies that align with their missions.  All the while building the internal capacity to continue to adapt and succeed in the long run. 

If these questions resonate with you, we would welcome continuing the conversation. You can comment here, reach out directly, or connect with us on LinkedIn.  

Michael Wodzicki (mwodzicki@nexuscooperation.com) is a founding partner at Nexus.