A rapidly deteriorating climate, the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and outbreaks of conflict and violence have all exacerbated the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, propelling the kinds of poverty and inequality that push the most marginalized further to the edges, fuel public anger and threaten the prospect of resilient, peaceful and equal societies. At the same time, despite commitments made by the international humanitarian, philanthropic, and development system - and now also in a parallel space around climate finance - to localize aid and ensure that a greater share of funding goes directly to local actors and frontline communities, progress continues to be painfully slow. In a growing number of countries, civil society organizations are coming under increased pressure from governments through the introduction of new laws and practices that undermine their legitimacy and constrain their ability to work effectively. 

Against this backdrop of gloom, however, lies another story: one of hope and possibility. The story lies in the actions of individuals, organizations and networks that reject externally imposed solutions and believe that another way is possible - one which centres people and communities as actors, decision-makers and investors in their own development processes and societies.