Capitalising on ‘local knowledge’: The labour practices behind successful aid projects – the case of Jordan

Abstract

Humanitarian aid stakeholders increasingly call for localisation: to ensure aid projects utilise, and are informed by, local actors and their ‘local knowledge’. This article explores what this means in practice. Drawing upon the case of Jordan, a major global aid hub, the author shows how national aid workers’ local knowledge is critical for their employers’ projects in at least two ways: they work as ‘vulnerability finders’ to reach communities in need; and as ‘narrative negotiators’ to ensure projects’ designs and evaluations are based on local expertise. However, it was found that workers tailor the ways in which they mobilise their ‘local knowledge’ given their positions and interactions within their workplaces. To make sense of these calculated articulations, the author draws upon Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital to argue that localisation is commodifying and transforming the power workers derive from their local status: from something that relates to their networks and knowledge within the local context to their ability to produce desirable project results. How workers labour in response highlights how localisation and the sector’s prevalent audit culture intertwine, and reproduce inequalities through particular constructions of local workers and their value to aid projects.

How are hygiene programmes designed in crises? A qualitative study of the perspectives of humanitarians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iraq

“…Commitments which aim to improve the effectiveness and e ciency of humanitarian aid through localisation and investment in capacity strengthening at national levels (30). The ndings of our research indicate that effective reform must pay attention to inter and intra-organisational dynamics, decisionmaking and knowledge creation because these micro-organisational processes affect macro-level outcomes and determine or limit the roles of national actors in programme design processes (51).…”

“…When these senior staff identi ed gaps in their expertise, they were more likely to google solutions or look 'up the hierarchy' towards senior organisational experts, rather than exploring opportunities to ll knowledge gaps through research among crisis-affected populations or through the engagement of national staff in the programme design process. These 'ways of knowing' prioritise the diffusion of technical expertise from powerholders in the 'Global North' and allow inequitable power dynamics between foreign and national staff and between INGOs and NNGOs to persist (49)(50)(51). For example, our ndings indicated that NNGOs are well positioned to undertake rapid assessments, shape hygiene proposal development, and implement programmes.…”

How are hygiene programmes designed in crises? Qualitative interviews with humanitarians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iraq

“…For example, cultural norms within the sector meant that when senior staff identified gaps in their expertise, they were more likely to google solutions or look 'up the hierarchy' towards senior organisational experts, rather than exploring opportunities to fill knowledge gaps through research among crisis-affected populations or through the engagement of national staff in the programme design process. These 'ways of knowing' prioritise the diffusion of technical expertise from powerholders in the 'Global North' and allow inequitable power dynamics between foreign and national staff and between INGOs and NNGOs to persist [49][50][51].…”

Localisation Agenda, Shift the Power and African Philanthropic Models in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal

“…They know and understand the local context, hence can quickly identify and respond to urgent humanitarian needs. Thus, local actors are the key instruments needed to sustain humanitarian responses (Wall and Hedlund, 2016;Roepstorff, 2020;Ward, 2020). As highlighted in the case of the Bhaktapur community in Nepal, the community members came together to help one another and demonstrated an increased sense of social responsibility (Tewa and Nagarik Aawaz, 2016).…”