Complex donor criteria, bureaucracies and policies for funding serve as bottle necks for global south national organizations to access funding and resources to implement humanitarian and development programmes in global south countries.

Unequal power dynamics have been identified as a cross-cutting challenge to be addressed by national organizations in the global south, and the shifting of power towards communities should be a key feature of any grant instrument globally.

Participatory grant making focused on engagement of local relevant stakeholders will allow programmes to address these dynamics. Access to money or economic capital is one of the most common and visible sources of power. When an individual or organisation has control over financial resources, they usually influence where the resources are allocated, how they are used and for what purposes.

Shifting power to local communities by international and national stakeholders’ programmes increase local representation in the decision-making processes at the community, local, national and international level, it advances sustainability and development.

Participatory grant making process involves the engagement of local stakeholders in collaborative analysis, initiative design and participatory grant making, implementation of initiatives, reporting back and process improvements to donors and supporters. Due diligence checks and capacity to manage programme finance and resources is key to guide local capacities

An approach that builds a system that shifts power to local stakeholders is the participatory grant making process. The power to control programme finances and resources by local stakeholders ensures ownership, cooperation and buy-in for sustained impact and transformation.