Beyond Bureaucracy: New Pillars for a Development Cooperation System That Truly Works
“The next National Conference on Development Cooperation risks becoming little more than a ritual,” writes LINK 2007 President Sandro De Luca. “Instead,” he adds, “it must represent a decisive step in redefining the role, quality and direction of Italian development cooperation. For this reason, as an association of NGOs, we have developed a set of operational proposals to make Italian development cooperation more effective, coherent and capable of addressing global challenges.”
28/04/2026
Article by LINK 2007 President Sandro De Luca, originally published in VITA NON PROFIT HERE
Actors the Italian international cooperation system will gather on 26–27 May for Coopera 2026, the National Conference on Development Cooperation established by Law 125/2014. Every major institutional event carries a concrete risk: that of becoming a ritual. Coopera is no exception. It risks slipping into a purely formal dimension, made up of broadly shared statements but lacking real consequences. Yet the current context allows neither neutrality nor inertia.
Coopera 2026must represent a decisive step in redefining the role, quality and direction of Italian development cooperation. It cannot be reduced to a formal obligation: it must become a genuine political and operational turning point. In a context marked by growing instability, conflicts and geopolitical competition, development cooperation is once again moving to the centre of the agenda, not as a technical field, but as a key instrument of foreign policy and international credibility.
Italy has a solid foundation on which to build: an advanced legal framework (Law 125/2014), a system rich in actors and expertise, and a well-established tradition. More recently, the 2024–2026 Three-Year Programming and Policy Planning Document and the Mattei Plan have helped bring development cooperation back to the forefront, particularly in relations with strategic regions, starting with Africa.
Yet this foundation is no longer sufficient. Structural weaknesses continue to undermine the effectiveness of action: limited strategic coherence, fragmented interventions, insufficient integration among instruments, excessive procedural burdens, and difficulties in fully recognising and leveraging the contribution of all actors within the system. Added to this is the risk of partnerships that remain more declaratory than genuine. The result is a clear gap between ambition and impact.
It is from this awareness that LINK 2007’s proposal emerges, summarised here and developed further in a broader technical document available here. Through this contribution, we seek to put forward concrete operational proposals to make Italian development cooperation more effective, coherent and fit for today’s global challenges.
From Fragmentation to Strategy
The challenge for the next three years is clear: to move from a form of cooperation that is often fragmented and procedural towards one that is more strategic, integrated and results-oriented.
This first requires a political choice. In an international environment where relations among countries are increasingly driven by power dynamics and short-term interests, there is a growing risk of weakening international law and shared rules. Politics must therefore define priorities, boundaries and responsibilities for public action, avoiding short-term approaches.
A clear, timely, realistic and binding three-year strategy is an essential condition: a limited number of priorities, measurable objectives and clearly defined responsibilities. Without such an anchor, fragmentation will inevitably persist.
The Challenge of Instruments: Aligning Procedures with Operational Realities
While strategic direction is indispensable, real change ultimately depends on the instruments used to achieve it.
Today, the gap between declared ambitions and operational capacity is also fuelled by a procedural framework that is no longer suited to current challenges. Development cooperation operates in fragile contexts, prolonged crises and complex environments that require continuity, adaptability and integrated responses. Yet rigid administrative mechanisms, lengthy procedures and inflexible financial instruments continue to prevail.
Efforts are currently underway to improve some existing procedural packages, but future reforms cannot be limited to marginal technical adjustments. A more substantial reform of operational mechanisms is a necessary precondition for meaningful change.
Excessive bureaucracy is not merely an efficiency issue—it directly affects the quality of action. It hinders the development of medium- and long-term programmes, fragments interventions and reduces the capacity to respond to changing local realities. In many cases, reporting systems end up prioritising formal compliance over the achievement of meaningful results.
As highlighted in LINK 2007’s proposal, radically simplifying instruments and procedures does not mean reducing transparency or accountability. Rather, it means redesigning them so they are consistent with the goal of more effective development cooperation. This requires investing in multiannual programming, more flexible mechanisms and management models capable of balancing responsibility with adaptability.
It is an enabling reform: without this step, even the most ambitious strategies risk remaining on paper.
Partnerships, Multi-Stakeholder Approaches and Governance
A similar leap forward is needed in the area of partnerships. Building equitable relationships based on co-design and shared ownership is no longer optional—it is a condition for effectiveness. Without it, there is a risk of perpetuating asymmetrical dynamics and limiting the impact of interventions.
In this context, Italy’s multi-stakeholder cooperation system represents a strategic asset that has yet to be fully leveraged. Civil society organisations, local authorities, universities, businesses and diaspora communities must be enabled to contribute in an integrated manner, within a clearer governance framework characterised by defined roles, shared responsibilities and stronger coordination.
“Working as a system” does not mean standardising approaches; it means connecting diverse competencies within a shared vision.
Integrating Resources While Staying the Course
The growing convergence between development cooperation, economic interests and geopolitical considerations—evident also at European level—makes it even more urgent to clarify priorities and guiding principles. The private sector can make a significant contribution, but its engagement must remain aligned with the core objective of development cooperation: reducing inequalities, supporting the most fragile countries, and promoting sustainable and inclusive development. Within this balance, grant-based cooperation continues to play an irreplaceable role. Measuring Impact, Not Just Spending. A final challenge concerns evaluation criteria. Shifting attention from expenditure to results and impact—social, economic and environmental—is an integral part of the paradigm shift that is needed. This is not simply about improving technical tools; it is about redefining what success means.
An Opportunity Not to Be Missed
Coopera 2026 has the potential to translate these proposals into clear and verifiable operational guidelines. It can mark the transition towards a form of development cooperation that is simpler, more strategic and more capable of generating impact. But this outcome is not guaranteed. It depends on the willingness to make coherent choices: concentrating resources, strengthening governance, integrating instruments, genuinely simplifying procedures and measuring impact. Ultimately, it depends on fully recognising that development cooperation is, first and foremost, a political matter: a defining component of foreign policy and a credible instrument for solidarity, shared development and equitable relations among peoples.
Photo from VITA Società Editoriale
Article published by VITA NON PROFIT HERE