22/05/2025

Localisation as a tool to strengthen the sustainability, effectiveness and equity of development cooperation and humanitarian aid interventions was the focus of the event ‘Localisation in the Italian Cooperation System’, held yesterday at the Farnesina and promoted by the AOI, CINI and LINK 2007 networks. The challenge of localisation implies the strengthening of local response systems and the gradual transfer of power and responsibility to local actors, a complex but fundamental process for sustainable change and the strengthening of increasingly fair and equal cooperation.

The initiative brought together representatives of Italian institutions, civil society organisations, agencies active in international cooperation and other key actors, with the aim of building a systemic and plural dialogue on the principles, challenges and opportunities of localisation.

The starting point of the discussion was the joint document ‘Strategic Instances on the Localisation Approach of the Italian Cooperation System’, drawn up after three years of discussion by the three networks. The text proposes shared principles and operational recommendations for a more inclusive approach, centred on strengthening the role of local actors and overcoming fragmentation and power imbalances in the aid system. Among the priorities highlighted are: local leadership, capacity building, simplification of procedural mechanisms, improved fund tracking, and flexibility in funding, to be directed more and more directly towards local actors.

Among the speeches, Giulia Boni of INTERSOS emphasised how the concept of localisation must translate concretely into empowering and leading local actors, recognising their central role not only in the humanitarian response – on which the international community’s thinking is focused – but in all cooperation contexts. Boni highlighted the importance of including local state actors in this process, in order to build more robust and sustainable systems. He also noted how the debate on localisation is still too often driven by international actors, with insufficient involvement of local realities. “We must work on a real transfer of power, so that local actors are not just beneficiaries, but real protagonists of the cooperation system. This event is an opportunity to listen to their voices and start from those messages to build a shared and coherent operational model,” he said.

Stefano Gatti, Director General for Development Cooperation (DGCS-MAECI), recognised the value of localisation as a systemic challenge, linked to a global context undergoing profound transformation. ‘We are facing a seismic change, which also requires reviewing operational mechanisms,’ he said. He reiterated that Law 125/2014 already offers a valid framework – ‘however, it needs to be revised’ – and emphasised the importance of respecting the priorities expressed by partner countries: ‘We do not intervene in a country if it does not ask us to’. Gatti also recalled the central role of CSOs and the need to differentiate support modalities according to their size and contexts.

Gianluca Brusco of the DCGS International Humanitarian Emergency Response Unit spoke openly about a systemic crisis and the values of cooperation. He reiterated that localisation is not assimilation, but a process of mutual adaptation and learning, and called for a strengthening of joint advocacy actions at EU and UN level.

Riccardo Sansone (Oxfam Italy) and Laura Deotti (CBM Italy) highlighted the five priorities for localisation, among them strengthening grassroots communication, coordinating advocacy efforts, valorising local staff in decision-making processes, overcoming fragmentation in funding, and promoting mechanisms to reduce risks and burdens for local partners. They also relaunched the theme of ownership as a pillar of the strategy document.

The document represents a concrete basis for launching a structured dialogue table between all Italian cooperation actors, as Silvia Gison (Save the Children Italy) pointed out.

On the side of the Italian Development Cooperation Agency, Marco Rusconi, Director of AICS, reiterated the need to go beyond the concept of partnership, putting the involvement of local actors at the beginning of each project.

Grazia Sgarra (AICS – Office VII) emphasised that localisation should also be about development, not only humanitarian, highlighting two priority actions: Strengthening capacity building in a mutual learning perspective; Increasing direct funding to local actors.

Sandro De Luca, president of LINK 2007, emphasised in his conclusions that localisation should be understood as a work in progress, a dynamic path that is nourished by listening to and enhancing local experiences. He highlighted the growing consensus around the idea of localisation that recognises and respects the diversity of local actors, considering it a fundamental resource to make cooperation more effective, rooted and sustainable.