ABSTRACT

This book centers around an intense debate among donors, policymakers, development practitioners, and academics on the efficacy of aid in eradicating poverty while promoting human development.

It seeks to fill the gap in present literature by presenting stories of better spending through implementing Sustainable Development Goals and addressing Agenda 2030 via indigenization of global development goals with initiatives at local and national levels. The book adopts an innovative approach to dealing with aid effectiveness by highlighting the relevance of better spending, rather than excessive spending. It does so with real-life examples of interventions made in the Global South to realize the vision of "thinking globally and acting locally". These case studies speak to the significance of communities’ role in shouldering responsibility for planning, financing, operating, and maintaining local developmental initiatives. The examples also demonstrate how aid serves its purpose when used as an investment in communities and enterprising individuals, in order to realize the strategic impact of giving and build a local "receiving mechanism" for indigenizing and achieving global development goals.

The book references cases of better spending by governments, philanthropists, and civil society organizations (CSOs) from across Asia, Africa, and Latin America on a range of issues and will, thus, be of interest to development practitioners, policymakers, donors, philanthropists, civil society organizations, and academics and students of international development studies.

part I|16 pages

Citizens, state, and markets

chapter 1|14 pages

Introduction and background

Global goals, local action

part II|43 pages

Frameworks for better spending

chapter 2|25 pages

Anatomy of an effective development operation

A finance minister considers whether to borrow from the World Bank1

part III|74 pages

South Asian landscape

chapter 4|17 pages

Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP)

An Indian experience of rapid poverty reduction through women’s empowerment

chapter 5|15 pages

An inspirational story

Galvanizing local action for realizing global development goals: the story of BRAC making the 21st-century drive to eradicate extreme poverty at local levels

chapter 8|14 pages

Market-led development

part IV|30 pages

Resilient communities in fragile states

chapter 9|14 pages

Community-driven development as a mechanism for realizing global development goals

The National Solidarity Programme and Citizens’ Charter Afghanistan Program

chapter 10|14 pages

Multidimensional poverty measurement and aid efficiency

A case study from Afghanistan

part V|50 pages

Non-zero options for local development

chapter 12|15 pages

From more spending to better spending

The case of food and nutrition security in Ethiopia

chapter 13|14 pages

Don’t spend more, spend better

Improving the social efficiency of water and sanitation services in Uruguay and South Africa

part VI|3 pages

Global South in the Global North

part VII|9 pages

Social capital

chapter 15|7 pages

Conclusion

Can a single spark create a prairie fire?