How local NGOs are being put in the driver’s seat of development
Local organisations bring something that cannot simply be supplied through a standard development programme: an understanding of the context from within
In the remote areas of Bangladesh, reaching a community can often be a challenge in itself due to the poorly built roads and limited transport. Yet the people working to address local problems are often already there.
Across the country, grassroots organisations have spent years working on issues affecting women and children. They know their communities, understand local dynamics and often know which doors to knock on when they need to get something done.
But being close to a problem does not always mean having the power to change it.
Many local organisations — particularly women-led ones — struggle to have their voices heard as strongly as larger international organisations. They may understand their communities deeply, but lack some of the organisational systems, skills or influence needed to turn that knowledge into action.
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This is where strengthening local organisations becomes important.
For Save the Children in Bangladesh's SWOCCHAR project, women's economic empowerment is the broader goal. But one way of getting there is by strengthening the local organisations that are already working within communities.
"To prevent an existing problem, we need the organisations that are working there, because they have their own local experts and their own ideas. They live locally, they observe the situation themselves, and they actually feel the problems," says Farhana Akhter, manager of the SWOCCHAR project.
"Therefore, they can explain what the real problem is and what needs to be adjusted," she adds.
For Farhana, local organisations bring something that cannot simply be supplied through a standard development programme: an understanding of the context from within.
"Perhaps there are ways to work with parents in a particular way, or to customise the local education system so that children's education is developed in such a way that, from an early age — from the school level — they understand what child marriage is and what its consequences are."
The point is not that local organisations automatically have all the answers. It is that they are already close enough to the problem to see how it is experienced—and what might realistically work.
Strengthening the people already doing the work
One of the organisations that has gone through this process is Katnarpara Nari Unnayan Sangstha (KNUS) in Bogura.
Latifa Yasmin Lovely founded the organisation in 2007. It began by working with women and children and gradually expanded its work to areas including child marriage, violence against women, drug abuse, and adolescent and reproductive health.
Over the years, KNUS grew and eventually registered with the Department of Women's Affairs and the NGO Affairs Bureau.
But growth also brought new organisational needs.
Through SWOCCHAR, KNUS went through an organisational capacity assessment and development process. The process helped the organisation identify areas where it needed to strengthen its internal systems, including organisational policies, staff capacity and the role of its executive committee.
"We had several pillars, such as organisational policies, organisational staff, and the organisation's executive committee," Lovely says.
The process helped the organisation identify the need for stronger safeguarding and gender policies, a clearer code of conduct and greater capacity within its executive committee.
For Lovely, strengthening the leadership structure was particularly important.
"As the executive director, another important issue was preparing the committee members to take greater responsibility so that, in my absence, they can take over and lead the organisation."
Staff members also received training on gender, preventing sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse (PSHEA) policy and other organisational policies.
Lovely says the support has since helped KNUS become better positioned to pursue opportunities on its own. The organisation submitted proposals independently and secured a five-year project from Manusher Jonno Foundation, as well as work in Rajshahi.
"We submitted the proposal ourselves and received the project," she says.
For SWOCCHAR, the experience illustrates why the project starts by asking each partner what it needs.
Rather than handing every organisation the same training package, each partner undergoes an assessment facilitated by a consultant. Organisations participate in identifying their own strengths, weaknesses and areas where further support is required.
"Each partner identifies its own activities and priorities," Farhana explains.
Those priorities can vary considerably.
One organisation may need to improve its knowledge of products or documentation. Another may identify staff training as a priority, while others may need to strengthen human resource management. For some, the focus may be on establishing or improving a complaint mechanism; for others, safeguarding may require greater attention.
The findings are then translated into an organisational capacity development plan for each partner.
"Each organisation has its own capacity development plan, and we work according to that plan to achieve Outcome 1," Farhana says.
It is a deliberately tailored approach.
The assumption is not that every local organisation needs to look the same. Instead, the project works with organisations to identify what would make them stronger in the places where they already operate.
That matters because local organisations are often being asked to navigate more than one system at once. They need to understand their communities, while also being able to engage with government officials, community leaders and other influential stakeholders.
Strengthening their internal systems can therefore strengthen their ability to advocate externally.
"To prevent an existing problem, we need the organisations that are working there, because they have their own local experts and their own ideas. They live locally, they observe the situation themselves, and they actually feel the problems. Therefore, they can explain what the real problem is and what needs to be adjusted." Farhana Akhter, manager, SWOCCHAR project, Save the Children
Young people as change agents
SWOCCHAR's localisation approach extends beyond organisations.
Young people are also positioned as change agents who can question social norms and encourage communities to rethink barriers that prevent women from participating fully in economic life.
"We call them change agents," Farhana explains. "They can work very effectively as change agents because they can challenge social norms."
That role is particularly important because young people are already engaging with many of the social issues affecting their communities.
"Through these kinds of celebrations or observance of special days, they can challenge existing social norms," Farhana says.
For International Youth Day 2026, SWOCCHAR organised a Thematic Paathshala where young people were encouraged to move beyond simply identifying problems and instead explore their causes, identify who could influence them and consider what they themselves could do.
The sessions revolved around five questions: What is the problem? Why does it exist? Who can influence it? What can young people do? What support is required?
Six thematic areas covered climate change, digital space, education and STEM, gender-based violence and violence against women and children, mental health and psychosocial support, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and skills and youth.
"When working with young people, we actively seek their perspectives — understanding the issues they are concerned about and the problems they want to address. We have incorporated these issue-based priorities into the themes of the Pathshala sessions, including mental health, digital spaces, climate action, and STEM," says Abdul Kaium Joy, coordinator of Cities for Children and Youth Alliance and one of the members of the organising committee of International Youth Day Celebration 2026.
The discussions were rooted in local realities.
Young people explored how climate change affects livelihoods, education and community stability through riverbank erosion, urban heat, waterlogging, haor flooding, and coastal cyclones.
They also discussed online safety, accessibility and digital protection, particularly for young people in rural, indigenous, disability-affected and remote communities.
Across the sessions, participants identified barriers, examined their root causes and proposed practical actions, campaigns, and partnerships.
Rather than creating separate campaigns in every location, young people will later work collectively around six thematic campaigns, adapting activities to their own communities while contributing to a shared agenda.
"When young people work on challenging those issues, the impact can be much stronger," Farhana says.
What localisation looks like on the ground
For SWOCCHAR, investing in local organisations and investing in young people are not separate efforts.
Local organisations bring community knowledge and relationships. Young people bring their own experiences, questions and energy. Strengthening both can create a wider base for change.
But localisation is not simply about asking local organisations to implement projects.
It also means giving them the capacity to make decisions, advocate for their communities and engage with the institutions that shape people's lives.
That is why the organisational side of the work matters.
As Farhana puts it, the organisations are already there. They are observing the problems, experiencing the realities and developing their own ideas about what needs to change.
