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Local Actor Voices on Funding, Partnerships & Capacity

Introduction

Thank you for taking the time to participate in this important study. This survey is part of a global research effort conducted by Crescendo International and supported by the Gates Foundation. The study aims to understand how local and national civil society organizations’ roles, capacities, and experiences with international partners have evolved over the past 10 years.
Your insights and experience are essential to driving meaningful change in the humanitarian sector and ensuring that local and national leadership shape the way forward. The survey is primarily intended for senior staff in local and national NGOs, as many questions relate to organizational budgets, policies, and decision-making. If you do not have access to this information, please share the survey link with colleagues in your organization who can complete these questions. Feel free to share the link with peer organizations in your network - we welcome CSOs and other local organizations to participate as well.
The survey includes 23 easy to answer questions and should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. The survey is anonymous. As an added incentive for you to complete the survey, we would like to offer you a chance to win a meaningful prize. After you complete the survey, you will be directed to a separate page where you can leave your email (optional) to enter a raffle for a free 1-hour consultation with an expert on organizational capacity and resource mobilization.
Note on terminology: throughout the survey, there are references to “international partners” or “international actors”. For this survey, those terms broadly include the UN system, INGOs, bilateral donors, and private philanthropic organizations. If your experiences vary across these groups, please feel free to use the open-text boxes to note any distinctions.
Thank you again for your time, expertise, and perspective. We look forward to sharing the findings on Crescendo International’s website in the new year. Please visit the site in May 2026 for the final report.
https://www.crescendo.international/
Section 1 - About Your Organization
1.Please tell us about your organization (please select all that apply)(Required.)
2.In what country does your organization primarily work?(Required.)
3.If you represent a registered organization, in which country is your organization registered and/or currently headquartered?(Required.)
4.How would you describe the main purpose of your organization?(Required.)
Major Focus
Minor Focus
Not part of our work
Community development/poverty reduction
Disaster preparedness/disaster risk reduction
Emergency response & early recovery
Peace-building & social cohesion
Enabling people to realize their rights
Supporting refugees & internally displaced people
5.What was your annual organizational income in 2024? (amounts listed in USD)(Required.)
6.What was your annual organizational income in 2025? (listed in USD)(Required.)
7.What do you expect your organizational income to be in 2026? (listed in USD)(Required.)
8.For 2026, which funding source do you expect will provide the majority of your organization’s budget?
9.What is your organization’s strategic and financial priorities for the next 5 years?
(Please select your top 4 priorities by checking a box next to one of your priorities. There is also the option to write in a different priority.(Required.)
Section 2 -- Experience with partnerships and capacity strengthening
10.How effective are local and national civil society actors where you work? Do you agree with the following statements?
(Please select a response for each statement.)(Required.)
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
National/ local actors are recognized for their contextual knowledge and leadership in crisis management.
National actors are already capable of leading prioritization, coordination, and delivery of humanitarian response.
National actors have the potential to lead humanitarian response but need more opportunities to do so.
National actors have strong technical expertise but need stronger organizational systems (finance, governance, HR, risk) to lead disaster risk reduction and emergency responses at scale.
National actors already convene effectively on issues of common concern and have a strong collective voice.
Shrinking civic space, regulatory constraints, or political pressures limit the ability of national actors to influence humanitarian priorities.
National actors are actively involved in UN- and/or national government- coordinated strategic planning and participate meaningfully in coordination forums.
National actors have access to appropriate digital, technical, and operational resources to scale their work.
11.How would you describe your current relationships with international actors?
(Please select a response for each statement.)(Required.)
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
International partners are an important source of funding for our organization.
International partners support the institutional development of our organization.
International partners support the technical quality of our work.
International partners demonstrate flexibility during crises, adapting rules, funding arrangements, or ways of working.
International partners enable access to digital tools and technology for program delivery and coordination.
International partners provide full transparency on project budgets, overheads, and fee structures.
Overhead rates and operational costs allowed by international partners are fair and reflect real expenses.
International partners help us engage in and influence decision-making processes.
We have partnerships of mutual respect with international partners.
We are primarily treated as sub-contractors by international organizations.
Compliance and reporting requirements are proportionate to the size of the grant and our organizational capacity.
International partners share responsibility with us for security, legal, safeguarding, and financial risks.
12.Has a language barrier prevented you from engaging with international actors, including accessing funding opportunities, developing and submitting high-quality proposals, identifying international partners, and cultivating relationships with international actors?
(Select a response for each statement below.)(Required.)
Always
Sometimes
Never
Our international partners accept funding and partnership proposals in the language(s) that our organization primarily works in.
Our international partners accept reports in languages that our organization primarily works in.
Coordination and planning meetings we attend are held in local languages (other than English), or there is always interpretation available.
Thinking about your organization’s partnerships with international NGOs, UN agencies, and donors over the past 3 years, please indicate the extent to which you have had an equal say in key decisions and meaningful roles in coordination mechanisms.
13.To what extent does your organization have an equal voice with international partners in major decisions (e.g., strategy, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, branding)? (Select one)(Required.)
14.In humanitarian coordination structures (e.g., clusters, working groups), how would you describe your organization’s role?
(Select one)(Required.)
Thinking about the institutional funding your organization received from international donors, funders, and INGO partners between 2022-2025, please answer the following questions about transparency, overheads, and the type and quality of the funding you received.
15.What is the average overhead rate your international donors or partners typically allow your organization to charge?
(Select one)(Required.)
16.For the institutional funding your organization received in 2024, what approximate percentage share met the following characteristics?
(Please select one box per funding characteristic.)(Required.)
0% – 20%
(Very Little)
21% – 40%
(Low Share)
41% – 60%
(Moderate Share)
61% – 80%
(High Share)
81% – 100%
(Almost All)
Not Applicable
Flexible or Unrestricted
Multi-year (3 years or longer)
Covered Core / Operational Costs
Received as Prime Recipient (Directly from donor)
17.Please select up to 3 areas from your experience and practice in which capacity-strengthening support you have received from your international partners has been effective and relevant?(Required.)
18.What capacity support has not worked for your organization, and why?
(Please type in your response.)
19.What partnerships or support from an international organization worked well for your organization? What made it effective?
(Please type in your response.)
Section 3 — Capacity strengthening priorities & preferences (4 questions)
20.If you were given an unrestricted grant for capacity building, thinking about what your organization needs most to become stronger and better positioned, how would you prioritize your investment? (Select your top 3 priorities from the list.)(Required.)
21.What are your preferred methods of strengthening capacity?
(Select your top 3 priorities from the list.)(Required.)
22.If you had unlimited funds for capacity strengthening and organizational development, and could choose a provider for capacity strengthening, what type of provider would you choose? (e.g., local/national peer organization, international organization, local university, local private sector provider, etc)
(Please type in your response)
23.What suggestions do you have for international actors (e.g., the UN, INGOs, bilateral donors, private philanthropy) on how they could better support local and national humanitarian actors?
(Please type in your response)