Contribution to NEAR (Network for Empowered Aid Response) 2024-2025


The Network for Empowered Aid Response (NEAR) is a consortium of local organizations that aims at shaping an international cooperation system where local communities are empowered to address the challenges that impact their own communities. The network is composed of local and national civil society organizations from the Global South rooted in their communities. It focuses on genuine local participation at all levels to ensure effective aid is delivered.

Country/region Topic Period Budget
Global
Laos
Employment & economic development
Humanitarian Assistance & DRR
Vocational training
nothemedefined
Employment creation
Humanitarian efficiency
Vocational training
Rural development
01.01.2024 - 31.12.2025
CHF  300’000
Background The goal of the Humanitarian Aid system to shift humanitarian action to “as local as possible, as international as necessary” has not been achieved yet. Reasons for this include the lack of investment in local civil society participation and mutual learning, insufficient trust building between different levels of the system, and lack of empowerment of affected people. As a locally rooted international network, NEAR is working to address those issues. Switzerland wants to help ensure that affected people are at the centre of decisionmaking on humanitarian delivery and that humanitarian aid builds on local actors and knowledge. To advance this, Switzerland supports NEAR as a new partner.
Objectives

To support NEAR in

  • fostering movement building of a vibrant network of Global South civil society actors;
  • promoting trust building between actors from the Global South and North;
  • driving locally-owned solutions such as the Change Fund;
  • promoting learning among Global South actors.

Engagements with Global South actors as well as the locally-owned solutions and mutual learning will also help inform SDC’s own strategic thinking and practice. SDC will use relevant solutions and learnings to inform and influence the wider humanitarian system.

Target groups
  • NEAR members (local, national humanitarian civil society from the Global South) and key humanitarian donors and philanthropies.
  • Wider humanitarian system stakeholders at local, national, regional and global levels.
Medium-term outcomes

In alignment with its 24-26 strategic plan, NEAR has identified 5 outcome areas for the planned phase with SDC:

  1. Local, national, or regional NEAR networks demonstrate increased maturity as movements and are better able to build and amplify their collective voice to advance localization and coordination.
  2. Greater trust and stronger understanding of differing realities and roles among local and international actors lead to decisions that centre community needs/responses.
  3. New financial and non-financial models demonstrate how inclusive, localised, and sustainable aid can be done and scaled. The Change Fund is scaled into a wellresourced community-led multi-donor standby facility continuing to swiftly disburse funds during crises, fostering effective and timely interventions.
  4. Learning amongst local actors becomes increasingly strategic.
  5. Internal outcome: work on transition from a fiscally sponsored initiative to a financially / legally independent entity by the end of 2026.
Results

Expected results:  

  • Better resourced civil society for improved coordination and joint localization priorities.
  • Direct engagement between local actors and donors take place regularly in trustful environments.
  • The Change Fund is strengthened and expanded. Other solutions are ready to be implemented.
  • Participative and collaborative learning through inclusive platforms is established to respond to Global South needs and aspirations, and help achieve NEAR’s wider goals.


Results from previous phases:   NEAR is a growing collective of local and national organizations. It has a representative and convenor role for Global South (GS) actors to learn and present grounded ideas and solutions. Under its 2021-23 strategy, NEAR focused on holding international actors to account on their Grand Bargain (GB) commitments by ensuring they were part of relevant spaces and processes. This led to increased consultations of local actors and the co-designing of programs. NEAR also worked with donors, local actors, and communities to develop alternative solutions to advance localization. NEAR designed a GS peer-to-peer humanitarian financing facility, the Change Fund, to disburse resources directly to local actors responding to emergencies through a community-centric simplified grant-making process. The mechanism was able to rapidly disburse funds to over 170,000 people. NEAR was started as a unit under Adeso, a Kenya-based humanitarian organization. With NEAR’s growth, it is now planning a transition to an own organization.


Directorate/federal office responsible SDC
Project partners Contract partner
International or foreign NGO
Private sector
United Nations Organization (UNO)
  • International Labor Organization
  • Foreign private sector North

Implementing partner
NEAR

Coordination with other projects and actors
  • ALNAP, ICVA and GTS core contributions,
  • GB 3.0 priorities and initiatives,
  • SHA secondment to GB secretariat
Budget Current phase Swiss budget CHF    300’000 Swiss disbursement to date CHF    300’000 Budget inclusive project partner CHF    11’233’618 Total project since first phase Swiss budget CHF   0 Budget inclusive project partner CHF   300’000