For decades, international development has followed a simple rule: those who control the money set the priorities. Local organisations are often left adapting their ideas to fit donor funding.
What if we flipped the script?
The Reverse Call for Proposals (RCfP) turns this approach around. Communities and local organisations define their priorities, develop solutions and invite potential partners to support them.
In Nyankanga, Zambia, and Garizegu, Northern Ghana, communities identified their needs and assets before inviting external organisations to respond. They also had the opportunity to assess potential partners, their track records and their willingness to make long-term commitments.
This approach challenges the usual balance of power. Just as donors assess local organisations, local actors should be able to ask potential partners: Who are you accountable to? How flexible is your funding? What decisions will we control?
It also calls for a different understanding of capacity. Local organisations already have knowledge, relationships and experience. The question is not simply what they lack, but what support they need to achieve their goals.
International organisations still have a role to play—as partners, connectors and resource mobilisers, rather than gatekeepers.
Ultimately, participation is not the same as agency. Communities need more than a seat at the table; they need the authority and resources to shape decisions that affect their lives.
The Reverse Call for Proposals is therefore more than a funding mechanism. It challenges who sets priorities, controls resources and makes decisions.
Question for discussion: What would it take for donors and international NGOs to trust local organisations to set the agenda, and what changes would be needed in funding systems to make this a reality?
Perhaps shifting power is not about moving seats around the existing table. Perhaps it is about reimagining the table itself.