ODI | Think Change – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Our new Donors in a Post-Aid World (DPAW) dialogue series provides an informal space for reimagining the functions of Northern bilateral donors in an evolving global landscape. Last month, our first dialogue focused on creating a new narrative for Northern ‘donorship,’ identifying opportunities for a refreshed approach to development cooperation.

This episode discusses key takeaways from the first dialogue. Guests examine the challenges Northern donor institutions face in a post-aid world, and how they might redefine their roles for the future.

Why does this matter? Today, Official Development Assistance (ODA) is expected to address a growing array of complex agendas: countering China, managing migration, tackling the climate crisis, and more.

As demands grow for concessional public finance, donors lack the scaffolding of a single 'story' that they once had. What’s more, as the lines between ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ countries blur, and the donor-recipient model of aid as charity is increasingly rejected, the traditional rationale for aid has reached its limits.

In this episode, guests discuss how to navigate these challenges and build momentum for reforms that could influence key global policy processes.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Nilima Gulrajani, Principal Research Fellow, ODI Global
• Heba Aly, former CEO of The New Humanitarian
• Fadhel Kaboub, Senior Advisor, Power Shift Africa
• Omar Bargawi, Deputy Director and Head of the Development Policy & Partnerships Department, FCDO

Engage with us

We want to hear from voices that do not get heard yet have deep insights and knowledge to reimagine donorship for the 21st century. Please do reach out to
Nilima Gulrajani if you have any ideas or would like to write for us.

The second dialogue will take place early in 2025, with four to take place over the next 18 months. Sign up to our Donors in a Post-Aid World newsletter to get updates about the dialogue series. 

Related resources

• Donors in a Post-Aid World (Project, ODI Global)
  
  
• Dialogue #1: Crafting a new rationale for northern donorship (Summary note, ODI Global)
  
  
• Should a Northern donor exist in the 21st century? Introducing a new dialogue series (Insight, ODI Global)
  
  
• Donors In A Post-Aid World – January 2024 update (Insight, ODI Global)
  
  
• Crafting development power: evolving European approaches in an age of polycrisis (Report, ODI Global)
  
  
• Boosting gender equality with finance and fiscal policy (Project, ODI Global)
  
  

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The world is experiencing significant shifts, and the recent US election stands as one of the most influential. This could introduce a new level of unpredictability to global politics, economic relations and social dynamics worldwide.

Donald Trump’s decisive victory has surprised many, and his re-election raises several important questions about how it will impact on global dynamics. A continued focus on "America First" could strain international alliances and fragment global cooperation, if US interests overshadow multilateral agreements.

As Trump prepares to take office for the second time, he may also adopt a more assertive approach to foreign policy, likely impacting NATO relations and potentially intensifying tensions with China, Iran and Russia. His previous scepticism about the climate crisis may see reduced federal action which will hinder global climate agreements and slow carbon reduction efforts.

In this episode guests analyse what to expect from Trump's return to the White House, both for the US and the world, including potential shifts across foreign, security, development, climate and migration policies.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI Global
• Karin Von Hippel, Director-General, Royal United Services Institute (RUSI)
• Ramsey Day, ODI Global Washington Board member and former USAID Assistant Administrator for Africa 
• Jeremy Konyndyk, President, Refugees International

Related resources

• Managing anti-immigration populism (Insight, ODI Global)
  
  
• Public narratives and attitudes towards refugees and other migrants: US country profile (Briefing paper, ODI Global)
  
  
• Four cost-effective ways the U.S. can pay its “fair share” of climate finance (Insight, ODI Global)
  
  
• Institutional misogyny is a threat to reproductive justice everywhere (Insight, ODI Global)
  
  
• Global approaches to refugee response: what difference can they make? (Insight, ODI Global)
  
  
• American journeys (Feature, ODI Global)

The impacts of the climate crisis are widely known and have rightfully spurred international action, but the hastening collapse of global biodiversity receives far less attention.

Biodiversity is the life support system of our planet. We also depend on intact ecosystems for our food and water supplies, medical advances and disease prevention, climate stability, shelter and so much more.

In financial terms, a staggering 55% of global GDP depends on high-functioning biodiversity.

But nearly all species on earth are currently undergoing population declines, at speeds far quicker than scientists would expect.

Reversing the decline of nature depends on international cooperation. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework represents a watershed moment for multilateral governance and action to conserve biodiversity and restore ecosystems. One of the goals of the framework is to "invest and collaborate", but currently, the biodiversity finance gap stands at $700 billion a year.

So what can be done to mobilise resources to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity? Experts examine ways forward and reflect on what must be done to reduce the harmful incentives that fuel biodiversity loss.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI
• Laetitia Pettinotti, Research Fellow, ODI
• Anaid Velasco, Environmental Lawyer and Mexico Director, Climate Finance Group for Latin America and the Caribbean
• Jeremy Eppel, Co-Founder, Eppel Sustainability and Senior Adviser, Nature Finance
  
  

Related resources

• A fair share of biodiversity finance: apportioning responsibility for the $20 billion target by 2025
  
  
• Biodiversity finance in Mexico
  
  
• Biodiversity finance in Nepal
  
  
• Biodiversity finance in Namibia
  
  
• What do we have to lose? Understanding and responding to climate-induced loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services

The recent European elections came at a pivotal time for Europe and its relations with the rest of the world. In the continent, the economic squeeze, along with the public’s concern around security and migration, drove the outcome of the elections. 

Across the world, the rise in protectionist and nationalist ideology threatens the future of the multilateral system. At risk is the global commitment to the climate crisis and human rights. 

 The Brussels policy debate is highly Eurocentric, but has extraterritorial impact, often with unanticipated consequences, across the globe. There is an urgent need for European Institutions and Member States to navigate these challenges effectively, to shape a European response.

 In this episode of the Think Change podcast we discuss the outcome of the European elections and how this will influence the EU’s foreign policy; the future of the multilateral system; and how dialogue and more equal partnerships with the rest of the world is essential to maintain Europe’s standing in the world. 

Guests:

• Sara Pantuliano, Chief Executive, ODI
  
  
• Ambassador João Vale de Almeida, previously Ambassador of the European Union to the United Nations; Ambassador of the European Union to the United States; and following Brexit, the first head of the future EU delegation to the UK.
  
  
• Professor Carlos Lopes, Honorary Professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance Faculty of Commerce at the University of Cape Town
  
  
• Suzanne Lynch, journalist and author of POLITICO’s Global Playbook

Related resources: 

• Where next for feminist foreign policy on funding feminist movements?
• Supporting Ukraine is costly – but Europe should be clear on the risks of letting Russia win
• Can the Displaced Talent for Europe pilot address green skills shortages in Europe?
• Can ‘the West’ be trusted? The future of European humanitarian aid
• Reflection on what’s next for EU policy on migration and development
• Whatever happens now, South–South solidarity with Gaza has already exposed the West

Small island developing states (SIDS) suffer disproportionately from external shocks. They face an existential threat from the climate emergency, while global economic uncertainty and geopolitical shifts have derailed recent progress that SIDS have made towards achieving growth and resilience.

That’s why governments of SIDS and their international partners met in Antigua and Barbuda a fortnight ago for the SIDS4 conference, which aimed to formulate a 10-year action plan intended to chart ‘the course toward resilient prosperity’ for small island nations.

In this episode, guests review this seminal conference, setting it in context of the unique challenges that SIDS face. We hear about the strengths of the Antigua and Barbuda Plan (ABAS) that emerged from it and what is missing from this framework. Guests outline reforms that are urgently needed to drive meaningful change for SIDS.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano, Chief Executive, ODI
• Ambassador Walton Webson, Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the UN
• Emily Wilkinson, Senior Research Fellow, ODI
• Jean-Paul Adam, Director for Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management in the UN Economic Commission for Africa
  
  

Related resources

• Resilient and Sustainable Islands Initiative (RESI)
  
  
• Small Islands Big Picture podcast: Will the 4th UN International Conference on SIDS generate ‘resilient prosperity’?
  
  
• Small Islands Big Picture podcast (all episodes)
  
  
• The SIDS Future Forum 2024: Shaping the future of Small Island Developing States
  
  
• Preparatory meetings for the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States: participation, priorities and outcomes
  
  
• Financing resilient prosperity in SIDS
  
  
• Why small islands need their own Marshall Plan

Time is running out to keep the climate goals set out in the Paris Agreement within reach. Wealthy countries have introduced new industrial and green trade policy measures, but there are concerns that some of these are having adverse effects – hitting countries that have contributed the least to the climate crisis the hardest.

This episode examines the concept of the ‘green squeeze’ – the notion that climate-related trade policies are negatively impacting low-income countries, unfairly putting the burden of adjustment on them. We ask what the ‘green squeeze’ means, both at a broader policy level and on the ground for producers having to adapt to these new trade measures.

What can be done to help exporting countries navigate such measures? Would the Villars Framework enable a more equitable way forward?

At a time when geopolitical tensions are running high and countries are fighting for leadership on green technology, guests discuss what action is needed to drive fair and sustainable progress on green trade.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano, Chief Executive, ODI
• Faizel Ismail, Director of the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance, University of Cape Town
• Jan Yves Remy, Director of the Shridath Ramphal Centre for International Trade Law, Policy and Services (the SRC), University of the West Indies
• Jodie Keane, Senior Research Fellow, ODI
  
  

Related resources

• New EU trade rules could put poor countries in a billion dollar ‘green squeeze’ (ODI blog)
  
  
• The ‘green squeeze’: an explainer (ODI paper)
  
  
• Navigating green trade measures: avoiding a “green squeeze” (ODI event video)
  
  
• Leading experts gather at ODI to reimagine global trade for a sustainable future (ODI statement)
  
  
• COP28 side event | Enabling a “green seize” of new trade opportunities for LDCs: learning from the Covid-19 response to address the climate emergency (ODI event video)
  
  
• Avoiding a “green squeeze” and advancing new trade opportunities for LDCs (ODI event video)
  
  
• Africa’s green trade opportunities: policy insights for aligning trade and climate action (ODI blog and event video)
  
  
• Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanisms: clarity needed on support for adjustment (ODI blog)
  
  
• Air Miles 2.0? How to ensure Africa is not penalised by net-zero policy spillovers (ODI blog)

The Declaration on Climate, Relief, Recovery and Peace was signed last year at COP28 in Dubai. This recognised the unique challenge of addressing the climate emergency in areas affected by conflict and fragility, and called for “bolder, collective action” to support them.

But what does this look like in practice?

Despite being among the most vulnerable to climate change, conflict-affected countries receive just a fraction of the climate finance that is allocated to more stable regions.

As we build up to the UN Summit for the Future and COP29, this episode examines what can be done to address this critical conflict blind spot in climate action.

Guests assess the security impacts of the climate crisis, and the urgent need to scale up funding and support where it is most needed to avoid deepening instability.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI
• Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Horn of Africa
• Katarina Kertysova, Climate Security Officer, NATO
• Rosita Najmi, Co-Founder, CIFAR and ODI Board Member

Resources

• COP28 Declaration on Climate, Relief, Recovery and Peace
• Climate Innovations for Adaptation and Resilience (CIFAR) Alliance
• Call to Action: Responsible Digital Payments to Accelerate Climate Action (Better Than Cash Alliance)
• Bolstering Women’s Climate Resilience and Adaptation through Financial Services (CGAP)
• Climate Landscape Series (BFA Global)
• COP28 finally shines a spotlight on conflict-affected countries (ODI blog)
• Building Forward Better: a pathway to climate-resilient development in fragile and conflict-affected situations (ODI report)
• Climate adaptation in no-man's land: research bridging the conflict-climate gap (ODI report)
• What the case of Somalia can show us about financing climate action in conflict-affected countries (ODI blog)
• A New Agenda For Peace (UN brief)

The question of how multilateral development banks need to reform themselves so they are fit to face today's global challenges was again high on the agenda at the recent World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C.

These debates and recommendations for reform can be technical and complex, but what do the people these financial institutions were set up to serve think about what changes are needed?

This episode, which was recorded from the sidelines of the Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C., considers whether development finance is really reaching those who need it most. We ask how we can harness recent trends and technological advances so they work for – rather than against – the most vulnerable.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI
• Liesbet Steer, President and CEO of the Education Development Center & Chair of the ODI North America Board
• Andrew Herscowitz, Executive Director, ODI North America
• Sheila Warren, CEO, Crypto Council for Innovation and ODI North America Board Member

Related resources

• ODI's Spring Meetings resources hub
• How to better reach underserved borrowers (ODI event)
• Towards an MDB agenda for reform in FCV (ODI paper)
• Navigating fragility: the new multilateral agenda (ODI event)
• Matching finance to need (ODI event)
• Do we need a new Bretton Woods agreement for the post-Covid era? (Think Change podcast)
• Will early blooms bear fruit? Key takeaways from the 2024 World Bank Spring Meetings (ODI blog)
• MDB Insights: 2024 Spring Meetings previewed (ODI blog)

The crises of hunger in Sudan and Gaza are grave humanitarian emergencies with profound consequences for affected communities.

A recent UN briefing to the Security Council stated that Sudan is set to face the “world’s worst hunger crisis”, while an international committee of experts issued a dire warning that famine is not only imminent in Northern Gaza, but a risk across the entire territory.

While man-made famine continues to be used as a weapon of war for political gain, the prevailing response from international humanitarian agencies is to provide food aid. But is this really the solution? And how does it affect local humanitarian efforts?

This episode dives into these questions and seeks to hold those responsible for these hunger crises to account.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI
• Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation
• Omima Omer Jabal, Khartoum State ERR Jabal Awliya Program Office
• Hamish Young, Senior Emergency Coordinator in Gaza, State of Palestine
• Nuha Yousif, ERR Sennar state, Programme office
  
  

Related resources

• Sounding the alarm on Sudan’s hunger crisis (ODI event recap)
  
  
• Sudan conflict – how did we get here and what next? (Think Change podcast) 
  
  
• From El-Fasher to Khartoum: The fallout from 20 years of conflict in Darfur (ODI event) 
  
  
• Sudan’s humanitarian crisis slips further from sight (ODI event recap)
  
  
• Humanitarian hypocrisy, double standards and the law in Gaza (ODI blog)
  
  
• Will the ICJ ruling change anything for Gaza? (Think Change podcast)

Global public debt is at unprecedented levels. The UN has reported that nearly half of the world’s population lives in countries that spend more paying off debts to other countries than they spend on healthcare for their own people.

While needs soar as countries try to address the impact of the poly-crisis and invest significantly to transform their economies and societies, economic growth is in sharp retreat in many nations in the Global South.

The World Bank is calling for donor governments to step up. They have put ‘IDA replenishment’ top of the agenda at this month’s Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C.

But why is the World Bank calling for this record replenishment? Join us as we explore the case for the IDA to become more effective and efficient at a time of soaring needs.

Guests

• Sara Pantuliano (host), Chief Executive, ODI
• Annalisa Prizzon, Principal Research Fellow, ODI
• Seynabou Sakho, Director of Strategy and Operations for the World Bank Office of the Managing Director of Operations
• Gregory Chen, MD of Ultra-Poor Graduation Initiative, BRAC International

Related resources

• ODI on multilateral development banks
• ODI Day at the 2024 Spring Meetings 
• Bigger, but also better: why MDB reform must go further (ODI blog)
• One year on, the World Bank must focus on how to implement its Evolution Roadmap (ODI blog)
• Matching finance to need (Davos 2024 event video)
• Strengthening MDBs: the triple agenda (Annual Meetings 2023 event video)
• What do borrowing countries think of MDB reform? (Think Change podcast)