Who owns development? A case study on the role of local ownership in the sustainability of peacebuilding projects in Liberia

Abstract

As the mandates of many INGO’s come to an end in Liberia, the question rises if local actors are able to take control over the peacebuilding process themselves again. This study tries to find out what role local ownership plays in the sustainability of peacebuilding project in Liberia, whilst also looking at the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. It strives to do so by conducting a case study on a peacebuilding project that is implemented by a partnership between a donor, INGO and local NGO. The research methods consist of a policy analysis on the representation of local ownership; followed by a survey measuring participation and psychological ownership of project beneficiaries; and finalized with interviews with project staff to reflect on the role of local ownership in the wider peacebuilding sector in Liberia. The policy analysis showed that beneficiaries should preferable experience high levels of participation in all project phases. The survey however showed that although participation levels of project beneficiaries were low throughout most project phases, they still experience high levels of ownership. This is possible because the power of participation for beneficiaries actually lays in their freedom and power to determine the content of a project, rather than being involved in all the organisational activities that are necessary to implement a project. This study further found that in order to increase chances of project sustainability in Liberia, partnerships should focus on capacity building that focusses on capacitating local organisations to comply to donor regulations so that they are able to secure direct funding from donors. In partnerships, donors have a big role in allowing for more local ownership by promoting flexibility and decreasing their strict accountability regulations. Although most implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on Liberian peacebuilding are still unknown, is has shown that projects with more local ownership an less external support are more easily sustained.