At the start of 2024, GBPG put forward a call for harmony. This year I want to emphasize the need to use the potential we have within us all. As Aristotle promogulated centuries ago, I believe in the potential of humankind: the individual’s potential and the potential of so many organizations to do good – including GBPG. I also believe in humankind’s ability for excellence, resilience, and innate capacity to overcome tragedy and conflict by working together to improve opportunity for all.
Resilience and potential are the words that will drive GBPG in 2025. It will drive our thinking to advance the core objectives we work on daily, namely poverty alleviation, transparent procurement for increased aid efficiency, informed climate policy and finance initiatives, and education for sustainable development.
“Peace is more difficult than war”
With conflict continuing in the Middle East and Ukraine throughout 2024 and into the start of 2025, the call for harmony remains relevant, but to attain suitable resolutions in a variety of areas we will need to tap into our potential. The discontent many feel is understandable, since continued humanitarian hardships suffered by so many civilians as a result of indiscriminate violence perpetrated against innocent people continues – largely unchecked and in violation of international laws and norms. Humanitarian aid groups are unable to administer the aid innocent civilians need for their survival. Journalists are being targeted because they are reporting to the world the death and destruction happening in Gaza – with no end in sight. Organizations like the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East have been falsely accused of supporting terrorism and in the field their aid efforts are hindered at every turn.
I remain deeply concerned about UNRWA, and the UN more generally, being able to fulfill their vitally important missions and helping those who are without a voice. I am proud to have served in UNRWA in 2023 as Head of their Procurement, Supply Chain and Logistics Operations including Gaza, West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon, when the war broke out. Every day at UNRWA my colleagues and I worked tirelessly to provide much needed aid to women, children, and the elderly. We heard their voices. I still hear them -the balance in regional security versus people’s freedom and dignity is clearly not correct. I heard many level-headed people call it out as an opportunistic land grab to be forgotten over a 100-year span derived from catastrophic and wanton loss of lives on both sides. We have still have not heard of any development plans for Gaza. The wheels for this should have been put in place a long time ago for the rebuilding.
“Disillusionment-Based Decisions Are a Recipe for Disaster”
It is easy to be worried and disillusioned with what is happening in the world. On the one hand calls for peace and love are frequent, however they do not result in concrete actions. With the spread of disinformation, people have become fearful of migration and government policies that in effect help the economy and deal with social discontent. The wrong types of people with the wrong causes are feeling emboldened from top down. The voiceless are verbally taunted; they are attacked; they suffer vandalism; often stoked by racists who are engaged in othering behavior that unfairly demonizes people based on the color of their skin, the religion they practice, or their gender; overlooking their significant contributions and this is often happening in tandem with traditional changes in societal and demographic structures that are fostering discontent among certain socioeconomic groups.
The spreading of this fear has been reflected in policy changes by governments. No more notable of an example is the failed British experiment called Brexit. In 2024, the Bank of England explained that Brexit has resulted in negative economic consequences associated with the UK’s departure from the European Union. It goes against logic to ignore your next-door neighbor as a trading partner. It is arrogant to believe that you can change the rules of the game – no matter how good you think your negotiating team is. The EU also had to take responsibility for the UK leaving the EU , reflect on “Lessons learned” rather than stoically move on, and understand making high level decisions affects people on the ground for queues for hospitals, schools, and housing. Yet, the dangerous cocktail of disinformation, demonization, and disillusionment that the UK succumbed to has become the playbook of politicians worldwide who remain keen on stoking the embers of fear and discontent.
“Excellence is never an accident”
In response we at GBPG, and the broader development sector, must continue to provide educational tools to at-risk populations so they can develop their lives and so they can remain resilient and hopeful in the face of adversity. We must streamline procurement processes to implement development projects to affected populations faster and more cost-effectively. At the same time, we must commit to conducting all aspects of our work with a focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions that jeopardize our planet’s survival.
We will need to be creative though – funding for development is going down, with defense spending going up. Governments are becoming more isolationist and that’s only going to continue with the political change in store for the world in 2025. Our challenge is also made more difficult because our successes are often ignored, because they are often not provocative enough to be on the front pages of the newspaper.
We should not lose hope, though. Technological innovation, human ingenuity, and declining global birthrates and increased longevity – coupled with resilience and potential – mean that we’ll be able to navigate the years ahead. GBPG will be aiming to navigate these challenges by utilizing technology and human potential as efficiently as possible – GBPG has recently added leading Cyber Security experts to its bow. That means we will push forward locally driven solutions that are critical for the success of projects. How will we do that?
- First, we will listen to diverse voices to accomplish this. Along these lines, we won’t be offering cookie-cutter solutions that do not reflect the local context.
- Second, we will identify local talent – and local youth – to work with us to implement change. Increasingly, our young people are ignored and sidelined. Our future only becomes bright if we harness the ingenuity of our young people. GBPG is committed to that.
- Third, the so-called solutions put forward by large corporate syndicates who have not stepped foot in the field that overlook local context need to be synergized and assimilated into realistic goals. The development community must filter out unrealistic implementing adventures that drive opaque bidding processes that only waste funds at the expense of those in dire need. There’s a word for this: inefficiency.
“Change in all things is sweet.”
Considering the prolonged contracting timelines, lack of feedback on tender results, unquestioned reliance on sole-source frameworks, and the widespread absence of accountability in procurement globally, the impacts on truly independent and experienced subject matter experts (SMEs) have been profound. These challenges disproportionately disadvantage SMEs, who are often best equipped to implement procurement programs and deliver various forms of aid. Instead, large corporations, with their capacity to absorb significant delays and the resources to endure the labyrinthine public procurement bidding processes, continue to dominate, sidelining the expertise and agility that SMEs bring to the table. I’ve seen this first-hand at numerous organizations and now that I am on the other side of the public-private technical assistance project equation we see how SMEs stand little chance for success due to out of touch/obsolete demands of government procurement platforms. These platforms make dinosaurs look modern and are by design exceedingly cumbersome and as a result discourage SMEs from bidding. Procurement officials really should try the user experience themselves; if they did, they’d note it is time for change. To this effect technological advances and AI development should help improve the usability of procurement platforms.
Reform is desperately needed. Geographical distribution exists in many international organizations, but where is the focus on SME distribution? If that doesn’t happen large businesses will continue to sell their formulaic solutions to international implementing organizations who blindly push the button more in the foolhardy hope of achieving concrete benefits for global communities. This type of “easy” thinking needs to change. Technology and AI advancements will help, but utilizing nimble SME’s is paramount.
A leveling up for SMEs needs to begin. In doing that, small steps can be taken to make the playing field more even. As a result, global communities will have better chances to reach their potential by ensuring their earmarked development projects stand a chance of being executed more successfully.
“You will never do anything in this world without courage”
We can work together this year to improve standards of living. This will mean that we’ll have to work in harmony together. Let’s use our potential. We are resilient and as a global community we’ve taken on tough problems and solved them. It is because of our enormous potential we can succeed to be better in 2025.
