In a context as complex as that of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), peacebuilding can only be sustainable if it is deeply rooted in local realities and involves local actors.
The dynamics of conflict, social cohesion and governance are primarily experienced and negotiated at the community level. It is with this in mind that International Alert’s position on partnership at the global level and in the DRC is firmly committed to a gradual shift from partnerships focused on local implementation to locally-led partnerships, where national actors play a central role in defining, conducting and managing peacebuilding interventions.
Localisation and partnership: inseparable concepts
According to the National Council of Forums of Humanitarian and Development NGOs in DRC (CONAFHOD), localisation is “a collective process aimed at strengthening the role of local actors in humanitarian action, while respecting humanitarian principles. It involves a joint analysis of the context and the establishment of mechanisms to prevent crises, make them more rapid and adapted to the needs of communities, while extending its scope to the Humanitarian, Peace and Development Nexus.”
For International Alert, partnership is not limited to a contractual or operational arrangement. It is based on long-term relationships founded on trust, complementarity and mutual recognition of expertise. Localisation, or locally-led development, reinforces this vision by emphasising the leadership, legitimacy and decision-making capacity of national and local actors in humanitarian, development and peacebuilding interventions.
In the DRC, these two approaches are closely linked. Localisation without equitable partnership risks reproducing unbalanced power relations. Conversely, genuine partnership creates the conditions necessary for local actors to move beyond being mere implementers to becoming drivers of change, social cohesion and sustainable peace. In 2025, International Alert supported the implementation of the comprehensive framework for contextualised localisation in the DRC through technical support, networking and assistance to CONAFHOD and/or its members and regional platforms. This support focused on the transfer of skills and expertise in conflict sensitivity and conflict analysis, as well as conflict-sensitive communication.
Partnership is based on long-term relationships founded on trust, complementarity and mutual recognition of expertise.
A gradual transition in Alert’s approach in the DRC
Historically, many humanitarian and peacebuilding partnerships have been structured around a transactional logic: local organisations implemented activities designed elsewhere. In recent years, International Alert in the DRC has undertaken a conscious transition towards more inclusive and locally-led models of intervention.
This transition has resulted in changes to the processes involved in building partnerships, particularly with regard to joint analysis of contexts, joint project design, increased participation by national partners in governance mechanisms (steering committees, technical coordination frameworks) and, gradually, shared responsibility for management and accountability to communities, authorities and donors.
Locally-led partnerships in the DRC
Several initiatives illustrate this dynamic in the DRC.
One of the most recent experiences is the involvement of local organisations in the development of the Nashiriki kwa Masikilizano project, funded by the European Union. The project supports community resilience through the empowerment of local civil society organisations and the development of skills in conflict sensitivity, dialogue and mediation. Groups such as Fleuve d’eau vive qui coule aux autres (FLEVICA), Forum des Mamans de l’Ituri (FOMI), Heritiers du Développement au Congo (HDC), Mwangaza Peace and Appui à la communication interculturelle et l’autopromotion rurale (ACIAR) have brought added value to peace and social cohesion.
In the Madini project, the consortium with local NGOs including Observatoire Gouvernance et Paix (OGP), Justice Plus and Bureau d’Etudes Scientifiques et Techniques (Best) has enabled national organisations to play a leading role in coordinating and implementing peacebuilding activities relating to the governance of mineral resources, while benefiting from targeted technical support. This experience has strengthened their visibility and legitimacy at community, institutional and even international level.
The Nashiriki kwa Amani project in Ituri relied on the community roots of local partners to work on social cohesion in a context of high tension. Local leadership facilitated the acceptance of interventions and the adaptation of strategies to specific social and cultural dynamics.
Through the Conflict Sensitivity Hub (CSH), International Alert has adopted a model of support and technical assistance rather than substitution. Humanitarian, development and peace (HDP) actors are supported to integrate conflict sensitivity into their own programmes, thereby strengthening their autonomy and capacity for long-term action.
As part of the Mupaka Shamba Letu (MSL) project, local and national organisations such as ACUDI, CCF and SOFIBEF have engaged cross-border actors in peace and played a key role working with women cross-border traders and the platforms supporting them. The same applies to partners Pole Institute and I-PEACE regarding improving access to justice at the cross-border level in DRC and Rwanda. Finally, partnerships with local micro-level organisations, such as Tulinde, have promoted inclusion and reached often marginalised groups such as the Twa (Pygmies), demonstrating that localisation is also a matter of equity, inclusion and access.
Localisation should not be seen as a fixed objective or an administrative requirement, but as a continuous learning process involving adjustments, compromises and constant dialogue
Persistent challenges and structural tensions
This transition to locally-led partnerships is not without its challenges. Expectations around ‘localisation’ sometimes differ between international and national actors, leading to misunderstandings or fears. The implementation of policies and procedures conducive to localisation remains uneven, and the process is evolving in a context of often reduced and highly constrained funding.
Issues of compliance with donor requirements — particularly in relation to financial management, reporting standards, transparency, and acceptable overhead rates — are also recurrent points of tension in partnerships. These requirements, while often justified from a risk-management and accountability perspective, can be difficult for national organisations to meet directly, given structural constraints, limited core funding, and the administrative burden they entail. In this context, they raise broader and sometimes legitimate questions around risk sharing, power asymmetries, and the long-term institutional viability of national partners.
In the DRC, this dynamic has often positioned international organisations such as Alert as intermediaries between donors and national actors. Feedback from local partners suggests that Alert’s role in translating donor requirements into manageable systems, absorbing a portion of the compliance risk, and shouldering a significant share of the administrative and fiduciary responsibilities is generally valued. This intermediary function can enable national organisations to access funding and engage in programming that would otherwise remain out of reach, while allowing donors to maintain required standards of accountability.
However, this arrangement also comes with trade-offs. While it can facilitate access and reduce short-term risk for national partners, it may inadvertently reinforce dependency on international intermediaries and limit opportunities for direct donor engagement and institutional strengthening. As such, the challenge in the DRC context lies not only in ensuring compliance, but in progressively recalibrating partnerships so that compliance requirements become a shared responsibility and a pathway to greater autonomy, rather than a persistent barrier to localisation.
Lessons learned and prospects
International Alert’s experience in the DRC shows that long-term partnerships promote genuine institutional strengthening of national organisations and improve the quality of peacebuilding interventions. Joint analysis of contexts, joint risk management and joint development of proposals rather than simply transferring them, contribute to more balanced and rewarding relationships. The gradual appropriation of management and monitoring and evaluation tools by national partners strengthens the effectiveness and equity of partnerships between local and national actors in peacebuilding.
In conclusion, localisation should not be seen as a fixed objective or an administrative requirement, but as a continuous learning process involving adjustments, compromises and constant dialogue between all actors. In the DRC, International Alert is continuing this reflection and commitment, convinced that truly locally-led partnerships are one of the essential elements of sustainable peacebuilding.
