New #ShiftThePower report highlights women's recommendations for development sector, funders

Funding and decision-making in development, aid, and peacebuilding are often top-heavy and top-down, but there’s a growing movement to shift the power into the hands of local communities. To do that, we must listen to women — especially those in communities who are already doing the work and can speak best to what they need.

This is the focus of the #ShiftThePower report, a collection of insights and recommendations released today by global social impact network World Pulse.

In summer 2024, World Pulse launched a campaign inviting women across the world to share their insights and recommendations for funders and the development sector related to shifting power. Developed as part of an ongoing collaboration between World Pulse's Research and Evaluation Group and the Co-Design Collaborative at the University of Arizona, the #ShiftThePower digital campaign called on women to share what it means to shift power, the barriers local communities and organizers face, and recommendations for institutions and funders to better enable power shifting.

Recognizing that running a digital campaign limits the voices of those who can participate, World Pulse’s Research and Evaluate Group additionally engaged with offline communities with lower levels of digital access to gather their stories and insights related to shifting power.

Offering analysis of stories received from more than 60 World Pulse members across 22 countries, as well as analysis of insights received from 260 people in offline communities, the report includes:

• Discussion of how women across the globe define power and the need for power shifting
• Examples of ways women are acting despite barriers and mobilizing collective power
• Identification of barriers women face to funding their changemaking efforts
• Insights from groups at the margins with no or lower levels of digital access
• Clear action steps funders and others must take to shift power

What’s next for #ShiftThePower?

In early 2025, World Pulse, the World Pulse Research and Evaluation, and the Co-Design Collaborative at the University of Arizona will release a toolkit based in part on their efforts engaging offline communities as part of the #ShiftThePower campaign. This toolkit will provide a guide and resources for those who seek to enable those in their communities without the same levels of digital access to participate in digital conversations like #ShiftThePower.

Read the Report

Read the Shift the Power Report online.

Download the Shift the Power Report as a PDF.

Explore all Shift the Power submissions on World Pulse’s social impact network.