To engage with the UN SDGs, the “how” is just as important as the “what”: A case for engagement with the aid-effectiveness framework

• Published in: Industrial and organizational psychology Vol. 16; no. 4; pp. 524 - 527
• Main Author: Glosenberg, Alexander
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.12.2023
• Subjects: Accountability; Civil society; Commentaries; Community; Cooperation; Economic summit conferences; Power; Principles; Psychologists; Psychology; Social responsibility; China; international development; Paris declaration on aid effectiveness; I-O psychology
• ISSN: 1754-9426; 1754-9434
• DOI: 10.1017/iop.2023.52

At their core, many failures and abuses stem from an asymmetry of power (MacLachlan et al., 2010) — in particular, between stakeholders providing aid and development assistance, herein aid donors (prominently including international multilateral organizations like the World Bank, higher-income countries, middle-income countries like China, civil society organizations, and private sector organizations) and those receiving such assistance, herein aid partners (prominently including lower countries and communities). Because many I-O psychologists tend to come from relatively privileged backgrounds and tend to hold a powerful professional status (see Gloss et al., 2017), they risk exacerbating the problematic power dynamics that tend to exist between aid donors and aid partners. [...]fourth principles of the aid-effectiveness framework are ownership and mutual accountability. [...]supporting these principles might also require greater effort and care to prioritize and support the participation of stakeholders (e.g., entry-level employees, community members, those living in poverty, and representatives of local ecosystems) with which I-O psychologists might not typically engage (see Gloss et al., 2012). [...]the active inclusion of such stakeholders is likely to present difficulties (e.g., language and coordination issues) and work at ends with certain aspects of short-term organizational/project effectiveness. [...]the field of I-O psychology should engage with underlying principles of the aid-effectiveness framework while being cognizant of the importance of supporting South–South cooperation.