Putting People First: Why Pooled Funds Belong to Communities

Abstract

Pooled funds are intended to make humanitarian and development financing more equitable and efficient, yet they often replicate top-down systems that keep crisis-affected communities depend on external actors. This paper investigates why pooled funds have struggled to achieve locally led transformation and how they can evolve to empower communities as decision makers and increase their capacities as implementers. Drawing on cases from Uganda, the Philippines, and Bangladesh, complemented by evidence from other crisis and recovery contexts—the paper identifies structural barriers such as rigid compliance rules, donor-driven governance, and short-term funding cycles. It distinguishes between localisation, which expands local roles within existing systems, and locally led action, which transfers actual decision-making power to communities.  The research develops a six-step operational framework that translates global commitments into actionable design features: (i) grounding investments in community-identified priorities; (ii) facilitate shared governance structures; (iii) Facilitate Fit-for-Scale Trustworthiness; (iv) enabling multi-year and flexible funding; (v) investing in transformation not just outputs; and (vi) measuring resilience transformation alongside facilitating. The findings show that community-driven pooled funding is both feasible and compatible with donor accountability requirements. The study contributes to humanitarian financing debates by proposing practical pathways for donors and fund managers to reorient pooled funds from sustaining survival toward enabling self-determination, dignity, and resilience.