Toward a Framework for Understanding Localization in Its Institutional Context: A Systems Perspective for Incorporating Local Values

ABSTRACT

This paper explores how we might integrate local traditional values into a systems approach for analyzing and maximizing localization in the context of foreign aid. The paper situates localization and its operationalization in the older and broader literature on the political economy of foreign aid. This political economy has led to a techno‐operational approach to localization, rather than a transformative one that would be more consistent with decolonizing aid. I adapt an earlier framework on the important role of identity and mutuality in maximizing the benefits of collaboration and partnerships to account for local values in giving, most notably reciprocity. A detailed example illustrates the potential for localization when the aid relationship privileges identity, and when reciprocity is facilitated within a system of institutional relationships. The analysis suggests several implications for institutional actors who want to promote localization and support transformative development. The proposed framework can be used to map aid interventions in a system of institutional relationships, changing the unit of analysis from a singular intervention to a system, which may combine different types of relationships that, together, can support localization that privileges local values, perspectives, and capacity.