CivSource Africa (CSA) is a feminist Pan African organisation that occupies the delicate space between philanthropy and civil society organising. By virtue of its placement, CSA has provided advisory services to donors (local and international) that are desirous of supporting civil society organisations in Uganda. Additionally, CSA has occupied the position of a funder applying feminist principles through its grantmaking arm, CivFund. From these positions, as an organisation we have been exposed to the issues of structural inequities, biases and racism within the international development aid sector which manifest as rigid conditionalities, short term funding, that plague aid earmarked for the African continent. These manifestations are underscored by traditional funding models which not only inhibit local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) from addressing, meaningfully, the social gaps that they wish to, but also, strip local NGOs of their dignity by having their integrity and ability to manage funds questioned long before they are entrusted with any resources. The power imbalances exhibited between funders and local partners trickles down to the communities that are usually the end beneficiaries of these programs. We have witnessed the myriad ways in which colonial systems continue to manifest in civil society practice and organising, a case of the one paying the piper calling the tune.

It is against this backdrop that CSA curated conversations with local NGOs and INGOs working in Uganda in an introspection and soul searching exercise. This intervention targeted local and foreign civil society actors undertaking various social justice issues like land governance, women’s rights, and natural resource rights. The conversations focused on the need to interrogate oppressive aid systems and reimagine different ways of undertaking aid. The general consensus among the participants was that the aid system as is is an impediment to realizing significant social change in the communities that are the so-called ‘benefactors’ of aid. This document is a synthesis of the six conversations that have taken place thus far. It is our aspiration to continue to use the space we occupy to have critical conversations about how we can transform donor-civil society relations and civil society organising in ways that do not perpetuate unhealthy power relationships. We hope to create tools to help the social justice field to (Re)humanise and decolonize the sector and our work.