In November 2021, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power laid out a vision for international development with a big goal: by the end of 2025, at least 25% of USAID’s funding would go to local partners. Achieving this will be transformational: funding to local and national actors has the potential to be both more effective and more sustainable, as they bring more relevant expertise and long-term commitment to the work in their communities.

However, almost as soon as a target was announced, the debate began over the definition of what counts as “local” and how to measure it. As with anything, the devil is in the details—and the stakes are high. According to Publish What You Fund’s groundbreaking new research, Metrics Matter: How USAID counts “local” will have a big impact on funding for local partners, the choice of methodology could determine whether more than $1.4 billion of additional funding is channeled to local actors each year. The report will be released tomorrow at an event online and in-person in Washington, DC.