News

The latest news, blogs and opinions from across the international development and humanitarian sectors.

Locally-Led Development: SWIDN’s Plans for 2024

This year, SWIDN will be focusing some of our events and our annual conference on the theme of ‘locally-led develoment’. This is partly a result of the focus on this in last November’s White Paper on International Development from the UK Government, partly from what we’re hearing from the Opposition in relation to their values…

Campaigning in the General Election – What Do SWIDN Members Need to Know?

Many of us have kicked off 2024 with a sense of political anticipation. With politics usually so unpredictable, we do know that there will be a General Election in the next 12 months, with the latest possible date being 25 January 2025. The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums (PPERA) Act 2000 considers the 12 months…

The White Paper on International Development: A Brief Summary for SWIDN Members

Over the summer months, SWIDN asked our members to share their thoughts in response to the FCDO’s invitation for evidence to feed into the International Development White Paper. We pulled these together into a submission and are pleased to see our calls for greater localisation, a focus on equitable partnerships, and longer term funding represented…

Three years of UK aid cuts: Where has ODA been hit the hardest?

This guest blog was written by Development Initiatives’ Paul Wozniak, based on a recent factsheet. You can read more resources about aid on the DI website. Following a consistent decline in UK official development assistance (ODA) over the past three years, this blog highlights that… … and considers what’s next for UK aid.  In-donor refugee costs have…

Including LGBTQI+ Groups in the SDGs

In February, SWIDN held an informal Working Group session to hear from South West-based donor organisation AmplifyChange about their work to achieve sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for all and improve queer inclusion in the sustainable development goals. Using the content from this closed session, SWIDN created a brief resource for our members…

SWIDN Conference 2023 Recordings

At this year’s SWIDN Conference, we explored the role of UK-based organisations – inshaping a more equitable sector in the future, as allies through queer-safe and antiracist practice; as donors committed to changing practice to increase equity; as advocates for climate justice both individually and professionally; and as local actors in globalsolidarity. We are delighted…

Partnerships for Impact – Bringing Researchers and International Development Professionals Together

SWIDN brings our academic and practitioner members together to discuss successful research-practice collaboration, laying the groundwork for future partnerships. On 27th June 2023, SWIDN brought together one of our academic members in the form of the University of Bristol (UoB) together with some of our INGO members from across the South West for an afternoon to…

The Hidden Value of Small Charities: How Small INGOs are Driving Change in ‘International Development’

This Small Charity Week, SWIDN are championing our small member organisations. As a small charity ourselves with a lower budget than most of our small members, we know what it is to operate on a micro level in a massive context. We are inspired every day by our small members and their resilience, capacity and…

World Environment Day – A Free Learning Event in Partnership with mdsustain

On Monday 5th June, we heard from Stephanie Schlipper at mdsustain, Meshark Sikuku at Ripple Effect, Carla Denyer from the Green Party of England and Wales and Affan Cheema from Islamic Relief Worldwide about how organisations can start their journey towards environmental sustainability. We were delighted to host such an inspiring and thought-provoking session that…