The Share Trust’s Passing the Buck studies analyzed Country-Based Pooled Fund (CBPF) projects in Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, and Ukraine, reinforcing both the moral and practical case for shifting more power and funding to local actors.
The findings come at a pivotal moment. In 2025, the UN announced a “Humanitarian Reset” aimed at increasing efficiency, reducing bureaucracy, and devolving more decision-making and resources to local organizations. At the same time, the United States committed $2 billion to UNOCHA and its CBPFs, significantly expanding resources for humanitarian response.
Across all four countries studied, local NGO partners delivered programming that was 10–19% more cost-efficient than international partners. The analysis also found that channeling just 25% of humanitarian assistance through local actors in these contexts could have unlocked an estimated $600 million in additional humanitarian impact in a single year.
Download the two page summary to explore the data, methodology, and recommendations behind these findings.