Surveying the Aid Ecosystem: The Damage Beneath the Headlines
Open Access DepositedThe damage from the dissolution of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and broader shifts in bilateral and multilateral assistance is real, measurable, and extending beyond program delivery. Across every dimension tracked, more respondents report deterioration than improvement, not just in aid delivery, but in the data systems, technical expertise, and knowledge networks the humanitarian and development sectors rely on to function. Field and operational staff are feeling the impacts of aid cuts the most.
Trust is fracturing at every level, and the breakdown is deepest where it matters most. Deterioration is widespread across partner, government, and community relationships. Field staff, the people who actually interact with communities, report zero improvement in recipient community trust.
Stability is visible at the top of organizations, but not yet reaching the field. Senior leaders report improving relationships with new partners; that optimism is not shared by field staff or reflected in community-level trust. Local and national NGOs show stronger signs of an ability to maintain and rebuild relationships than international NGOs, but are also reporting the highest rates of low morale and organizational fragility.
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SurveyingTheAidEcosystem_May2026.pdf | 2026-05-11 | Open Access |
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