What’s it like to be on the receiving end of exit? A partner and country office view

For over 15 years, the Department for International Development’s (DFID) Programme Partnership Arrangements (PPAs), which came to an end in December 2016, were DFID’s main funding channel for civil society organisations (CSOs). In addition to providing core funding to over 41 CSOs during the course of PPAs, it allowed many PPA holders to invest in learning and innovation across their work.

While not originally anticipated, a Learning Partnership was established to support the last round of PPAs (2011-2016) to promote collaboration and joint learning between PPA holders and DFID across a range of thematic Learning Groups.

This learning paper brings together valuable stories from individuals that have been through exit and transitions by different funders, in varying timescales and in diverse contexts.

Produced on behalf of the PPA Partnership Approaches Learning Group, the authors share their individual stories and discuss their understanding of the reason for the exit, what went well, and the challenges they faced. They also share their learning and views on how they believe INGOs and donors should plan for exit and sustainability in the future.

This learning paper was originally produced and published by Bond.