Press Release: New Report from Planet Indonesia and Menjadi offers guidelines for intermediaries to address growing calls to shift power and direct funding to local organizations.
Pontianak, Indonesia – "From Transactional to Relational – Guidelines for Equitable Intermediaries in Indonesia," a new research report led by Menjadi and supported by Planet Indonesia’s uncovers insights to the funding challenges faced by local Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and explores the roles and relationships between international, national, and subnational organizations in the evolving funding and regranting landscape for environmental movements.
The research, led by Menjadi, draws on quantitative and qualitative insights from 24 CSOs that completed a survey and interviews with 19 representatives from seven CSOs, four intermediaries, and four donors.
Number of survey respondents working in each province and their office locations
A key insight was that both international and national intermediaries provide important access to funding, donors, organizational development opportunities, and programmatic technical support. However, interviews with CSOs highlighted how many intermediaries perpetuate inequitable partnerships and funding practices. Key challenges that were highlighted included onerous reporting requirements, restrictive project-based funding, and feeling a lack of trust and support within the relationships.
“Intermediaries are the ones searching for and offering opportunities, especially international organizations that need national partners. In the past, we were included in a project but then ignored.” — Subnational CSO based in Central Indonesia
The decline of international aid, marked by the abolishment of USAID, presents a key moment to reflect on the future roles of funding intermediaries. While intermediaries have been positioned as a means of directing much-needed funding to local organizations, where they perpetuate inequitable practices and reinforce power dynamics, it warrants deeper reflection. The timely release of this research report provides actionable insights for intermediaries and broader philanthropic partners to shift power and direct funding to local organizations, thereby contributing to the enabling conditions for a thriving civil society.
“An intermediary’s role should be to back up the CSOs they work with” — Subnational CSO based in Eastern Indonesia
This report brings forward the voices and perspectives of Indonesian CSOs, offering concrete insights into their experiences with intermediaries as well as what they want and need from them: to be recognized as equal partners, not merely beneficiaries. It underscores a growing call for intermediaries to adopt relational approaches that center the lived experiences and local expertise of CSOs across Indonesia.
As donors and intermediaries navigate the broader discussions around localization, shifting power, and equitable funding, they are uniquely positioned to lead a transformation toward more community-driven and just development practices.
Key statistics and quotes
“Funding often starts as a waterfall—strong and abundant at its source— but as it moves through multiple layers, it gradually diminishes. By the time it reaches local organizations like ours, only a few drops remain.” — Subnational CSO based in Eastern Indonesia
“Intermediaries can sometimes act as if they know better, creating additional layers of compliance that are not always necessary” — Subnational CSO based in Eastern Indonesia
75% of CSOs report limited access to overhead and core funding
Subnational CSOs rely on international philanthropic donors and INGOs for up to 70% of their funding
58% of CSO respondents reported that they have previously or currently worked with intermediaries
Only 29% of surveyed CSOs that had worked with intermediaries reported doing so because accessing funding through them was administratively easier
As for the main challenge of working with intermediaries, 57% of CSO respondents identified insufficient allocation of overhead costs as the primary challenge, 29% identified difficult and time-consuming administrative and reporting requirements, and 21% identified a lack of flexibility of intermediaries for conditions on the ground.
Changes CSOs want to see in funding practices include more core, unrestricted, or flexible funding (63%), multi-year funding (54%), and grants funding for outcomes and impact, not projects (50%)
Availability:
The full report is available for download on Planet Indonesia’s Learning Center at https://learn.planetindonesia.org/resource/from-transactional-to-relational-guidelines-for-equitable-intermediaries-in-indonesia/
About Menjadi:
Menjadi strengthens local CSOs for Indigenous Peoples and local community-led governance of land and sea. We advance and enable the shifting of power to local CSOs by increasing visibility, strengthening organizational capacity, and helping with fundraising efforts. We provide long-term organizational development support to our partners to enable them to realize their ambitions, catalyzing conservation impact locally and globally.
About Planet Indonesia:
Planet Indonesia tackles the tragedy of the commons in tropical ecosystems. Their holistic, rights-based model supports Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities through territorial rights, inclusive governance, ecosystem management, and access to finance and healthcare. PI works through long-term partnerships with community groups and prioritizes scaling through supporting locally rooted CSOs. They provide funding and technical support to Indonesian partners, working to strengthen a thriving civil society network.
Media Contact:
Aurore Maxey
Communications Officer
aurore@planetindonesia.org