Innovation and Reinvention in Resource Mobilization: Experiences from International Organizations

Due to increased competitors, shrinking national budgets, and intensifying global challenges, international organizations are confronting increased resource scarcity. The need for sustainable financing without excessive earmarking has driven organizations to innovate in different ways: Through trust funds and pooled funds, resources are bundled together. Private sector and even citizen funds are mobilized through innovative bond systems and mass appeals. Yet other organizations have initiated reforms with the aim of reinventing how assessed contributions can best serve organizations. And looking ahead, the increasing adoption of blockchain technology and Decentralized Anonymous Organizations hints at a vast potential for international and civil society organizations to shift their resource mobilization away from traditional funders. This roundtable offers a platform for exchange between policy experts from different international organizations working on innovative resource mobilization and leading academic experts examining the financing of international organizations. The roundtable is guided by three questions: Why do international organizations innovate their funding? How does innovative funding affect an international organization’s’ secretariat and line of accountability? How does innovative resource mobilization shape an organization’s mandate delivery?