Too much bureaucracy in the humanitarian system is keeping aid workers away from the frontline and chained to their desks. Or at least that’s what a recent report entitled Less Paper, More Aid suggests, which found that NGOs have on average 36 reporting deadlines per country per year. For some it’s as high as 80.
One aid agency estimated they could save 11,000 hours if donors used a universal template, meanwhile frustration was voiced that local NGOs applying for small grants were expected to provide the same amount of information as an INGO asking for a sum in the multi-millions.
But what’s your experience of bureaucracy at work? How much pressure is there on you to pull late nights to fill out all the different reports needed for funding, accountability, transparency and impact? And in the field, what are your experiences of bureaucracy slowing down the implementation of a development programme or emergency aid getting to the most vulnerable?
We want to hear from all different types of development and humanitarian professionals, whether you work for a tiny NGO, a big UN agency or are based in philanthropy or the private sector. Submit your stories and photos by Saturday 25 June either via the Guardian Witness tool, the form below or email them to globaldevpros@theguardian.com with ‘drowning in paperwork’ in the subject line.
Contributions can be anonymous. We’ll publish a selection of your stories.
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