Where is the aid money? Contribute to our next special report

By Tim Large, AlertNet Editor

Help us shine a light on the global aid industry

From the loose change you drop in the charity collector’s bucket to the tax revenues that flow as official development assistance, global aid is multi-billion dollar business – worth almost $150 billion in 2010, all told.

It’s an industry based on generosity and high ideals, but also bedevilled by erratic donor behaviour, complex funding mechanisms, lack of transparency and ruthless competition for limited cash.

How does it all work? What are the cogs and wheels that power the global aid machine? Is the machine seriously broken and in need of fixing, or could it get by with a little oil and tinkering?

At a time when givers are squeezed more than ever and donors are demanding greater value for money in their aid investments, these are some of the questions AlertNet will be asking in our next special multimedia report, which follows Stateless: The world’s most invisible people and Child marriage: Denying girls’ rights, perpetuating poverty.

We’ll aim to follow the money and scrutinise aid effectiveness, prying behind the jargon and acronyms to explain in plain language how the international aid system operates.

Speaking to both champions and sceptics of global aid, we’ll untangle the latest controversies and talking points in a sector that tends to be either damned by the media or handled with kid gloves, but rarely dissected in a nuanced way.

Be part of the conversation and help us put the global aid industry under the microscope. We invite contributions from aid workers, researchers, journalists, photographers, or anybody with an interest in aid and development. Please get in touch by leaving a comment or writing to foundation@thomsonreuters.com with AID MONEY in the subject line.

Please note that we will not be able to pay for contributions. By submitting content, you are agreeing that it may be used without payment for editorial purposes on Thomson Reuters Foundation websites.

The deadline for contributions is October 1.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you.