Exploring Participatory Grantmaking in Sub-Saharan Africa: Current Landscape, Practices, and Power Dynamics

Abstract

Abstract“Participatory grantmaking” (PGM)—the practice of ceding decision-making power about grants to communities that are affected by the outcomes of the grants—is gaining traction in many philanthropic spaces. While there is emerging literature on PGM primarily in the Global North, few academic contributions explore how PGM plays out in the Global South. This article therefore advances the state of knowledge related to philanthropy and grantmaking, by analytically exploring PGM specifically in the African continent. Through in-depth qualitative interviews with 19 grantmakers within sub-Saharan Africa, the article identifies common forms of PGM in the region, its impact on various forms of power—particularly visible power—and the barriers encountered, including shrinking civil society space, resource scarcity, and back-donor demands. The article argues that PGM in sub-Saharan Africa cannot be seen as isolated in a silo of philanthropy, but that its contributions to addressing power imbalances must be integrated in broader long-term development sectors that are often dominated by the Global North. It also underscores that power, in its various forms, will always be present in PGM. Practitioners must continuously adapt and refine these models to address the uneven power dynamics in grantmaking that they aim to change.