DRIVE Impact Initiative final report

Following the new United States administration’s move to strike development assistance from the books in early 2025, laying off aid workers across the globe and slashing funding, the global development landscape now faces a period of cataclysmic transformation. With official development assistance (ODA) in many economies already under stress from budgetary cuts, much ambiguity remains as to the role of development cooperation in this new reality. Despite the challenges, this may nevertheless be an opportunity for the European Union’s new College of Commissioners to engage in a rethink of development cooperation, aligning it with the EU’s broader strategic goals on the world stage.

It is fair to say that the historical concept of ODA, rooted in a post-World War II context, no longer fully aligns with the realities of a modern, interconnected world. Today’s development challenges are situated within a global framework characterised by mutuality, interdependence and reciprocity. There is also a shift from viewing development cooperation as a standalone sector to recognising it as a key driver of international collaboration within a whole-of-governance approach. This shift reflects a world where goods, services and opportunities are globalised, necessitating cooperation that transcends the outdated donor-recipient paradigm. That said, the value of development cooperation at its most basic level remains poorly understood by many citizens, leaving it vulnerable to politicisation and polarisation, particularly from right-wing movements that question its relevance or effectiveness.

Friends of Europe, in partnership with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and Enabel, launched the DRIVE Impact Initiative to address these pressing concerns by fostering a reimagined approach to development cooperation. Through a series of focused working group meetings, the initiative has brought together stakeholders from across sectors to tackle systemic issues in the EU’s approach to development cooperation.

This report outlines the deliberations and outcomes from the DRIVE Impact Initiative’s working group meetings. A total of eight working group sessions took place over the course of 2024 – four in June and four in October – each lasting 90 minutes. The first meetings were held on 17 and 18 June, ahead of Ursula von der Leyen’s re-election and the presentation of her new political guidelines. The second meetings followed on 22 and 23 October, just a month before the approval of the new College of Commissioners. Discussions focused on rebalancing partnerships, optimising social impact, promoting sustainable natural resource management and enhancing the role of trade and investment. Unfortunately, no sessions were able to account for the changes which have reverberated across the global development community since the inauguration of the new US president on 20 January 2025.