This blog highlights the role that Syrian newcomers and diaspora members can play in shaping relationships between international and local actors.

Localisation and donor behaviour continue to shape who holds authority, resources, and decision-making power in humanitarian aid. Our latest research examines how funding patterns, trust, and longstanding structural assumptions limit the leadership of local and national actors—and what it would take to shift these dynamics in practice.

Across the sector, there is growing interest in approaches that challenge old power dynamics. Yet the conversations I’ve had with practitioners highlight how complex this work becomes once it meets real constraints, organisational structures, and established cultures.

This report examines how decisions made in the Netherlands align, or misalign, with the priorities of Syrians for humanitarian aid. It draws on interviews with NGO professionals, academics, and Syrian experts to explore whose knowledge shapes programme choices and to what extent local expert perspectives are included in decision-making.