List of 50+ Bilateral Organizations to work for
by
Henrik Rydén
COO and Co-founder of Impactpool
A bilateral organization/agency is a government agency providing development assistance such as medical, disaster relief, economic aid, and military support solely for people in developing countries throughout the world. The main objectives are to alleviate poverty and improve the welfare of the citizens in the recipient country.
When Multilateral organizations (such as the United Nations (UN), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group etc) are formed by three or more nations to work on issues of common interest.
Bilateral collaboration is formed by two parties that have agreed on a long-term collaboration to mutually work on issues of common interest.
The largest and most well-known bilateral organizations/agencies include the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) (formerly known as DFID), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and China International Development Cooperation Agency.
The assistance provided by bilateral organizations is referred to as bilateral aid or Official Development Assistance (ODA).
The follow-up content on this topic by Impactpool Career Coach Ronda Ansted will discuss in-depth the budget and reach of bilaterals, and how the recruitment processes and hierarchy work differently to the UN and INGOs.
One criticism against the motives of bilateral aid is the "flagging", which refers to donors adding an EU/American/Chinese flag on every food package they deliver. A subtle strategy to create a debt of gratitude for the recipients.
There are many bilateral organizations, however the most commonly heard ones are:
List of 50+ bilateral organizations
- International Development Research Centre - IDRC
- China International Development Cooperation Agency- CIDCA
- Danish International Development Agency - DANIDA
- European Aid Development and Cooperation
- French Development Agency
- Deutsche Gessellschraft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
- Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation - NORAD
- Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development
- Italian Agency for Development Cooperation - AICS
- International Cooperation and Development Fund
- Saudi Fund for Development - SFD
- Spanish Agency for Development Cooperation - AECID
- Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency - SIDA
- United Kingdom Department for International Development -DFID
- United States Agency for International Development - USAID
- African Development Foundation - ADF
- Argentina White Helmets Commission (Comisión Cascos Blancos)
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Development Cooperation Division)
- Austrian Development Agency - ADA
- The Austrian Development Cooperation
- Austria Wirtschaftsservice Gesellschaft
- Azerbaijan International Development Agency
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development: Belgian Policy Plan for Development Cooperation
- Belgian Technical Cooperation - BTC/CTB
- Agência Brasileira de Cooperação
- Canadian International Development Agency
- Agencia de Cooperación Internacional de Chile - AGCI
- Czech Development Agency (CzDA)
- Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development
- Finland Department for International Development Cooperation (FINNIDA)
- France Department for International Cooperation
- French Development Agency - AfD
- Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany
- Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Organization for Investment, Economic, and Technical Assistance of Iran
- Irish Aid
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs: MASHAV - Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation
- Japan - Japan International Cooperation Agency - JICA
- Japan Bank for International Cooperation - JBIC
- Korea - Korea International Cooperation Agency - KOICA
- Liechtensteinische Entwicklungsdienst
- Lux-Development
- Mexico AMEXCID
- New Zealand Agency for International Development - NZAid
- Poland Ministry of Foreign Affairs: The Development Co-operation Department
- Portugal Camões - Instituto da Cooperação e da Língua
- Pakistan Technical Assistance Programme
- Palestinian International Cooperation Agency - PICA
- Romania Assistance for Development - AOD
- Russia Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation
- Slovak Aid
- Development Bank of Southern Africa - DBSA
- Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund - Taiwan ICDF
- Thailand International Cooperation Agency - TICA
- Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency - TİKA
Can you work for a bilateral without being a national of the country of the bilateral agency?
Yes, you can. You do not have to be a national of the donor country to be working at a Bilateral Agency. Some positions outside of the headquarters are open to nationals of the recipient country, third-country nationals, or all groups of qualified individuals. I would say that there are two opportunities for non-nationals. If you are a national of a country where one of these organizations has programs, there is always a need for local experts. If you are an ex-pat looking for opportunities, there may be fewer opportunities though.
Many of the donors fund sub-organizations as executors on the ground and in these sub-organizations you can find international ex-pats contracts. So, if you want to work for a project funded by a Bilateral, follow the funds and you can find interesting job opportunities in the organizations supporting the delivery. From my own experience, while living in Japan, I know that JICA and JBIC recruited many international experts for their programs.
Keep an eye out for the second part of this content by Impactpool Career Coach Ronda Ansted which we will share in the coming weeks.
