GW Monogram

Global Food Institute

 

Surveying the Aid Ecosystem

The international humanitarian and development sectors are undergoing significant changes.  Reduced contributions from the U.S., Germany, the E.U. and the U.K., coupled with the shuttering of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), will have profound implications not only for organizations that relied on USAID funding but also for those who depended on functions previously filled or supported by USAID, such as coordination, knowledge production, and governance.

These shifts are likely to force the adaptation of networks and relationships and influence development-related programming worldwide.

In this project, in partnership with the Humanitarian Action Initiative, we seek to understand how relationships are changing in the humanitarian and development ecosystems. Working with several non-governmental organization (NGO) partners, we have been conducting interviews and surveys through a multisite iterative longitudinal design.

Our research is tracking six dimensions of the aid ecosystem: partnerships and collaboration, information and knowledge access, financial and organizational stability, internal organizational dynamics, supply chain and logistics, and program delivery.

This project has received seed funding from the Global Food Institute and the Alliance for a Sustainable Future.

Interested in learning more? Contact the team at aidtrackprojectatgwu [dot] edu (aidtrackproject[at]gwu[dot]edu)

Project Team

Maryam Z. Deloffre Headshot
Maryam Z. Deloffre

Associate Professor of International Affairs; Director of the Humanitarian Action Initiative; Director of the Dean’s Scholars Program

 

Caitlin Grady
Caitlin Grady

Associate Professor, School of Engineering and Applied Science
Director of Research and Policy at the Global Food Institute

Erica Gralla Headshot Square

Erica Gralla

Associate Professor, School of Engineering and Applied Science

Reports

Surveying the Food Aid Ecosystem: Six Months Post-USAID

USAID Survey

 

 

 

 

 

 

A 2025 study the George Washington University finds that the humanitarian aid system is undergoing fundamental changes following the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) withdrawal from key global operations. The paper pulls from interviews with more than 20 individuals across the global food aid and assistance community.

Surveying the Aid Ecosystem: The Damage Beneath the Headlines

Thumbnail May 2026 USAID Paper 225

A 2026 report from the George Washington University released the first wave of findings from a systematic survey of over 150 humanitarian and development practitioners. The findings document widespread deterioration not just in program delivery, but in the trust, relationships, and knowledge networks that make effective aid possible, and suggest that restoring funding alone will not restore the ecosystem.

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