How trust‑based, flexible funding is changing Oxfam’s partnerships

Through the Partners’ Investment Fund (PIF), Oxfam has been testing what it really means to embed trust into systems and practices. The result?

• Partnerships that are more equal and more responsive.
• Organisations that are stronger and ultimately more effective.

When organisations are trusted, they lead.

The PIF’s trust-based, flexible funding model strengthens partners from within. It opens doors to organisations and initiatives that traditional models often exclude. And it shifts decision-making to those closest to the context – those best placed to understand what is needed and when.

At its heart, Oxfam's PIF experiment has reinforced a simple but powerful truth: trust is the foundation of good partnerships. And how international NGOs (INGOs) and donors behave should reflect that – regardless of the type of funding they provide.

Trust is earned, not given. It has to be built – and demonstrated – through consistent action.

Oxfam’s experience through the PIF highlights a set of practical ways organisations can begin to model trust in their partnerships.

Reduce unnecessary reporting

A useful starting point is to ask: what is the legal minimum required? If there is no clear reason to ask for more, don’t.

Excessive reporting consumes time and energy that could be better spent on delivering impact. Too often, it serves as compliance and control rather than learning.

Instead, reporting should be agreed jointly. In the occupied Palestinian territory, for example, removing the requirement to report in English significantly broadened access to civil society organisations (CSOs) that predominantly communicate in Arabic.

Language – often an invisible barrier – had been excluding many organisations. Addressing it made partnerships more possible, inclusive and equitable.

Provide funding upfront to remove barriers

For many partners, lack of liquid assets is a major barrier. Without upfront resources, some projects cannot even begin.

In some cases, Oxfam country teams changed long-standing practices and provided up to 90% of PIF funding in advance. This is not only practical – it is symbolic. It signals trust in a tangible way.

This raises an important question: if this works with flexible funding, why not with restricted funding too?

Co-create systems and processes with partners

Traditional funding models often impose donor systems with a one-size-fits-all approach. Trust-based partnerships enable something different.

Through the PIF, partners and Oxfam teams worked together to decide which policies and processes made sense – often using partner systems rather than defaulting to Oxfam’s.

This approach demonstrates respect for partners’ expertise and context. It also reduces unnecessary barriers for organisations that may otherwise be excluded by rigid requirements.

Again, the important question: if this works with flexible funding, why not with restrictive funding too?

Simplify partnership agreements

If partnerships are to be equitable, partnership agreements must reflect that.

Too often, contracts are lengthy, complex, and weighted heavily with obligations on partners alone. Trust-based agreements focus on what is essential – legally and operationally – while reinforcing shared responsibility.

Partnership agreements should enable collaboration, not constrain it. And importantly, they should apply equally – whether funding is flexible or restricted.

Remove permission barriers and support local decision-making

One of the clearest signals of mistrust is requiring partners to seek approval before adapting to change.

In dynamic and often volatile contexts, this slows response times and undermines local leadership.

A trust-based approach flips this dynamic. Partners are empowered to make decisions as situations evolve. Conversations then focus on understanding and learning, rather than control.

In occupied Palestinian territory, this shift has gone beyond principles to concrete practice. Oxfam and partners have moved towards proportionate due diligence, shared risk management, and joint financial oversight in the following ways:

• Grants are released in fewer stages, based on light-touch updates.
• Budget flexibility allows partners to reallocate resources within agreed thresholds without prior approval.
• Payments increasingly include advance funding to ease cash flow constraints.
• Reporting focuses on key risks and variances, rather than excessive detail.

At the same time, simplified assessment tools ensure that smaller or newer partners are not excluded by overly complex processes. Internal systems have also been adapted to enable quicker, more localised decision-making.

Taken together, these changes reflect a deeper shift: staff are no longer positioned primarily as controllers of risk, but as partners working alongside others to manage it collectively.

The above practices do more than improve efficiency – they transform relationships.

They challenge the assumption that international organisations “know best” and instead create space for genuinely partner-led approaches.

Why trust‑based funding leads to more effective partnerships

When trust is operationalised:

• Power shifts towards those closest to the work.
• Decision-making becomes more timely and more relevant.
• Partnerships become more equal, respectful, and mutually beneficial.

This is not just about improving how funding works. It is about reimagining the role of international organisations. It is about moving from control to collaboration. From compliance to trust. From hierarchy to shared purpose.

Trust-based, flexible funding has provided Oxfam and its partners with a space to experiment and learn. The question now is how these lessons can be applied more widely – across all types of funding and across the sector.

Trust is not a “soft” concept. It is a practical strategy with tangible results.

If organisations are serious about equitable partnerships and meaningful impact, the path forward is clear: trust partners to make the right decisions. Everything else follows from there.

Oxfam is now taking these lessons forward through its Collaborative and Adaptive Partnering Approach (CAPAS). This approach enables teams and partners to co-create and adapt partnership processes based on their specific context.

CAPAS places trust, flexibility, and power-sharing at the centre of how Oxfam works – translating the insights from the PIF into practice across its broader portfolio.

The journey is ongoing. But one thing is clear: modelling trust is not just possible – it is essential.