Interrogating local organisational capacity in humanitarian localisation: insights from Bangladeshi NGOs in the Rohingya response

This article interrogates local organisational capacity within the humanitarian localisation agenda, focusing on the management of large-scale resource transfers and the leadership roles assumed by Bangladeshi non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the Rohingya humanitarian response. Drawing on reflexive thematic analysis of 20 semi-structured interviews, the study identifies three overarching operational constraints: (a) proprietary and profit-oriented organisational culture; (b) white-gaze influence in strategic planning; (c) underinvestment in organisational capacity building. Findings reveal that, at the micro level, local NGOs frequently prioritise donor accountability and profit-oriented motives over internal capacity development, thereby perpetuating principal – agent dynamics and reinforcing hierarchical patron – client relationships. The study argues that achieving sustainable localisation outcomes requires not only the transfer of authority and resources, but also a transformation in organisational culture, in which leaders actively invest in capacity building and enable local NGOs to assume self-determined, transformative leadership roles within humanitarian localisation.