What’s (in) a CBO? Analyzing community representation in the Kenyan aid chain

Within the field of development research and practice, there is a growing realization that interventions aimed at supporting emancipation struggles in the Global South should prioritize local actors and agendas. Consequently, community-based organizations (CBOs) are increasingly considered vehicles of change. The label ‘community-based’ has become central to the work of non-governmental organizations and donors seeking to connect with ‘grassroots’ populations and is frequently used by groups engaged in self-representation on different levels. In this article, we seek to study various forms of CBOs involved in the aid chain in their own right, rather than as mere recipients of aid. Drawing on comparative empirical case studies involving a queer male sex worker-led organization in Nairobi and a group of CBOs in rural Kenya, we illustrate how, despite uniform approaches in development discourse, these organizations take on completely different forms, functions and practices, which influences their relationships with development actors. We seek to problematize over-simplified depictions of CBOs by showing that these in reality comprise a wide range of groups, from local ad hoc initiatives, to highly professionalized actors operating on the (trans)national level. We therefore argue that CBOs should be understood as comprising a continuum in forms, functions and practices, which influences their power positions within transnational aid chains. We recommend that development actors explore the organizational structures of the local groups they work with, including questions of voice and representation, and take into account individual CBOs’ desired roles within the aid chain.