This report describes how the modern international development worker (or practitioner) emerged 70 years ago and the main drivers disrupting this workforce today. The international development field has evolved to accommodate new actors, new financing tools, and new global challenges such as pandemics, financial instability, and climate change. The report highlights the main skills that development workers need in the next 5–10 years to be effective at addressing global challenges. This document is a good resource for students and professionals interested in pursuing a career in this field.
To be more effective at addressing this global agenda, the international workforce needs to consider the adaptations that are most relevant to modern times. Some of the prominent ones include responding to competition from China and Russia on development approaches, embracing digital transformation, adopting demand-driven models grounded in locally led solutions, and focusing programs in fragile and conflict contexts. Among relevant skills and aptitudes, the next generation of development leaders need to equip themselves with advanced levels of digital literacy, project management skills, the ability to form partnerships and attract new sources of private financing, and strong interpersonal skills that can help them work across sectors and institutions, especially in fragile and conflict contexts.
This report was made possible by general support to CSIS. No direct sponsorship contributed to this report.
