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The document reflects on the 'Reimagining Development Cooperation: Pragmatic Pathways for Africa-Germany Relations' event held in Berlin on January 24, 2024. It argues that the current relationship is rooted in a 'neocolonial model' characterized by unequal raw materials acquisition and a lack of value addition within African economies. Key discussions centered on the need to move beyond 'North-South' labels, the importance of industrialisation, and the necessity of shifting from a 'help partnership' to one based on mutual benefit and African leadership in agenda-setting. While the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) suggests 'refocusing' the relationship via its Africa Strategy, other participants called for a complete 'uprooting and disruption' of the current system to address colonial legacies and debt issues.

The document argues that M&E is inherently connected to power and can either promote equity and resilience or reinforce dominance and exclusion. Through the analysis of six South African case studies, it identifies four 'enablers' for transformative M&E: contextualized learning, inclusive processes, increased agency for Global South actors in design, and institutional arrangements that ensure long-term continuity. It emphasizes that achieving equitable resilience requires shifting power dynamics and moving beyond funder-driven compliance toward locally-led development.

The document describes a workshop convened by RMI India, Rocky Mountain Institute, and NITI Aayog on 11 June 2020, which brought together 16 civil society organizations to coordinate support for India's financially struggling electricity distribution companies (DISCOMs). It introduces the Discom Transformation Platform, a hub designed to organize decarbonization efforts and address institutional and regulatory barriers in the sector.

The text advocates for a shift in ecologist political strategy toward 'social innovation' rather than just technological innovation, positioning civil society as the primary engine for social change. It suggests that green foundations should maintain a 'benevolent distance' from political parties—long enough to allow independent reflection and dialogue with citizens, but short enough to influence party roadmaps. Using the Etopia foundation in French-speaking Belgium as an example, the author highlights initiatives such as 'Sustainable Citizen Neighborhoods' in Brussels, the implementation of synthetic indicators to complement GDP in Wallonia, and the promotion of 'prosperity without growth' to challenge the traditional growth-centric political paradigm.