Have European NGOs weathered the economic storm? Seamus Jeffreson, director of NGO network Concord, talks to us about aid and the persisting challenge of speaking with one voice

83% of EU citizens still think that it's important to help developing countries

You have worked in the international development sector for more than 20 years, why did you get into humanitarian work?

I had my first brush with activism while still at university in Liverpool, when I became involved with the antiapartheid movement. My passion for change took me to South Africa around the time of Mandela's election – where I worked for the European commission office, before returning to Europe and becoming engaged with development from a European angle.

But for the past 10 years I have been outside Europe. First in Ethiopia, where I worked with NGOs Trocaire and Cafod, and most recently in the Middle East tackling humanitarian issues with the International Medical Corps and Care.

What my most recent experience has shown me is that there is still a lot to fight for – we are still grappling with the relationship between decent security and humanitarian support, and how they are linked to long-term development.

Concord supports over 1,800 NGOs, what are some of the challenges you face as its director?

The greatest challenge is managing the huge amount of diversity across the NGO sector in Europe. Our membership ranges from small, grassroots groups to international NGOs. We have to ensure that they all have a voice but at the same time work together to reach common goals.

There is also the challenge of how we tell our story about the world we see in our interaction with poverty, what we stand for and what we are trying to achieve. The narrative of development and aid that we were telling 20 or 30 years ago is no longer relevant. Today people see similarities between issues faced at home and the poverty and inequality we've been talking about overseas.

How has the economic downturn impacted on public support for the organisations you represent?

The whole NGO sector has had to downsize. Countries in southern Europe bore the brunt of austerity measures, with many jobs lost and projects terminated.

But certain programmes continued to draw in public support. For example, Action Aid's child sponsorship scheme managed to maintain a high level of support in Greece – even within the months of financial crisis.

Also, last year the European commission reported that support for development and aid remains high, after their 'Eurobarometer' survey found that 83% of EU citizens still think that it is important to help people in developing countries.

What are your immediate priorities and what is your strategy for moving the organisation forward?

Facilitating the engagement of our members is a number one priority. But I also think we need partnerships and to support an 'enabling environment' for civil society organisations, so that we increase the political space for NGOs and we give them a stronger voice in political debate.

So collaborating with similar organisations and initiatives that share our values, but are categorised in 'different sectors' like youth organisations and diaspora movements is important.

In terms of policy, with the EU parliamentary elections looming, we have to encourage a strong anti-poverty focus within the priorities of the incoming European parliament. We will be launching our EU election campaign, titled 'The Europe we want', in the coming weeks.

With the millennium development goals due to expire in 2015, what is your vision for the future of development?

The MDGs have been quite successful in terms of cutting the number of people living in extreme poverty, but other challenges still remain. The next framework will need to be more transformative, with a focus on sustainablility. Rather than just responding to needs, the framework should be shaped using a rights-based approach.

In terms of funding, we feel that the commitment of EU member states to spend 0.7% of their gross domestic income on development is very important, and we want them to honour this. Ensuring tax justice and tackling illegal financial flows are other important issues that need to be addressed. For example, at least $859bn (£516) was lost from developing countries in 2010 alone through illicit financial flows. This is 13 times the amount the EU spent on development aid in 2012.

What qualities do you think a good leader should display?

The ability to listen to your colleagues. There is an enormous amount of wisdom in the people you work with and the people around you. Sometimes you need to make space to stop and listen to what they have to say.

As a leader, you must be the person within your organisation that encourages people to look at the bigger picture and put things in perspective.

It is very important for NGOs to acknowledge and celebrate their successes. Reminding them that the work they are doing, in particular policy advocacy, is actually making a difference is key to keeping up morale.

Join the community of global development professionals and experts. Become a GDPN member to get more stories like this direct to your inbox