What we do

Our country coalitions and their local partners are the backbone of our local-to-global approach, ensuring that development is shaped by those who know their needs best. Our work is rooted in the belief that inclusive development must be co-created with communities, not imposed upon them. 

Starting with five pilot countries and a pilot project in Denmark, we currently support eight well-established country coalitions in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, Palestine, and Vietnam. The Coalitions bring together a diverse mix of stakeholders, including national branch offices of ICSOs, national CSOs, national civic platforms, and national constituent-led platforms, including, for example, the national associations of people with disability.

To reach marginalised groups across the country directly, coalition partners leverage a broad local partner network. This consists of diverse grassroots CSOs and local community-led organisations that play a vital role in the engagement of communities in our data-driven advocacy work. Local partners help to make citizens and communities aware of their participation rights and help them to engage in decision-making spaces. They are supported in this role by our national partners, receiving technical training to produce both quantitative and qualitative data, using tools like surveys or scorecards. These “local champions” are now enabled to become long-term advocates, monitoring progress and reporting on community needs. Our national partners further support these local champions by facilitating dialogues with local and national authorities, aiming to (re)shape policies and services, and making them more inclusive based on the evidence produced.

Just as our national members support local champions, our global partners use their influence to elevate local voices in global development. We aim to build a global environment that values locally led, inclusive, and evidence-based approaches. Our biggest success so far was the establishment of the Collaborative on Citizen Data together with the UN, as well as other multilateral organisations and influential partners from global data and statistics platforms, human rights institutes, and academia. In March 2025, our joint efforts motivated the UN Statistics Commission to endorse the Copenhagen Framework on Citizen Data, developed by the collaboration for trust building and collaboration between governments and civil society, and to guide the use of Citizen Data in official processes.

We see the LNOB Partnership’s combined approach of local data action, national policy dialogues, and global advocacy towards a more inclusive development as a scalable solution to foster more equality and as a practical approach towards fulfilling the 2030 Agenda pledge to leave no one behind. 

Our Theory of Change centres on empowering marginalised communities to shape development through citizen data.  Our long-term goal is to ensure that development priorities reflect real vulnerabilities and contribute to a future that truly leaves no one behind. 

To us, Making Voices Heard and Count in that context is an important precondition and has the following meaning and implications: 

• Making Voices Heard: Marginalised groups meaningfully engage on a regular and ongoing basis in official decision-making spaces. 

• Making Voices Count: Policies, programs, budgets, services are planned, implemented, monitored, and reviewed inclusive of Citizen Data to complement official statistics. 

Based on these long-term goals, our Partnership has developed a comprehensive Theory of Change that guides our actions and helps us monitor progress.  

In response to global challenges, the LNOB partnership has launched country-level projects that use Citizen Data to promote economic empowerment and social rights. These initiatives support marginalised communities and reflect evolving development priorities. 

For reports and insights from our previous projects, please visit the resource hub.