The Honeybee Strategy: Building a Resilient Future for Global Development

PositiveMinds | Positive Stories | Edition 061

Design created using Canva, by Adama Coulibaly.

The Second-Movers Advantage (SMA) has long been seen as a strategic approach that focuses on learning from previous attempts, refining strategies and seizing opportunities with greater insight. SMA often, but not always, involves strategic risk-taking that leverages existing knowledge while creatively adapting to new contexts.

During my Global MBA, we studied how Ford transformed the automobile industry—not by inventing the car, but by perfecting mass production. Similarly, Apple revolutionised the smartphone market not by being first, but by learning from and improving on the work (and mistakes) of BlackBerry, Sony and other phone makers. By mastering the touchscreen interface and the app ecosystem, Apple set a global standard for mobile technology.

In the development sector, Grameen Bank pioneered microfinance in the 1970s, offering small loans to rural women excluded from formal banking. CARE expanded on this model with Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), making it more community-driven and self-managed. Oxfam further adapted and transformed the approach with cash transfer programming, providing direct financial support in humanitarian crises while preserving dignity and choice.

While SMA has proven successful in both corporate and development contexts, it requires a rapidly evolving mindset that adapts to complexity rather than simply following established patterns and 'beaten paths'. Today's challenges, however, require a fundamental shift from incremental adaptation to bold, systemic transformation.

When Playing It Safe No Longer Works

Conventional wisdom has long encouraged caution with maxims such as 'don't reinvent the wheel' and 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. While such advice once provided comfort in quasi-stable contexts, today's reality is anything but predictable. The increasing complexity and unpredictability of global challenges require more than incremental adjustments. Strategies that once thrived in stable contexts now risk failing altogether.

In this context, the development sector faces a triple challenge: global volatility, legitimacy and financial sustainability—each deeply interconnected and mutually reinforcing.

First, global volatility is on the rise. The Strategic Outlook 2025  highlights how climate emergencies, protracted conflicts and weakening global institutions are driving instability. Rising authoritarianism, weaponised misinformation in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), and deteriorating economic conditions are further deepening societal divisions and eroding trust in international systems.

Second, a crisis of legitimacy and relevance has emerged. In her book, The INGO Problem, Deborah Doane highlights how many INGOs have become disconnected from the communities they seek to serve. The rise of right-wing propaganda and increasing calls for localisation and decolonisation have put INGOs under scrutiny and challenged their structures and relevance. Limited local leadership, hierarchical power dynamics and a focus on institutional sustainability over impact have eroded public trust, making it harder for INGOs to justify their role in a rapidly evolving development landscape.

Third, financial sustainability is under severe strain. Official development assistance (ODA) has been steadily declining, and critical funding for INGOs is shrinking. At the same time, global humanitarian and development needs continue to escalate. Development budgets have been slashed in all major donor countries, putting INGOs under increasing pressure as climate-related disasters increase, conflicts become more protracted and complex, and inequalities—economic, gender and climate-related—deepen.

These challenges are deeply interlinked and mutually reinforcing. Global volatility weakens institutional stability, making it harder for INGOs to respond effectively, while financial constraints leave critical gaps in humanitarian response. At the same time, calls for localisation and decolonisation and the spread of far-right propaganda continue to challenge the legitimacy and relevance of INGOs. As public trust erodes, funding declines, making it even more difficult to address root causes or challenge systemic inequalities. Climate disasters cause displacement, further straining governance systems, while economic inequalities fuel social unrest and deepen cycles of poverty. These pressures create fertile ground for exclusionary policies that undermine human rights and global solidarity, further fragmenting the international system.

In this increasingly volatile context, strategies based on predictability and caution are no longer enough. The second-mover advantage (SMA), while effective in more predictable times, is struggling to meet the demands of today's landscape.

Opportunities are increasingly scarce, fleeting and fast-moving, making it difficult for Second-Movers Advantage (SMA) strategies to capture them in time. At the same time, risks are greater, more unpredictable and rapidly evolving, making it impossible for SMA approaches to adequately avoid or adapt to them.

To address these realities, we need a new paradigm—the Honeybee Strategy—a framework focused on adaptability, innovation, and proactive management of complexity. This strategy shifts the focus from learning after the fact to shaping opportunities and mitigating risks as they emerge in real-time.

Moving Beyond the Second-Mover Advantage: Embracing the Honeybee Strategy

The Honeybee Strategy calls for an approach that reflects the resilience and interdependence of a hive. It replaces fragmented, siloed efforts with cohesive, strategic action that addresses systemic challenges holistically.

It is inspired by the cooperative and interconnected workings of a honeybee colony. Honeybees operate as part of a highly interconnected system where collective action and communication drive success. They symbolise collaboration, systemic thinking and the ripple effects of coordinated efforts. In today's fragmented world, adopting this strategy offers a pathway to systemic change through cohesion, adaptability and deliberate collaboration.

This strategy revolves around answering five critical questions that are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. By addressing these questions in tandem, the development sector can reflect the resilience of a beehive, where each action contributes to collective impact and strengthens the whole system.

First, Are We Shifting Power?

In a honeybee hive, roles are distributed to ensure the collective thrives, with worker bees tirelessly building, foraging, and protecting. Similarly, shifting power means decentralising decision-making and empowering local actors to lead development efforts.

The development sector has long been shaped by Global North organisations that control resources, decision-making and narratives. Shifting power means fundamentally changing who leads, who decides and who benefits from development efforts.

Oxfam, for example, has committed to this shift through the Pledge for Change, a sector-wide initiative to promote equitable partnerships, authentic storytelling and influencing wider change. This initiative focuses on local leadership, challenges outdated narratives and promotes shared decision-making with communities most affected by poverty and injustice.

Second,  Are We Addressing Root Causes?

Honeybees don't just gather nectar, they make honey—a transformative act that sustains the hive and the wider ecosystem. Similarly, addressing root causes requires going beyond superficial fixes to tackle systemic issues that perpetuate poverty and inequality.

Tackling the symptoms of injustice without addressing the systemic factors that create them is insufficient. Too often, development work focuses on immediate relief while ignoring the power structures and policies that drive poverty and marginalisation.

Oxfam's Global Inequality Campaign, for example, illustrates the importance of systemic change. Through reports such as Inequality Inc., the campaign has exposed how corporate power and billionaire hoarding of wealth fuel global inequality. By calling for tax justice, stronger labour protections, and economic reform, Oxfam has reframed inequality as a systemic failure rather than an unfortunate consequence.

Third, Are Those Affected Leading the Change?

In a hive, every bee has a role to play—from the queen to the drones to the workers—and the colony cannot function without a collective effort. Ensuring that those most affected by crises lead the change reflects this principle of co-ownership and shared responsibility.

The communities most affected by crises often have the clearest insights into effective solutions but are left out of the decision-making process. Real change requires co-ownership, not token consultation.

Oxfam's Local Leadership in Emergencies, for example, has prioritised the transfer of decision-making power to local actors. In several contexts, local organisations have led needs assessments, coordinated aid delivery and developed long-term recovery strategies. This has not only improved outcomes, but also strengthened community resilience and ensured long-term impact.

Fourth, Are We Working Together as a Sector?

The strength of a beehive lies in its collaboration, with each bee contributing to the collective good. In the same way, working together as a sector increases our scale, reach and impact, while mitigating risk and building resilience.

In an increasingly polarised and fragmented world, collaboration within the development and humanitarian sector is essential to achieve scale, reach and impact. By working together, organisations can increase efficiency, strengthen advocacy, and mitigate risks in the face of growing challenges.

The Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR) exemplifies the collective power of the humanitarian sector. As one of the nine founding members, Oxfam leverages this platform to collaborate on shared challenges, enhance sector-wide advocacy, and drive coordinated action. Through SCHR, members pool their collective influence, knowledge, and expertise to shape strategic spaces such as the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), advancing impactful and unified responses to global humanitarian needs.

Finally, Are We Speaking Truth to Power?

Honeybees communicate critical information about threats or resources through their waggle dance, ensuring collective awareness and action. Our waggle dance is speaking truth to power - boldly advocating for systemic change and exposing injustices that impede progress.

Challenging injustice requires courageous public advocacy, even in the face of powerful interests. Silence in the face of systemic injustice is complicity.

For example, Oxfam Novib's #NietInMijnNaam ('Not in my name') campaign mobilised thousands to speak out against government policies that are complicit in human rights abuses. Working with influencers and civil society, the campaign sparked a national conversation and put significant pressure on policymakers.  

The Time to Rewrite the Playbook is Now

To be truly transformative, these five fundamental questions must be addressed simultaneously. This creates a network effect, where interrelated actions reinforce each other to build resilience and strength across the system. At the same time, it creates a domino effect, where success in one area triggers cascading improvements in others. For example, devolving power to local actors strengthens legitimacy, and addressing root causes reduces volatility and financial strain.

Furthermore, just as a single buffalo is no match for a lion, a tightly coordinated herd of buffaloes can fend off even the fiercest predator. Similarly, a united sector working in close alignment can more effectively absorb shocks, mitigate risks and amplify collective impact, making systemic change not only possible but sustainable.

We are standing on a burning platform. Declining ODA, rising global needs, political instability and legitimacy challenges signal that business as usual has become an existential risk. The time for bold change is now.