This book centers around an intense debate among donors, policymakers, development practitioners, and academics on the efficacy of aid in eradicating poverty while promoting human development.

It seeks to fill the gap in present literature by presenting stories of better spending through implementing Sustainable Development Goals and addressing Agenda 2030 via indigenization of global development goals with initiatives at local and national levels. The book adopts an innovative approach to dealing with aid effectiveness by highlighting the relevance of better spending, rather than excessive spending. It does so with real-life examples of interventions made in the Global South to realize the vision of "thinking globally and acting locally". These case studies speak to the significance of communities’ role in shouldering responsibility for planning, financing, operating, and maintaining local developmental initiatives. The examples also demonstrate how aid serves its purpose when used as an investment in communities and enterprising individuals, in order to realize the strategic impact of giving and build a local "receiving mechanism" for indigenizing and achieving global development goals.

The book references cases of better spending by governments, philanthropists, and civil society organizations (CSOs) from across Asia, Africa, and Latin America on a range of issues and will, thus, be of interest to development practitioners, policymakers, donors, philanthropists, civil society organizations, and academics and students of international development studies.