Projectifying development : an anthropological study of the effects of projectification within South African NGO interventions for vulnerable queer communities

Abstract

This paper examines how the project-based logic that structures contemporary development practice shapes the activism and organisational possibilities of grassroots actors in the Global South. Drawing on life history interviews with Thomars, a transgender and pansexual man who founded an LGBTQIA+ NGO in Johannesburg, the paper traces the intersections of his personal experiences of marginalisation, his passion for social justice, and his navigation of the bureaucratic demands of donor-funded development work. Findings show that while Thomars’ lived experience provides insight into the needs of queer migrants and asylum seekers, the technical requirements of “the project form” often constrain grassroots action, privileging organisations already fluent in donor language and expectations. The paper argues that projectification and NGOisation risk marginalising locally grounded activism by demanding measurable outputs and sustainability narratives that do not align with community realities.