Due to their perceived efficiency and poverty orientation, NGOs have increasingly served as Official Development Assistance (ODA) channels, leading scholars to question their autonomy. NGO aid allocation studies have limited analysis to the largest organisations, leaving privately financed NGOs unaccounted for. This study constructs an inventory of Canadian NGOs, segmented by funding source, to determine the influence of ODA. Contrary to entrenched beliefs, Canadian ODA contributes only 9 per cent to Canadian NGO revenue, and privately financed NGOs are less active in the poorest countries than government-subsidised NGOs, suggesting that ODA funding drives NGOs to poorer countries, but has minimal influence on the sector.

Electronic waste (e-waste) policies have traditionally been based on extended producer responsibility (EPR) principles. In practice, EPR-based e-waste policies primarily involve the creation of regulated collection and recycling channels, with success tied to achieving high collection quotas. However, the majority of EPR programs, particularly those in the Global South, have achieved little success due to competition with the informal sector. Despite this, strikingly little is known of the scope and dynamics of informal e-waste flows and actors during the formulation of e-waste management policies. This study develops and pilots a replicable three-stage model for solid waste researchers, practitioners and policymakers to rapidly assess these informal e-waste systems. This model is demonstrated in Cuenca, Ecuador, and determined the destination of 50–80% of Cuenca’s e-waste over a period of three days. The methods used and findings that emerge from this study offer a strategy to rapidly quantify and understand the dynamics of informal e-waste systems to inform EPR-based policies in ways that place informal recyclers at the core of e-waste management. This not only provides creative opportunities for formal systems to achieve e-waste collection quotas through partnerships with the informal sector, but offers a pathway to preserve the livelihoods of marginalized populations reliant on e-waste recycling and decrease environmental harm.