This paper provides insights into what partner country governments anticipate will be their main development challenges within five to ten years, and into how they expect their relationships with DAC development assistance providers to evolve in order to meet these challenges. Based on results from an OECD-commissioned survey of 40 developing country governments, it finds that demand for development co-operation will remain strong given the economic and environmental challenges that lie ahead. However, the countries surveyed expect DAC providers to shift to a more enabling role in the coming years: providing vital finance, but in support of government-led sector programmes; delivering more and better technical and policy support; and leveraging more private finance. This paper will inform the OECD Development Co-operation Directorate’s ‘Agency of the Future’ project, which seeks to identify how DAC members’ development administrations will need to adapt in order to be fit for purpose in a rapidly changing world.