Tag: DFID

It Takes Two to Quango: Does the UK’s Independent Commission for Aid Impact Duplicate or Add Value?

5/13/13

The United Kingdom has been a stalwart funder and innovator in foreign assistance for almost 20 years. In 2011, it created the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) to report to Parliament on the country’s growing aid portfolio. ICAI is a QUANGO in Brit-speak – a quasi-public non-governmental organization - with a 4-year mandate which is undergoing review this year. Recently, I took a look at the reports it has produced to see whether the organization is fulfilling its role in holding the country’s overseas development aid programs accountable. I found one fascinating report which shows what ICAI could be doing and many more reports that made me wonder whether ICAI is duplicating work already within the purview of the agency, Department for International Development (DFID), which accounts for most of the UK’s foreign assistance programs.

DfID Joins Open Access Trend; Who’s Next?

7/27/12

Rita Perakis

The UK International Development Secretary, Andrew Mitchell, announced yesterday that DFID has a new open access policy, which will require all researchers receiving DFID funding to make their findings available for free online.

Is Migration Really Too Toxic?

7/13/12

Owen Barder

The always-insightful Duncan Green discusses on his blog why migration is a ‘Cinderella issue’ in development, following a talk by Michael Clemens at a lunchtime meeting in London hosted by CGD in Europe and IPPR.

Duncan says part of the problem may be the ‘sedentary prejudice’:

Golden Moments

7/13/12

Owen Barder

Before he became the UK Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell was scathing about the habit of having big international conferences to ‘put large sums of money on the table’.

Will Branding Hurt the “Brand Value” of the UK’s Aid Agency?

6/26/12

Milan Vaishnav

The development blogosphere and Twitterverse were abuzz yesterday over news from across the pond that the venerable British aid agency, the Department for International Development (DFID), would begin branding all aid from the United Kingdom with the Union Jack.

Held Hostage: Funding for a Proven Success in Global Development on Hold in Kenya

4/25/11

Justin Sandefur

I was dismayed to learn recently that school-based deworming in Kenya -- one of the most celebrated and cost-effective successes in global development in 2009 -- was not repeated in 2010. The story of how that happened offers an object lesson in the gritty difficulties of translating evidence into policy.

Owen Barder to Lead Increased CGD Engagement with Europe

4/21/11

Nancy Birdsall

I am delighted to announce that Owen Barder has joined the Center for Global Development as Senior Fellow and as Director for Europe, with responsibility for broadening and deepening CGD engagement with the European development community on policies and practices that matter for the world’s poor.

COD Aid and the Other Tea Party

3/15/11

Nancy Birdsall

Last week I gave a seminar at DfID in London on COD Aid. The turn-out was great—standing room only, with people from overseas offices videoconferencing in. Here is the PowerPoint I used.

Where’s the Pull in Gates-DfID Ag Research Initiative?

3/10/11

Kimberly Ann Elliott

I was excited to see the announcement that the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are partnering to support “agricultural research projects to help small farmers increase their yields and incomes.” But I was also puzzled.

DFID Still Serious about Results: DfID's Aid Review

3/7/11

Rita Perakis

This is a joint post with Nancy Birdsall.

Last week UK Secretary of International Development Andrew Mitchell released the outcomes of DFID’s bilateral and multilateral aid reviews.

We were glad to see that the published documents on the bilateral aid review included country summaries that list the funds allocated to each of 27 countries and three regional programs where DFID plans to work in the next 4 years, and the key results these funds are expected to produce. These are likely the highlights of the “results offers” that country and regional teams submitted at the end of last year (as we discussed in this blog).

Ideas to Action: