The International Development Committee (IDC) heard from the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) and the Department for International Development (DFID) on the UK aid’s results in exit and transition in its development partnerships.
The session looked at how well the Department for International Development managed the process of ending bilateral aid, or transitioning to new forms of development partnerships, in seven countries.
- It found that in several cases the department had not specified clear objectives for its new development partnership or any detail on how that partnership would work, and that the process was not well communicated – within recipient countries or with the UK public.
- It also found examples of poor planning which led to weaknesses in a number of areas, including staffing and relationship management.
- In each country the end to financial aid did not necessarily mean an end to all forms of aid, with flows including technical assistance, centrally managed programmes and spending by departments other than DFID, continuing.
- Overall ICAI graded DFID’s performance on exiting and transitioning from countries as ‘Amber-Red’ – requiring significant improvement.
Dr Alison Evans, and Francesca Del Mese, ICAI’s commissioners, were supported by Agulhas’ Director Catherine Cameron in this session.