The International Development Committee has today launched an open call for potential topics of inquiry in the area of international relief and development.

The Committee invites proposals on what it could investigate next and why, including what action is needed from the Government. Up to 10 individuals will be selected and invited to present their pitch to the Committee, either online or in person. 

The role of the Committee is to examine how the Government’s policy and spending supports lower-income partner countries in efforts to eradicate extreme poverty and improve development. A wide range of policy issues fall within our ‘international development’ remit, but the underlying thread is that they are funded by Official Development Assistance (ODA) funding. Areas include: poverty reduction; humanitarian assistance; conflict, stabilisation and mediation; good governance, rights and equality; education; energy, climate and the environment; global health; food security and nutrition; migration; investment, building trade capacity and exchanging expertise in areas such as science and technology; and the availability of international finance to help meet countries’ development goals.

The Committee seeks ideas to feed into future inquiries from: civil society organisations, including relief and development NGOs, refugee and asylum charities, faith and community groups; academia, research institutions and think tanks; professional services; international organisations; and the wider public. It welcomes applications from the UK and overseas. We particularly want to hear from those who are typically underrepresented in policy debates on international development, such as those with direct experience on the ground, the more vulnerable in society, or those who bring an interdisciplinary approach to their research. 

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In 2011, the former Department for International Development (DFID) published its Value for Money framework, setting out how the Department defined Value for Money, and how this was integrated within its work. This framework set out that Value for Money in DFID’s programme meant “maximising the impact of each pound spent to improve poor people’s lives”, and outlined the intention of DFID to “improve the Value for Money of all aid”, not just DFID’s own. No similar framework has been published by the FCDO since DFID merged with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 2020.

This inquiry will consider not just how the FCDO defines Value for Money and how this is implemented within its programming, but also its use of financing instruments to ensure that ODA achieves maximum impact.

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