OECD Development Assistance Peer Reviews: United Kingdom 2010

Five different member countries are peer reviewed each year. The aim is to assess the extent to which the development policies, strategies and activities of the reviewed country meet the standards set by the DAC. Members provide constructive criticism and recommendations based on a report that touches on aid policies, volumes, institutions and field operations.



There are no sanctions if the country fails to take the recommendations on board. The exercise is meant to encourage positive change, support mutual learning and raise the overall effectiveness of aid throughout the donor community.

Table of contents
The DAC’s Main Findings and Recommendations
Secretariat Report
Chapter 1 Strategic Orientations
An international development leader in times of global crisis
Solid foundations of the United Kingdom’s development co-operation
A strong legal and institutional framework
A strengthened whole-of-government approach
The UK strategic framework: maintaining poverty reduction as the overarching objective
A broader policy agenda
The need to streamline the policy framework
Deepening engagement in fragile states
Gender equality: strong leadership and an innovative approach
Recognising the importance of communicating and building public awareness
Concerns over the level of public support
High political support balanced with increased scrutiny of the aid programme
Raising development awareness and communicating results
Challenges ahead
Future considerations
Chapter 2 Policy Coherence for Development
A high level political commitment with a clearly prioritised agenda
An institutional framework for coherent policies
The cabinet structure and PSA framework: key assets for policy coherence
Strengthening DFID’s role within government
Monitoring the results of policy coherence for development
Looking forward: a “beyond aid” agenda for the whole UK government?
Future considerations
Chapter 3 ODA Volumes, Channels and Allocations
Official development assistance in summary
Continued commitment to scaling up
UK ODA by government department
Bilateral assistance
A strong commitment to low income countries
DFID’s bilateral resource allocation approach
Sector allocations and thematic spending decisions
UK development assistance through non-governmental channels
Multilateral assistance
Future considerations
Chapter 4 Organisation and Management
A powerful institutional model
A capable, mission-driven organisation
Combining decentralisation with strong corporate compliance
Streamlining reporting requirements
Linking policy and research
Engaging further with civil society organisations
The challenge of “doing more with less”
A purpose- and performance-driven organisation
Stronger focus on managing for development results
Human resources: maintaining DFID’s core value
Future considerations
Chapter 5 Aid Effectiveness
The international aid effectiveness agenda: UK commitment and leadership
From commitments to implementation: strong performance against key indicators
Supporting country-led approaches to development
Positive efforts to strengthen and use country systems
Harmonisation through flexibility and leadership
Making aid more predictable
Existing and emerging challenges to aid effectiveness
Future considerations
Chapter 6 Special Issues
Capacity development
Strategic orientations
Capacity development in practice
Environment and climate change
Climate change: a new strategic priority with a strong legal and institutional framework
A lead role in the international community
Operational approaches to environment and climate change
Increased capacities and innovative cross-government work
Financing and monitoring
Future considerations
Annex A Progress since the 2006 DAC Peer Review Recommendations
Annex B OECD/DAC Standard Suite of Tables
Annex C The United Kingdom and the Good Humanitarian Donorship Initiative
Annex D Field Visit Report: India and Rwanda
Description of Key Terms
Bibliography