Frustrations are growing within the United Kingdom’s development sector over continued delays to the publication of the government’s international development strategy, amid fears it could be further pushed back if Prime Minister Boris Johnson reshuffles his Cabinet for the third time in less than eight months.
First expected by the sector in late 2021, the strategy’s release has been postponed at least three times by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, according to Bond, the U.K. network for NGOs.
The government has never given a specific publication date for the strategy and had said it would be published in the “spring.” FCDO declined to provide a comment to Devex or to clarify what other strategies the department is working on.
Since Devex revealed FCDO’s restructuring and the resignation of senior official Moazzam Malik in March, there has been confusion among conflict prevention specialists over whether a separate strategy focused on their field will be published, as many officials have been frozen out of planning to prevent further leaks.
“It has now been over a year since the International Development Strategy was first announced by the FCDO, and we understand it has been under revision since Liz Truss was appointed as Secretary of State in September last year,” said Melissa Leach, director of the Institute of Development Studies, in an email.
“The continued delay adds further fuel to the criticism of the FCDO for its lack of transparency, and ability to be properly scrutinised,” Leach added.
The war in Eastern Europe has also sucked up significant FCDO attention.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is prompting a fundamental rethink in Government with implications for in terms of foreign policy capability in areas like sanctions; but also in terms of the focus of development strategy, with the Foreign Secretary even calling on the G7 [group of industrial nations] to become an ‘economic NATO,’” wrote Ian Mitchell, a senior policy fellow and co-director of development cooperation in Europe at the Center for Global Development, in an email to Devex.
“But it remains to be seen whether this ambition will be translated into development policy,” he continued.
“After such huge cuts to programmes, the long-awaited international development strategy is crucial,” wrote Stephanie Draper, the CEO at Bond, “because it will give the UK much needed clarity on the role the UK intends to play globally in development, how it will contribute to global challenges and which gains will be built in and which ones are no longer deemed a priority.”
“We are especially keen to see how much the strategy will aim to tackle the key drivers of poverty, inequality and injustice — and what role investment and finance will play in this — while ensuring those objectives are delivered with accountability and transparency,” she added.
The United Kingdom’s development finance institution — formerly known as CDC Group but recently renamed British International Investment — is expected to take on a much more significant role in the nation’s development approach compared with previous years.
“The rebrand of CDC as British International Investment appears part of a more bilateral approach, which would limit potential resources for cooperation with G7 and other allies (but favour UK NGOs),” wrote Mitchell.
The strategy’s lateness has been accompanied by delayed funding agreements within FCDO — which, a month into the new financial year, have still not been resolved — and rumors of an imminent Cabinet reshuffle by Johnson to reinvigorate the government’s image after local elections. The appointment of a new foreign secretary would likely stall publication of the strategy further, just as the promotion of Truss to the position last year led to delays while it was changed to meet her approval.
“Even internal FCDO budget allocations for 2022/23 have not yet been made, suggesting a struggle to resource priorities already put forward—such as women and girls‘ rights, humanitarian response and supporting freedom and democracy,” wrote Mitchell. Providing support to refugees could further stretch the budget, he added.
The delayed internal budgeting is “a problem for existing programmes, like my own, and it is also delaying procurement for new programmes,” said the manager of an economic development project, speaking anonymously to preserve ties with FCDO.
Update, May 5, 2022: This article has been updated to clarify the work of Bond.
About the author
William Worley@willrworley
Will Worley is the Climate Correspondent for Devex, covering the intersection of development and climate change. He previously worked as UK Correspondent, reporting on the FCDO and British aid policy during a time of seismic reforms. Will’s extensive reporting on the UK aid cuts saw him shortlisted for ‘Specialist Journalist of the Year’ in 2021 by the British Journalism Awards. He can be reached at william.worley@devex.com.
