Top 2017 DFID-funded NGOs

Nongovernmental organizations, civil society organizations, and charities have long been important partners to the United Kingdom Department for International Development, as well as implementers of its programs. As a result, the market for DFID funds among these organizations — not to mention competition from the private sector, academia, and elsewhere — is fierce. 2017 was a strong year for NGOs, CSOs, and charities (henceforth simply “NGOs”), which received 1.175 billion British pounds ($1.62 billion) for their work on ongoing DFID programs, a 20 percent increase from the amount they received in 2016. They also beat out competition in the private sector, which received a total of 1.029 billion pounds in 2017. However, it stands to be seen whether this strong performance will continue, especially as the humanitarian aid sector is rocked by allegations of “systemic” sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment. Many of the organizations in this list are themselves implicated in the allegations. Oxfam, for one, has elected to withdraw from bidding for DFID-funded opportunities until the agency is satisfied that it can “meet the high standards expected of our [DFID’s] partners.” It is within this context that we present the list of DFID’s top NGO implementers in 2017. As with our article on private sector implementers, this list is based on public DFID “disbursements” data — public declarations of DFID’s expenditures on goods, works, and services that exceeded 500 pounds. The data is not reflective of newly awarded contracts, but rather payments for implementation of previously won contracts. 1. International Committee of the Red Cross Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 151.90 million pounds Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland DFID’s disbursements to the ICRC were significantly higher than any of the other implementers in this category — in fact, they received more DFID funding in 2017 than PricewaterhouseCoopers — the most funded private sector implementer. It’s important to note that, for purposes of our analysis, this total denotes funding to the ICRC, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the British Red Cross (a member organization of the ICRC). The ICRC’s position at the top of this list is largely reflective of the U.K. government’s commitment to meeting the humanitarian challenges and crises the world faces today. Nearly 50 percent of 2017’s funding to the organization came from a single DFID project: Investing in the Humanitarian Capacity of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movements — approved in late 2017 with a budget of 292 million pounds over four years. Two other projects for which the ICRC received funding were the North East Nigeria Transition to Development Programme, in which they collaborated with the World Food Programme, International Rescue Committee, Action Against Hunger, and UNICEF, as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo Humanitarian Innovation, Response and Reform Programme, again with UNICEF and WFP. A focus on humanitarian crisis prevention and response unites most of the ICRC’s work with DFID. Much of the organization’s funding from DFID came from recently completed or soon-to-end programs — however the three programs mentioned above all began in the last year. 2. Save the Children Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 90.05 million pounds Headquarters: London, United Kingdom Save the Children received funding from DFID for a broad portfolio of projects, largely related to emergency preparedness, relief, education, and other development outcomes for children. The projects that contributed the most to their 2017 total include the Disaster and Emergencies Preparedness Programme and Somalia-focused Multi-Year Humanitarian Programme 2013-2017. Another innovative example of Save the Children’s work with DFID is the Start Network. The network is an NGO-managed pool of funds contributed from donors like DFID. The network is hosted by Save the Children, and distributes the funds to member implementers on the frontline of the most pressing humanitarian challenges — however, DFID’s planned contributions to the fund stop in March of this year. Indeed, many of Save the Children’s engagements with DFID are nearly at the end of their lifecycle. While Devex data shows some recent contracts have been awarded to the NGO, none are of the size of the near-expiry programs. 3. Norwegian Refugee Council Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 61.95 million pounds Headquarters: Oslo, Norway The NRC was a bit of a black swan in this ranking — across all DFID’s 2016 disbursements, they received only 20,000 pounds. In 2017, their total soared to 61.95 million pounds. This is partially due to the fact that 80 percent of 2017 disbursements to the NGO came from a single project — the same Multi-Year Humanitarian Programme 2013-2017 program that Save the Children worked on. Sixteen percent of the remaining 20 percent disbursed to the NRC came from two smaller projects, also nearing their end: Support directly from DFID to the NRC for its work in Lebanon, and support to refugees in Kenya. 4. Marie Stopes International Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 47.35 million pounds Headquarters: London, United Kingdom Marie Stopes is a sexual and reproductive health NGO based in the U.K. Over 50 percent of its DFID-derived funding came from a single maternal health project focused on preventing death due to unplanned pregnancies in Africa and South Asia. This project was also MSI’s largest source of DFID funding in 2016. Other sources of 2017 disbursements included a maternal health program in Kenya, and a maternal and newborn health program in Bangladesh. 5. Voluntary Service Overseas Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 45.54 million pounds Headquarters: Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom Voluntary Service Overseas is a U.K.-based NGO the connects development volunteers and organizations. As such, much of its work with DFID is management of development volunteer programs funded by the department. Nearly 70 percent of its 2017 DFID funding came from one such program, International Citizen Services Phase III, a program through which U.K. citizens aged 18-25 were placed in development-focused organizations overseas. This program will end in 2018, but another similar program, Volunteering for Development, will run through 2022, comprised most of the remainder of VSO’s 2017 funds. 6. TradeMark East Africa Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 41.36 million pounds Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya TMEA is an East-African nonprofit focused on driving regional development in East Africa through trade and commerce. It is funded by a variety of development funders, including DFID and the bilateral aid agencies of the United States, Belgium, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Canada. TMEA’s two largest programs with DFID relate to East African economic integration. The programs are the 67 million pound Strengthening Regional Economic Integration program, and the 39 million pound Phase II of the Regional East Africa Integration Programme. The nonprofit also acts as a tendering organization, funding infrastructure and institutional projects intended to boost East African trade, as through its Uganda Window for funding, or its contribution to the development of Dar es Salaam’s port. Many of TMEA’s projects are ending in the coming year — it is uncertain whether they will continue to command a position in the list of top NGO implementers for DFID. The focus on aid-for-trade in 2016 and 2017 boded well for their organization, but the recent change in leadership at DFID may jeopardize that focus. 7. Population Services International Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 30.68 million pounds Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States PSI stepped down the rankings a bit in 2017, having received 42 million pounds in DFID disbursements in 2016 — the fourth most of any NGO, but still acted as a strong implementer to DFID. The health-focused NGO has a diverse portfolio of open programs with DFID, including the Somali Health and Nutrition Programme, and Support to Malaria Control in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The downtick in their position and funding from DFID this year is likely due to the conclusion of three large programs they were working on in 2017: The Integrated Community Case Management program in East Africa, the Delivering Reproductive Health Results Programme in Pakistan, and the Sexual and Reproductive Health and HIV Prevention in Zimbabwe. 8. IMA World Health Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 26.67 million pounds Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States IMA’s work with DFID in 2017 was confined to two Africa health-focused programs: The Access to Health Care in the DRC program, which accounted for about 80 percent of IMA’s DFID funding and ends this year, and the Addressing Stunting in Tanzania Early program, which accounted for the remaining 20 percent and ends in 2020. 9. Karandaaz Pakistan Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 25.40 million pounds Headquarters: Islamabad, Pakistan Karandaaz is a local development finance institution in Pakistan, focused on increasing accessibility of financial services for Pakistani small- and medium-enterprises and individuals. They currently have one active program with DFID that will run through 2024: The Enterprise and Assets Growth program in Pakistan. The 200 million pound program is only about 40 percent complete, so Karandaaz will likely remain an important partner to DFID in coming years. 10. Mercy Corps Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 24.55 million pounds Headquarters: Portland, U.S. (European HQ in Edinburgh, United Kingdom) Mercy Corps works with DFID through its European entity, based in Edinburgh. It participated in several DFID-funded programs, as well as programs funded through the Conflict, Stability, and Security Fund. The CSSF is another entity within the U.K. government that provides development and security support to developing countries at risk of conflict or insecurity. As such, its areas of work overlap with Mercy Corps’ humanitarian mission to support the victims of these conflicts. In 2017, Mercy Corps worked with DFID to reduce tensions between native Jordanian communities and displaced refugees in the country, helped implement emergency support to Iraq, and worked with the CSSF in Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine. While we won’t dive into details for the NGOs ranked 11-20, you can find them below. Stay tuned for more analysis of DFID implementers data. 11. The Power of Nutrition Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 23.48 million pounds Headquarters: London, United Kingdom 12. International Rescue Committee Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 21.74 million pounds Headquarters: New York, United States 13. Disasters Emergency Committee Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 20.00 million pounds Headquarters: London, United Kingdom 14. Medicines for Malaria Venture Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 19.77 million pounds Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland 15. OXFAM Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 18.80 million pounds Headquarters: Oxford, United Kingdom 16. Overseas Development Institute Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 15.66 million pounds Headquarters: London, United Kingdom 17. CARE International Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 15.07 million pounds Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland 18. Clinton Health Access Initiative Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 14.59 million pounds Headquarters: Boston, United States 19. Sightsavers Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 14.16 million pounds Headquarters: Haywards Heath, United Kingdom 20. Danish Refugee Council Total DFID disbursements in 2017: 12.35 million pounds Headquarters: Copenhagen, Denmark