UK development review seeks to deepen controversial FCDO merger

A planned review of United Kingdom international development work will explore further integration with foreign affairs policy rather than the greater independence Labour hinted at before it won power. As revealed last month, the former Columbia University President Minouche Shafik will conduct the inquiry into whether aid delivery by the merged Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office is fit for purpose, after scathing criticism. Before winning July’s general election, Labour promised “a new model” for development, possibly an “agency” within FCDO — with operational independence — as an alternative to restoring a separate aid department. However, Devex understands Shafik’s remit excludes the idea of greater separation of diplomacy and development. Instead, Foreign Secretary David Lammy has asked her to “maximise the impact” of the “integrated development diplomacy model” created by the 2020 merger. The review will also examine how to: • Improve “recruitment and retention of staff in key areas.” • Strengthen “strategic alignment, value for money and appropriate use of public funds.” • Achieve “comparative advantage” through U.K. strengths such as higher education and financial services, including insurance firms. Lammy said the purpose of the three reviews he is setting up is to “help us shape our strategy to increase the UK’s global impact, build growth internationally and ensure development and diplomacy work hand in hand”. A second review will seek to prepare the U.K. to “act on geo-political opportunities and shifts”, including its relationships with “the so-called ‘Global South,’ including the UK role in multilateral institutions.” The third will assess how to ensure “UK jobs and growth are at the heart of our foreign policy including by assessing FCDO’s role in developing international economic partnerships.” The integration drive appears to kill off Labour’s talk of “a new model” for development, a phrase first used by Lammy when under pressure for suggesting the axed Department for International Development would not be brought back. At that time, two years ago, the future foreign secretary urged aid organizations to “help us develop what that is,” telling them he was “very keen to listen to the sector” — but no consultation was ever held and Devex understands that the sector has been kept in the dark. The intent to deepen the merger also contrasts with the move, by the previous Conservative Development Minister Andrew Mitchell, to create some separation between foreign policy and aid work with the appointment of a dedicated top civil servant for the latter. Lammy recognizes a key task is to rebuild development “capability” after the U.K. spending watchdog warned, as recently as March this year, of an ongoing “severe” risk that skills and expertise are still being lost. The nod to exploiting the wealth and reach of the City of London, particularly its insurance sector, suggests Mitchell’s 2023 strategy — which advocated just that — will survive the change of government. Shafik quit as Columbia University’s president last month, four months after she authorized police to arrest students at a Gaza war protest, having also faced criticism over the Ivy League institution’s efforts to tackle antisemitism. She has extensive development experience as the top civil servant at DFID for three years from 2008 and is a member of the House of Lords, as well as a former economist at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Her review is expected to take about six months, an unpaid, part-time role. Anneliese Dodds, the development minister, said Shafik’s review would help ensure “we bring together the best of UK skills and capability to deliver a modern approach to international development based on genuine respect and partnership.”