Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI)

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact scrutinises UK aid spending. They work to ensure UK aid is spent effectively, for those who need it most, and delivers value for UK taxpayers.

ICAI’s remit

ICAI’s formal remit is to provide independent evaluation and scrutiny of the impact and value for money of all UK government ODA. This involves: carrying out a small number of well-prioritised, well-evidenced, credible, thematic reviews on strategic issues faced by the UK government’s aid spending informing and supporting Parliament in its role of holding the UK government to account ensuring our work is made available to the public.

ICAI’s mandate

ICAI’s mandate covers all ODA, whichever department it is spent by. In addition to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, aid-spending departments include the Home Office, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and cross-government funds such as the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund and the Prosperity Fund.

Their mandate does not cover aid spent by the devolved Scottish and Welsh governments.

Core values

ICAI operates on the basis of the following core values:

• Accountability: they conduct our work with objectivity and impartiality, assisting the IDC to hold government departments to account for the effectiveness of UK aid. They are also accountable to the IDC for their performance.
• Feedback and learning: they believe that to do their job well, accountability must go hand-in-hand with learning. Building effective feedback loops into their review process will be critical to their work.
• Analytical rigour: they are committed to the rigorous use of evidence and analysis in their reviews. ICAI reports rely primarily on existing sources of evidence, supplemented or tested through additional empirical research as appropriate.
• Accessibility: they design and deliver reviews with a clear purpose and audience in mind.
• Transparency: they are committed to transparency in their approach to reviews, including in the way they use and present data and evidence.