New ICAI work plan to examine UK’s changing development priorities
24 Jun 2026
The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) will review the UK’s £7.3 billion development finance institution, look at expertise-based programmes, and assess how the government measures impact, as the UK shifts its approach to focus less on official development assistance (ODA) programmes and more on investment and partnerships.
The scrutiny body’s work plan for 2026-27 – which will also include reviews of UK support for nature and global health – was informed by a public consultation at the start of the current Commission, analysis of UK aid spending, and consideration of the International Development Committee’s inquiries and government priorities.
New reviews for 2026-27
ICAI plans to examine the following areas:
- UK aid expenditure trends to 2029 – An update to ICAI’s February 2025 report ‘How UK aid is spent’, outlining trends in UK ODA spending. It follows ICAI’s May 2026 report updating the global context.
- Expertise-based programmes – This review will assess what impact has been achieved from technical assistance and how the UK plans to deliver its shift from ‘grants to expertise’.
- British International Investment (BII) – ICAI will examine impact and value for money from BII, now one of the largest bilateral development finance institutions with a portfolio value of £7.3 billion.
- Multilaterals and global health – Building on earlier ICAI work on health funds, this review will examine UK impact during a period of significant disruption in the global health architecture.
- Impact measurement – ICAI will examine how the UK measures and reports on the impact of its development efforts in the context of the reduction to 0.3% and the modernisation of its approach to development.
- Nature – This review will examine the impact of UK development cooperation to protect and restore nature, forests and ecosystems.
- The UK as a lender and investor – An information note on the UK’s use of non-grant instruments (loans, equity and guarantees) to achieve development objectives.
ICAI will also continue to publish reviews started under its 2025-26 work plan, including reports on effective partnerships, violence against women and girls and refugee host countries.
Previously planned work on FCDO delivery models and non-grant instruments will no longer be published as standalone reviews, following a reduction in ICAI’s resources this year. However, these themes have been considered as part of other topics in the 2026-27 work plan or may be revisited in future.
Read more about ICAI’s future work plan.