Public consultation on the future work of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) – 2024

Introduction

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) is responsible for examining the effectiveness and value for money of the UK’s aid spend. We do this by publishing evidence-based reports which assess different parts of the UK aid programme, for Parliament, government, development experts and the UK taxpayer.

We have launched a consultation because we want to hear your ideas and suggestions for the next phase of ICAI. This consultation seeks your views on which aspects of the UK aid programme are the highest priority to review. We also want to hear your thoughts on how we carry out and communicate our work.

Why we have launched a public consultation

ICAI’s leadership changes every four years, providing us with an opportunity to reflect on how we work and look ahead to the future. We are at the beginning of that process and we want to hear from you as we plan our next steps. We also want to align our work programme with the emerging priorities of the new government. We will draw on your feedback as we consider our future review topics and ways of working.

Why your views matter

The UK aid programme is continually evolving to respond to complex challenges and crises. Funded by the UK taxpayer, it can be a contentious subject, especially when the UK’s public finances are under pressure. In this context, effective, independent scrutiny plays a vital role in promoting transparency and accountability for the UK’s aid spend.

That’s why it is important for us to hear from you – whether you work in the aid sector or you have a strong interest in UK aid – so we can maximise our effectiveness over the next few years and ensure Parliament and others can hold the government to account.

What this consultation will consider

The consultation will ask:

1. Which aspects of the UK’s aid programme are the highest priority for review?
2. How can we improve the ways in which we examine the effectiveness and value for money of the UK’s aid programme? Is there anything that you would find useful from ICAI that we do not already provide?
3. How can we improve how we communicate about our work and make our reports accessible to more people?
4. Do you have any other views on ICAI that you would like to share?

What this consultation will not consider

This consultation will not consider questions on the size and allocation of the UK’s aid budget, which is a policy decision for the government.

Next steps

After this consultation closes, we will analyse the results, use your feedback in shaping our strategic workplan and publish how we have responded to the consultation on our website.

How we will use your information

We will publish a summary of responses after the consultation closes. We will not publish any personal information or parts of your response that will reveal your identity.

You can choose to complete this consultation anonymously; however, it will help us if you share some basic information about yourself, so we can assess whether we have achieved a representative sample of responses. This information will not be shared or made public.

About ICAI

ICAI provides independent scrutiny of the impact and value for money of the UK’s aid spend across all government departments. We ensure UK aid is spent effectively for those who need it most and delivers value for UK taxpayers.

We operate independently of government and report to Parliament through the House of Commons International Development Committee (IDC).

Find out more about ICAI.

How we work

We conduct reviews examining a range of different areas of UK aid spending and processes. On average, reviews in recent years have taken between 3 to 10 months to complete, depending on the scope and complexity of the topic. During this time, we conduct extensive research, take evidence from stakeholders and government officials, arrange country visits and analyse the evidence before preparing a final report. Over the last commission, we conducted different types of review, from lighter touch reviews, responding to emerging areas of concern, to more comprehensive reviews of broad areas of UK aid programming.

We publish all ICAI reviews on our website and promote them on X and LinkedIn.

After we publish a review, where applicable, the government publishes a formal response outlining whether it accepts ICAI’s recommendations and the actions it will take in response. Parliament’s International Development Committee considers each review and can call ICAI and the government to give evidence in oral parliamentary hearings, which are open to the public.

Each year ICAI returns to its previous reviews to assess whether the government has taken adequate steps in response to our recommendations. If we are not satisfied, we continue to follow-up on the government’s actions until we deem adequate progress has been made.

Find out more about how we work and the different types of reviews we conduct.

ICAI’s recent work

Recent examples of ICAI review topics include:

• UK aid spent on education, global health, the climate and safeguarding
• UK aid channelled through the World Bank’s International Development Association
• UK aid spent through British International Investment (the UK’s development finance institution)
• UK aid to middle income countries such as India.

The last few years have been an exceptionally challenging time for UK aid. ICAI adapted to this by undertaking shorter, simpler reviews, examining emerging issues such as:

• UK humanitarian aid to emerging crises in Afghanistan, Ukraine and Gaza
• UK aid spent on supporting refugees and asylum seekers in the UK
• UK aid to China
• the UK’s aid response to COVID-19
• the reduction of the UK aid spending target from 0.7% to 0.5% of gross national income
• the impact of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office merger on aid transparency

Access all previous ICAI reviews.