How DFID works with multilateral agencies to achieve impact

Our approach

The main focus of this review was to examine how well the Department for International Development (DFID) is served by, and leverages its relationships with, multilateral agencies to achieve its objectives. We mapped and summarised DFID’s engagement with the multilateral system. We also captured lessons on DFID’s interaction with specific agencies in particular locations. We drew on where ICAI has reviewed DFID’s engagement with specific multilateral organisations in the past. We do not, however, focus primarily on DFID’s engagement with individual multilateral agencies.

We compared and contrasted the control that DFID exerts over the different channels it uses, including comparing DFID’s control and management of its multilateral spending with the control and management it exerts over its purely bilateral programme. We did not seek to answer in this review the question of whether DFID achieves better effectiveness and value for money through bilateral or multilateral channels.