The changing global context for development cooperation 

An assessment of the current global challenges facing international development.

  1. Status: Completed
  2. Published: 19 May 2026
  3. Type: Strategic overview
  4. Subject: Climate change and biodiversity, Cross-government aid spend, Democracy, governance and human rights, Development finance, Humanitarian assistance, UK aid trends
  5. Lead commissioner: Jillian Popkins

Summary

We have published an updated assessment of the global context for development cooperation. 

This updates the global section of our February 2025 report, How UK aid is spent, which provided an initial baseline against which the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) and others could judge future choices about the development budget, covering both the global context and UK picture.