Transparency in UK aid

A rapid review that examines transparency in UK aid and what has been learned about good practice on aid transparency.

  1. Status: Completed
  2. Published: 6 October 2022
  3. Type: Rapid review
  4. Subject: Anti-corruption, tax avoidance and fiduciary risk, Government processes and systems, UK aid funds
  5. Lead commissioner: Tarek Rouchdy

Read the approach summary paper

Our approach

This rapid review looks at what has been learned about good practice on aid transparency and how this learning has been applied by DFID/FCDO over the period since 2015, by examining compliance with aid transparency standards. In examining the impact of previous transparency investments on promoting the outcomes of improved accountability for and effectiveness of UK aid, this rapid review also explores: how different stakeholder groups have made use of UK aid information; whether this information has supported these groups to pursue such outcomes; and whether UK aid transparency has promoted these outcomes in other ways.

The review builds on previous scrutiny of the government’s policy and practice on making information on its aid expenditure available to country partners, the UK Parliament and the general public, including ICAI’s How UK aid learns review published in 2019, the section on the How UK aid learns review in the follow-up review published in 2021, and general reflections on transparency in the follow-up review of 2019-20 ICAI reports.

Review questions

We sought to answer the following review questions:

  • Does the UK have a clear and coherent approach to aid transparency?
  • To what extent has the UK achieved its aid transparency objectives?
  • To what extent has the UK sought and learned from feedback from users of UK aid data, both in the UK and in partner countries?

Timeline

Approach

Published 20 May 2022

Evidence gathering

Complete

Review publication

Published 6 October 2022

Government response

Published 2 December 2022

Further scrutiny

Follow-up published 16 May 2024