Department for International Development single departmental plan
Updated 27 June 2019
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Our single departmental plan sets out our objectives and how we will achieve them.
Bringing clean energy to rural India. DFID
Secretary of State for International Development
Permanent Secretary
The Department for International Development (DFID) leads the UK’s efforts to reduce poverty and deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in line with the UK Aid Strategy, helping deliver HMG’s wider national security objectives.
We are investing in peace, the planet, prosperity, people and partnerships – all underpinned by a focus on quality and having the necessary staff and expertise on the ground.
Peace
Sustainable development is all but impossible without peace and security. We are working to build greater stability and more effective and accountable governance through addressing the underlying causes of conflict and insecurity; maintaining a sharp focus on prevention; tackling crime and corruption; and supporting transparency, capability and trust in institutions.
Planet
We face a climate cataclysm that could undermine all our efforts. We are helping to make countries and populations more resilient in the face of the climate crisis and better able to anticipate and manage risks and shocks. We are mitigating the impact of climate change including through low carbon growth supported by innovation and technology; and providing stronger protection of biodiversity and the environment.
Prosperity
Inclusive, sustainable and job-creating economic development is key to reducing poverty and enhancing global prosperity. We are working to help increase investment, trade, productivity and build better tax systems to raise incomes, improve jobs and spread benefits across society.
People
At the heart of everything we do must be people. We are working to meet all people’s basic needs through strong national systems where reform delivers better and more inclusive health, education and wider services that enable people to thrive. We are building a more effective humanitarian system to improve preparedness, resilience and protection.
Partnership
We must work for a world that is more united – to address shared challenges. This is particularly true of our partnerships with multilateral agencies. We are working to build a stronger and more resilient international system and multilateral institutions that deliver to the highest standards, tackle global challenges and achieve greater impact. There will also be a stronger DFID focus on building local partnerships on the ground, engaging with rising powers and strengthening the global financial system.
Quality
Underpinning all of the above, we want to drive excellence and value for money in design, delivery and monitoring, with even greater direct staff engagement with DFID-funded programmes and deployment of expertise across our country network, grounded in a strong understanding of local contexts.
This approach will help ensure our work reflects the changing world we live in and the evolving needs and aspirations of the countries we work with. It will see us maximise our global influence and impact as we leave the EU, ensuring the UK is recognised for our contribution to poverty reduction and the SDGs.
DFID will continue to work across government to deliver shared priorities and to ensure British taxpayers’ money spent on UK Aid reinforces UK interests – creating a safer, healthier and more prosperous world for us all. This includes a renewed emphasis on addressing the climate crisis as a defining challenge of our time that jeopardises progress across the world.
The following sections reflect progress in line with the UK Aid Strategy:
1. Peace: Strengthen global peace, security and governance
Lead ministers
Rt Hon Rory Stewart OBE MP, Secretary of State
Dr Andrew Murrison MP, Minister of State
Lead official
Richard Clarke, Director General for Policy, Research and Humanitarian
1.1 Tackle the causes of instability, insecurity and conflict
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Continue to spend at least 50% of DFID’s budget on fragile states and regions (contributes to SDG 1) |
| Continue to champion SDGs 16 and 10 by reducing violence, ensuring access to justice for all, promoting effective, accountable and inclusive institutions and championing British values around the globe (freedom, democracy, tolerance and the rule of law) |
| Deliver a prosperous, secure, fair and sustainable future for the Commonwealth, including through delivery of UK commitments made at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018 (contributes to SDGs 8 and 17) |
| Scale up work on demining, including by delivering mine risk education and releasing land for productive use, following land survey and clearance (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Strengthen democracy and reinforce countries facing state-based threats, including through our Open Societies Aid Connect programming to support independent media and civil society (contributes to SDG 16) |
1.2 Tackle crime, corruption and violation of basic human rights
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Reduce corruption in developing countries and work to make the UK even more hostile to corrupt funds, working in partnership with others across government, and international partners, to implement the UK Anti-Corruption Strategy (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Work in partnership across government to tackle the root causes of violence against people due to their faith, gender or sexuality, with FCO. For example, through UK Aid Connect programmes on freedom of religion or belief and LGBT inclusion (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Work to end the subjugation and mutilation of women, including with DFID’s flagship child, early and forced marriage programme (contributes to SDG 5) |
| Work in partnership with others across government to combat the brutal slave trade, ensuring that it is a priority area in the implementation of the government’s serious and organised crime strategies (contributes to SDG 8) |
1.3 Reduce irregular migration and associated vulnerabilities, tackle modern slavery, and harness regular migration
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Facilitate safe, orderly, and regular migration through evidence-based programming and well-managed migration policies, with the Home Office and the FCO (contributes to SDG 10) |
| Shape the global response to modern slavery with implementation of the Call to Action to end forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking, through multilateral and bilateral processes (contributes to SDG 8) |
Our performance
Percentage of DFID’s budget spent on fragile states and regions (2017 list)
57% January 2016 – December 2016
Source: DFID, Results Achieved by Sector / Release schedule: annually
2. Planet: Strengthen resilience and response to crisis
Lead ministers
Harriet Baldwin MP, Minister of State
Dr Andrew Murrison MP, Minister of State
Lead official
Richard Clarke, Director General for Policy, Research and Humanitarian
2.1 Support efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change and prevent environmental degradation
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Provide support to enable low carbon growth and to build greater country resilience, including by supporting sustainable use of natural resources and limiting future growth in harmful greenhouse gases (contributes to SDG 13) |
| Continue to lead international action against climate change, with BEIS and Defra, by demonstrating UK leadership on resilience at the UN Climate Summit (contributes to SDG 13) |
| Work to prevent catastrophic environmental degradation and tackle degradation of habitat and loss of species, including action to address marine plastic pollution with Defra, support to the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund and investment in the Global Environment Facility (contributes to SDG 14) |
| Help deliver a doubling of global public funding of clean energy Research, Development and Demonstration under the Mission Innovation Initiative (contributes to SDG 7) |
2.2 Provide support in ongoing crises, including those in Syria and Yemen and amongst other countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Continue to lead the response to humanitarian emergencies and maintain the means to respond rapidly to crises (contributes to SDG 11) |
| Operate a ring-fenced £500 million p/a Official Development Assistance (ODA) crisis reserve (contributes to SDG 10) |
| Provide support for ongoing crises, including in Syria and Yemen (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Continue to work together on health and disaster resilience, including as part of the UK-Caribbean Partnership, to help ensure that hospitals remain operational when natural disasters strike (contributes to SDG 13) |
2.3 Science and technology spend on global public health risks such as antimicrobial resistance
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Fund UK-led medical and technical research into the biggest threats to global health and prosperity, including malaria, TB, Ebola, neglected tropical diseases and drug resistant infections caused by antimicrobial resistance, with BEIS and DHSC (contributes to SDG 3) |
Our performance
Cumulative number of people reached with humanitarian assistance (food aid, cash and voucher transfers) through DFID support
26.8 million April 2015 - March 2018
Source: DFID, Results Achieved by Sector / Release schedule: annually
DFID spend on building the resilience of vulnerable people to the impacts of climate change and supporting low carbon development
£1,341 million April 2016 – March 2018 (five-year commitment to spend £3.6 billion from 2016-17 to 2020-21)
Source: DFID, DFID, Results Achieved by Sector / Release schedule: annually
3. Prosperity: Promote global prosperity
Lead ministers
Baroness Sugg CBE, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Harriet Baldwin MP, Minister of State
Lead official
Nick Dyer, Director General for Economic Development and International
3.1 Promote economic development and prosperity in the developing world, including stabilising the economies of fragile states and preventing reversals in fast-growing economies, supporting inclusive growth and catalysing investment for more and better jobs.
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Create more and better jobs and support inclusive and sustainable economic transformation, including in high impact sectors such as infrastructure, cities, manufacturing, agriculture and financial services, through flagship economic development programmes which help partner countries achieve the economic growth needed to exit poverty (contributes to SDGs 5, 8, 9, 10 and 11) |
| Improve quality of international and domestic capital and currency markets, including by supporting a shift towards investment in local currency and modernising national payment systems through financial sector programmes and facilitating connections between domestic and financial systems and the City of London (contributes to SDG 17) |
| Tackle gender discrimination and work to deliver safer, more secure and higher-return work for women by establishing partnerships with business and promoting advancement of women’s economic empowerment (contributes to SDGs 5 and 10) |
| Harness digital technologies to drive inclusive economic growth and alleviate poverty, including through a technology accelerator programme to bring UK and African entrepreneurs together to learn from each other (contributes to SDG 9) |
| Increase the level and impact of investment and sustainable finance available to the poorest countries, including through CDC, the UK’s development finance institution. Increasing support to countries to raise and use their own revenue and increase the transparency of their public finances (contributes to SDG 17) |
3.2 Harness trade for poverty reduction and improve trade policy to help developing countries build sustainable trading partnerships, including with the UK
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Use trade as an engine for poverty reduction (contributes to SDGs 8 and 17) |
| As we leave the EU, secure duty-free quota-free access for the world’s Least Developed Countries to UK markets, be a champion of free trade and continue to support the overseas territories with DIT (contributes to SDG 17) |
| Work with other government departments, including DIT, to increase trade and investment with developing countries to reduce poverty. This includes tackling barriers that prevent businesses from investing and growing, addressing information gaps, and providing support to business to identify commercial opportunities (contributes to SDGs 8, 9 and 17) |
3.3 Support fast growing frontier economies to establish stronger partnerships with the UK, helping them to consolidate their economic development gains and ensure they continue to deliver for the poorest.
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Build a greater role for the City of London as the leading financial centre for developing countries, supporting new partnerships between the Bank of England and central banks in developing countries (contributes to SDGs 8 and 17) |
Our performance
Levels of Development Capital Investment
£1,247 million April 2015 – March 2018
Source: DFID, DFID, Results Achieved by Sector / Release schedule: annually
Development impact portfolio scores for CDC
3.01 (out of 4) April 2017 – March 2018
Source: DFID, DFID, Results Achieved by Sector / Release schedule: annually
Number of countries supported by DFID to manage their public finances more transparently
39 April 2017 - March 2018
Source: DFID, DFID, Results Achieved by Sector / Release schedule: annually
DFID spend on improving tax systems (double annual spend by 2020)
£27.2 million January – December 2017
Source: DFID, DFID, Results Achieved by Sector / Release schedule: annually
4. People: Tackle extreme poverty and help the world’s most vulnerable
Lead ministers
The Rt Hon Rory Stewart OBE MP, Secretary of State
Harriet Baldwin MP, Minister of State
Dr Andrew Murrison MP, Minister of State
Lead official
George Turkington, Interim Director General for Country Programmes
4.1 Strive to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030 and support the world’s poorest people to access sustainable basic services
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Work to promote healthy lives, end malnutrition and ensure access to water and sanitation for all to meet basic needs, uphold human dignity and promote prosperity. This includes strengthening the Global Financing Facility (contributes to SDGs 2, 3 and 6) |
| Lead the world in efforts to end extreme child poverty (contributes to SDG 1) |
| Work to ensure inclusive and quality education for all, driving a strong global focus on better teaching, reforming education systems and delivering for the most marginalised children (contributes to SDG 4) |
| Work to protect children from all forms of violence, including through the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children and the Children on the Move programme (contributes to SDG 16) |
4.2 Prioritise the rights of women and girls
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Continue to place gender equality at the heart of all that the department does, integrating gender equality across programmes and ensuring implementation of the Strategic Vision for Gender Equality (contributes to SDG 5) |
| Provide global leadership on girls’ education which is key to progress in so many countries, including by continuing to spearhead the cross-government global girls’ education campaign, Leave No Girl Behind, in partnership with the FCO (contributes to SDG 4) |
| Continue as a global leader on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and boost our support for family planning for all who want it (contributes to SDG 5) |
| Continue to lead global efforts to tackle all forms of violence against women and girls through DFID’s What Works to Prevent Violence programme and other programmes and support the Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative with the FCO (contributes to SDG 5) |
| Raise safeguarding standards across the aid and development sector to prevent violence, sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (contributes to SDG 10) |
4.3 Continue to be a global leader on disability, delivering on the promises from the Global Disability Summit 2018
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Systematically and consistently embed disability inclusion across everything DFID does, implementing the Disability Inclusion strategy and reporting progress annually (contributes to SDGs 1, 4, 5, 8 and 10) |
| Ensure accountability for commitments made at the Global Disability Summit by publishing a ‘one year on’ progress report against commitments from the Global Disability Summit (contributes to SDG 17) |
Our performance
Number of children supported to gain a decent education (cumulative)
11.4 million April 2015 – March 2018
Source: DFID, DFID, Results Achieved by Sector / Release schedule: annually
Number of people with sustainable access to clean water and/or sanitation through DFID support (cumulative)
40.3 million April 2015 – March 2018
Source: DFID, DFID, Results Achieved by Sector / Release schedule: annually
Number of children under 5, women (of childbearing age) and adolescent girls reached by DFID through nutrition related interventions (cumulative)
42 million April 2015 – March 2018
Source: DFID, DFID, Results Achieved by Sector / Release schedule: annually
Number of children immunised against killer diseases (cumulative)
37.4 million January 2015 – December 2017
Source: DFID, DFID, Results Achieved by Sector / Release schedule: annually
Total number of women and girls using modern contraception, supported by DFID
14 million
April 2017 – March 2018
Source: DFID, DFID, Results Achieved by Sector / Release schedule: annually
5. Partnership: Support a strong and resilient international system
Lead minister
Baroness Sugg CBE, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Lead official
Nick Dyer, Director General for Economic Development and International
5.1 Support an effective multilateral system
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Use our multilateral investment and engagement to help ensure the international system is resilient, fit-for-purpose and supported to tackle global challenges, deliver development outcomes and support global goods (contributes to SDG 17) |
| Use our funding to, and engagement with, the UN to deliver a more effective and efficient UN development system (contributes to SDG 17) |
| Support Multilateral Development Banks to engage more effectively in fragile states and continue their vital role as global thought leaders and catalysts to raise resources to deliver the SDGs (contributes to SDG 17) |
5.2 Build relationships with rising powers and other international partners
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Strengthen relationship with rising powers, including through bilateral development cooperation (contributes to SDGs 16 and 17) |
5.3 Future development partnership with the EU
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Negotiate a future partnership on development with the EU that is in our mutual interest and that supports our global leadership on development, even in the outcome of a no deal (contributes to SDG 17) |
5.4 Strengthen the global financial system
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Tackle illicit finance in developing countries and through established and emerging global and regional financial centres as part of a global network (contributes to SDG 16) |
Our performance
DFID’s investment in the multilateral system compared with other Development Assistance Committee donors
No 1 provider of core multilateral ODA January – December 2018
Source: OECD Data Set / Release schedule: annually
6. Quality: Improve the value for money and transparency of UK aid
Lead minister
Baroness Sugg CBE, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State
Lead official
Juliet Chua, Director General for Finance and Corporate Performance
6.1 Deliver value for money
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Maintain the commitment to spend 0.7% of our gross national income on assistance to developing nations and international emergencies and keep all our aid untied (contributes to SDG 17) |
| Report all ODA spending annually, and report to Parliament on government’s performance against the 0.7% gross national income target; support other departments to assess whether proposals meet international ODA rules; and share best practice on aid delivery (contributes to SDG 17) |
| Work with like-minded countries to change the ODA rules so that they are updated and better reflect the breadth of our assistance around the world (contributes to SDG 17) |
| Build greater commercial capability and strengthen our management of supply partners to ensure value for money and ethical behaviour along our supply chains, by implementing the recommendations of the Supplier Review and new provisions to raise safeguarding standards (contributes to SDGs 16 and 17) |
| Drive efficiency and effectiveness in all our programmes (contributes to SDGs 16 and 17) |
6.2 Ensure greater transparency
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Continue to ensure DFID is ranked as a world leader in aid transparency and insist that every government and organisation we fund meets global transparency standards (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Continue to seek to reform multilateral institutions, especially in the way they distribute development funds, so that money is used to greatest effect to protect and help the world’s most vulnerable people (contributes to SDG 16) |
| Give the public a say in how a portion of the international development budget is spent, through the UK Aid Match programme (contributes to SDG17) |
6.3 Deliver tough, independent scrutiny
| How we will achieve this |
|---|
| Ensure tough, independent evaluation of the value for money of UK aid is in place, in accordance with the International Development (ODA Target) Act 2015 |
Our performance
UK ODA as a proportion of gross national income
0.7% January – December 2017
Source: Statistics on International Development 2018 / Release schedule: annually
Portfolio Quality Index Score
102.4 outputs met expectations April 2017 – March 2018
DFID uses an index of portfolio quality to measure the extent to which projects are on track to deliver their expected outputs, with a range from 50 (outputs substantially did not meet expectation) to 150 (outputs substantially exceeded expectation).
Source: Portfolio Quality Index / Release schedule: annually
DFID ranking in Aid Transparency Index 2017
“Very good”
Source: Publish What You Fund 2018 Index / Release schedule: every 2 years
Our performance
People survey engagement score
| Year | Engagement score |
|---|---|
| 2018 | 72% |
| 2017 | 71% |
| 2016 | 71% |
Source: Civil Service People Survey / Release schedule: annually
Representation of female staff, ethnic minority staff and disabled staff
| Year | Female | Ethnic minority | Disabled |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 55.6% | 14.7% | 14.0% |
| 2017 | 56.1% | 14.8% | 13.0% |
| 2016 | 56.0% | 14.8% | 13.4% |
Source: Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Dashboard / Release schedule: quarterly
Greenhouse gas emissions
| Year | % Reduction |
|---|---|
| 2017 to 2018 | 50% |
| 2016 to 2017 | 44% |
Percentage reduction versus 2009 to 2010 baseline
Source: Greening Government Commitments annual reports / Release schedule: annually
% of spend that is allocated to SME
| Financial Year | Percentage of total spend |
|---|---|
| 2017-2018 | 43% (18% direct and 25% indirect) |
| 2016-2017 | 46% (33% direct and 13% indirect) |
| 2015-2016 | 41% (33% direct and 9% indirect) |
Source: Central government spend with SMEs data / Release schedule: annually
Public Value Framework
To support the delivery of our objectives, we will improve our performance against the Public Value Framework in the following areas: managing financial resources; user and client experience and participation; and capacity to manage the delivery chain
Our equality objectives
We have set objectives to help us advance equality. These are:
- continue to place gender equality at the heart of all that the department does, with new guidance for integrating gender equality across programmes and convening the Gender Equality Delivery Board to ensure implementation of the Strategic Vision for Gender Equality
- systematically and consistently embed disability inclusion across everything DFID does, convening the Disability Inclusion Delivery Board to oversee implementation of the Disability Inclusion Strategy and implementing the Disability Inclusive Development programme to build the evidence base
- work in partnership across government to tackle the root causes of the perpetration of violence against people due to their faith, gender or sexuality, with the FCO. For example, through the co-creation of UK Aid Connect programmes on freedom of religion or belief and LGBT inclusion
- continue to value all staff, regardless of background, and enable them to reach their full potential. DFID has a representative workforce at every level. DFID has a culture where all respect and promote the value of diversity and inclusion
- continue to meet the requirements set out in the Public Sector Equality Duty, including working to ensure that public appointments made by DFID contribute to realising the ambition that by 2022, 50% of all public appointees are female and 14% of all public appointments made are from ethnic minorities
Our finances
-
Departmental Expenditure Limit (DEL): £9.7 billion
-
Resource DEL (including depreciation): £7.2 billion
-
Capital DEL: £2.5 billion
-
[Capital Annually Managed Expenditure (AME): £0.9 billion]
-
Annually Managed Expenditure (AME): £0.09 billion
-
Control totals included in this document are in line with those presented in the Main Supply Estimates 2019/20 and are currently subject to Parliamentary approval. Any changes arising from the Parliamentary approval process will be reflected in due course
Source: Main Supply Estimates 2019/20 / Release schedule: annually
Our people
As at 31 December 2018, DIFD had 3,513 full-time equivalent employees. Source: ONS public sector employment data / Release schedule: quarterly