Multilateral Aid Review

DFID published a Multilateral Aid Review (MAR) in March 2011, which assessed the value for money (VFM) of DFID’s core funding to 43 multilateral organisations. The assessment considered both the multilaterals’ contribution to UK development objectives and their organisational strengths. Nine organisations were found to be providing ‘very good’ VFM; nine were providing ‘good’ VFM; 16 were providing ‘adequate’ VFM; and nine were providing ‘poor’ VFM. One of the nine organisations deemed to be providing ‘poor’ VFM, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), ceased to exist shortly after the MAR. Of the other eight organisations deemed to be providing ‘poor’ VFM, DFID announced that it would stop providing core funding to four of them. In the remaining four cases, however, DFID continued to fund the organisations and encouraged them to reform (though these organisations were said to be in ‘special measures’ and told that their funding would be stopped if improvements were not forthcoming).

Following the MAR, DFID wrote to 43 organisations whose performance it had assessed, setting out specific reform priorities. DFID is currently conducting a MAR update, focusing principally on these reform priorities. DFID plans to conduct another full-scale MAR in 2015. As well as assessing the performance of the multilateral organisations to which it is currently providing funding, we recommend that DFID assess the performance of those from which it has withdrawn funding. If these organisations can be shown to have improved, DFID should restore funding.

A key challenge for DFID is how to assess the performance of multilaterals in countries where DFID has no bilateral programme (‘non-DFID countries’). DFID’s research for the original MAR included just two visits to non-DFID countries (Mali and Indonesia). For the MAR update, DFID planned to visit three countries in which it had no presence. While we accept that country visits are far from the only way of obtaining evidence, we nevertheless recommend that for the next full-scale MAR in 2015, DFID undertake more visits to countries in which it has no bilateral programmes.

The UK is also working with other donors to assess multilateral effectiveness, through the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN). The existence of MOPAN does not lessen the importance of, or the need for, MARs: conducting MARs is the best way to assess multilaterals’ level of alignment with UK development objectives.

However, where possible DFID should consider whether it can work more closely with other donors and place more reliance on MOPAN: this would lessen the burden on multilaterals. In particular, DFID should encourage MOPAN to increase the number of organisations it assesses in any given year.