Recommendation 1

HM Government Acknowledged

The FCDO does not value international expertise over local expertise. Delivery, leadership and decision-making by local people is often the best solution, particularly in times of crisis and in complex contexts. We aim to structure our tenders accordingly. Our contracts include requirements for the primary contract holder to leverage the use of small and local organisations over the programme’s duration. Furthermore, Procurement Policy Note 06/20 states that a 10% weighting in Tender evaluations must be given to Social Value. The Note contains indicative themes, such as tackling economic inequality and equal opportunity, and outcomes and the Programme and Commercial teams select objectives most relevant to the programme objectives. Potential activities which are then included in the tender requirements include: • Create employment opportunities particularly for those who face barriers to employment and/or who are located in deprived areas. • Create a diverse supply chain to deliver the contract including new businesses and entrepreneurs, start-ups, small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), Voluntary Community and Social Enterprises and mutuals. Racism in the aid sector: Government response to the Committee’s First Report 3 • Demonstrate action to identify and tackle inequality in employment, skills and pay in the contract workforce. • Support in-work progression to help people, including those from disadvantaged or minority groups, to move into higher paid work by developing new skills relevant to the contract. Our tender evaluation criteria thereby seek to prioritise and value diverse contractual delivery, appropriately ensuring local inclusion. We continue to look at how we can take a proportionate approach to financial risk management and safeguarding that maximises the positive social, economic and environmental value of our investment within the context in which organisations operate, and still delivers the most economically advantageous tender. We have already developed frameworks that create contract opportunities for smaller organisations and are looking further at ways to make it easier for local organisations to access contract opportunities. Local non-profit organisations (e.g. NGOs, think-tanks, social enterprises, research institutions) have access to a wide range of opportunities through calls for proposals for accountable grants managed in-country by teams at post and advertised widely. This delivery model is also adopted by centrally managed programmes, where possible. The FCDO has created a Due Diligence Hub to support teams around the world to make appropriate decisions on how to ensure partners have the capabilities to deliver project outcomes, manage funds and safeguard people. The FCDO adopts a proportionate, risk- based approach to due diligence assessments, informed by factors including the size and complexity of the project and local, contextual knowledge. Teams ensure that all five due diligence assessment pillars are duly covered, while shaping the assessment questionnaire in a user-friendly manner adapted to the context and providing constructive improvement- oriented recommendations in the due diligence assessment report. The Programme Operating Framework, the single rule set for all FCDO-delivered policy programming, emphasises the importance of being context-specific and proportionate. Engagement with local constituents is a key part of our approach. On technical assistance, we require advisers working on institutional development and reform to design context-appropriate interventions and to deploy approaches in collaboration with stakeholders in country. Governance advisers’ work must be underpinned by an understanding of the context and power structures, including race. On research, equitable international research collaborations to address global challenges are important. Individuals and institutions based in low- and middle-income countries play a vital role in these partnerships. The FCDO uses ODA funds to increase the research capacity, profile, and sustainability of researchers and institutes in the Global South, to elevate academic voices that are often absent from relevant global debate.