The UK government has been funding CSOs since long before the establishment of the Department for International Development (DFID) in 1997, but the volume and modalities of funding to CSOs has changed over time.
This performance review assesses how well DFID partners with and funds CSOs, and also looks at whether the UK government’s broader influencing work on promoting civil society, is achieving the objectives set out in the CSPR.
The review gave DFID’s approach to partnerships with CSOs an amber-red. It found that DFID values CSOs, but its funding and partnership practices do not fully support the long-term health of the civil society sector. Weak management practices have led to delays and uncertainty. Accountability mechanisms are strong, but DFID pays insufficient attention to the global decline in civic space, the sustainability of the results of CSO work and the uptake of learning and successful innovation.
Areas of expertise:
- Aid architecture
- Performance management and accountability
- Institutional change and capacity building
- Civil society
Press coverage: The Sun
