Independent Commission for Aid Impact

Independent Commission for Aid Impact
ICAI
FormationMay 2011[1]
PurposeExamination of the impact of UK Official Development Assistance
Part-time Commissioners
Liz Ditchburn and Harold Freeman [2]
Staff
11 and external supplier [3]
Websitehttps://icai.independent.gov.uk/

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) is an independent non-departmental public body tasked with the scrutiny of British Official development assistance (ODA).[4]

Launched in May 2011 by then Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell, the body scrutinises and reports on the effectiveness of British ODA, focusing on the work of the Department for International Development (DFID) and other government departments that disperse ODA.[5][6] It however, does not cover ODA provided by devolved governments, that is, the Scottish and Welsh governments.[7][8] ICAI's current Chief Commissioner is Dr Tamsyn Barton.[9]

ICAI's work is monitored by the Sub-Committee on the work of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact part of the International Development Committee.[10] ICAI hires a service provider, Agulhas Applied Knowledge, to carry out its work on its behalf, and has also worked with KPMG, Concerto Partners LLP and the Swedish Institute for Public Administration.[11][12]

It was announced that ICAI would remain as a monitoring agency as the Foreign & Commonwealth Office merged with the Department for International Development to form the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.[13]

The UK government is in the process of reviewing ICAI's remit as it did in a 2017 tailored review.[14][15] The International Development Committee similarly is investigating ICAI's performance between 2019 and 2020 and its future.[16]

  1. ^ "Civil Service: Manpower". publications.parliament.uk. UK Hansard. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 5 October 2020. The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) was put in place as a shadow operation in October 2010 and became fully operational only in May 2011.
  2. ^ https://www.gov.uk/government/news/independent-commission-for-aid-impact-new-commissioners-appointed
  3. ^ "ICAI Annual Report 2019-2020 ICAI functions and structure" (PDF). icai.independent.gov.uk. Independent Commission for Aid Impact. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  4. ^ "ICAI About Us". ICAI. 21 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Government responses to the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) reports". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  6. ^ Kerusauskaite, Ingrida (6 February 2018). Anti-Corruption in International Development. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-27202-5.
  7. ^ "Can aid watchdog stem the sceptics?". Public Finance International. 1 October 2012. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  8. ^ "ICAI's remit". ICAI. 21 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Dr Tamsyn Barton". icai.independent.gov.uk. ICAI. 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020. Dr Tamsyn Barton Chief Commissioner
  10. ^ "Role - Sub-Committee on the work of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact". International Development Committee. 21 October 2018. Retrieved 8 November 2018.
  11. ^ "ICAI About Us". ICAI. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  12. ^ Tran, Mark (16 May 2013). "DfID's aid spend on contractors comes under scrutiny". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  13. ^ "Foreign Secretary commits to more effective and accountable aid spending under new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office". Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). London, UK. 29 August 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  14. ^ "ICAI review: terms of reference". gov.uk. Cabinet Office. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Tailored review of the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI)". gov.uk. DFID, Cabinet Office. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  16. ^ "ICAI: Performance in 2019-20 and Future Role". committees.parliament.uk. UK House of Commons International Development Committee. 1 September 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.