Multilateral Aid Review: Ensuring Maximum Value for Money for UK Aid through Multilateral Organisations

This review assessed the value for money for UK aid to 43 multilateral organisations based on criteria including control of costs, delivery of outcomes, focus on poor countries, and accountability and transparency. Of the organisations under review, 9 were found to offer very good value for money, 16 good value, 9 adequate value, and 9 poor value. The assessment drew on a wide range of evidence including survey data, other studies of effectiveness, external evaluations, reporting by the multilateral organisations, visits by DFID staff to 10 developing countries, consultation with developing country partners, and submissions to the review by UK civil society and the multilateral organisations themselves. The review confirmed that the multilateral system is a critical complement to what the UK government can do alone. The best performing organisations were those that are highly focused on results, accountable, and well run and deliver critical improvements to poor people’s lives. But the review also found much room for improvement – particularly in the areas of delivering results on the ground and cost control – and a need for the agencies to work more effectively in partnership with each other.