Contribution to international development: report 2021 to 2023

Introduction, Purpose and Scope of Report

This Report on the Scottish Government’s Contribution to International Development covers a three-year period 2021-23. As with previous such Reports, it takes a holistic look at a wide cross-section of Scottish Government international development activity, and presents it within the context of the UN Global Goals (Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs). The key focus of this Report is on Scottish Government development assistance spend, whether overseas spend or spend in Scotland, however, it also provides content on how wider Scottish Government policies in key sectoral areas additionally contribute to international development outcomes.

The first three Scottish Government Contribution to International Development Reports were published in September 2018, September 2019 and February 2021. Those Reports delivered on a Scottish Government Programme for Government (PfG) commitment in 2017, which covered the Parliamentary term to 2021. We have flexed and adjusted our report over time, following feedback and engagement, and in this case are producing a Report covering three years of activity bringing together a range of our strategies, projects and announcements into one document. We look forward to engaging with stakeholders in our partner countries and in Scotland to understand what frequency and content would be most helpful in future.

This Report is the fourth Report on the Scottish Government’s contribution to international development and is the first Report to cover an extended three-year period and covers an in-depth reflection on the breadth of the Scottish Government’s International Development Fund, Climate Justice Fund, Humanitarian Emergency Fund, water programming, and global citizenship work.

The Scottish Government’s international development work is funded from within its own budget and is additional to the contribution that Scotland already makes through its taxpayers to the UK Government's international development work delivered through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and other UK Government Departments. As highlighted in our previous Reports, our Official Development Assistance (ODA) spend is included by UK Government within its overall ODA return to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and is counted by the UK towards its commitment to spend a set percentage of its gross national income (GNI) on ODA (the UK Government currently has a set target of 0.5% GNI spend on ODA). However, like any other part of the Scottish Government budget, our own development spend is subject to Scottish Parliament approval and scrutiny.