International development programme - review: summary report

Scope of the Review

The Scottish Government's 2016 International Development Strategy, which was developed under public consultation, was not itself under review, but rather review sought to refresh our approach. We were clear therefore that our partner-countries would remain unchanged. Malawi, Zambia and Rwanda remain our partners in sub-Saharan African; and in Pakistan we continue to focus on girls higher education. 

The Review considered the following areas:

• Programme themes in our African partner-countries.
• Programme design, in particular delivering on partner-led development, taking account of and addressing race and inequalities issues and ensuring that as much funding as possible is spent in our partner-countries.
• Future-proofing our programme in our partner-countries and here in Scotland.  

The Review was also particularly focused on the balance of spend between Scotland and our partner countries, in the light of our commitment to partner-led development and 'shifting the balance of power', these two concepts are key in reshaping the programme going forward.