MPs launch new inquiry on the Multilateral aid Review (MAR)

The MAR concluded that of the 43 agencies, nine were providing very good value for money; 16 were providing good value for money; nine were providing adequate value for money; and nine were providing poor value for money. These results have been used to inform DFID’s decisions about subsequent funding.

DFID is currently undertaking a MAR update exercise to assess progress thus far against reform priorities that had been identified in 2011. Updated assessments will be published in two batches in the summer of 2013 and the end of 2013. The first batch will cover humanitarian agencies, development banks, global funds and agencies in ‘special measures’; the second will cover EU and UN agencies.

The International Development Committee is to launch an inquiry on the 2013 MAR update, with a particular focus on EU and UN agencies. It invites submissions on the following issues:

• How effectively DFID works with the global multilateral system in pursuit of its overall aid and wider development and humanitarian objectives;
• How well DFID makes overall judgements about its engagement with multilaterals, in both financial and policy spheres;
• Specific examples of particularly good or particularly poor performance by DFID in relation to multilaterals, and by DFID-funded multilaterals;
• How DFID should approach multilateral aid reviews;
• How DFID should make use of the findings of the 2013 MAR update;
• The appropriateness of funding multilaterals with high administration costs, at a time when DFID’s own administration costs are being cut;
• The usefulness of giving an ‘overall’ assessment of particular agencies, when in practice their performance may vary from country to country;
• Impact of the MAR process on the agencies being assessed;
• Opportunities for DFID to collaborate with other bilaterals in assessing multilateral performance, to reduce the burden on the agencies being assessed.

The Committee invites written submissions from interested organisations and individuals. The deadline for these is 27 May 2013.

Written evidence submitted should:
Be no longer that 3000 words in length

• Have numbered paragraphs
• Avoid the use of colour or expensive-to-print material
• Be provided electronically in MS Word or Rich Text format (No PDF’s) by e-mail to indcom@parliament.uk.  If submitted by e-mail or e-mail attachment, a letter should also be sent validating the e-mail. The letterhead should contain your full postal address and contact details

Submissions can also be sent by post to International Development Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London, SW1P 3JA.

View guidance on giving evidence to Select Committees.

Please also note that: 

• Material already published elsewhere should not form the basis of a submission, but may be referred to within written evidence, in which case a hard copy of the published work should be included. If a number of published documents are sent to accompany written evidence, these should be listed in the covering email. 
• Written evidence submitted must be kept confidential until published by the Committee, unless publication by the person or organisation submitting it is specifically authorised. 
• Once submitted, evidence is the property of the Committee. The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to make public the written evidence it receives, by publishing it on the internet (where it will be searchable), by printing it or by making it available through the Parliamentary Record Office. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure. The Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.  
• It would be helpful, for Data Protection purposes, if individuals wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details separately in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. 
• Select Committees are unable to investigate individual cases.

(Image: DFID)