Department for International Development Statistical Consultation
Users of official development assistance statistics and statistics on international development published by DFID.
DFID reports statistics on how much money has been spent on Official Development Assistance (ODA) by the UK government. ODA is the internationally agreed measure of aid spend. The ODA statistics include equity investments (shares in businesses) purchased by the UK’s Development Finance Institution, CDC. CDC is an important part of DFID’s portfolio of interventions to promote private sector development. CDC invests in businesses in Africa and South Asia which would struggle to attract investment otherwise.
A previous internal quality review recommended that DFID statisticians consider whether the UK’s approach is in line with the international rules and best practice in this area. There are many different interpretations of how equity investments from a Development Finance Institution are recorded as ODA. This is in contrast to most other areas of ODA statistical reporting where the guidelines are clear and international practice is consistent.
This consultation sets out the results of the internal review. It also requests feedback on 3 options for reporting this type of ODA in the future