ICE submission to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s call for evidence on international development

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) put out a call for evidence to inform the government’s approach to international development to 2030.

The ICE’s submission to the FCDO highlighted:

• The UK can play a leading role in international development by drawing on its postings worldwide.

  Local knowledge and expertise networks can be used to understand the local context better.

  They can also define how UK partnerships with countries in the Global South can help to build and strengthen existing ways of working, taking a country’s national characteristics into account.

• To ensure the UK is responding to those most in need when it comes to infrastructure planning, every project should involve a range of stakeholders in the decision-making process.

  This includes NGOs, local politicians, and development organisations.

• The UK is particularly well placed to play a role in international development by sharing its insights and best practices for accelerating digitalisation.

  The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has taken the lead on this by implementing measures to boost digitalisation.

• To accelerate progress for middle-income countries, governments need to carry out a comprehensive needs assessment before creating a national infrastructure plan.

  This will reveal specific areas that require improvement to boost wellbeing.

• The ICE-led Enabling Better Infrastructure (EBI) programme is working to achieve accelerated progress toward international development through strengthening strategic infrastructure planning.

  EBI brings together policymakers from around the world to share what has worked well for them when planning infrastructure.

  It’s underpinned by knowledge-sharing principles and promotes the idea that every country has a valuable lesson to offer.