Crowdsourcing international development: have your say

Tim Aldred, Progressio's Advocacy Manager, on the latest plans by the government to get the public's involvement in defining development priorities.

Here at Progressio we have been following closely the plans of the coalition government with respect to international development. We've been keen to see that although "under new management" that the UK will continue to prioritise the fight against poverty, and the early signs are encouraging.

Despite the pressure on public finances, the commitment to meeting our promises to the world's poor is holding firm. At the same time, we're all thinking carefully about how to make this money work hard, getting the most impact out of the funds available.
 
The government has already launched a few open consultations in various areas of its work, and international development is no different to this ‘crowdsourcing’ approach.

Under the title "Making a Difference", the new Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell, is setting out the new government's plans for the UK international development work and inviting comments online here:

https://www.dfid.gov.uk/makingadifference

Many things are up for discussion, including

• the countries and regions where the Department for International Development (DfID) should work
• what kind of work DfID should prioritise
• how we can make sure that the UK's aid spending is used efficiently and is properly spent

This is an important opportunity for members of the public (and that means you!) to register your ideas about the UK's international development work.

Decisions taken on these issues in the next few months will guide the UK's international development policy for several years to come, so there's no better time to share your ideas, concerns, and suggestions.
 
We're interested to know what you think too, so if you do take part in DfID's consultation, do let me or others in the Progressio team know what you think – why not leave a comment below?

Photo: Protestors march to demand the government 'Put People First' ahead of the London G20 Summit. Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk/ Progressio

Find out more about Progressio’s current thinking on ‘value for money’ in development here.