In response to the consultation: The FCDO's approach to value for money

My name is Ben Dunn Flores, I am a startup founder and designer, and in these roles have created experimental procedures and translated them into better operational practice. I became interested in foreign aid / international development in 2018 and have read widely on the subject, which has lead me to believe that there are surprisingly cheap ways to increase the effectiveness of aid funding. My previous company, Roost, was set up to address the housing crisis in the UK, raised £750k in funding, and is currently run by my cofounder.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has a significant opportunity to enhance its operational effectiveness through strategic investment in evidence generation and knowledge management. Research by the World Bank's Development Impact Evaluation department demonstrates that allocating just 1% of project costs to high-quality evidence generation can improve effectiveness by 50% or more.

We recommend increasing FCDO's Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning investments to 5% of total Official Development Assistance, focusing on three key areas:

First, implement systematic collection and publication of unit cost data across all programmes. This should be mandatory for FCDO partners and supported by cross-agency data sharing communities and specialist tools. This data would enable robust cost-effectiveness modelling and evidence-based decision making.

Second, develop and maintain comprehensive "best buy" lists for each sector. Analysis shows that systematic benchmarking against proven interventions typically improves programme cost-effectiveness by 40-60%. By creating a publicly accessible database of evidence-backed interventions with standardised unit costs, FCDO could set a global standard for evidence-based programming.

Third, establish a rigorous impact evaluation framework that systematically assesses the effectiveness of FCDO's funding mechanisms and delivery instruments. This would fill critical evidence gaps in our understanding of which approaches work best in different contexts, enabling more strategic resource allocation and improved programme design across the portfolio.

These investments would quickly generate returns through enhanced programme effectiveness, reduced duplication, and improved resource allocation. Furthermore, the increased transparency would strengthen accountability to British taxpayers while positioning FCDO as a leader in evidence-based development practice.

Thanks,

Ben

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