The House of Commons International Development Committee have published an updated Area of Research Interest to support the Committee’s scrutiny of the UK’s international development strategy and funding: Select Committee Area of Research Interest: The impact of the UK’s International Development funding). Academics at all career stages, research institutions, and experts are encouraged to register their interest in these ARIs, add their existing research in the topic areas to the ARI repository, provide their insights, and suggest questions that the Committee could be asking the Government. ​ 

The ARI includes several specific areas of interest. These include evaluating the impact of UK aid spending, as well as the UK spending through development finance institutions, the availability and quality of data on the UK Government’s contribution to international development and the impact of in-country refugee costs on wider UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) effectiveness. 

The research and insights contributed in response to this ARI will help support the International Development Committee’s scrutiny of the UK’s international development funding. When researchers register on the repository, parliamentary staff will be able to access the information entered to inform their work. They may also contact researchers when they are seeking experts to contribute to the Committee’s work.​ 

ARIs are being used by some Parliamentary select committees as a further method for engagement with the research community, in addition to their calls for evidence based on their current priorities and inquiries. 

It is planned to keep the ARI open for responses until 17 April 2023, and information provided by researchers in response to the ARI will be reviewed on a weekly basis until then.