Setting a new Course: Principles and recommendations for the UK’s international development strategy

As the government plans its development approach for the next decade, it faces a difficult global context. Covid- 19 has intensified existing inequalities and created new ones.

Restrictions and pressures on civil society have increased, development gains are being lost and millions of people are living with the impacts of climate change. Addressing these challenges requires a bold, ambitious new international development strategy (IDS).

This paper sets out a vision for international development in 2030 and a path to get there. It imagines a future where development is decolonised, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) achieved, the climate emergency managed, and where open societies and human rights are supported.

It tells a story of the UK making a significant contribution to these global achievements, building on the strategic priorities and the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy. It brings together the collective expertise of the UK’s development sector to articulate the essential principles, issues and components the UK Government should consider as they draft the new strategy.