§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to advance the target of an increase in the proportion of the Department's low-risk bilateral projects evaluated as successful. [148144]
§ Hilary BennDFID's 2003 Autumn Performance Report on progress against our Public Service Agreement, a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House last month, reported that 80 per cent. of our low-risk projects are currently evaluated as completely or largely successful. Of the remaining 20 per cent., many of these are evaluated as achieving a number of their objectives. While this represents a high success rate, DFID is constantly seeking to improve the impact and value for money of all our interventions, including high, medium and low-risk projects.
All projects are subject to an approval process in which their potential contribution to our corporate priorities is assessed. Once underway, projects are `scored' annually to review progress towards achieving their objectives. Fuller reviews are undertaken midway through their duration and once they are completed. We also conduct wider evaluations of our portfolio's success and of the lessons we have learned. The performance of our portfolio, and progress against this target, is monitored every three months by DFID's Management Board. These processes allow us to address slippage and make judgments about how our resources should best be used.