International Development Volunteering Programme

Description

The programme will pair UK volunteers with national volunteers (one UK volunteer, one national volunteer) in a small number of ODA-eligible countries, and the primary focus will be to complement locally led efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Lot 1: The IDVP’s intended impact will be reducing poverty in partner countries, with better prevention and response to climate change, and greater inclusion for women and girls, in support of the Sustainable Development Goals. IDVP is a commitment in the 2023 International Development White Paper, and will support FCDO’s aim, stated in the paper, to have ‘an increasing number of open societies’, which are ‘meeting citizens’ expectations’ including developing ‘a vibrant civil society’. It also supports our White Paper commitment to ‘work towards a more inclusive and more locally led approach’ to development, with ‘those who best understand local needs and realities’ determining ‘their own future’. Through engagement and communication activities, both at the overall programme and individual level, the IDVP also works towards the White Paper commitment (Chapter 9) to work directly with the UK development sector and engage directly with the UK public to explain the importance of development work and the delivery of the SDGs. IDVP has four intended outcomes (with Outcomes 1 and 2 being priorities due to the development focus): Outcome 1: IDVP volunteers support organisations to achieve positive development results. Outcome 2: Civil Society and other community actors have a greater voice in decisions which affect their development, including how ODA is spent, and are better supported and equipped to actively lead efforts to tackle climate change, reduce poverty, with gender inclusion mainstreamed in all activities. Outcome 3: Young people in ODA-eligible countries and the UK gain positive international development experience and skills which could help them build a career in the field, and builds a pipeline of future development practitioners. Outcome 4: The UK public has a better understanding and is more supportive of the UK’s international development spending, and volunteers on the scheme champion this both during their time with the programme and when they return home.