A new paper looking at ‘Scotland and Wales in Africa: Opportunities for a Coordinated UK Approach to Development’  was launched by Chatham House last month. The report suggests that at a time when DFID and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) face significant cuts, there is now a great opportunity to encourage innovative and better coordinated development policies across all levels of government.

The paper looks at how, despite the limitations of devolution, Scotland and Wales have launched independent international development initiatives focused on African countries - the Scottish Malawi Development Programme and the Wales for Africa Scheme.

It particularly highlights the innovative emphasis on establishing links between communities, schools and institutions in order to gain mutual benefit from sharing skills and establishing friendships and suggests that this element has real potential to add nuance to the multi-million-pound programmes run by the Department for International Development (DFID).

To access the report visit www.chathamhouse.org.uk/files/18859_0311anyimadu.pdf