Guidance

Key lessons learned from due diligence assessments

Due diligence is an important part of DFID’s commitment to demonstrating accountability and transparency in the development sector, and ensuring the effective use of public funds.

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In 2011, the Department for International Development (DFID) contracted KPMG to conduct pre-grant due diligence on its centrally funded new grants to Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). Due diligence is an important part of DFID’s commitment to demonstrating accountability and transparency in the development sector, and ensuring the effective use of public funds. DFID uses the findings from these due diligence processes primarily to assess the capacity of CSOs to effectively manage provisionally awarded grants. The reports also help to identify areas of good practice and potential risks that may require specific provisions to be built into DFID’s grant agreements or Memorandums of Understanding with an organisation.

KPMG conducted over 80 pre-grant due diligence assessments on DFID’s behalf between February and July 2011, providing an important opportunity to learn from good practice and look at ways organisations are addressing the challenges they face. DFID’s assessment is that this process is generating some important lessons for individual organisations, as well as for DFID’s work with CSOs.

Updates to this page

Published 14 May 2013
Last updated 14 February 2014 + show all updates
  1. Revised Due Diligence Lessons Learned added February 2014

  2. First published.

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