Last updated at 14:43 (UK time) 1 Jun 2011

Strategic programme fund

The Strategic Programme Fund (SPF) was formed in 2007 following the FCO's Strategy Refresh and replaced the Global Opportunities Fund (GOF) which oversaw targeted programme spending from 2003-2007.

Current areas of focus include Afghan Counter Narcotics, Low Carbon High Growth, Drugs and Crime, Counter Proliferation, Migration, Overseas Territories, Counter Terrorism and Radicalisation and Reuniting Europe.

SPF Annual Report 2008-09 [PDF, 3399KB, new window]

Diplomacy is about making a difference to the world around us. Britain's diplomats excel in the traditional skills of negotiation and lobbying. But in today’s interconnected world, where civil society has more influence than ever before, it is essential that we engage with an extraordinary range of actors to promote British interests and support our strategic objectives.

The Strategic Programme Fund (SPF) was set-up in 2007, to help us deliver our four foreign policy objectives:

to counter terrorism and weapons proliferation and their causes;
to prevent and resolve conflict;
to promote a low carbon, high growth, global economy;
to develop effective international institutions above all the UN and EU.

Having funds available to help our diplomats achieve these objectives is crucial to their work. It allows them access to the people and groups that matter around the world, not just the governments who are the traditional contacts of diplomats. It makes it possible to sow the seeds of change, or to experiment with new ways of engaging people on the issues that matter to us and the rest of the global community. And it shows that the UK is actively engaged in making a difference, not just talking about it.

The money does make a real difference. Using SPF funds, we have helped to create legal livelihoods for farmers in Afghanistan, allowing them to turn aside from growing the poppy that ends up on Britain’s streets as heroin. We have supported programmes to help our partners tackle the radicalisation that feeds terrorism overseas and at home. We have run projects to build coalitions between civil society and politicians to act on climate change. A little bit of money, combined with close and active partnerships around the world, can make a real difference. This report shows some of the ways in which the SPF has helped us on the way to our goal of a better world and a better Britain.

Strategic programme fund

Previous annual reports

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