Joined-up government? Insights from education during DFID’s first decade

Abstract

The establishment of DFID and the emergence of a new policy of international development counts as one of the major achievements of the first ten years of the Labour government, 1997–2007.Clare Short’s leadership brought a commitment and a vision to DFID’s emerging identity, but support from Blair and Brown was also crucial in carving out a decisive role for the new Department nationally and internationally. ‘Joined up government’ was an important strategy embraced by the Labour Government, with both Blair and Brown having a particular interest in development issues. The Education sector demonstrates how different initiatives helped to shape DFID’s evolving policy, but were sometimes in contradiction when other policy initiatives came to the fore.