The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's Strategic Programme Fund (SPF) seeks to create real, measurable outcomes in support of the FCO's policy goals.  This programme supports Departmental Strategic Objective 7 (DSO7): "To promote a low carbon, high growth, global economy".

The climate change and energy team in South Africa has been created to ensure that there is a co-ordinated approach within the programme and project work to provide appropriate support to the policy objective, low carbon high growth.

Programme objectives

The SPF Low Carbon - High Growth programme will contribute to the delivery of DSO7, by supporting the following outcomes:

• A visible and accelerated shift in investment initiated in the major economies towards low carbon.
• Political conditions created for an equitable post-2012 agreement at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) in Copenhagen in December 2009 of sufficient ambition to avoid dangerous climate change.
•  Risks to UK and EU energy security managed through more diverse and reliable external sources of supply and more efficient global consumption.
• Increased international commitment to an open, stable and equitable low carbon global economy delivering higher standards of living.

SPF project approval

All project bids will be appraised taking into consideration their alignment with the relevant SPF strategy and the strength of the project structure.  In addition the FCO reserves the right not to fund any projects under any SPF strategy if the outcome of an ongoing review of the FCO’s future funding results in a realignment of the FCO’s programme spends.

The Economic Reform contributes to the achievement of Departmental Strategic Objective 7 (DSO7) – Promote a low carbon, high growth, global economy. Within the programme, there are separate strategies for economic reform.

Economic Reform (ER)

The Programme undertakes in-country project based activity with Governments, NGOs and business in ten emerging markets, recognised by HMG as being amongst the most important to UK economic interests, presenting opportunities for co-operation with the UK as the partner of choice. These are Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Russia and South Africa.

The Programme also works in other countries on a regional basis with multilateral organisations and institutions on global business and economic issues.
The programme has sub-objectives in the following key thematic areas:

• Public expenditure management and fiscal reform
• Labour market reform
• Financial sector reform  
• Trade policy, including WTO/FTA issues, promoting intellectual property rights, and maritime safety and security
• Market regulation promoting a safer environment for business and investment

The programme complements the governance programmes of the Department for International Development and the British Council. There are also links to the Climate Change & Energy Programmes, and with the economic reform elements of the Engaging with the Islamic World Programme.