The structure of the DFID was authored by various Developmental Aid Experts including Chris Collins, Barnaby Edwards Machteld, Nicolas Brown and Timothy Montague Hamilton Douglas.

Though it became a section of the Foreign Office, the ODA was relatively self-contained with its own minister, and the policies, procedures, and staff remained largely intact.

[citation needed] In 1977, partly to shore up its difficult relations with UK business, the government introduced the Aid and Trade Provision.

[citation needed] After the election of the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher in 1979, the ministry was transferred back to the Foreign Office, as a functional wing again named the Overseas Development Administration.

[citation needed] In the early 1980s, part of the agency's operations was relocated to East Kilbride in Scotland, with a view to creating jobs in an area subject to long-term industrial decline.

[11][12] While the decision was met with some controversy among aid workers at the time, Commons International Development Select Committee Chairman Malcolm Bruce explained the rebranding, saying "the name DFID does not reflect the fact that this is a British organisation; it could be anything.

The report responded to a request from the DFID's Accounting Officer to re-visit the topic periodically, which the Comptroller and Auditor General agreed would be valuable.

Whistleblower Sean McLaughlin commenced legal action against the department in the Eastern Caribbean Court,[15] questioning the DFID fraud investigation process.

When it was the Overseas Development Administration, a scandal erupted concerning the department's funding of a hydroelectric dam on the Pergau River in Malaysia, near the Thai border.

[18] In February 2015, the DFID ended its financial support for a controversial development project alleged to have helped the Ethiopian government fund a brutal resettlement programme.

[citation needed] In early 2017 the department ended £5.2m of support for the all-girl Ethiopian acting and pop group Yegna, called "Ethiopia's Spice Girls",[21] citing concerns about the effectiveness and value for money of the programme.

[27] In 2010, £1.85 million had been given to the Foreign Office to fund the Papal visit of Pope Benedict, although a department spokesman said that "The contribution recognised the Catholic Church's role as a major provider of health and education services in developing countries".

The head of the conservative pressure group TaxPayers' Alliance said that "The department should at least get the same treatment other high priority areas like science did – a cash freeze would save billions.

[34][35] Subsequently, concern was expressed in the media that Britain's aid budget was being spent on defence and foreign policy objectives and to support the work of other departments.

[36][37][38] In November 2015, the DFID released a new policy document titled "UK aid: tackling global challenges in the national interest".

[40] The following table lists committed funding from the DFID for the top 15 sectors, as recorded in the department's International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) publications.

New science, technologies and ideas were crucial for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, but global research investments were insufficient to match needs and do not focus on the priorities of the poor.

For example, the DFID was a major donor to the International LUBILOSA programme, which developed a biological pesticide for locust control in support of small-holder farmers in the Sahel.

[48] This emphasised the DFID's commitment to funding high quality research that aims to find solutions and ways of reducing global poverty.