Focus on

International Development

The UK has a long and proud history in supporting the most marginalised and challenged communities globally – supporting humanitarian crises and helping to address specific development issues in tandem. The private sector has been key to the successful implementation of this delivery capability. British Expertise International is proud to have many of these private sector organisations as members, working with them to maximise the impact they make.
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British Expertise International
What our members in International Development offer:
Skills and experience
Both generalist and specialist: from environmental scientists, governance and rule of law experts, economic development specialists, health and education professionals to financial services and infrastructure consultants.
Global reach
Operations and partnerships around the world, deploying UK expertise, employing local staff and working in partnership with country-based operations to ensure greater localisation, capacity building and skills transfer to support and build self-sufficiency.
Innovation
Proven track record in identifying innovative solutions through their investment in Research and Development and their links to academic institutions; they are equally well practiced in using innovation to improve operational efficiency.
Operate in fragile environments
The private sector suppliers, with their extensive reach and skills are able to mobilise to support these environments rapidly and effectively.
Social Value and value for money
Private sector interventions focus on delivering measurable Social Value in terms of positive public benefits and outcomes in the communities they work. In addition, delivering exceptional value for money in terms of time, money and quality is prioritised.
Agility and flexibility
The private sector organisations provide a range of specialisms and a flexibility and agility that means these skills can be deployed quickly and effectively where they are needed – and can also be efficiently withdrawn when there is no longer perceived to be a clear need.
Collaboration and connectivity
Our members bring extensive connections with relationships and partnerships with ministries, in-country partners and other organisations across the value chain. They have expertise in the discipline of setting up and managing collaborative partnerships with clear goals and effective governance for effective project delivery.
Find out more about membership
British Expertise International

What we do for our members in Education

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Find out more about the Working Group
British Expertise International

Delivering real value for members

Paul Dyson
Managing Director
Their reputation as a voice for UK business overseas continues to ensure that the private sector is able to have a spokesperson to help affect positive change and now, with COVID pandemic, their leadership is ever more salient.
Crossrail International
Gordon Turley
Director - Major Projects
British Expertise International plays a valuable role in organising high-profile events, liaising with government clients and playing a co-ordination role. Their support during COVID-19 has proved valuable –supporting UK businesses to respond to the immediate situation and its aftermath.
Mott MacDonald
Leslie Maruziva
Head, Int. Project Finance
& Govt. Relations
As a company with an international outreach, we have welcomed the regular updates from BEI and in particular, we find the Ambassadorial briefings extremely informative. They are a useful source for a different perspective on our target markets.
Bam Nutall
Sinéad Magill
Managing Partner-EMEA
We value British Expertise International’s excellent convening power and they can be relied upon to pull together great speakers, influential thinkers and industry leaders to address the topics of the day.
Palladium
Jonathan Pell
CEO
As a longstanding member, Adam Smith International appreciates BEI’s ability to provide important platforms and forums for effective policy dialogue with decision-makers in UK government, and the impressive calendar of networking events they host.
Adam Smith Int.
Annabel Bradbury
Director
BEI has been integral in mediating between private sector suppliers and DFID, both with respect to business continuity related to Coronavirus, and in representing the aid sector in discussions around the impacts related to the new FCDO department.
Cardno
Education Working Group’s Positioning Paper

Recover Learning, Rebuild Education

Solutions to the Covid-19 Education crisis: a view from UK-based specialist education providers.

Third Edition

Report: Delivering World Class Development

BEI and its members involved in International Development
BEI GESI Report

Beyond Boundaries

The Role of UK-Based Organisations in Advancing Global Gender Equality and Social Inclusion

Launched May 2023

Report: Delivering World Class Development

BEI and its members involved in International Development
BEI International Development Report

Delivering World Class Development

Leveraging British Expertise To Deliver the UK’s International Development Strategy

Second Edition

Report: Delivering World Class Development

BEI and its members involved in International Development
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Recent Reports

Report: Delivering World Class Development

BEI and its members involved in International Development
Second Edition – Launched August 2022
BEI Education Working Group’s Positioning Paper

"Now systems are beginning to reopen, we have entered a critical period to ensure not just schools can begin to function, but that all learners return to school and differential learning loss is addressed."

The Health Pooled Fund programme is the largest health programme in South Sudan, delivering services in 8 out of the 10 states, and supporting nearly 8000 health workers in 797 public health facilities.

Read their story

Assisting SMEs in Ukraine to adapt to the new context; fiscal policy and macroeconomic stability; war damage assessment and reconstruction; and livelihoods and basic services for internally displaced people.

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Accelerating Brazil’s uptake of non-hydro renewable energy amidst an administration that was resistant to climate change narratives and a congress actively promoting the expansion a domestic gas market.

Read their story

Through the Sudridh-Nepal Urban Resilience Project (Sudridh-NURP), ICF's disaster management and urban development experts are helping to build resilience to economic, environmental, and public health shocks.

Read their story

Business Partnerships for Global Goals (BP4GG) invested in partnerships with 20 multinational companies and not-for-profit organisations to support vulnerable workers hit by the pandemic and build future supply chain resilience. 

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‍Working with 41 projects around the world, all working towards supporting 1.5 million girls in the world into education presented a particularly complex problem for the SDDirect-run safeguarding team.

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In Afghanistan, the team strengthened the UK’s ability to swiftly set up a humanitarian response and contributed to the strategy of UN agencies and partners on key issues such as upholding the rights of women and girls.

Read their story

Working with our members

BEI Working Group:

International Development

  • Within the membership of BEI there are a number of organisations who provide education services. These members are part of the BEI Education Working Group, which aims to incubate collaborative approaches and facilitate information sharing.
  • Our members offer a wide range of expertise, knowledge and products designed to bring the best of UK-based expertise in teaching and learning, support services, content creation, consultancy, training and capacity building to the international market.
  • Through the BEI Education Working Group, we facilitate high value Education events to help members engage with external stakeholders such as government bodies and multilateral institutions and showcase UK expertise and innovative solutions.
Connecting with In-Country Policy Makers
The Working Group is now engaged in following up directly with in-country ministries of education across the world. The aim is to understand their strategies and showcase specific capabilities that are proven to help address their challenges.
Focus on Girls’ Education
In line with the UK’s global focus on the key issue of Girls’ Education, this special Working Group stream supports engagement around the key issues and actions that can help improve access and engagement in education for girls and women.
Focus on Skills
Future economic well-being is dependent upon developing the practical and relevant skills for the 21st century. This is a unifying issue across all countries and sectors supported by BEI. The Working Group will be addressing this important challenge over the coming year.
Get in touch with our Programme Director
Alexandra Barnes

Committed to delivering value to our members

About Us

British Expertise International

  • BEI is the leading business development network for UK-based companies exporting expertise in infrastructure, capacity building and international development services, particularly to fast-growing, emerging and developing international markets.
  • BEI has successfully delivered this unique focus, working both through our networks and alongside the UK government and other stakeholders, for over 50 years.
  • BEI works closely with the UK and foreign governments to help our members understand international markets and opportunities they present through a wide range of activities. These include networking events, sector-focused forums, bespoke international market intelligence, and demand-based trade missions.
"Alinea greatly values the insight and access that BEI brings to its members. We use BEI to stay up-to-date with latest UK government thinking and market intelligence; to review opportunities with other donors and markets; and to project our voice to government as an SME supplier."
Charles Duff, Vice President, Alinea
"BEI events are always high quality, topical and with an excellent range of speakers from government, international development agencies, NGOs, and the private sector. They provide really useful networking opportunities, and we value the role that they play in representing the interests of members – large, medium and small. Staff are professional, supportive, and friendly."
Claire Cameron, Founding Director, PAI
"Perhaps the most exciting benefit of BEI membership and the working groups is the highly collaborative approach, as we have created several new partnerships through our membership that have translated into joint bids on projects with other members."
Dr. Anna Kingsley, Head of Partnerships, Cambridge Partnership for Education
Get in touch to find out more about membership
International Development

Working Group Members

BEI Members involved in

International Development

Abt Global

Adam Smith International

Alinea International

Altair

British Council

British Standards Institution

Cadmus

Catapult

Chemonics

Cowater UK

Crown Agents

Crown Agents Bank

DAI Global UK

DT Global

Development Pathways

Eagle Scientific

Ecctis

Ecorys UK

FHI 360

Fathom

GovRisk

IOD Parc

ITAD

Integrity

International SOS

Mannion Daniels

MetricsLed

Montrose

Mott MacDonald

NFER

Options Consultancy Services

Oxford Policy Management

Palladium

Pegasys

Practical Action

Public Administration International

Quay Asia

Resurgence

Scriptoria

Social Development Direct

Tetra Tech

Thomson Reuters Foundation

Triple Line

UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

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