Glossary of Development Terms and Abbreviations

NB: Some of these terms are specific to DFID, others are used throughout the development community.

Ramsar Convention - aims to stem the progressive loss of wetlands of international importance.

Ranking - placing projects, objectives or activities, in order of value or priority according to agreed criteria.

Rapid Assessment - to obtain maximum knowledge with minimum time and resources - the key principles are 'optimal ignorance' and 'proportionate accuracy'.

Rapid Onset Disaster - The impact of a natural or man-made disaster arising over a short timescale and posing an acute, generalised threat to life or basic well-being which overwhelms local coping capacity. Examples of rapid onset natural disasters include hurricanes/cyclones, floods, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes; man-made disasters include industrial or major transport accidents, environmental incidents, and short-lasting wars and other civil disturbances.

RAR - Resource Allocation Round

Rating - An assessment or judgement based on specific, defined criteria. These generally, but not necessarily, relate to project success (i.e. achievement of project objectives).

Real Terms prices - see constant prices.

Reconciliation Programmes - These actively seek to promote the integration of competing or marginalised groups within in mainstream society, through providing opportunities for equitable access to political decision-making, social networks, economic resources and to information.

Refugees - Persons who are outside their country of origin and who due to well-founded fear of persecution, are unable or unwilling to avail themselves of that country's protection. Under the agreed international instruments concerning refugees, persons meeting this basic criteria are considered to be refugees, regardless of whether or not they are formally recognised as such by a national authority or by UNHCR.

Refugee Relief - is available to assist, in practical ways, refugees (defined under the 1951 Convention relating to the status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol) who fled their countries of origin in an emergency situation, and who require assistance other than the immediate needs provided by Disaster Relief. This may take a number of forms such as primary health care, education, skills training, income generation or help with basic agricultural production.

Regularity of Expenditure - the requirement for all items of expenditure and receipts to be dealt with in accordance with the legislation authorising them, any applicable delegated authority and the rules of Government Accounting. (See also propriety).

Relevance - the extent to which the aid activity is consistent with the priorities and policies of the Target Group, recipient, and donor.

Renewable Natural Resources Research Strategy - a ten-year strategy for DFID's central Knowledge programmes in the NR Sector.

Replicability - The extent to which something (an Activity, Output, or Impact) can be reproduced in other places or circumstances.

Reporting - the type, number and other characteristics of reports to be produced during the course of developing and implementing a project or carrying out supporting studies. They provide the basis for monitoring and steering a project through its various stages.

Required rate of Return - a target average rate of return, usually expressed for central government bodies as a return on the current cost value of total capital employed.

Resource Centres - DFID negotiates a general Memorandum of Understanding with an organisation (including inter alia salary levels, types of work to be undertaken, individuals who would undertake the work) which then allows DFID spenders to work directly with the organisation using standard 'call down' contracts.

Resources - the inputs needed to undertake a project, generally including finance, people, equipment, facilities, raw materials, and possibly physical elements such as land and water.

Restricted Tender - a procedure where only those suppliers who have been invited may submit a tender.

Results - the outcomes of certain specified actions (see also: Log Frame Analysis; Outputs).

Retrospective Terms Adjustment - a policy adopted by the DFID in July 1978. Repayments on DFID loans to the poorest countries are waived as they become due (currently 33 countries have benefited from this policy).

Revenue - income earned by the project (as compared with capital investment); this income may be generated through sales or could be in the form of a revenue grant/subsidy by a funder.

Revenue Income - the income generated by the operation of a project through, for example, charges for services.

Revenue Project - a project which does not involve capital investment, but involves continuing expenditure e.g. running a training programme, running an energy efficiency advice service (to be distinguished from revenue-earning or revenue-generating projects).

Review - a periodic assessment of the Performance of the project.

More than monitoring, but less than evaluation. An evaluation is more comprehensive, and places greater emphasis on impact.

Revolving Funds - an ongoing credit facility comprising a fund from which money is lent, replenished through repayments and then re-lent, up to a defined limit. Revolving funds can offer very competitive borrowing rates, and they can be increased by returning the interest (over and above inflation) and the principal back into the fund.

Risks - where the number and type of possible future events exceeds the number of events that will actually occur, and some measure of probability can be attached to them.

Risks can be classified as arising from factors within project control; from factors in the wider policy and institutional environment controllable outside of the project; or as essentially uncontrollable.

In many cases of risk, a range of possible values that an event/outcome could take can be identified, and a probability of each value occurring can be estimated. This will be used in risk analysis. In other cases our state of knowledge is so preliminary that we cannot set out either a range of possibilities or probabilities (sometimes referred to as uncertainty).

Risk Assessment - the analysis of risks and assumptions for all the critical elements of a project.

Also the comparison of the risk associated with each project option. It involves identification of the risks, their likelihood of occurring, and their impact on each option, and how the risk may be managed. Risk assessment is part of the process of arriving at a preferred option. The simplest approach is brainstorming to produce a list of risks. Another useful approach is to look at what has happened with similar projects elsewhere. Finally, it is also possible to apply a range of statistical methods, however, it is often impossible to quantify all the parameters. (see also: Sensitivity Analysis).

Risk Management - Once the risks attaching to a particular project option have been identified, risk management attempts to lessen their effects. It does this by applying a range of management techniques. For example, it might be possible to take out insurance, to re-plan the project, to carry out further research or implement the project on a pilot basis, or allowance could be made in the budget in the form of contingencies.

Running Costs - are staff costs plus other administrative items such as accommodation, travel, training, office equipment which are required for DFID to deliver the aid programme against policy, accountability and professional quality standards.

Back to Top