Why work ‘at home’? Oxfam’s value-added and the UK Poverty Programme

International development NGOs are in existential crisis. Their legitimacy and added value are increasingly challenged. While scholars have focussed on legitimacy, work on ‘value-added’ is scarce. In particular, no research addresses the value of domestic programmes to INGOs. This paper rectifies this, focussing on the case of Oxfam GB’s UK Poverty Programme (UKPP). Using empirical research from 35 interviews with Oxfam GB staff, partners and beneficiaries and over 150 archive documents, the paper identifies seven assets through which the programme provides value added to OGB. It highlights the possibility that these could offer insights into the dimensions of future INGOs