2
In confidence
Eastern Europe where the speed and uncertainty of change demand planning flexibility and a rigorous re-examination of priorities. At the same time, and for reasons that are different in each case, there are planning uncertainties stemming from Britain's relations with the Middle East, the Islamic world, Afghanistan, China, and Southern Africa.
3.6 In response to this environment of change and challenge, the Council's planning includes alternative strategies and identifies opportunities to minimize risks and ensure the achievement of objectives.
3.7 This Corporate Plan (CP3) takes into account developments since the second Corporate Plan (CP2) was written, which affect the baseline from which the current Plan begins. These include:
an increase of £8.6 million in the government grant from FCO in 1990/91 which includes £3 million recurrently to meet risen costs and £3 million recurrently to fund additional British Council programmes
• between 1988/89 and 1990/91, a 14% increase (in real terms) in ODA and FCO agency and a 93% increase in project work
• a projected 2.2% efficiency gain from staff and running costs budgets for 1990/91, compared
with the minimum 1.5% expected throughout Whitehall,
The Council's progress towards achieving its principal corporate targets for 1989/90 is set out on page ix. Annex A on page 52 lists targets which are carried forward from the second Corporate Plan (CP2 1990/91 to 1992/93); the next Corporate Plan (CP4) will report on the achievement of these targets.
3.8 In describing the Council's strategy for the triennium, the following planning assumptions are made:
• current government priorities and public spending policy will remain broadly the same
domestic inflation will not fall below 5%
⚫ the total volume of work handled by Council offices at home and overseas will continue to rise ⚫ the global level of activity on behalf of ODA in relation to training will be maintained at least at 1989/90 levels, and project work undertaken for ODA will increase.
4 Resources
4.1 The terms used in table 1 (page 4) apply to all tables of financial forecasts throughout the Plan. All figures are rounded to the nearest
Total global allocation of funds
1990/91
British Council programmes 11%
Staff and running
costs UK 19%
Staff and running costs overseas 21%
£348 million
Agency 49%
Figure 2