International relief
NARROWER TERMS
Fact sheet
Fact Check: Anthony Albanese says Australia is the largest non-NATO contributor to Ukraine. Is that correct?
Anthony Albanese says Australia is the largest non-NATO contributor to Ukraine. Verdict: doesn't stack up.
Report
Collective resilience: NZ’s aid contributions in times of inequality and crises
This report examines New Zealand’s overseas aid contributions against six principles of a quality aid programme that reduces inequality and poverty. The report finds that while New Zealand’s aid contribution has some firm foundations, there is room for substantial improvement.
Strategy
Partnerships for recovery: Australia’s COVID-19 development response
The Australian government’s Partnerships for Recovery policy presents Australia’s priorities in working globally, and especially with our near neighbours, to minimise the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Report
Freedoms under threat: the spread of anti-NGO measures in Africa
This report describes and analyses the approaches that African governments are taking to impose restrictions that handicap NGO activity on the continent.
Briefing paper
False promises: how delivering education through public-private partnerships risks fueling inequality instead of achieving quality education for all
A growing body of evidence shows that education public-private partnerships which support private schooling, used in a large number of donor funded education systems, are too often failing the most vulnerable children and risk deepening inequality.
Briefing paper
Hitting the target: an agenda for aid in times of extreme inequality
This paper identifies ten principles that are crucial to ensuring that aid rises to the challenges involved in helping the poorest countries to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Working paper
Understanding donor motivations: developing the Principled Aid Index
ODI’s Principled Aid Index visualises data measuring the 29 bilateral donors’ motivations for providing official development assistance. The Index ranks donors according to whether their foreign aid allocations support a principled or parochial national interest. This working paper outlines the conceptual framework that informed the...
Report
Strategic choice: a future-focused review of the DFAT-AusAID integration
This review originated in conversations between the author and various development professionals about value of standing back after 5 years and assessing the impact of the 2013 AusAID-DFAT integration. The intent was to inform the next phase of Australia's international development work so that it...
Report
United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
The Committee reports on its Inquiry into Australia's relationship with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Draft report
Investment design: Australia-Indonesia partnership in disaster risk management
The goal of this program is to improve Indonesia's management of disaster risks and to strengthen cooperation between Australia and Indonesia's on regional humanitarian issues.
Report
Charity still ends at home: the continuing decline of Australia’s official development assistance
This reports suggest that Australia’s aid spending, already at record lows, could be cut further, making our aid contribution proportionately lower than that of Greece.
Report
From evidence to impact: development contributions of Australian aid funded research
Aiming to provide insight to funders and researchers on how to maximise development outcomes, this study investigated how development research funded through the Australian Development Research Awards Scheme (ADRAS) has influenced policy and practice.
Policy report
Aid for inclusive trade: new thinking for Australia's Aid for Trade agenda
This report examines ten years of primary aid for trade data and programming, and its impact on poverty reduction and inclusive growth. The report also considers how these emerging global trends can inform Australia’s own aid for trade agenda.
Discussion paper
Australia's humanitarian programme 2017-18: discussion paper
This discussion paper has been prepared for the public to provide their views on the management and composition of the Humanitarian Programme (the Programme) for 2017–18.
Report
Suffering in silence: the 10 most under-reported humanitarian crises of 2016
Aid organisation, CARE International, has issued a new report highlighting the top ten most underreported humanitarian crises of 2016. The report features food crises in Eritrea, Madagascar, North Korea and Papua New Guinea; conflicts in Burundi, Lake Chad Basin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African...
Report
Gone backwards: findings from the 2016 Australian aid transparency audit
This report outlines findings from an audit that was conducted in order to assess the transparency of the Australian aid program at the project level as of mid-2016, as measured by the availability of information about aid-funded projects on the Department of Foreign Affairs and...
Guide
Australian NGO accreditation guidance manual (2016)
In 1996 DFAT and Australian non-government organisations (NGOs) initiated an accreditation scheme for NGOs participating in the official Australian aid program. Accreditation enables NGOs to participate in the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP). Accreditation acts as a front-end risk management and due diligence process. It...
Report
Changes to Australia’s overseas aid program under the Abbott and Turnbull Governments 2013–2016: key policies and responses
The Abbott Government made important changes to Australia’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) programs, following its election in September 2013. Large reductions in funding, foreshadowed in the Coalition’s September 2013 pre-election costings, commenced in January 2014. A further series of funding cuts were announced in the...
Report
Review of operational evaluations completed in 2014
In the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, independent operational evaluations focus on individual aid investments. These evaluations are generally managed by DFAT's country and regional programs. This Review of Operational Evaluations examined 35 such evaluations completed in 2014. It is the second Review of...
Essay
The role of international NGOs: the International Crisis Group as a case study
Gareth Evans examines how non-state actors are increasingly of more importance in the prevention and resolution of crisis and conflict.
Report
Infrastructure in the Pacific: learnings from completed investments 2004-2013
Selected infrastructure investments completed between 2004-2013 by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) were evaluated. The purpose of the evaluation is to independently inform MFAT of improvements that can be made within current infrastructure investments in the Pacific and lessons learned...
Book
NGOs and political change: a history of the Australian Council for International Development
The Australian Council for International Development is the peak body of Australian international development NGOs. This book explores ACFID’s history since its founding in 1965, drawing on current and contemporary literature as well as extensive archival material. The trends and challenges in international development are...
Working paper
Innovation spaces: transforming humanitarian practice in the United Nations
Presents new research on the objectives, motivations, and challenges of ‘innovation spaces’ in humanitarian and development work. Introduction The use of the term ‘lab’, more commonly seen in the physical and natural sciences, conjures a sense of a safe haven for experimentation, focused problem solving...
Website
Chinese aid in the Pacific
China has diplomatic relations with 8 Pacific island countries: the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Fiji, Niue, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa, Tonga, and Vanuatu. Others recognise Taiwan. China has held two main regional meetings (2006 & 2013) in which it announced a...
Report
Working in decentralised service systems: challenges and choices for the Australian aid program
The report examined Australia’s support for service systems in decentralised contexts - the evaluation focussed on the health, education and infrastructure (water, sanitation and roads) sectors.