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 is one component of the Department of Foreign Affairs and...

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 December 2014 Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) and implemented...

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 Operational Evaluations. The first one examined 87 operational evaluations completed...

Gareth Evans examines how non-state actors are increasingly of more importance in the prevention and resolution of crisis and conflict.

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 that can be applied to energy and non-energy Activities. Four...