Development Policy Centre Podcast

On Wednesday 9 December 2015, the Development Policy Centre hosted a forum to discuss and debate two recent aid evaluations by DFAT’s Office of Development Effectiveness (ODE). The event addressed the issue of development partnerships with a focus on two recent ODE evaluations of the Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) and Australia’s non-core funding to the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. The multilateral banks and NGOs represent two of the Australian aid program’s more important delivery partners, and the evaluations contain a number of important findings and recommendations. This recording is of the first session of the forum, discussing the evaluation of Australia’s non-core funding to the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. This forum was the latest in a regular series built around ODE evaluations. It was presented by the Development Policy Centre at Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.

Japan’s advanced pharmaceutical industry is renowned, but until recently had relatively little involvement with the development of products to serve the developing world. The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT) is aiming to change that. A public-private partnership fund, GHIT invests in the development of drugs, diagnostics and vaccines for malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS and neglected tropical diseases. Camilla Burkot recently sat down with GHIT’s CEO, Dr BT Slingsby, to discuss the fund’s origins, the kinds of partnerships and products it is fostering, and the impact that these can be expected to have in the coming years.

Speakers: Maria Cadahia-Perez, CARE International in PNG; Kate Duggan, Griffin Natural Resource Management; Cornelio Ase, Program and Humanitarian Manager, Oxfam Australia; Pia Treichel, Plan International Australia Countries in the Pacific and Southeast Asia are amongst the most vulnerable to disasters and the impacts of climate change. Since 2010, the Australian Government has invested $34 million in the Community-Based Climate Change Action Grants (CBCCAG) program, in which ten Australian and International Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) have worked with local partners in the Pacific and Southeast Asia to build resilience to climate change and address development issues at local level. At the end of this period, these projects have been evaluated and have shown real results in increasing the resilience of communities to the impacts of climate change, whilst achieving broader development outcomes. The panel discussion shared the results and lessons from CBCCAG program. This public seminar was presented

Speaker: Dr Anthony Swan, Research Fellow, Development Policy Centre, Crawford School, ANU. The centrepiece of government policy in Papua New Guinea over recent years has arguably been the Tuition Fee Free (TFF) policy implemented in 2012. The TFF effectively eliminated school fees for elementary, primary and secondary students and provided schools with direct funding at a level which on average over-compensated for their loss of school fees. While the TFF has improved access to education and school resources, little is known about its effect on education outcomes as measured by exam results, particularly across gender, location and student age dimensions. In this public seminar, Dr Anthony Swan – Research Fellow at the Development Policy Centre – presented findings based on multilevel modelling of grade eight student level exam results across PNG. The presentation highlighted positive impacts but also the unintentional and negative consequences of the TFF on student learning outcomes. Presentation slides are

Speaker: Mr Keith Hansen, Vice President, Human Development, World Bank Group. Recent health events have highlighted the interconnected nature of the world and the disparities that exist in access to health services across the globe. The World Bank, and many other organisations around the world are trying to help bring about convergence in health access, treatments and outcomes. They do this in various ways - by strengthening national health systems in countries, ensuring that national resources are prioritised to support improvements in health outcomes, supporting global initiatives to tackle issues that extend beyond national borders such as pandemics, anti-microbial resistance, etc. Mr Keith Hansen presented recent events and developments in global health and discussed the Bank’s role in supporting global health initiatives.

Dr Linda Van Leeuwen is a Capacity Building Specialist for Anitua, a landholder company based on the island of Lihir in Papua New Guinea that provides a wide range of services to resource companies. She also heads their corporate social responsibility work, predominantly focused on eliminating violence against women (EVAW). Linda has also been involved heavily with the PNG Business Coalition for Women, as a founding board member and chair of its addressing violence working group. During her recent visit to Australia as part of the ANZ PNG gender parity symposium, Linda discussed with Ashlee Betteridge the challenge of gender violence for businesses operating in Papua New Guinea, and the steps that businesses, particularly in the resource sector, could take to assist their staff and wider communities.

Speaker: Paul Flanagan, Visiting Fellow, Development Policy Centre, Crawford School, ANU. Papua New Guinea will need to make some substantial adjustments in its budget and exchange rate settings to avoid the twin risks of an economic crisis similar to the ones it faced in the 1990s and a further growth slowdown. Investment ratings agencies Moodys as well as Standard and Poors have moved PNG’s outlook to negative; the PNG Treasury mid-year budget document showed 20 per cent of planned revenue was no longer likely; large expenditure cuts have been foreshadowed by the government; economic activity is slowing; and businesses are finding it hard to get foreign exchange. In this public seminar, Mr Paul Flanagan – a visiting fellow at the Development Policy Centre, a former senior executive at the Australian Treasury, and former senior advisor to the PNG Treasury – presented the challenges facing PNG in a historic and international context, and outlined the options. In particular, revenue, expenditure and financing

Speakers: Ms Kath Taplin, Senior Development Manager, Femili PNG; Mr Nat Burke, Policy Adviser, Advocacy & Justice for Children, World Vision International; Ms Alison Chartres, Assistant Secretary, Development Policy and Education Branch, Development Policy Division, DFAT; Mr Peter Russell, Project Manager, International Development Assistance, GHD. Many young people are interested in a career working on some of the toughest challenges facing our world. Thousands volunteer in development organisations across the country, and development studies and international relations are among the most popular undergraduate university courses in Australia. Working in a field that aims to make a difference is no doubt appealing, but it can be tough for students to know where to start. This public seminar, hosted by the Development Policy Centre and the ANU Aid and Development Learning Community, gave students the opportunity to hear from those working in the development sector and to ask questions. Panelists have had

This panel discussion showcased high-profile speakers from Papua New Guinea and Australia. It explored current gender parity issues in Papua New Guinea, how business can work to adopt a diverse workforce and how to expand the opportunities available to both men and women within the changing commercial and social environment of Papua New Guinea. Speakers: Ms Avia Koisen Principal, Koisen Lawyers Dr Eric Kwa Secretary/CEO, PNG Constitutional Law Reform Commission The Honourable Malakai Tabar MP Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology in PNG Magistrate John Kaumi Mendi District Court Senior Provincial Magistrate Dr Linda Van Leeuwen Capacity Building Specialist and Manager, Anitua Professor Stephen Howes Director of the Development Policy Centre (Chair) This panel discussion was part of the ANZ | PNG Gender Parity Symposium, held from 13- 15 October in Canberra, Brisbane and Sydney.

The Honourable Malakai Tabar MP discussed the issues and challenges that Papua New Guinea is currently facing in the higher education sector, and the reforms underway. In 2007, The Hon Malakai Tabar MP was elected Member of Parliament representing the Gazelle Open Electorate. During his first term in parliament he was in Opposition, and was appointed Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Livestock. In 2012, he joined the Goverment through the National Alliance Party and in 2014 he was appointed Minister for the Department of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (DHERST). Mr Tabar visited Australia to participate in the ANZ | PNG Gender Parity Symposium, held from 13- 15 October in Canberra, Brisbane and Sydney.

Dr Lucica Ditiu is the Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership, a global partnership of more than 1300 partners – ranging from multilaterals to community- and faith-based organisations – with a vision of ending tuberculosis (TB), hosted by UNOPS in Geneva. Camilla Burkot caught up with her during her recent visit to Canberra to talk about funding for TB research, engaging politicians, and what the Stop TB Partnership is doing to combat TB stigma. Download the transcript here: http://devpolicy.org/pdf/blog/Transcript_interview-with-Lucica-Ditiu-2Sept2015.pdf

Speakers: Mr Chris Hoy, Overseas Development Institute (ODI); Ms Joy Kyriacou, Oxfam Australia; Ms Natasha Smith, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Professor Stephen Howes, Development Policy Centre. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide an ambitious new agenda to guide global development efforts to 2030. Many have applauded the SDGs for their aspirational qualities – but others have reservations about the likelihood that countries will be able to achieve the agenda’s 17 goals and 169 targets, given the rates of success on the Millennium Development Goals. A new flagship report from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) outlines a set of projections for each of the SDGs – providing the best available snapshot of the progress we can expect to achieve over the next 15 years, assuming that current trends continue, and the areas that will require greater global effort. At the Australian launch of the report, speakers from academia, NGOs, and government examined where we are now, where we can

Speaker: Dr Jaikishan Desai, Senior Lecturer and Director of International Students, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington. In this public lecture, Dr Jaikishan Desai summarised the results of a cluster randomised control trial which sought to measure the impact of exposure to family planning and credit programs in two regions of Ethiopia over a three-year period. Results show that family planning programs had no effect on contraceptive use, fertility and desired family size. The microcredit programs were successful in increasing engagement in the credit market (increased borrowing) but had no measurable impact on a range of outcomes related to income generation and economic well-being.

Tewodros Melesse is the Director-General of the International Planned Parenthood Federation, a federation of 152 national member associations, working in 170 countries, focused on achieving universal sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). During a recent visit to Canberra, he spoke with Camilla Burkot about IPPF’s work in the Pacific and around the world. Transcript available here: http://devpolicy.org/pdf/blog/Transcript_interview-with-TewodrosMelesse-13Aug2015.pdf

Speaker: Ms Liz Satow, National Director, World Vision International Nepal. What was it like on the ground during the Nepalese earthquake? Liz Satow coordinated the entire NGO response to the Nepalese earthquake and had some incredible insights. World Vision Nepal’s National Director Liz Satow shared her experience of the 2015 earthquakes and how World Vision has been working with communities, the Government, and other NGOs to restore services. She talked about the challenge of quickly switching the focus from long-term development activities into short-term relief operations and then planning for the transition back to development activities again.

The Reverend Dr Joel Edwards is the former International Director of Micah Challenge, a global Christian response to extreme poverty. He recently sat down with Camilla Burkot after a panel discussion at the Crawford School sponsored by the Campaign for Australian Aid, to talk about foreign aid in the UK context, politics, and the importance of getting narratives right. Transcript available here: http://devpolicy.org/pdf/Transcript_interview-with-Joel-Edwards-3Aug2015.pdf

Speaker: Ms Gerda Verburg, Chair of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Council on Food Security and Nutrition. Although enough food is being produced to feed everyone on the planet, more than 795 million people remain undernourished. Even as global food production is stepped up to feed an anticipated global population of more than 9 million people by 2050, one third of all currently produced food is lost or wasted. Farmers struggle to maintain a profitable livelihood, and are confronted with increasing environmental constraints in the face of climate change and depleted natural resources. In developing countries agriculture employs as much as 60 per cent of the labour force but fewer and fewer see agriculture as a viable career. The problems are well-known. But how can multilateralism help? This public lecture was presented by The Crawford Fund and the Development Policy Centre at Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.

Speakers: Dr Christopher Edmonds, Senior Economist, Pacific Department, Asian Development Bank; Dr Matthias Helble, Research Fellow, Asian Development Bank Institute. How can Pacific island economies, including those of Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste, tap into projected growth in Asia? How can economic and financial integration between Asia and the Pacific be expanded to benefit both regions? This seminar featured two authors of a recent Asian Development Bank (ADB) book, Leveraging the Benefits of Asia’s Integration and Growth for Pacific Economies, who explored these issues, identified critical constraints to integration and suggested relevant policy reforms. Presentation slides: https://crawford.anu.edu.au/events/5962/leveraging-benefits-asias-integration-and-growth-pacific-economies?tb=download#tab

In this public lecture, Joseph Vecci from Monash University explained the results of a recent co-authored paper on reef density and matrilineal inheritance in fishing communities in the Solomon Islands. He discussed how reef density is associated with the prevalence of matriliny, offering evidence from a sample of 186 societies across the world as well as a sample of 59 small-scale horticultural fishing communities in the Solomon Islands. Presentation slides are available here: https://crawford.anu.edu.au/events/5894/fish-friend-matriliny-reef-density-and-matrilineal-inheritance-melanesia?tb=download#tab

Stephen Howes of the Development Policy Centre delivers a keynote on recent developments in Pacific labor mobility at the 2015 Pacific Update, held at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji, in July.