Development Policy Centre Podcast

When they are surveyed, Australians appear to be supportive of aid work. Yet beyond the presence of nominal, high-level support, little is known about the nature of their support for aid, or the type of Australian most favourable to aid giving. Are aid supporters predominantly wealthy? Or religious? Or educated? Or young? And is support coupled with particular political or ideological beliefs? Even less is known about the depth of the Australian public’s commitments to aid giving — the extent to which people are actually willing to support aid work when it comes at a cost. In this public seminar, the authors of a Development Policy Centre Discussion Paper presented findings from analysis of two new datasets – one based on surveyed support for government aid, and one based on actual private donations to aid non-governmental organisations (NGOs). They discussed the socioeconomic and political traits most strongly associated with support for government aid, traits most strongly associated with NGO donations, and

In 2012, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) convened the Executive Council on Development—a bipartisan group of leaders from government, business, nongovernmental organisations, and philanthropy—to explore how the US government and private sector can work together to support the economic success of developing countries. In this public lecture, Daniel F Runde and Anna Saito Carson of the Project on US Leadership in Development at CSIS discussed the Council’s findings and the recommendations of their final report, Our shared opportunity: a vision for global prosperity. The report provides a targeted set of recommendations for the US government and private sector, calling for a greater reliance on business, trade, and investment tools to achieve better development outcomes. It also outlines specific recommendations to elevate broad-based growth to the centre of US development policy; align federal agencies with the private sector for better development outcomes; and better leverage busines

Women in Papua New Guinea are chronically under-represented in all levels of government and business and face barriers to achieving a tertiary education. Those who do succeed must navigate a male dominated workforce, while a small formal sector and rising unemployment limit opportunities. This event brought two prominent female professionals from Papua New Guinea to ANU to speak about their own experiences in this challenging environment and to share ideas on what can be done to increase women’s participation in the workforce, tertiary education and more widely. The speakers discussed challenges they have faced working in the public and private sectors and provided insights into the opportunities available to the new generation of Papua New Guinean women. Avia Koisen is a civil lawyer with more than 18 years’ of experience and is Principal of Koisen Lawyers, her own civil law firm in Port Moresby. Mrs Koisen is also one of the founding members and currently the Interim President of the Papua New Guinea Women’

Jonathan Pryke sits down with Andrew Leigh, the Federal Member for Fraser and Shadow Assistant Treasurer. Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/inequality-should-developing-countries-be-worried-an-interview-with-andrew-leigh-mp-20140724/

Tess Newton Cain sits down with Fred Samuel Tarisongtamate, the Government Chief Information Officer for Vanuatu.

Stephen O’Brien has been a Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom for nearly 15 years. For two and a half years from 2010 he was a development minister in the Department for International Development. He is currently the UK Prime Minister’s envoy to the Sahel. A few weeks ago Jonathan Pryke sat down with Stephen, who was visiting Canberra in his capacity as the Global Advocate for the Roll back Malaria Partnership (RMP), an area in which he has had a personal passion for more than 30 years. This is a podcast of that interview. Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/the-roll-back-malaria-partnership-global-advocate-stephen-obrien-on-its-role-and-the-challenges-of-fighting-malaria-20140704/

The PNG Update discussed and debated the latest economic and social developments in PNG. This event was multidisciplinary in nature. The conference presented papers from academics and practitioners on the following topics: PNG’s economic outlook Strategies to convert the resource boom into development Social issues in a booming economy Facilitating broad economic development – agriculture, fisheries, tourism etc SMEs and economic competitiveness Margaret Adamson is Australia’s Deputy Head of Mission to Papua New Guinea. More details on the PNG Update can be found here: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/png-and-pacific-updates/png-update

The PNG Update discussed and debated the latest economic and social developments in PNG. This event was multidisciplinary in nature. The conference presented papers from academics and practitioners on the following topics: PNG’s economic outlook Strategies to convert the resource boom into development Social issues in a booming economy Facilitating broad economic development – agriculture, fisheries, tourism etc SMEs and economic competitiveness The Hon Mr. Patrick Pruatich is Treasurer of the Government of Papua New Guinea. More details on the PNG Update can be found here: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/png-and-pacific-updates/png-update

The 2014 Pacific Update consisted of two days of panel discussions, including country updates from around the Pacific and panel sessions on: aid to the Pacific; regionalism and the Pacific Plan Review; fisheries management; and skills and labour mobility. Ron Duncan is an Emeritus Professor at the Crawford School of Public Policy, ANU. More details on the Pacific Update can be found here: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/png-and-pacific-updates/pacific-update

The 2014 Pacific Update consisted of two days of panel discussions, including country updates from around the Pacific and panel sessions on: aid to the Pacific; regionalism and the Pacific Plan Review; fisheries management; and skills and labour mobility. Yongzheng Yang is the IMF Resident Representative for Pacific Island Countries. Christopher Edmonds is Senior Economist, Pacific Department, ADB. More details on the Pacific Update can be found here: https://devpolicy.crawford.anu.edu.au/png-and-pacific-updates/pacific-update

Alice Albright, CEO of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), was in Canberra in May to meet with the Australian Government ahead of its upcoming funding replenishment. Ms Albright has a long and distinguished career in finance and development, having worked as a banker, then spending eight years in GAVI until taking the role of COO of Exim Bank from 2009 to 2013. While she was in Canberra Jonathan Pryke sat down with her to talk about GPE, and their mission to Australia. You can read a summary of their conversation here: http://devpolicy.org/the-global-partnership-for-education-ceo-alice-albright-on-opportunities-and-challenges-20140604

Tess Newton Cain sits down with Elise Huffer, culture Adviser for the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), where she works on the Human Development Program. Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/cultural-economics-elise-huffer-discusses-opportunities-for-the-pacific-20140519/

Mel Dunn, URS and IDC Australia; Professor Stephen Howes, Development Policy Centre; Joanna Lindner, Australian Council For International Development; Dr Anthony Swan, Development Policy Centre. The Australian aid budget has doubled in the past decade, but with the change of government in September, this unprecedented growth has now been brought to a grinding halt. While the Coalition has committed to keep aid around the $5 billion mark in real terms, it remains to be seen whether this commitment will survive the budget process. There are also still many unanswered questions on which sectors may be affected and which countries will be the winners and losers in any reprioritisation. What new programs will emerge to fit the government’s focus on aid for trade and economic diplomacy? How will the aid budget look now that AusAID has been deeply integrated into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade? What will happen to climate change programs? How will multilaterals and NGOs fare? From the macro context to s

Tess Newton Cain sits down with Colin Tukuitonga the new Director General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/what-does-the-future-hold-for-spc-an-interview-with-colin-tukuitonga-20140320/

Paul Brockmann is the outgoing Head of Mission for Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) in Papua New Guinea, focusing on providing medical and psychosocial care for survivors of family and sexual violence. Ashlee Betteridge caught up with Paul during his recent visit to Canberra to discuss MSF’s work in PNG and the challenges facing the health sector more broadly. Blog post available here: http://devpolicy.org/pngs-violence-epidemic-and-the-medical-response-in-conversation-with-msfs-paul-brockmann-20140402/

In recent months, the Office of Development Effectiveness, the unit within DFAT that’s responsible for the evaluation of Australia’s aid program, has released three important reports. One is its evaluation of the Australian aid volunteer program. The other are two reports on aid program quality: its review of aid program performance reports, and its Lessons from Australian Aid report. As in past years, the Development Policy Centre hosted a forum to discuss and debate these reports. Presenters included the main authors of the reports and external discussants. Jim Adams, Chair of the Independent Evaluation Committee, was invited to close the forum. Part 2 includes the panel discussion on aid quality and the wrap-up from Jim Adams, Chair of the Independent Evaluation Committee, DFAT.

In recent months, the Office of Development Effectiveness, the unit within DFAT that’s responsible for the evaluation of Australia’s aid program, has released three important reports. One is its evaluation of the Australian aid volunteer program. The other are two reports on aid program quality: its review of aid program performance reports, and its Lessons from Australian Aid report. As in past years, the Development Policy Centre hosted a forum to discuss and debate these reports. Presenters included the main authors of the reports and external discussants. Jim Adams, Chair of the Independent Evaluation Committee, was invited to close the forum. Part 1 includes an introduction from the head of ODE, Dereck Rooken-Smith and the panel discussion on the volunteers evaluation.

A part of the 2014 Asia and the Pacific Policy Society Conference 2014 organised by the Development Policy Centre on infrastructure reforms. Presentations were: The political economy of utility regulation: the case of Vanuatu - James Ryan, Chief Economist, Utilities Regulatory Authority of Vanuatu The Asian experience with energy subsidies and reform - Dr Shikha Jha, Principal Economist, Economics and Research Department, Asian Development Bank Road infrastructure maintenance: lessons from Africa and the Pacific - Sanjivi Rajasingham, Director, Pacific Regional Infrastructure Facility

Over 20 per cent of people in Pacific Island Countries (PICS) live in hardship, meaning they are unable to meet their basic needs. Increasing risks from natural and economic shocks also mean many traditional safety nets may not be as effective as they have been in the past. Two new reports shed light on these issues both in the Pacific and worldwide, the World Development Report for 2014, Risk and Opportunity: Managing Risk for Development and a new World Bank report, sponsored by the Australian aid program, Hardship and Vulnerability in the Pacific. At the Australian launch of both reports we found out the latest thinking on risk and risk management both worldwide and in our region. Kyla Wethli is a World Bank economist and a lead author of the World Bank flagship World Development Report 2014, Risk and Opportunity: Managing Risk for Development. Kyla has a BSc in Government and Economics and an MSc in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Dr Truman Packard holds a PhD in Econo

Serena Sumanop is the Executive Director of The Voice Inc, a home-grown Papua New Guinean NGO working to empower young people to contribute to their communities and to development. During her recent visit to Canberra Ashlee Betteridge caught up with Serena to talk about PNG.