2017 Australasian Aid Conference

Keynote address, 2017 Australasian Aid Conference, ANU
Speaker: Michael Woolcock, Lead Social Development Specialist, World Bank and Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard University

Despite what today’s headlines might convey, life for most people in most developing countries has never been better. This should be rightly celebrated, but improving basic levels of human welfare from a low base was the relatively ‘easy’ part. To consolidate and expand these achievements, the key development challenge remains building the state’s capability to implement incrementally more complex and contentious tasks, at scale (e.g., justice, regulation, taxation, land administration) and those tasks inherently requiring extended forms of human interaction (classroom teaching, curative care). These are fundamentally different types of challenges, however, ones for which our prevailing aid architecture was not designed and on which achievements to date are mostly flat or declining: if current trends continue, only about 10% of those living in developing countries today will have descendants who reside in a ‘high capability’ country by the end of this century. Different types of problems require different kinds of solutions, elements of which will be outlined.

Development Policy Centre Podcast

Now for the hard part: strategies for enhancing state capability for implementation - AAC2017

Plenary session, 2017 Australasian Aid Conference
Speakers: Guo Peiyuan, General Manager, SynTao; Jeon Hyunjin, Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility Team, LG Electronics HQ; Simon Cramp, Director of Private Sector Development, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; Prabodh Saxena, Principal Secretary, Government of Himachal Pradesh. Chaired by Anthea Mulakala of The Asia Foundation.

Involving the private sector in development cooperation is a priority today not only for many Western countries, but also for many Asian ones. Several Asian providers of development cooperation have vibrant private sectors who are expanding their sphere of influence and practice into development cooperation. Asian companies are often the implementers of infrastructure projects, whether through lines of credit or tied aid. At the other end of the spectrum many Asian multinationals are involved in corporate social responsibility and shared value initiatives in the region. This panel will explore how collaborative approaches with private sector in development are evolving in the Asian context and where further opportunities exist.

Asian approaches to engaging the private sector in development cooperation - AAC2017

Plenary session, 2017 Australasian Aid Conference
Chair: Joel Negin

What does Australian aid need more of, or less of? What are its
ailments and what shape its cures? This panel presents the best, the
most original, the most transformational, the most innovative ideas to
get more bang from the 4 billion dollar buck that is the Australian aid
program. Following the 3-Minute-Thesis format, rival advocates will
battle it out for your vote. For something quick and different, listen to 3MAP: the Three-Minute Aid Pitch.

Order of presentations:
1.       Chris Ostendorf – Leading on social investment in development
2.       Therese Faulkner – Establishing an Australian technical cooperation organization
3.       Ashlee Betteridge – Communicating aid better
4.       Dennis Altman – Integrating rights into foreign policy
5.       Bob McMullan – Establishing an Australian development finance institution for the Pacific
6.       Chris Roche – Building a movement of human rights and planetary defenders
7.       Matt Dornan – Expanding Pacific labour mobility
8.       Camilla Burkot – Lifting aid transparency
9.       Stephen Howes – Funding global medical research

3MAP: The three-minute aid pitch - AAC 2017

Plenary session, 2017 Australasian Aid Conference
Chair: Stephen Howes, ANU
Speakers: Robin Davies, ANU
Adam Kamradt-Scott, University of Sydney
Phoebe Wynn-Pope, Australian Red Cross
Paul McPhun, Medecins Sans Frontieres Australia
Jamie Isbister, DFAT

The humanitarian aid system is in crisis. It’s a crisis of identity, financing and conduct. Agencies set up to deal with the immediate impacts of traumatic events find themselves have become de facto providers of long-term development assistance to displaced communities. Agencies set up to develop global norms and provide technical assistance to governments are facing pressure to coordinate flash responses to transboundary threats. In aggregate, funding for crisis response falls far short of needs and is ad hoc and short-term. Humanitarian actors are more than ever divided over traditional principles of humanitarian action, particularly independence and impartiality. Many of these problems have been thrown into sharp relief by the civil conflict in Syria and its impacts in surrounding countries over the past five years. Arguably, global summitry in 2015 and 2016 has done little to alleviate the humanitarian aid crisis. In a business-as-usual scenario, will implementing agencies really become better coordinated and more efficient, and donors more generous, flexible and willing to increase support for local actors? This panel discussion will air a diversity of perspectives on the state of the humanitarian aid system and options for improving it. Disagreement is guaranteed. So too are concrete ideas.

The humanitarian system in crisis - AAC 2017

Foreign Minister The Hon Julie Bishop MP delivered the opening address at the 2017 Australasian Aid Conference on February 15, held at Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University. In the address, Minister Bishop announced several new initiatives and spoke of the strategic importance of the aid program.

AAC 2017 Opening Address: The Hon Julie Bishop MP

The Development Policy Centre is a think tank for aid and development policy based at Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University. We undertake independent research and promote practical initiatives to improve the effectiveness of Australian aid, to support the development of Papua New Guinea and the Pacific island region, and to contribute to better global development policy. 

Our events are a forum for the dissemination of findings and the exchange of new ideas. You can access audio recordings of our events through this podcast, as well as interviews from the Devpolicy Blog (www.devpolicy.org).