Strengthening the effectiveness of Australia's aid program
The Office of Development Effectiveness monitors the quality and evaluates the impact of the Australian government aid program. The Office seeks to report on the effectiveness of Australian aid and identify areas where effectiveness could be improved.
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Evaluation of Australian Aid to Health Service Delivery
In 2008, the Office of Development Effectiveness (ODE) commissioned an evaluation of Australian support for health service delivery in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The evaluation is the first of three studies examining the effectiveness of Australian support for the delivery of basic services in fragile environments.
Is the Paris Declaration helping to reduce poverty?
International efforts are being stepped up to evaluate whether changed approaches to aid, promoted in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, are resulting in better development outcomes on the ground. The Office of Development Effectiveness represented Australia at a meeting focusing on the Phase II Evaluation of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness held in Auckland.
Food Security in Africa: Towards a Support Strategy for Australia
In the past two years, global food prices have risen by approximately 50 per cent. Now compounded by the global financial crisis, the food price spike threatens to derail progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. This threat is greatest in Africa.
The ODE commissioned Food Security in Africa by Dr Hans Binswanger to inform the Australian aid program’s strategy of scaling up aid to Africa.
This report argues that Australia’s future support to enhance food security in Africa should sharply focus on agricultural and rural development. It argues that while economic growth can reduce poverty, it is not enough to reduce hunger – agricultural growth is required. At the same time, agricultural growth – and therefore food security – faces two main constraints: inadequate partner country commitment to agricultural and rural development, and a growing technology divide. Australia can realistically help address these two major constraints through partnerships with other development actors, helping to avoid further aid fragmentation in Africa.
Food Security in Africa: Towards a Support Strategy for Australia [PDF 1.5MB]
Violence against Women in Melanesia and East Timor: Building on Global and Regional Promising Approaches
Violence against women is a serious global problem, affecting all countries around the world, including Australia. It causes immeasurable trauma to women, families and communities and is an abuse of basic human rights.
In Melanesia and East Timor, violence against women is severe, pervasive and constrains development. The impacts of violence against women include escalating health care, social services, policing and justice system costs and restrict women’s participation in political, social and economic life.
Accra - Making Aid Work Well
The Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness was recently hosted in Accra by the Government of Ghana (2-4 September 2008) and resulted in the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA). The primary intention of the forum was to take stock and review global progress made in implementing the Paris Declaration as well as accelerate action.
The Australian Government viewed the high level forum as a critical opportunity for the international community to commit to concrete actions that will accelerate our collective efforts to make aid work - being more effective in aid delivery and in achieving aid results. This includes striving for the Millennium Development Goals. The Australian delegation to the high level forum was led by the Parliamentary Secretary for International Development, Mr Bob McMullan and included the head of the Office of Development Effectiveness.
A Balancing Act: Implementation of the Paris Declaration in Timor-Leste
This paper outlines the challenges of delivering effective aid in situations of fragility and conflict. It puts the efforts of all donors active in Timor-Leste under the microscope to better understand the challenges of making aid better and more effective in Timor-Leste. The paper has been jointly prepared by Timor-Leste and Australia (through the Office of Development Effectiveness) and is one of the few case studies available on this issue. It was presented by Timor-Leste's Finance Minister at a global development audience at the recent Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana, as a contribution to the learning, knowledge and debate on how development can best work in such challenging fragile environments.
A Balancing Act: Implementation of the Paris Declaration in Timor-Leste [PDF 62KB]
Microfinance & Gender Issues Note
Microfinance is receiving increased attention in Australia. So how much does addressing gender really matter when it comes to ensuring success? The Microfinance & Gender Issues Note is the latest in a series of issues notes that examine topical development issues. The purpose of this note is to examine the way that gender is treated in microfinance activities.
It argues that irrespective of the primary rationale for supporting a microfinance activity, gender should be fully integrated into design from the beginning. This includes having a clear gender objective in the design of the program and a monitoring and evaluation system that collects data on specific gender indicators. AusAID activities are used as examples.