Strengthening the effectiveness of Australia's aid program
The Office of Development Effectiveness (ODE) at AusAID builds stronger evidence for more effective aid. ODE monitors the performance of the Australian aid program, evaluates its impact and contributes to international evidence and debate about aid and development effectiveness.
Independent Evaluation Committee Communiqué
- The Independent Evaluation Committee (IEC) has released a communiqué outlining the outcomes of its meeting on 21 March 2013.
Thinking and Working Politically: An evaluation of policy dialogue in AusAID
- The Office of Development Effectiveness (ODE) has released its evaluation, Thinking and Working Politically: An evaluation of policy dialogue in AusAID, which identifies and assesses the internal and external factors that influence policy dialogue work, providing specific operational lessons for AusAID staff. Findings from the evaluation have led to the development of the first official policy dialogue guidelines for the agency as well as formal mechanisms to improve policy dialogue capacity.
Volunteering for international development – approaches and impact
- As part of the evaluation of the Australian Volunteers for International Development (AVID) program, ODE commissioned a literature review synthesising the existing research on the impact of volunteers in international development.
Independent Evaluation Committee Communiqué
- The Independent Evaluation Committee (IEC) has released a communiqué outlining the outcomes of its meeting on 13 December 2012.
ODE talks to 3ie’s Howard White about impact evaluation
- A key question in development is “how has aid affected the lives of the poor?” Impact evaluation aims to answer that question, providing evidence about what did and didn’t work, and how to improve aid programs. 3ie funds impact evaluations around the world, and works with policy makers to provide answers about the impact of large scale development programs. In this episode of ODE Talks, 3ie Executive Director Howard White, discusses “closing the evidence gap”, randomised control trials, and the value of impact evaluation.
» Listen to the interview » Subscribe to the podcast at home or on your mobile device on iTunes
Highlights from ODE Talks 2012…in 3 minutes
- Season’s greetings from the Office of Development Effectiveness! 2012 was a big year for ODE, with the establishment of a new Independent Evaluation Committee and the publication of five major strategic evaluations. Across 10 episodes of ODE Talks, ODE’s podcast series, international experts discussed aid effectiveness and evaluation in the context of rural development, civil society engagement, gender equality and more. Our 2012 podcast mash-up brings together the big themes in three short minutes.
» Listen to the mashup » Subscribe to the podcast at home or on your mobile device on iTunes
ODE Talks to Pacific leaders
- In this special series of podcast episodes, ODE speaks to Pacific leaders from government, civil society and the private sector about a variety of topics in aid and development.
Building on Local Strengths: Evaluation of Australian law and justice assistance
- Law and justice is an increasingly important area of international development assistance, but there is little consensus among OECD donors on how exactly law and justice contributes to wider development processes. ODE’s evaluation, Building on Local Strengths: Evaluation of Australian law and justice assistance, assessed the relevance and effectiveness of Australia’s law and justice assistance.
ODE talks about AusAID’s response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in PNG
- Responding to Crisis is ODE’s recent evaluation of Australia’s contribution to the national response to the HIV epidemic in Papua New Guinea. The evaluation found that AusAID’s approach had many successes but that the relevance and effectiveness of the interventions has been mixed. In this podcast, ODE Talks to AusAID’s Principal Health Advisor Ben David about managing HIV treatment and prevention.
ODE talks about Australia’s aid program to the Philippines with Corazon Soliman
- This year, ODE has published an evaluation of AusAID’s 2007-2012 Philippines Country Strategy, and an evaluation of AusAID’s engagement with civil society in developing countries which included case studies from the Philippines. In this episode of ODE Talks, the Honourable Corazon (Dinky) Juliano-Soliman, the Philippines Secretary for Social Welfare and Development discusses her perspective on Australia’s aid to the country and shares stories of individuals who have experienced the benefits of donor support.
ODE Talks to the World Bank’s Dr. Jeni Klugman about gender equality
- Addressing gender equality is key to effective development cooperation. Dr Jeni Klugman is the Sector Director of Gender and Development at the World Bank and its lead spokesperson on gender equality issues. In this episode of ODE Talks, she discusses ways to meaningfully incorporate gender into development programs, the importance of diagnostic work on gender and being realistic about the pace of results.
ODE evaluation policy, forward work plan and communique released
- Following approval by the Development Effectiveness Steering Committee, ODE has released its new evaluation policy and rolling evaluation work plan for 2012-2015. ODE has also published a communique, relating the outcomes of the September meeting of the Independent Evaluation Committee.
» Read the evaluation policy » Read the work plan » Read the communique
Monitoring the influence of the Office of Development Effectiveness
- ODE’s Communications Officer, Heather Murphy, presented a paper at the 2012 Australasian Evaluation Society Conference in Adelaide about the methodology ODE uses to collect evidence about its influence in the Australian aid program.
» Read the paper » More about the 2012 Australasian Evaluation Society Conference
Impact Evaluation: A discussion paper for AusAID practitioners
- There are diverse views about what impact evaluations are and how they should be conducted. This discussion paper, primarily for internal AusAID use, aims to support appropriate and effective use of impact evaluations in AusAID by providing staff with a definition, guidelines and minimum standards for impact evaluations.
ODE Talks to Huguette Labelle, Transparency International Chair
- Huguette Labelle is the Chair of Transparency International, a well-known global NGO that works to combat corruption in developing countries. AusAID is increasing its support for Transparency International to fight corruption with a new global partnership.
Responding to Crisis: Evaluation of the Australian aid program’s contribution to the national HIV response in Papua New Guinea, 2006-2010
- The Australian aid program has played a prominent role in responding to HIV in Papua New Guinea (PNG) since 1995. ODE conducted a major independent evaluation into AusAID’s contribution to the response. The evaluation focused on the current HIV program activities from 2006, led by the PNG-Australia HIV and AIDS Program, in the broader historical context.
Independent Evaluation Committee communiqué
- The Independent Evaluation Committee (IEC) has released a communiqué outlining the outcomes of its inaugural meeting on 21 June 2012.
ODE Talks to Homi Kharas, Brookings Institution
- Can we eliminate global poverty below $2 a day? ODE Talks welcomes Homi Kharas back to discuss shifts in global poverty, international donor responses, and what comes after the Millennium Development Goals.
ODE Talks to Jim Adams, Independent Evaluation Committee Chair
- Jim Adams, a former Vice President of the World Bank, is Chair of the new Independent Evaluation Committee (IEC) overseeing the work of the Office of Development Effectiveness. In this episode of ODE Talks, Jim Adams shares his views on the role of evaluation in development, gained throughout his long and distinguished career.
ODE Talks to emerging Asian donors
- In this special edition of ODE Talks, commentators from China, India and Korea discuss the new world of development cooperation, and how it differs from traditional aid.
Australia establishes Independent Evaluation Committee
- Foreign Minister Bob Carr has announced the establishment of an Independent Evaluation Committee (IEC) to strengthen the independence and credibility of the work of the Office of Development Effectiveness (ODE).
From Seed to Scale Up: Lessons learned from Australia’s rural development assistance
- ODE has conducted a review of Australia’s rural development assistance, to identify ways of maximising the benefits of Australia’s growing investment in rural development. 'From Seed to Scale-Up: Lessons learned from Australia’s rural development assistance' reviewed 23 recent Australian activities across six countries in the Asia-Pacific.
ODE Talks: Effective engagement with civil society in developing countries
- Julia Newton-Howes, CEO of CARE Australia and report co-author Jo Hall discuss the findings from ODE’s recent evaluation of civil society engagement in developing countries.
» Listen to the interview with Jo Hall and Julia Newton-Howes
ODE Briefs: Beyond the headlines at Busan
- Engagement with 'new' donors and New Deals dominated headlines post-HLF-4, but the Busan Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation also marks the evolution of aid effectiveness concepts since the 2005 Paris Declaration. This ODE Brief looks at the way progressive engagement with partner systems, coming to grips with risk and increased transparency have emerged as priority actions for achieving ownership, results and accountability, even—and especially—in fragile states. Photo: UNISDR (Flickr)
Evaluation of AusAID’s engagement with civil society in developing countries
- ODE's new evaluation assesses how well AusAID is helping civil society contribute to the development of effective states. The evaluation is primarily focused on three country programs: Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Vanuatu and finds innovative and strategic models for working with civil society.
» Read the evaluation of AusAID’s engagement with civil society
Subscribe to ODE's email newsletter
- ODE Updates is the new quarterly email newsletter from AusAID's Office of Development Effectiveness. The first issue includes an update on the progress of our policy dialogue evaluation, plus a round-up of ODE's briefs, think pieces, podcasts and blogs.
The Best of ODE Talks...in 3 minutes
- ODE wishes you a happy new year. Last year, between the Australian Government’s Aid Review and Busan HLF-4, 'effectiveness' was the word on everyone’s lips. No more so than on ODE Talks, the Office of Development Effectiveness' podcast series, where experts discussed aid effectiveness in the context of fragile states, law and justice, gender equality and more. Our 2011 podcast mash-up brings together the big themes in three short minutes.
» Listen to the mashup » Subscribe to the podcast at home or on your mobile device on iTunes
