News
Annual Review of Development Effectiveness
The inaugural Annual Review of Development Effectiveness, produced by the Office of Development Effectiveness, was tabled in Parliament on 20 March 2008.
The review is a key element in efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of the aid program as the aid budget is scaled up to reach 0.5% of Gross National Income by 2015. The review provides an annual health check of the program and identifies areas where effectiveness could be strengthened.
The review found that Australia manages its aid activities well and is achieving good results. More than three quarters of activities will meet their objectives in 2006-07, these objectives range from better budgeting to stronger service delivery.
The report found that Australian aid is increasingly consistent with partner government policies and aligned with the efforts of other donors.
The report also found that one of the biggest challenges facing Australia's aid program is its engagement with fragile states. Australia directs around half of the aid program's bilateral funding to fragile states where limited improvements in health, education and youth employment suggest the need for more innovative approaches to these problems.
The review identified five opportunities to strengthen aid effectiveness:
- broadening the ways Australia engages in fragile states
- supporting reform in the larger economies of Asia
- strengthening performance orientation
- getting the most from technical assistance
- meeting gender equality commitments.
See:
- Annual Review of Development Effectiveness 2007 (full report) [PDF 547KB]
- Key Findings [PDF 54KB]
- Media release
Above: The ARDE notes a range of achievements including in Indonesia where the aid program is helping to construct 2,000 schools, providing access for 330,000 students