By Tara Bajracharya, Federica Di Battista and Craig Irwin. This blog explores how the Portfolio Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (PMEL) Nepal function supports the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Nepal –the British Embassy Kathmandu (BEK) more broadly – to apply a portfolio approach to aid delivery. The origin story: Why PMEL in Nepal? …
Category: Aid and Development Policy
Keeping Universal Health Coverage Centre Stage
By Jane Pepperall, Principal Health Lead For those of us invested in the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) journey over recent years, the UN High Level (HLM) Meeting on UHC in New York on 21 September is a much anticipated opportunity to review progress since the inaugural UHC HLM in 2019, as well as a clarion …
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Leadership and localisation: How Australia could support local women to exercise influence and drive change
By Dr Annemarie Reerink Although there has been much talk about women’s representation in Australia’s 47th Parliament, we have yet to hear how this government would prioritise local women’s leadership in our region. Yet, the political transition in Canberra and the new government’s aspirations for a “reset” with the Indo-Pacific region present a significant opportunity …
In praise of…. Logframes
by Graham Teskey My friend and colleague Lavinia Tyrell recently posted a note on LinkedIn, highlighting a recent World Bank Independent Evaluation Group report, which reflected on various methods of monitoring and evaluation currently used in development.[1] In so doing, Lavinia referenced this diagram: As a fan of diagrams, as well as a long-time user …
Adaptive gardening
by Graham Teskey Author's garden I spent much of the weekend gardening. Or more specifically I spent much of the weekend providing labour to the horticulture adviser in my household, a.k.a. my wife. Last month we had the garden ‘landscaped’ by professionals, a deal which included the delivery of 65 small trees, shrubs, and other …
Covid has put Governance at the heart of debates on Development, but how has it changed the questions we ask?
The aim of this blog is to suggest ways in which the ‘governance discourse’ (what a grand term!) is changing – indeed has already changed - as a result of Covid-19. I know that blogs are supposed to be discursive and informal. Recently our office was privileged to have a session with that master-blogger, Duncan …
But what about Australian aid in five years’ time?
In his blog of June 4, Stephen Howes said that there was a lot to about DFAT’s new ‘Partnerships for Recovery’ strategy. There was also a lot to like about Stephen’s blog. He ended by suggesting that the strategy was too tentative to be convincing. My concern is different – it is too short-term to …
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Thoughts on the demise of DFID – a governance adviser’s perspective
By Graham Teskey The only thing that surprised DFID staff regarding its recent absorption into the FCO was the timing of the decision. With Covid-19 at something of a global peak staff perhaps expected a temporary reprieve. Still, a crisis is always a good time to bury bad news. So DFID lasted 23 years. I …
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Why aren’t aid projects making better use of research and evidence, and what can we do about it?
By Lavinia Tyrrel and Priya Chattier Does research and evidence really make a tangible difference in Australian aid for development? Or are we just kidding ourselves that we are solving complex development challenges and making a lasting impact? And if we are, how can we make better use of research and evidence that not only …
Hanging out in men’s bathrooms: is it time to rethink what ‘evidence’ means in international development?
What constitutes ‘sufficient evidence’ for aid program and policy makers to take decisions – about budgets, activities and so on – in aid and development? Have been talking about this with academics, officials, NGOs, project managers and donors for a number of years now. Ever since working with The Asia Foundation (TAF) where the question …
The one that Australian aid forgot? Trying to put the R back in MERL
By Priya Chattier and Lavinia Tyrrel Spent last week at the second of three workshops on how to better use research in aid and development[1]. Lots of good discussion, but seemed we were all tip-toeing around the elephant in the room: does anyone else care about this (prioritising research and analysis in aid) other than …
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Are we divorced yet – or just arguing?
Somebody once said (George Bernard Shaw or Oscar Wilde would be pretty good guesses), that America and England are two countries separated by the same language. I have similar sensations on the (thankfully few) occasions I attend annual conferences on this, that or the other. As the Australian National University’s (ANU) Annual Australasian Aid Conference …
Governance and Development Soapbox 