What are three to five things we are not doing in the development program, that we should be doing?

From the responses, here are the top five things that emerged:

DFAT capacity building

This sounded like: training the next generation; encouraging creativity and leadership rather than risk aversion.

Improving localisation

This sounded like: procurement processes and timelines that allow meaningful engagement with local partners; reducing the compliance burden of partners; investing in local capacity development.

Long-term strategising

This sounded like: logical and honest strategy; engaging in long-term programs; using a five-year forward-looking view that is country-specific.

Focusing on climate change

This looked like: paying attention to climate change at the community level; creating innovative solutions; integrating climate risks strategically and within the whole-of-government.

Communicating the importance of aid

This sounded like: we shouldn’t be scared about talking about aid and celebrating its successes; developing and articulating a holistic narrative about why aid and poverty reduction is important for Australia.

RANKING RESULTS

‍

What three to five things should the development program stop doing?

From the responses, the top five things that emerged were:

Projects that are delinked from strategy

This sounded like: short-term and ad-hoc projects; strategies that have no connection to priorities; being beholden to political objectives; devising unnecessary Australian flagship programs.

Unnecessary outsourcing

This sounded like: outsourcing whole facilities and designs; outsourcing delivery to managing contractors; not rebuilding AusAID expertise, institutional memory and capacity.

Not valuing expertise

This sounded like: not acknowledging the churn of staff in DFAT; ignoring local staff’s knowledge and connections; delegating strategic decisions to junior, unskilled staff.

Competing with China

This sounded like: investing in an infrastructure race that Australia may not win; not considering where Australia’s comparative advantage is; letting geopolitics rule development.

Poor investment planning

This sounded like: committing huge amounts of money to unfocussed and unstructured scholarship programs; channelling aid through multilateral organisations like the World Bank; random, reactionary and ignorant programming.

RANKING RESULTS

The final set of questions looked at capability, balancing short- and long-term drivers, and transparency. Click through to see the results.