Visit by Rev Stephens of IGL

Yesterday we had the pleasure of meeting up with Rev. Samuel D. Stephens and his daughter Becky from the Indian Gospel League (IGL). They were visiting Sydney for a family wedding and took the time to come out to Parramatta to meet us. We had an enjoyable lunch hearing more about the work that the Indian Gospel League is doing in southern India. It is encouraging to hear of the progress being made to improve the lives of the disadvantage. It was also heartening to be told that most of the villages devastated by the 2004 tsunami have rebuilt their communities and in doing so had improved housing and related infrastructure.

ORAF has been contributing to IGL’s projects since 1999 and we are currently contributing funds to the Education and Economic Development Project which has just started this year.

Annual Review of Development Effectiveness 2008

The Annual Review of Development Effectiveness 2008 - scaling up in a deteriorating global environment was prepared by AusAID’s Office of Development Effectiveness and tabled in Parliament on 10 August, 2009.

Annually reviewing development effectiveness is a core element of the Government’s commitment to increase aid effectiveness and improve the transparency and accountability of the Australian aid program.

This Review considers how well the program is placed to maintain effectiveness in the face of the twin challenges of scaling up and the global recession, finding that the aid program is well managed and achieving a wide range of results.

The review notes that Australia is changing the way it manages and delivers aid, though the pace of reform needs to be maintained. Areas for attention include strengthening approaches to policy dialogue, moving more consistently toward program based approaches, and developing approaches to risk management that are better suited to these newer ways of working.

The program also needs to provide more predictable and focused support, and ensure that scaling up is based on larger activities, rather than a larger number of activities.
To meet the challenges of scaling up effectively in a challenging global environment, three areas for action are identified:

• ensuring the aid program protects gains in poverty reduction – Australia is well placed to play a leadership role in helping our developing country neighbours deal with the impacts of the global recession.
• updating the aid program’s operational framework to embed effectiveness principles and provide a more systematic approach to the way aid is delivered, and
• redefining engagement with civil society, recognizing the role that civil society can play in delivering important basic services, increasing government accountability and making systems work better for the poor.

To download the full document please visit http://www.ode.ausaid.gov.au/publications/pdf/arde_report-2008.pdf