NZADDs Update July 15 2013 – Show me the money, aid forum and more!

terence

Show Me the Money Report Released
We’ve just released “Show Me the Money? An Analysis of New Zealand ODA Expenditure 2002-2011”. This is a joint NZADDs Working Paper / ANU Development Policy Centre Discussion Paper which analyses New Zealand aid flows. You can download and the full report here. Or, you can download and read a four page summary report here. Or, you can read a blog summary here.

Upcoming Public Forum – Looking Forward: New Zealand Aid Beyond 2015 – Wednesday 4 September 2013

This half-day forum will explore the role of aid amidst the shifting context of global development and how New Zealand’s aid and development efforts can best respond. Professor Stephen Howes of the Australian National University’s Development Policy Centre will speak on the topic: ‘The future of aid: does it have one, and if so, what does it look like?’ He will be followed by various other New Zealand aid and development experts, and political party spokespeople. Please RSVP by Wednesday 28 August (mostly for catering purposes) to: admin@nzadds.org.nz

We’ll also have a panel discussion about the role for New Zealand aid in the post-MDG global development framework, and bring together political party spokespeople on aid to share their thoughts on the future of New Zealand aid.

You can download a programme for the event here. And there’s also an information flyer for the event, you can download this here.

Aid Fiction – ‘Missionary, Mercenary, Mystic, Misfit’
Here in the NZADDs admin division we are avid consumers of aid non-fiction. Nothing brings us more joy than wading through long detailed reports (especially if they have appendices!) However, even we like to relax occasionally with a good novel. Which is why the release of “Missionary, Mercenary, Mystic, Misfit”, was cause for considerable excitement here. The, fictional, story is set in Sudan, is written by an anonymous aid worker, and is all about development. You can buy it in ebook format on Amazon and it comes highly recommended. Indeed, one of us (Terence) liked the book so much he reviewed it twice. If you’re a fan of “A Game of Thrones” read this review. If you are a fan of normal literature read this one.

Caring for your self to care for others
Being engaged in providing service to others is often personally challenging and confronting, whether it be care-giving, engaging with others in creating social change (i.e.: development), working amidst a humanitarian emergency, or the emergency room. New Zealand aid and humanitarian worker, Amanda Scothern, has launched a new website ‘Nourishing Change’. Making the link between how individual well-being connects with being able to effectively be of service to others, Amanda’s website offers a collection of tools, tips and resources to help you make sure you’re in the best of health, in order to give the best service to others, even in uncertain and unstable contexts.Australian Aid Stakeholder Survey

Have you had dealings with the AusAID, the Australian Government Aid Program? If so, ANU’s Development Policy Centre wants to hear from you. They are running a stakeholder survey of people who interact with AusAID. If you are one of these people, please help them out, and please help contribute to a world of better aid feedback loops by taking part. Here is what they have to say about the survey:

The Australian aid stakeholder survey is now open. This is our effort to obtain feedback on the effectiveness of the Australian aid program, and suggestions for its improvement. Whether you are involved in the aid program or simply interested in it, whether you live in Australia or overseas, and whether you are on the giving or the receiving end of the aid relationship, we are interested in hearing from you. The survey will be open until the end of August. Results will be released after the Australian federal election.
You can read more about what we are trying to achieve with the survey in our accompanying blog post here.
The survey should take no more than 15 minutes. Click here to take the survey. Please also forward to others you think might be interested.

If the survey works well for them we are very interested in trying to do something similar in New Zealand.

Helen Hughes
Last month, Helen Hughes, Australasia’s fiercest conservative critic of aid, passed away. Marree Tait from the Australian National University has an obituary of Ms Hughes here. It gives a good sense of just how formidable a woman she was, how she cared for the students she worked with as an academic, and also of her own remarkable life story. Needless to say I (Terence) disagreed with Ms Hughes’ views on many, many things, but there is no disputing her presence and one can only imagine that her friends and family are missing it acutely now. Our thoughts go out to them in this difficult time.