Ausaid and capacity building: sustainability of an education aid project

This thesis is concerned with the effects and sustainability of internationally funded schools in Indonesia that have been established by the AusAID. By exploring and reviewing the constraints in maintaining the sustainability of aid projects, this research provides an actual description of an education-based aid project in Indonesia in the post-funding period.

Rural Poultry in the Developing world

In 2007 I travelled to Mozambique and Tanzania to photographically document the work undertaken by a group of Australians who are working to bring a self sufficient lifestyle back to the HIV Aids stricken communities of Africa. University of Queensland veterinary researchers have developed a vaccination that can eradicate disease from local rural poultry. The Kyeema Foundation is working in country to supply this vaccine to families battling HIV AIDS and to teach local residents how to successfully implement it. QUT, AusAID and the Kyeema Foundation funded the trip.

Learning to lead : a social justice perspective on understanding elementary teacher leadership in Papua New Guinea

Leadership in elementary education is currently recognized as a political imperative in Papua New Guinea (PNG), as the nation develops strategies towards equitable access to schooling. One recent initiative aimed at building educational leadership was an intensive Australian Leadership Award Fellowship (ALAF) program funded by AusAID, involving a group of 10 teacher trainers from PNG. As part their involvement participants completed self-authored journal entries at the beginning and end of the leadership program. Participants were also involved in focus groups after completion of the initiative. Referring to the experiences of these teacher trainers, this paper draws on Nancy Fraser’s (2005, 2008) social justice framework to examine participants’ views of what constituted effective leadership in elementary education in PNG and how these views may have changed throughout the ALAF program. Key findings of this study included participants’ emphasis on relationships and valuing people in elementary education leadership contexts, participants’ concern about economic/financial barriers to effective leadership in the PNG context and participants’ perception of research as a way to support leadership roles.

From 'what' to 'how' : capacity building in health promotion for HIV/AIDS prevention in the Solomon Islands

This paper describes a capacity building process undertaken within the HIV/AIDS prevention project of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in the Solomon Islands. ADRA HIV/AIDS has recently reoriented its project structure, moving beyond its awareness raising approach to incorporate health promotion frameworks, theories, strategies and assumptions. These have been used to inform project practice in project planning, delivery and evaluation. This paper shares what has worked and not worked in the capacity building process, including a project evaluation of the initial HIV/AIDS awareness raising project and the application of a number of capacity building strategies, including utilising a volunteer Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD) funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). Existing and new projects are outlined. The underlying theme is that any capacity building exercise must include structural support (e.g. management, national frameworks) to ensure the incorporation of new initiatives and approaches. With time this enables ownership by counterparts and external partnerships to develop. The presence of an AYAD volunteer has been an effective strategy to achieve this. Reflections from the evaluators, the AYAD volunteer and the HIV/AIDS team are included.

In the bank or on the ground : an examination of financial reserves in Australian international aid organisations

This study contributes to the understanding of the contribution of financial reserves to sustaining nonprofit organisations. Recognising the limited recent Australian research in the area of nonprofit financial vulnerability, it specifically examines financial reserves held by signatories to the Code of Conduct of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) for the years 2006 to 2010. As this period includes the Global Financial Crisis, it presents a unique opportunity to observe the role of savings in a period of heightened financial threats to sustainability. The need for nonprofit entities to maintain reserves, while appearing intuitively evident, is neither unanimously accepted nor supported by established theoretic constructs. Some early frameworks attempt to explain the savings behaviour of nonprofit organisations and its role in organisational sustainability. Where researchers have considered the issue, its treatment has usually been either purely descriptive or alternatively, peripheral to a broader attempt to predict financial vulnerability. Given the importance of nonprofit entities to civil society, the sustainability of these organisations during times of economic contraction, such as the recent Global Financial Crisis, is a significant issue. Widespread failure of nonprofits, or even the perception of failure, will directly affect, not only those individuals who access their public goods and services, but would also have impacts on public confidence in both government and the sectors’ ability to manage and achieve their purpose. This study attempts to ‘shine a light’ on the paradox inherent in considering nonprofit savings. On the one hand, a public prevailing view is that nonprofit organisations should not hoard and indeed, should spend all of their funds on the direct achievement of their purposes. Against this, is the commonsense need for a financial buffer if only to allow for the day to day contingencies of pay rises and cost increases. At the entity level, the extent of reserves accumulated (or not) is an important consideration for Management Boards. The general public are also interested in knowing the level of funds held by nonprofits as a measure of both their commitment to purpose and as an indicator of their effectiveness. There is a need to communicate the level and prevalence of reserve holdings, balancing the prudent hedging of uncertainty against a sense of resource hoarding in the mind of donors. Finally, funders (especially governments) are interested in knowing the appropriate level of reserves to facilitate the ongoing sustainability of the sector. This is particularly so where organisations are involved in the provision of essential public goods and services. At a scholarly level, the study seeks to provide a rationale for this behaviour within the context of appropriate theory. At a practical level, the study seeks to give an indication of the drivers for savings, the actual levels of reserves held within the sector studied, as well as an indication as to whether the presence of reserves did mitigate the effects of financial turmoil during the Global Financial Crisis. The argument is not whether there is a need to ensure sustainability of nonprofits, but rather how it is to be done and whether the holding of reserves (net assets) is an essential element is achieving this. While the study offers no simple answers, it does appear that the organisations studied present as two groups, the ‘savers’ who build reserves and keep ‘money in the bank’ and ‘spender-delivers’ who put their resources ‘on the ground’. To progress an understanding of this dichotomy, the study suggests a need to move from its current approach to one which needs to more closely explore accounts based empirical donor attitude and nonprofit Management Board strategy.

A systematic review of community-based interventions for emerging zoonotic diseases in Southeast Asia

Background Southeast Asia has been at the epicentre of recent epidemics of emerging and re-emerging zoonotic diseases. Community-based surveillance and control interventions have been heavily promoted but the most effective interventions have not been identified. Objectives This review evaluated evidence for the effectiveness of community-based surveillance interventions at monitoring and identifying emerging infectious disease; the effectiveness of community-based control interventions at reducing rates of emerging infectious disease; and contextual factors that influence intervention effectiveness. Inclusion criteria Participants Communities in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. Types of intervention(s) Non-pharmaceutical, non-vaccine, and community-based surveillance or prevention and control interventions targeting rabies, Nipah virus , dengue, SARS or avian influenza. Types of outcomes Primary outcomes: measures: of infection or disease; secondary outcomes: measures of intervention function. Types of studies Original quantitative studies published in English. Search strategy Databases searched (1980 to 2011): PubMed, CINAHL, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, Web of Science, Science Direct, Cochrane database of systematic reviews, WHOLIS, British Development Library, LILACS, World Bank (East Asia), Asian Development Bank. Methodological quality Two independent reviewers critically appraised studies using standard Joanna Briggs Institute instruments. Disagreements were resolved through discussion. Data extraction A customised tool was used to extract quantitative data on intervention(s), populations, study methods, and primary and secondary outcomes; and qualitative contextual information or narrative evidence about interventions. Data synthesis Data was synthesised in a narrative summary with the aid of tables. Meta-analysis was used to statistically pool quantitative results. Results Fifty-seven studies were included. Vector control interventions using copepods, environmental cleanup and education are effective and sustainable at reducing dengue in rural and urban communities, whilst insecticide spraying is effective in urban outbreak situations. Community-based surveillance interventions can effectively identify avian influenza in backyard flocks, but have not been broadly applied. Outbreak control interventions for Nipah virus and SARS are effective but may not be suitable for ongoing control. Canine vaccination and education is more acceptable than culling, but still fails to reach coverage levels required to effectively control rabies. Contextual factors were identified that influence community engagement with, and ultimately effectiveness of, interventions. Conclusion Despite investment in community-based disease control and surveillance in Southeast Asia, published evidence evaluating interventions is limited in quantity and quality. Nonetheless this review identified a number of effective interventions, and several contextual factors influencing effectiveness. Identification of the best programs will require comparative evidence of effectiveness acceptability, cost-effectiveness and sustainability.

Evaluation of the potential impact of the global economic crisis on HIV epidemics in Southeast Asia

Economic conditions around the world are likely to deteriorate in the short to medium term. The potential impact of this crisis on the spread of HIV is not clear. Government revenues and aid flows from international donors may face constraints, possibly leading to reductions in funding for HIV programs. Economic conditions (leading to increases in unemployment, for example) may also have an indirect impact on HIV epidemics by affecting the behaviour of individual people. Some behavioural changes may influence the rate of HIV transmission. This report presents findings from a study that investigates the potential impact of the economic crisis on HIV epidemics through the use of mathematical modelling. The potential epidemiological impacts of changes in the economy are explored for two distinctly characterised HIV epidemics: (i) a well-defined, established, and generalised HIV epidemic (specifically Cambodia, where incidence is declining); (ii) an HIV epidemic in its early expansion phase (specifically Papua New Guinea, where incidence has not yet peaked). Country-specific data are used for both settings and the models calibrated to accurately reflect the unique HIV epidemics in each population in terms of both incidence and prevalence. Models calibrated to describe the past and present epidemics are then used to forecast epidemic trajectories over the next few years under assumptions that behavioural or program conditions may change due to economic conditions. It should be noted that there are very limited solid data on how HIV/AIDS program funds may decrease or how social determinants related to HIV risk may change due to the economic crisis. Potential changes in key relevant factors were explored, along with sensitivity ranges around these assumptions, based on extensive discussions with in-country and international experts and stakeholders. As with all mathematical models, assumptions should be reviewed critically and results interpreted cautiously.

One year on... : a progress report to the 14th NACA Governing Council

This is a progress report of the STREAM Initiative presented at 14th NACA governing council to highlight the results, for the countries participating in the project, in the following key themes: •Livelihoods; •Appropriate Strategies, Processes and Practices; •Policy Development; •Communications. (Pdf contains 11 pages).

Achieving growth in the Pacific islands : an introduction

The Small Island Developing States (SIDS)1 in the Pacific, spread out over an area of 30 million square kilometres of ocean, and home to over 9 million people, face a complex and unique set of development challenges. As small, highly open economies they are particularly susceptible to external shocks, including fluctuations in import prices and export earnings in particular. Remoteness from major ports and export markets, low levels of connectivity with the outside world and susceptibility to natural hazards further complicate matters and have resulted in the Pacific islands being amongst the most vulnerable economies in the world. In spite of their increasing integration into global markets, most face further challenges owing to very limited absorptive capacities, limited resources, inadequate technology, lack of infrastructure and poor economic management and institutional capabilities. As a consequence, economic growth and related outcomes in most remain heavily reliant on external resources, typically including at least one of aid, migrant remittances, and foreign direct investment (FDI) (AusAID 2008 and McGillivray et al. 2008). The particular constraints and growth challenges of Pacific SIDS are too often overlooked in the development research literature. Moreover, the policy debate on how to promote and achieve growth in the Pacific islands can benefit from a deeper understanding of the nature and consequences of these often unique, combination of constraints. This Focus is devoted to development challenges facing these islands, specifically relating to the achievement of economic growth, and draws on five papers that were presented or tabled at the World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER) ‘Fragility and Development’ research project meeting held in Fiji in December 2006.

Reflections on conducting educational research projects in Papua New Guinea

This article discusses how work on an AusAID-funded impact study of major elementary school reforms influenced the research design of a subsequent Australian Development Research Award project investigating the development of sustainable professional learning communities for primary school teachers in remote places of PNG. The authors reflect on how their different backgrounds, roles, experiences and expertise influenced the design and conduct of the projects and, in particular, how the experiences of the action research and survey methods used on the first project shaped the design of the second. The participating elementary school teachers were encouraged, through action research approaches, to develop self reflexive attitudes to their professional work, and to engage in critical reflection of their roles and practices. Accordingly, this article adopts a self-reflexive position towards the authors’ work as academics and researchers as they endeavoured to produce methodologies that are academically rigorous, contextually suitable, and epistemologically appropriate for PNG.

Three phases of the Pacific Islands Project (1995–2010)

The Pacific Islands Project (PIP), funded by AusAid and managed by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), has progressed through three phases from 1995 to 2010. During this time, it has sent over 520 teams to 11 Pacific Island Countries, providing over 60 000 consultations and some 16 000 procedures. In addition to this delivery of specialist medical and surgical services that were not previously available in-country, the project has contributed as a partner in capacity building with the Fiji School of Medicine and Ministries of Health of the individual nations. By 2011, Fiji School of Medicine, which began postgraduate specialist training in 1998, had awarded 51 doctors a diploma in surgery (1 year), 20 of whom had completed their Masters in Medicine (4 years). PIP was independently evaluated on completion of every phase, including the bridging Phase III (2006–2010). The project delivered on its design, to deliver services, and also helped build capacity. The relationship established with the RACS throughout the project allowed Pacific Island graduates to access the Rowan Nicks scholarship, and the majority of MMed graduates received International Travel Grants to attend the Annual Scientific Meeting. PIP has been a highly successful partnership in delivering and building specialist medical services. Although AusAid contributed some $20 million over 16 years, the value added from pro bono contributions by Specialist Teams, Specialty Coordinators and the Project Directors amounted to an equivalent amount. With the emergence of Pacific Island-trained specialists, PIP is ready to move into a new phase where the agendas are set, monitored and managed within the Pacific, and RACS fulfils the role of a service provider. A critical mass of Pacific Island surgeons has been trained, so that sub-specialization will be an option for the general surgeons of the larger island nations.

Scholarships and Connections: Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, 1960-2010

For over fifty years Australia has welcomed students from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea to study at our tertiary institutions on government scholarships. An important premise behind the scholarship program has been the hope that the connections with Australia developed by these students will be long-lasting and mutually beneficial to Australia and partner governments. The research project ‘Scholarships and Connections’ investigates the life stories and experiences of students from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea who were sponsored for Australian-based tertiary study from 1950s-2010. By recording the personal experiences of scholarship recipients and investigating their networks of influence, this research deepens our understanding of scholarship programs and whether or not they produce outcomes that are consistent with the objective of building mutually beneficial linkages between Australia and partner countries. It examines whether the outcomes are enduring or change over time. The project is especially interested in the experiences of former scholarship-holders in positions of leadership and any networks and ongoing connections they have with Australia. This research provides a better understanding of the personal and professional networks of scholarship alumni, and encourages the sharing of experiences. The interviews will be permanently retained in appropriate repositories and drawn on for use in biographies, radio and television programs, internet applications and educational curricula for schools and leadership programs. This research promotes the values of historical research and scholarship among Indonesians and Papua New Guineans and points to the value of oral testimony from past and recent generations of mobile students for current generations facing important challenges and choices.