The Weekly

CEO Top of Mind

Marc Purcell, what is at the top of your mind this week?

The new Development Policy labels infrastructure as the ‘backbone of development’ which may be a surprise to some of us working in health, education, women’s rights, or agriculture. None the less, there are critical infrastructure needs across countries in the world, and there is a universal appeal for political leaders in all countries to cut a ribbon for a new road or building. The news in this edition of the weekly highlights the battleground in the Pacific as Australia seeks to stem the flow of investment and loans from China into critical infrastructure. Australia complains publicly to the ADB and World Bank here, that companies are undercutting on bids and bringing in their own workforces (read China). Australia’s capital limits on lending into development projects in the Pacific and SE Asia have been lifted in the recent budget and Development Finance Review so that Australia can be a more prominent lender and finance in development of infrastructure. There is no doubt that security agencies and Defence fret about ports in PNG and the Solomon’s being built by China’s companies and this is where a lot of attention is being focused. AP4D’s latest paper on infrastructure goes into these questions more deeply and you can register for its launch below.

At the same time as this plays out, the UN General Assembly is preparing for September session on the lack of progress on the SDGs, view here. Progress is way off track in eliminating extreme poverty according to the Secretary General, view here. Should Australia be investing more in the building blocks of development: primary health care, WATSAN, primary education, community nurses and teacher education, and agricultural resilience in the face of climate change?

Development has never been a zero-sum game, and there are always choices and trade-offs in sectors for investments. However, the pre-occupation with infrastructure in the Government and anxiety around national security is driving the aid program choices more than any other time in the last 30 years. The risks are Australia veers away from the SDGs in the Pacific in the basics of education, health, and livelihoods as it competes with China’s largess. China has deeper pockets than our limited ODA.

ANCP ‘Refresh’: ACFID has successfully advocated for member consultation on the DFAT ANCP refresh and details are below.

ACFID National Conference – Come and see your colleagues at the first Face to face in three years!

Register for the ACFID National Conference here.

ACFID Awards for Human Rights, the Media and Contribution to the Sector

Read about ACFID Call for Nominations here.

To Attend

To Attend

ANCP Accreditation and Funding Policy Refresh Consultations

The ANCP Accreditation System and Funding Policy Refresh team is running online consultation sessions where organisations can engage directly on questions proposed in the survey that was sent out last week.

For online consultations for the Accreditation Refresh, Register here.
For online consultations for the Funding Policy, Register here.

Please note that each session is limited to 12 participants to facilitate effective discussions. Registration is restricted to one representative per organisation per session.

Additionally, the ACFID ANCP Community of Practice will be hosting a meeting on September 8 in Sydney. During this meeting, the Refresh Team will facilitate a session from 9am – 12:30pm. You can attend this session in person or remotely. A debrief and networking event will follow in the afternoon – all are welcome. Registration for this session here.

The registrations for the face-to-face session on the 8th close COB Tuesday 5th September.

To Action

Code of Conduct Committee – specialist position

Do you know someone passionate about supporting high ethical standards and effectiveness in the international development sector?

The Code of Conduct Committee (CCC) is seeking applications for a Program and Partnership Specialist. This is one of four specialist positions on the Committee and contributes valuable expertise in the areas of impact and effectiveness, partnerships, business models and financing beyond the NGO sector and/or programming in the international development and humanitarian sector. Applicants with an understanding of international development issues and experience in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors are encouraged to apply.

Read more and download the position description. Please share this opportunity within your networks.

To Action

Submissions open for New International Gender Equality Strategy

If your organisation has launched an appeal for the crisis in Sudan and would like to have it included in ACFID’s consolidated list, please follow the steps outlined below.

• READ THE ACFID EMERGENCY APPEAL GUIDE

The Emergency Appeal Guide is what the Code team will be using to guide their assessment of your organisation’s appeal page. The requirements in this guide are not in addition to usual Code obligations, but will assist you to manage Code compliance in launching and managing an appeal. The ACFID Fundraising Charter may also assist in navigating requirements.

• SUBMIT YOUR EMERGENCY COMPLIANCE FORM

You must submit the online compliance form for your appeal to be included in ACFID’s consolidated list.You will be asked to provide a short description (no more than 100 words) describing your organisation’s appeal and response priorities. The text you provide will be used on the ACFID appeals page, so please ensure it is accurate and concise. If you wish, you can send a high-resolution image to accompany your appeal description.  The image should reflect the activities or context of your appeal, meet Code requirements, and include a short image description and any source/copyright information. Please include if you are happy for ACFID to use your image as a banner for the appeals page.The ACFID Code team will assess your organisation’s appeal page. If there are any issues that need resolving, the Code team will contact your organisation’s compliance contact as soon as possible. Once your appeal page is approved by the Code team it will be added to ACFID’s consolidated list.If you have any questions about the Code requirements or the process, please contact [email protected].

To Attend

AP4D Symposium | Partnering for Infrastructure with Southeast Asia and the PacificFID AGM Notification

Australia has a compelling interest in seeing strong growth and prosperity in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. Helping deliver infrastructure – a vital enabler of growth, economic development and security – is a critical pillar of Australia’s contribution.

This webinar will launch a paper that sets out the perspectives of Australia’s international policy communities on infrastructure, identifies key risks and opportunities, and outlines a set of high-level principles for partnering with the region. The paper is the culmination of five months of consultations with more than 60 experts from Australia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, including Australian Government officials.

Speakers include:
– Senator Simon Birmingham, Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs

– Hayley Channer, United States Studies Centre
– Anna Griffin, Transparency International Australia
– Alison McKechnie, Johnstaff International Development

Who: Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue
When: Friday 8 September 2023
Time: 1 – 2pm AEST
Where: Online via Zoom

Click here to register.

To Action

Locally Led Resources Survey

ACFID is seeking guidance about what type of tools and resources would be most useful for your organisation in pursuing locally-led action in your programs, projects, networks and partnerships. 

This will help ACFID refine and shape a Locally-Led Toolkit for members. Please complete this short survey to make sure your organisation’s needs and priorities are considered. The survey will close on Friday September 8th. 

This Toolkit will build on previous work done by ACFID and our members, including: 

• the Yielding and Wielding Toolkit led by La Trobe University’s Institute for Human Security and Social Change; 
• work by the Humanitarian Reference Group supported by HAG; 
• consultation with the Development Practice Committee, HRG members and their partners led by Alinea; 

and members’ inputs to the ACFID Statistical Survey. 

To Read

Supporting critical infrastructure projects in Tuvalu

The Australian Government will provide $21.4 million (USD$15 million) in co-financing to the Asian Development Bank to support upgrades to two of Tuvalu’s critical boat harbours. The support was announced by the Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, during a visit to Tuvalu. Read the media release in full here

To Read

Australia tells big development banks to “lift their game” in the Pacific.

Read the full article on the Guradian here.

To Note

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