Development Policy Centre
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| File:Devpolicy logo image.jpg | |
| Abbreviation | Devpolicy |
|---|---|
| Formation | September 2010 |
| Type | Think Tank |
| Headquarters | Crawford School of Public Policy |
| Location | |
Director | Stephen Howes |
Associate Director | Robin Davies |
| Website | http://devpolicy.org |
The Development Policy Centre (Devpolicy) is an aid and development policy think tank based out of the Crawford School of Public Policy in the Australian National University. The Centre emerged at a time of unprecedented growth in the Australian aid program.[1] Devpolicy researches and promotes discussion of aid effectiveness, the Pacific Islands (including Papua New Guinea), and development policy.
About
Devpolicy has established itself as a hub for events, discussion and research on aid and development in Australia, Asia and the Pacific. The Devpolicy blog is Australia's leading website for discussion on aid and development. During 2012, the Centre published fifteen discussion papers, three policy briefs, and its first annual report. Devpolicy also hosted 28 public lectures and seminars on a range of topics. Notable forums included: the Education Effectiveness and Collaboration forum, a global health research and development forum, the Making Pacific Migration Work forum, a forum on tuberculosis control in the Torres Strait region, a forum on Australian aid evaluation, the 2012 Pacific Update, the Engaging Business in Development Forum and the aid from emerging Asia forum.[2] In its formative years, the Centre has provided advice and analysis to the Asian Development Bank, The Asia Foundation, AusAID, CARE (relief agency), the Center for Global Development, the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation, the Lowy Institute for International Policy, Oxfam, the Pacific Institute of Public Policy, the Government of Papua New Guinea, the World Bank and World Vision.
Websites
Devpolicy runs both a blog that is updated frequently,[3] and a website that contains regularly updated information on the Centre, discussion papers, policy briefs and reports.[4] The blog is a platform for debate, analysis and discussion with an antipodean perspective. The research made available aims to contribute to public debate on aid effectiveness.
Events
Devpolicy frequently hosts lectures from prominent leaders and thinkers on development issues. Videos and podcasts are made available to the public of these events.
Examples of past speakers include:
- Emilia Pires - Minister of Finance for Timor Leste[5]
- Peter O'Neill - Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea[6]
- Sri Mulyani - Former Finance Minister of Indonesia and current Managing Director of the World Bank[7]
- Michael Spence - Nobel Prize winning economist[8]
- Thomas Pogge - Professor of Philosophy at Yale University[9]
Publications
Devpolicy regularly publishes discussion papers, policy briefs and reports. The Development Policy Centre’s discussion paper series covers a broad range of topics. Devpolicy discussion papers aim to deepen knowledge and discourse among development practitioners, academics, policymakers and the public. Policy briefs are shorter documents, tied to specific policy issues, and the Centre's reports are larger research efforts, but are not intended for subsequent journal publication. Policy briefs and reports are hosted on the Centre's website, while discussion papers are available through the Social Science Research Network.
The five most popular Devpolicy discussion papers as of February 2013 were:
| # | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Careers in Development[10] | |
| 2 | Female parliamentarians and economic growth: Evidence from a large panel[11] | |
| 3 | Aid to Fragile and Conflict-Affected Countries: A Review of the Literature and Australia's Approach[12] | |
| 4 | Overview of aid effectiveness determinants and strategies[13] | |
| 5 | Why Fiji is not the "Mauritius" of the Pacific? Lessons for Small Island Nations in the Pacific[14] |
Funding
In November 2012, Devpolicy attracted a philanthropic donation from the Harold Mitchell Foundation,[15] which was matched by the Australian National University.[16] The funding will be used to sustain and grow the Centre for the following five years.
Papua New Guinea Budget Project
Together with PNG's National Research Institute, Devpolicy is undertaking the Promoting Effective Public Expenditure Project (PEPE) over the next three years to better understand how PNG allocates its public funds, and then how their funds are provided to and used by those responsible for delivering basic services.[17] The PEPE Project aims to analyse the allocation of funds through the budget process to gain a better understanding of the government's policy priorities. Additionally, the Project conducts an expenditure tracking survey that focuses on local schools and health facilities in order to gain a better understanding of whether funds are being effectively managed, and particularly whether or not recent reforms produce improvements to those services.
Greg Taylor scholars
Fellowships named after Greg Taylor AO (former Executive Director of the IMF for both Australia and PNG, and Secretary of various Australian Government Departments) are available through the Centre for research on economic development related to PNG or the Pacific a period of two to three months. Travel and living costs are covered by the fellowship. Devpolicy invites applications from students already studying at the Australian National University or elsewhere in Australia, and from emerging economics scholars in the Pacific and PNG.[18]
References
- ^ About AusAID(22 November 2012) [1]. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ [Draft] 2012 Devpolicy Annual Report, p.6
- ^ "Devpolicy Blog". Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ "Devpolicy Publications". Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ The inaugural Harold Mitchell Development Policy Annual Lecture (22 November 2012) [2]. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ Revitalising the PNG-Australia relationship (12 October 2011) [3]. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ G20: Issues of importance for developing countries and Indonesia's role (23 August 2011) [4]. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ The next convergence: The future of economic growth in a multi-speed world (17 August 2011) [5]. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ Measuring poverty and gender disparity: A joint approach to measuring progress (15 August 2012) [6]. Retrieved 6 February 2013.
- ^ Careers in Development (October 2012) [7]. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ Female parliamentarians and economic growth: Evidence from a large panel (May 2012) [8]. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ Aid to Fragile and Conflict-Affected Countries: A Review of the Literature and Australia's Approach (July 2012) [9]. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ Overview of aid effectiveness determinants and strategies (January 2011) [10]. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ Why Fiji is not the "Mauritius" of the Pacific? Lessons for Small Island Nations in the Pacific (September 2012) [11]. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ Harold Mitchell Foundation [12]. Retrieved 14 February 2013.
- ^ Philanthropist gives 2.5m to ANU policy think-tank (22 November 2012) [13] Retrieved 14 February 2013.
- ^ PNG Budget Project [14] Retrieved 16 February 2013.
- ^ PNG and Pacific Scholars [15]. Retrieved 16 February 2013.