CANBERRA — Five years on from the merger of AusAID and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the results are mixed — but there has been a general recognition that the changing world in which humanitarian and development programs work require a different model than that of the past.
“They have made good progress, but now it is closing that fairly significant gap between an ambitious vision, an agenda, and a means to realize it,” said Richard Moore, a principal strategist with consulting company Positive Influence, who launched his independent review of the AusAID-DFAT merger in February at the Australasian Aid Conference.
With the upcoming Australian federal election to be decided on May 18, it is an increasingly important document to help understand the challenges within DFAT to help build a better aid program.