Australia's NGO program 'delivers strongly on results'

After years of instability in the Australian aid program since Tony Abbott’s Coalition government came into power, nongovernmental organizations are breathing a sigh of relief. Over the past four decades, Canberra has been channeling funds to the Australian NGO Cooperation Program, which supports the development activities of accredited Australian NGOs. The foreign affairs department’s Office of Development Effectiveness recently evaluated the program and concluded that ANCP is a big winner not just for the Australian aid program in general but for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in particular. “The ANCP delivers strongly on results,” the report reads. “The ANCP extends the reach of Australian aid to beneficiaries beyond the footprint of DFAT’s bilateral aid programs. It enables NGOs to deliver effective development activities from the grass roots through to the institutional and policy level.” Not surprisingly, the 49 member NGOs welcomed ODE’s strong praise for the program. “The report demonstrates that when you leverage the millions of dollars donated by Australians every year, mix it with the expertise of Australian aid organizations and work through the Australian Aid program, you have an unbeatable combination,” Marc Purcell, executive director of the Australian Council for International Development, told Devex. The report not only offers high praise for the value of NGO work, but has possibly cemented a stable funding approach for the future. “ACFID believes the findings of the evaluation, particularly in relation to the significant development results delivered through the ANCP, provide a sound basis for the government continuing to invest in NGOs and the ANCP, scaling this up over time,” the ACFID official said. Nonetheless, ODE has recommended ways to improve transparency, awareness and understanding, as well as facilitate improved learning and information sharing between DFAT and NGOs. The recommendations have been accepted by all parties, with work already beginning on implementing the changes. Below are the five recommendations and how DFAT, ACFID and NGOs have responded to them. 1. Formalize and introduce greater transparency in funding arrangements. ODE found that over time, the formula and calculations used to identify and allocate funding through ANCP has become “increasingly complex with a deleterious effect on transparency.” The introduction of new NGOs to the program and a decline in the Australian aid budget meant that the current practice has become unsustainable. It has also had a detrimental impact on NGOs whose funding allocations cannot be guaranteed year on year. ODE has recommended maintaining key aspects of the current model, including the use of the Recognized Development Expenditure, which recognizes the contribution of the Australian public, while also enabling DFAT performance assessments to impact on allocations. Further, a scalable approach is needed to ensure adaptability to any future changes. NGOs agreed with these recommendations. “From our perspective, the ANCP funding allocation should be based around the principles of predictability, transparency and effectiveness,” Caritas Australia CEO Paul O’Callaghan told Devex. “We think it is important to value the Australian community’s contribution and therefore we agree that RDE should remain an important factor of the funding allocation.” DFAT is also in favor of ensuring “program flexibility and predictability, during periods of both budget expansion and contraction.” As part of its solution, DFAT will be consulting with the Australian NGO sector through ACFID on funding principles to inform a funding policy. This consultation process will occur this financial year, with outcomes potentially in place before the 2016 federal budget is released. The foreign affairs department further clarified that while performance information will be used where applicable to allocate funding, there will be no restrictions on NGOs that wish to join the program. Instead, the changes aim to better manage new entrants and any impact on funding. 2. Clarify the accreditation process. A sticking point for NGOs during ODE’s consultation process was their understanding of the membership structure used within the ANCP. There are currently two levels of accreditation (base and full) with three tiers of funding (base, full and partner). At present, there are 11 base-tier NGOs, including Australian Doctors for Africa, Motivation Australia and Salvation Army International Development; 28 full-tier NGOs, including the Australian Red Cross, Marie Stopes International Australia and WWF Australia; and 10 partner-tier NGOs, including CARE Australia, Oxfam Australia and World Vision Australia. Base and full-tier NGOs are particularly critical of the lack of transparency in selecting partner-tier NGOs and said there was no clear distinction between levels or how NGOs could progress through the ranks. ODE has recommended that DFAT provide greater clarity on accreditation levels, funding tiers and how NGOs can qualify for each. It also recommended that the names of the accreditation and funding tiers be revised so that the distinction between each level is made clearer. In response, DFAT will be working with the Committee of Development Cooperation to ensure the accreditation process maintains its integrity. But the department is reluctant to implement all of the recommendations. According to DFAT, the accreditation criteria will continue to reflect two levels (base and full) and any changes to the process will “need to balance these strengths with improved program efficiencies to manage a larger group of NGOs receiving funding under the ANCP.” 3. Improve awareness within DFAT and at posts. Although acknowledging there is greater understanding of the ANCP and the role of NGOs in the Australian aid program at posts since the former Australian Agency for International Development was amalgamated into DFAT, ODE still found room for improvement. Within DFAT, understanding of the roles and responsibilities of NGOs within the ANCP appears largely dependent on the individuals directly involved in the administration of the program. The report has suggested that DFAT should work to clarify the role of posts in the ANCP and establish a consistent and minimum level of resourcing and engagement between the two groups in country. DFAT said steps are already being taken to improve awareness. Posts are currently being used as part of ANCP monitoring and detailed briefs are available to country programs and posts. This will be expanded to include ANCP project briefs detailing Australian NGOs, local partners, and funding and sector breakdowns. DFAT will work more closely with posts to establish appropriate resourcing for engagement and monitoring of programs. It is encouraging NGOs to themselves engage with posts to improve linkages and opportunities as well. NGOs are keen to take up the opportunity and expand their existing engagement work. “The [ANCP Partnership Agency Collaboration] working group has proactively promoted the engagement between DFAT posts and the ANCP programs and in country partners,” O’Callaghan told Devex, adding that meetings have been set with DFAT representatives and heads of missions to discuss ANCP programs in Kenya, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, India, Myanmar and Cambodia. 4. Maximize the value of monitoring and evaluation. The primary reporting mechanism for the ANCP is the monitoring, evaluation and learning framework. MELF allows NGOs a clear and consistent way of reporting program outputs against 20 core headline indicators and 70 noncore indicators. Although it has been praised for providing a “good summary of achievements” and has even been implemented by some NGOs as part of their own reporting process, ODE did identify issues with the strength of data produced. “Common issues relate to the distinction between direct and indirect beneficiaries and disaggregation of data,” the report reads. ODE has recommended that DFAT build upon the existing framework to strengthen the role of qualitative, quantitative and geographic data in generating evidence for learning, policy and program improvement. Accepting the recommendation, DFAT said it will work with NGOs to develop a new performance assessment framework to capture program outcomes. High-level targets for the aid program, which ANCP will support through the PAF, will additionally be identified in consultation with NGOs. 5. Improve information sharing. One area that requires significant improvement, according to ODE, was learning and sharing of information across ANCP. ODE believes MELF outputs can provide “a valuable source of information for learning, policy development and program improvement.” Unfortunately, the information is currently underutilized. In addition, NGO-conducted evaluations could be shared more widely among groups and with DFAT. To facilitate improved learning and sharing, ODE has recommended that DFAT, NGOs and ACFID jointly commit to approaches that will improve information sharing. DFAT will be working with ACFID to develop and test new approaches, something ACFID is keen to progress. “ACFID has a strong focus on building and verifying the effectiveness of Australian aid organizations, particularly through its code of conduct and learning and development initiatives,” Purcell told Devex. “ACFID will be engaging with DFAT to explore further opportunities to improve learning and information sharing through the ANCP — to the benefit of NGOs and the Australian aid program.” Check out more insights and analysis for global development leaders like you, and sign up as an Executive Member to receive the information you need for your organization to thrive.