DFAT's Indigenous procurement strategy hopes to go global

CANBERRA — The Indigenous Australian procurement strategy for the Australian aid program is receiving awards and international recognition — with the hope that it will lead to new opportunities for indigenous people globally to see development as an opportunity for business and economic growth. In July, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade received a diversity inclusion award at the Australasia Conference and Supply Management Awards 2019 and was a finalist in the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management Asia-Pacific awards — with both recognizing that DFAT was making diversity, including Indigenous diversity, more than just a “tick and flick” action as part of procurement processes. But the Australian aid program seeks to do more than just provide opportunities to Indigenous business. “DFAT really grabbed the Indigenous procurement policy by the horns ... [DFAT is] really using it well in terms of supporting an Indigenous to Indigenous approach,” Tony Martens, director of Indigenous supplier i2i Development Global explained to Devex. During the first week of August, i2i will be taking its learnings from the Australian aid program to the United States and South America to encourage donors, including USAID and the World Bank, to take on the approach. “If you’re just into tokenism or into spinning a line, it’s not going to work. There is commitment and effort needed to invest in new partnerships and approaches that should benefit everyone.” --— Paul Tippett, senior development specialist, Coffey International DFAT’s road to recognition In 2018, DFAT added a diversity and inclusion schedule to its open and competitive aid tenders in excess of 500,000 Australian dollars ($348,000) requiring companies to describe how they will include women, culturally and linguistically diverse people, Indigenous Australians, and people with a disability as part of head office activities or on-the-ground services supporting the delivery of the project. And to ensure this was implemented fully, the business engagement team within DFAT has worked to build acceptance from line divisions — some of which they found had been removing the schedule, thinking it was optional. The launch of AusConnect, a portal providing insights into subcontracting opportunities in the aid program, was also a key part of DFAT’s strategy to improve engagement of Indigenous and other diverse suppliers by making it easier to find aid opportunities. “There are people sitting around the table in decision-making roles who want to do something different. I really commend the approach DFAT is taking — they are really moving ahead in leaps and bounds in terms of Indigenous engagement,” Martens said. But more importantly, it is a strategy that requires private sector partners to look at themselves and their approaches — and establish new collaborations that will help the Australian aid program diversify its thinking, including in its approach to engaging communities. The Australian National University, Cardno International, Coffey International, and Palladium are among the managing contractors that have partnered with Indigenous suppliers for Australian aid projects. “This cannot be about a tick in the box or for a managing contractor to say they have Indigenous involvement,” Paul Tippett, senior development specialist at Coffey International, told Devex. “If you’re just into tokenism or into spinning a line, it’s not going to work. There is commitment and effort needed to invest in new partnerships and approaches that should benefit everyone. And the results should be seen in the impact to communities.” Implementing the Indigenous to Indigenous approach The Indigenous approach within the Australian aid program recognizes that culture, experience, and land is important to indigenous communities in developing countries and aims to ensure that development programs are built from this foundation. And the approach recognizes the growing stream of Indigenous talented professionals — exporting them to build the capacity of Indigenous peoples in developing countries. i2i has been awarded four contracts to support the delivery of major Australian aid projects in collaboration with partners — with the diversity of projects showing the opportunities in implementing this approach. In associating with Palladium, i2i is helping to deliver the Pacific Labour Labour Facility, which will support culturally relevant services in support of Pacific Islander seasonal workers employed in Australia. Coffey International is supporting the delivery of the Vanuatu Education Support Program Phase, which will see the deployment of indigenous educators to capacity to develop and advise the Vanuatu Ministry of Education Cardno i2i will deliver a scoping study for the employment of vulnerable groups to the Indonesia-Australia Partnership for Infrastructure program. And finally, in partnership with the Australian National University, i2i is helping to deliver the Cyber Capability Engagement Project, which will integrate Indigenous professionals and services into program delivery and service design. International recognition of the approach Beyond DFAT, the approach is also making its way in development. The Indigenous to Indigenous approach has been promoted at the World Indigenous Business Forum and has received the attention of the Inter-America Development Bank, which has expressed interest in implementing the approach as part of programs supporting Chile and Peru. “This is our second invitation for the IDB to present to their staff our approach and model,” Peter Dunn, global indigenous economic development advisor with i2i, adding that he would be meeting with the head of indigenous affairs at USAID and representatives from the World Bank on the upcoming trip to Washington D.C. to discuss the approach and look for more opportunities. With Latin America demand growing, i2i has created an arm of its operations under the leadership of Sandra Paillal, a Mapuche professional focusing on this market from her base in Chile. Despite the expansion in the region only just beginning, i2i is already showing impact. With the Peruvian and Chilean governments, i2i has been providing advisory services on indigenous economic development policies and strategies. It has also partnered with CARE Peru in support of indigenous communities in the Amazon. And in partnership with the Peru Ministerio de Cultura, it is currently investigating funding sources for the construction of a 300 student dormitory for indigenous university students in Amazon city of Iquitos which will be a core priority of the South American leg of the upcoming i2i visit. “We’ve made some headway already — and it’s because of our approach,” Dunn said, adding that the focus has been on recognizing Indigenous people based on their strengths and promote that in our delivery. “We aim to build the capacity of indigenous communities. We see a lot of opportunities for this approach to be expended in development for the Indo-Pacific, Latin America, and elsewhere.”