InnovationXchange, or iXc, is a unit within the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that provides support for innovation across the Australian aid program. They have launched a new resource to assist with their mandate of improving the impact and value for money of the Australian aid program — the Innovation Resource Facility.
For iXc and DFAT, setting up this facility was the preferred approach of delivering innovative solutions to the aid program because of the need for flexibility in the context of a rapidly evolving market, and a likely diverse set of needs. The IRF provides Australian aid with access to high-quality technical advisory services.
“A key part of iXc’s mandate is to increase the impact of Australian aid through finding and testing new ways to address long held problems,” a spokesperson for DFAT explained to Devex. “This might be new technologies, the application of new scientific findings, or new ways to influence behaviours to improve development outcomes.