Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is in the market for innovation. Over the last two years, the department has launched a series of new initiatives to shake up the Australian aid program and find new partners in the private sector, including through the New Aid Paradigm and InnovationXChange.
“NGOs are well placed to identify innovative approaches to sustainable economic development and poverty reduction,” DFAT wrote in its recent report, “DFAT and NGOs: Effective Development Partners”. “We will support and encourage NGOs to identify how to create an enabling environment for learning and innovation within the NGO sector.”
Yet many Australian NGOs have been reluctant to heed the call to arms so far. Concerns about funding, a tendency to stick with what already works, and confusion over terminology has stalled innovation in the sector. Although the tendencies are global, Australian NGOs face particular challenges in injecting new ideas into their organizations and businesses.