Julie Bishop address to Council 2010
Development Practice Committee (DPC)
Terms of Reference
Endorsed by the Executive Committee on 16 June 2010
The ACFID Development Practice Committee's objective is to enhance the development sector’s effectiveness and efficiency.
The DPC will work to achieve this objective through:
- leadership of good practice within the sector
- research and development of appropriate tools and processes
- provision of relevant advice to ACFID’s Executive Committee
- engagement with AusAID on development effectiveness practice
Links to ACFID Strategic Plan 2006-2010
The work of the DPC links directly to following objectives:
2.1 Support the organisational development of members.
2.2 Promote high quality aid and development practices among member organisations.
3.1 Strengthen ACFID's leadership role in building the collective capacity of the sector.
3.3 Be a credible voice for the aid and development sector both within Australia and internationally.
Membership
Committee representatives are nominated by ACFID member agencies. The DPC has eight members plus two co-chairs, one co-chair is appointed from ACFID’s Executive Committee (ExCom). ExCom appoints the members for a rotational 2-year term (4 each year) according to the nomination procedures adopted in June 2001.
The membership of the committee is restricted to representatives of ACFID members and should comprise the following:
- Senior NGO staff with experience in program implementation across a range of countries and sectors and in dealing with AusAID requirements.
- People with links to institutions or inter/national networks that support the work of DPC in meeting the objectives of the ACFID strategic plan as outlined above will be considered favourably.
There should also be:
- One member with experience in the training and professional development of NGO staff.
- Appropriate gender balance.
Accountability
The Executive Committee has established the DPC under the ACFID Rules 9.1 and 9.2. ExCom will review these DPC ToR at its June meeting each year.
The ACFID Constitution states:
9.3 All committees and working groups must:
a) seek the prior approval of the Executive Director before inviting any representative of an organisation which is not a member of ACFID to attend meetings of, or otherwise participate in, the committee or working group;
b) operate in accordance with terms of reference or guidelines specified by the Executive Committee, if any, and in pursuance of the objectives of ACFID;
c) keep minutes of their meetings, and provide a copy of such minutes to the Executive Committee on request;
d) provide reports to the Executive Committee or the Council on their activities, as and when requested by the Executive Committee;
e) notify the Executive Committee of the place and time of proposed meetings of the committee or working group;
f) provide copies to the Executive Committee of any draft documents produced by the working group which may have policy implications, for approval by the Executive Committee before the final document is produced and before any such document is released or published; and
g) provide copies to the Executive Committee of other papers, reports or other formal documents that the committees or working groups produce from time to time.
9.4 The Executive Director, or such member of the Executive Committee or the Secretariat as the Executive Director may nominate in his or her place, is entitled to attend any meetings of committees and working groups established by the Executive Committee.
Ways in which DPC operates
Annual Plan |
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ExCom links |
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Secretariat links |
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External links |
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Meetings
The Committee meets four times per year prior to the ACFID Executive Committee and the (co)Chair takes responsibility for reporting to Executive.
Coordination with other ACFID committees
The work of DPC is coordinated with the work of the ACFID Advocacy and Public Policy Committee (APPC) to minimise unnecessary overlap and maximise constructive cooperation. APPC is an advisory committee to the ACFID Executive on issues of advocacy, policy development and the campaigning/educational activities of member agencies. It identifies critical areas for ACFID's strategic advocacy work, particularly on global economic, aid and human rights issues.
Relationship with ACFID Working Groups
ACFID working groups seeking advice on development practice policy and standards are encouraged to work with DPC, attending meetings as required. DPC will report on their work to the ACFID Executive Committee. All ACFID working groups preparing resolutions for ACFID Council are required to submit them to both APPC and DPC for review no later than July each year, but are encouraged to commence dialogue with the committee as early as possible.
For more information on the work of DPC, please see NGO Development Effectiveness.
