Julie Bishop address to Council 2010
'Promoting Voice and Choice'
Promoting Voice and Choice: Exploring Innovations in Australian NGO Accountability for Development Effectiveness
by Chris Roche
(ACFID research paper, 2010)
From the Preface
This research paper represents the latest chapter in a body of work, led by ACFID’s Development Practice Committee (DPC), focused on Australian NGO program quality and effectiveness. Over the past 10 years DPC has engaged the sector in a series of consultations and discrete research phases to define our effectiveness and identify the principles, program strategies, standards of engagement and organisational management practices which underpin it.
The objective of the current research was to capture and share cutting edge practice in demonstrating Australian NGO effectiveness through innovative forms of accountability and social learning, in which the views of those who are ultimately meant to benefit were central. ACFID member agencies participated through submitting examples of their attempts to improve downward accountability.
The findings presented in this report will contribute to ACFID member agencies’ journey of continual improvement of our collective effectiveness. It will do this through engaging with senior NGO managers and AusAID in the analysis of the findings, as well as contributing to the international work on CSO Development Effectiveness. The next research phase will be in partnership with an academic institution to undertake a more rigorous examination of a sample of the case studies and the organisational enablers and obstacles to improving our effectiveness.
About the author
Chris Roche joined Oxfam Australia in 2002 as the Director of International Programs and was appointed Director of Development Effectiveness in April 2007. Prior to that, Chris was Head of Program Policy at Oxfam Great Britain for eight years, and worked for 10 years for the Agency for Cooperation in Research and Development (ACORD), managing the agency’s West Africa and Sahel programs and setting up its research and policy program.
