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AusAID Corporate Plan 2001-2003
Director General's ForewordThe aid program advances Australia's national interest by assisting developing countries to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development. The program's focus on the Asia-Pacific region is an expression of Australia's strong engagement with the region and commitment to working in partnership to meet its considerable development challenges. The policy framework, Better Aid for a Better Future, issued by the Government in 1997, continues to shape the direction of the aid program. This Corporate Plan 2001-2003 outlines how, in implementing the policy framework, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) will set priorities, manage resources and achieve results in reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development. Continuous improvement in the quality of the aid program - and being able to measure and demonstrate performance - is a high priority. We will be working to maximise the program's operational impact, including through an even sharper focus on poverty reduction, innovative approaches to aid delivery, more effective engagement with partner countries on their policy agendas and closer coordination with other donors. We will seek to build support for the aid program in the Australian community by communicating effectively the achievements of the program and involving the Australian public in its delivery. Our people are crucial to AusAID's core business: providing policy advice on development issues and delivering a high quality program. We need skilled and motivated staff, who work in an environment of effective leadership and who have a shared commitment to the strategic directions of the program and the agency. Our People Management Strategy provides the framework for these goals to be fully realised. I value the contribution and commitment of staff and look forward to working with them over the next three years. Bruce Davis
Our ObjectiveTo advance Australia's national interest by assisting developing countries to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development. Our Core BusinessAusAID serves the Government by advising on development issues and delivering Australia's development cooperation program with excellence. AusAID will:
Our Operating EnvironmentOver the last half century, progress has been made in reducing poverty and achieving sustained growth. But the progress has been uneven and halting. Over a billion people still live in abject poverty, with most of these concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region. The challenge for Australia - as for other donors - is to make the most effective use of the aid program to help reduce poverty and enhance the capacity of our developing country partners to achieve sustainable development. A focus on the Asia-Pacific region enables Australia to maximise the impact of our development assistance in reducing poverty. Australia's aid program targets countries in East Asia, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Island countries - with selective engagement in South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Over the next few years, the Asia-Pacific region is likely to face continuing challenges to stability and economic growth. The aid program has an important role as part of Australia's broad approach to promoting regional peace, security and prosperity. It seeks to respond flexibly and innovatively to help our neighbours meet their development challenges. Globalisation has quickened the process of change, providing opportunities for increased trade and investment to stimulate economic growth. It has also exposed and deepened structural and other weaknesses that prevent countries from taking advantage of these opportunities. Sound governance is critical to achieving economic growth and creating opportunities for the poor and vulnerable. Support for basic needs and essential public services - particularly in health and education - is also vital so that poor and disadvantaged people do not fall further behind. We can expect a continuing demand for humanitarian and emergency assistance to cope with natural disasters and human-made crises, in our region and beyond. Australia maintains the capacity through the aid program to respond promptly and generously to such crises. There is increasing recognition of the need for donors to work together more closely to speed progress towards achieving development goals. Australia is actively engaged with other bilateral donors and multilateral development agencies, to ensure greater coordination of development efforts. Accountability to the Government, the Parliament and the Australian community for the delivery of a high quality aid program requires an emphasis on measuring and reporting on performance. It is important for the aid program to further improve systems, procedures and practices to meet that demand.
Our PeopleAusAID strives for excellence in carrying out its core business. Our people are critical to achieving high quality results. AusAID must attract and develop skilled staff as the basis of a professional agency with a strong foundation of development knowledge. AusAID's People Management Strategy supports a culture of high performance and continuous learning, through a focus on five key areas:
Work Values and PracticesOur core work values and practices are:
Key Result AreasTen key result areas are used to plan, prioritise and measure the performance of our programs. Build Effective PartnershipsTo build and maintain effective partnerships with developing countries, international organisations and the community, AusAID will:
Deliver Australia's Aid Program with ExcellenceA high quality aid program maximises the impact of Australia's development assistance. To manage effectively the delivery of Australia's aid program, AusAID will:
Promote Effective GovernanceGood governance is an essential precondition for poverty reduction and sustainable development. It is critical to aid effectiveness. To promote effective governance in partner countries, the aid program will support them to:
Improve Access to and Quality of EducationEducation is development's most basic building block, yet some 130 million children in poor communities worldwide do not attend school and hundreds of millions more attend for only a few years. To assist partner countries meet the educational needs of their people, the aid program will:
Improve HealthDespite the gains of the 20th century, 10 million children die every year before reaching the age of five and 30 per cent of people in the developing world are malnourished. Diseases that can be readily prevented threaten the health of the world's poor. To assist partner countries to improve health outcomes, the aid program will:
Improve Agriculture and Rural DevelopmentAbout 70 per cent of the poorest people in developing countries live in rural areas. To reduce rural poverty by increasing the opportunities for the poor to generate income and improve their livelihoods, the aid program will:
Provide Essential InfrastructureEssential infrastructure is fundamental to poverty reduction and sustainable development. It provides access to needed resources and markets, improving both agricultural and urban productivity. To help ensure vital infrastructure is available for people in partner countries, the aid program will:
Deliver Humanitarian and Emergency AssistanceBoth globally and in our region the need for humanitarian and emergency assistance has reached unprecedented levels. To deliver prompt, appropriate and effective humanitarian and emergency assistance, the aid program will:
Maximise Environmental SustainabilityPoor people suffer most from the consequences of environmental damage. Preventing environmental degradation is essential to poverty reduction and ensuring development is sustainable. To maximise sustainable poverty reduction in partner countries, the aid program will:
Promote Gender EquityMen and women have not shared equally in the benefits of development: about 70 per cent of the world's poor are women. To promote equal opportunities for women and men as participants and beneficiaries of development in partner countries, the aid program will:
Measuring Our PerformanceMeasuring and improving our performance is essential to delivering a high quality aid program and ensuring accountability. To continuously improve our performance, AusAID will:
AusAID will continue to assess and improve our systems to ensure performance reporting is effective.
Our Commitment to Quality ServicesMinister, Parliamentary Secretary and GovernmentAusAID undertakes to:
Australian PublicAusAID undertakes to:
Developing CountriesAusAID undertakes to:
Aid Delivery PartnersAusAID undertakes to:
AusAID - A SnapshotAusAID is an administratively autonomous agency within the Foreign Affairs and Trade Portfolio. It is responsible for the management of the official Australian Government overseas aid program. AusAID's central office is in Canberra. Operations in developing countries and multilateral agencies are supported by AusAID staff deployed at Australian overseas missions and by locally engaged staff.
Corporate Governance ArrangementsWhile all staff have a role in the operation and performance of AusAID, final responsibility rests with the Director General, who reports directly to the Minister for Foreign Affairs on all aspects of aid policy and operations. The Director General is responsible to the Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the administration of AusAID and is also a member of the Department's Executive. The AusAID Executive assists the Director General in meeting his responsibilities. The Executive, comprising the Director General and three Deputy Directors General, is responsible for strategic direction-setting and broad management issues. It also focuses on AusAID's relationship with the Minister and the Parliamentary Secretary who assists the Minister for Foreign Affairs on aid matters. AusAID has two Committees which report to the Executive on:
Comments, Feedback and Further InformationAusAID welcomes comments and feedback on its range of services. Comments, feedback and requests for information should be addressed to: Address: AusAID Tel: (02) 6206 4000 Freedom of Information requests should be directed to the Freedom of Information Officer, Ministerial and Parliamentary Services Unit, telephone (02) 6206 4617 AusAID's commitment to quality services is noted in a range of documents, including country strategy papers, memoranda of understanding and program guidelines. Further information on the aid program is available in other AusAID publications, including: Australia's Overseas Aid Program 2000-01 Copies of publications by the aid program are available on the AusAID website. For a hard copy of these documents address correspondence to: National Mailing and Marketing
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