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The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) is an administratively autonomous agency within the Foreign Affairs and Trade Portfolio. The agency is responsible for the management and administration of the Australian Government overseas aid program.
While all AusAID staff have a role in the operation and performance of the agency, 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 a member of the Department's Executive.
AusAID has a central office in Canberra and representation in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. Operations in developing countries and multilateral agencies are supported by AusAID staff deployed at Australian overseas missions and by locally engaged staff.
AusAID's core business is to serve the Government by advising on development issues and delivering Australia's development cooperation program with excellence. AusAID has a single outcome: Australia's national interest advanced by assistance to developing countries to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development. Two agency `outputs' contribute to this outcome: policy and program management. The Government will purchase these two outputs from AusAID at an agreed price of $10.6 million and $57.9 million respectively in 2001-02.
AusAID provides advice and analysis to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Trade, and the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs on aid policy, program directions and international development issues. The provision of timely, comprehensive and accurate policy advice and analysis allows the Government to make informed decisions in the national interest.
The agency also supports Government communication with the Australian community and Parliament through the provision of briefings, speeches, correspondence, press releases, replies to parliamentary questions and publications. This helps build community understanding of development issues and ensures that the aid program remains accountable to the Government, the Parliament and the Australian public.
AusAID manages Australia's overseas aid program on behalf of the Government. Actual delivery of the aid program is entirely outsourced. AusAID's program management comprises:
AusAID undertakes a wide range of support services to assist in the delivery of its two key outputs.
Contractors are used extensively to deliver projects and activities funded under the aid program. AusAID contracts firms and individuals to deliver activities at all stages of the project management cycle: feasibility, design, implementation, review and evaluation. In 2001-02, the agency will continue work to improve contracting standards, and explore options for more effective and efficient contracting models for aid delivery.
Selection processes for major contractors will be amended in 2001-02, to take overall past performance into account, and AusAID will actively encourage new players to participate in project tenders. The agency will also continue to place a high emphasis on training for staff, with courses aimed at enhancing contracting skills and competencies running throughout the year.
Significant changes to contracting arrangements for Australian Development Scholarships (ADS), which provide opportunities for people from selected developing countries to study in Australia, came into effect on 1 January 2001. Australian universities and TAFEs that were successful in the tender process now have increased responsibility and capability for tailoring both academic and student support services to students studying under the ADS program. Regular monitoring of institutional performance and outcomes will take place in 2001-02.
AusAID assesses performance against its overall quality target by aggregating information on individual aid activities across programs. This information is collected in a number of ways, depending on the program or aid mechanism, and further improvements to the reliability and comprehensiveness of the systems used to record and analyse this information will be undertaken during the forthcoming year.
AusAID's Activity Management System (AMS) collects financial and performance management information to support monitoring, analysis and reporting on all aspects of aid projects. In 2000-01 substantial upgrading has occurred to provide monitoring reports for performance information and for end-of-year financial positions across the project portfolio. The AMS is used to gather and record performance information on all bilateral activities. The main tool used is the Activity Monitoring Brief (AMB). Significant enhancement of the AMB, including easier access for overseas staff to information on the AMS essential for completion of the assessment, will result in more regular reporting on progress and more reliable annual assessments of activity performance.
Advances in technology and the need to respond to emerging changed work practices have led to the commissioning of a comprehensive review of the AMS. The review, which will be completed by the end of 2001, will consider how to better align the AMS with workflow and improve interfaces with performance, financial and other supporting systems. The review will make recommendations aimed at ensuring the project management and performance reporting needs of the agency can continue to be met.
Quality enhancement and reporting of results against performance targets are the main themes of AusAID's quality assurance activities. These themes were strengthened in 2000-01 with the development of guidelines for country program reviews, including indicators for program performance, and a trial of an upgraded Activity Monitoring Brief (AMB) system. In 2001-02, priority will be given to implementing the country program review guidelines and introducing improved systems for activity monitoring, including the upgraded AMB. These initiatives will simplify activity and program reporting and facilitate a focus on development outcomes. Quality assurance will be further strengthened through regular updating of AusAID's comprehensive guidelines on the management of projects, AusGUIDE.
The Quality Assurance Group (QAG) will build on previous work aimed at improving the quality of bilateral and regional aid projects and programs. QAG studies have identified the main constraints to achieving high quality development activities. During 2000-01 the emphasis of the QAG shifted from reviews of projects to developing guidelines for strengthening the quality assurance function. The program for 2001-02 will also involve collaboration with program areas further to develop simple and effective approaches for tackling these constraints. Further assessments of activity quality are also planned.
Evaluation complements other quality assurance reviews by providing more detailed assessment of the impact of aid activities and the sustainability of the benefits. Evaluation also generates lessons to improve future projects and programs. In 2000-01, AusAID's evaluation program began a number of thematic evaluations, including the application of gender and development policies, and technical and design issues in land and resource management activities. Other activities that will continue into 2001-02, include evaluation of an HIV/AIDS project in Thailand; review of a major regional organisation in the Pacific and a joint evaluation with the World Health Organisation of its emergency programs in East Timor. The focus in 2001-02 will also be on evaluating the resource and effectiveness issues associated with key aid delivery mechanisms, reviewing core AusAID processes and further strengthening program and project management systems.
Statistics collected from the AMS are used by AusAID to ensure accurate information about the aid program can be provided to the Parliament and the public, and to assist in improving the quality of the program. Trials of a new statistics package, Datamart, have recently been completed and the package will be fully operational in 2001-02. Datamart has been introduced to enhance the quality of statistical information and reports. It will act as a repository of validated, historical aid statistics and provide AusAID with enhanced capacity to prepare accurate, consistent and comprehensive statistics, data analyses and reports.
Risk assessment is an essential component of quality assurance. A review of the Agency's risk management framework was carried out during 2000-01. This is being supported by risk management training for staff and through the preparation of risk management plans for key business areas across the agency. The Audit Committee coordinates the Agency's audit and risk management plans and provides oversight and guidance in the implementation of risk management procedures and practices. AusAID has produced a detailed formal guideline outlining the application of risk management in development cooperation activities. The Strategic Audit Plan for 2001-04 is under preparation and will be presented to the Audit Committee in June 2001.
AusAID's audit section provides internal audit, fraud prevention and investigation services, as well as advice on risk management. Audits of commercial contractors and NGOs involved in the delivery of aid will continue to be the main focus of audit activity in 2001-02. This work will be complemented by audits that focus on key agency programs and functions including managerial, operational, financial/accounting, and information technology systems and procedures. Fraud control activities will centre on implementation of recommendations contained in the agency's fourth Fraud Prevention Plan.
The Sectoral Advice and Analysis Branch is responsible for providing high quality technical advice and sectoral analysis within the agency. In 2001-02, the Branch will focus on improving the quality of aid outcomes by concentrating on activity design and appraisal. As part of this focus, additional linkages will be made to relevant academic and professional groups in Australia and overseas.
Implementation of the AusAID People Management Strategy (1999-2001) will continue in 2001-02 with a focus on developing AusAID's strategic workforce planning capacity, streamlining recruitment, selection and placement processes and better rewarding and recognising good work performance.
The professional skills of staff will be enhanced through the AusAID Learning and Development Framework particularly in the areas of leadership/management, aid project and contract management, communication, risk management, security awareness, work unit planning and team building.
AusAID will also continue to implement elements of the Workplace Diversity Program 2001-04. This program focuses on outcomes and integrates equity and diversity principles into corporate planning processes, performance management systems and general resource planning.
Program management is supported through effective and efficient financial management systems. These systems are being progressively developed to meet the changing needs of Government reporting. This will result in easier reconciliation between systems, faster end of month reporting and better integrity of estimates.
AusAID has developed an Online Action Plan consistent with the Government's Online strategy and as an integral component of the agency's Information Technology Management Strategic Plan. A number of activities identified in the Online Action Plan have already been completed. In 2001-02, work will continue on consideration of online options for simple procurement.
The AusAID library provides a reference and information service to AusAID staff to support them in their work for the agency. Library staff have recently established desktop access to a selection of electronic journals for AusAID staff in the central office. In 2001-02, library staff will be working to increase the range of material available in this form.