The Readout

Is Australia walking the talk on its longstanding commitment to disability? With CEO of CBM Australia Jane Edge, we discuss how Australia can retain its leadership and hard-won gains made in disability inclusion. Jane lays out what is most critical for Government to consider as it drafts a new Disability, Equity and Rights Strategy.Read Jane’s piece for the Lab’s Intel here: https://www.devintelligencelab.com/intel/02november2023 The Readout is the Development Intelligence Lab's podcast hosted by CEO Bridi Rice. Each episode, you'll meet one development leader, hear their big idea and discover how it can shape the future of Australian development assistance. Visit Development Intelligence Lab for cracking analysis on Australian development cooperation:https://www.devintelligencelab.com/our-analysis The Readout is recorded and produced on Ngunnawal and Ngambri lands. Music by Viljami Mehto. Support and editing by Ruby St Ledger and Walter Colnaghi. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Has Australian aid become too embroiled in geostrategic competition? We take you behind the scenes of a Lab hosted debate, with Dr Mike Green, CEO of the US Studies Centre, and Senior Advisor and Kissinger Chair in Strategy at CSIS. Mike lays out his geostrategic rationale for why Australian development should focus primarily on shoring up the long-term vibrancy of open, inclusive and accountable states in our region. If you want to read more about the topic of this episode, here’s where to look: Professor Hugh White’s piece on The Intel, ‘Using the aid program for geostrategic competition: good, bad or indifferent?’ - https://www.devintelligencelab.com/intel/23june2022 Lab Head of Analysis and Engagement Heather Murphy’s presentation at the Australasian Aid Conference 2023, ‘Transactional or transformational? Navigating the competing purposes of Australia’s aid program’ - https://devpolicy.org/2023-Australasian-AID-Conference/AAC2023_Panel1e_Murphy.pdf Lab CEO Bridi Rice’s episode on Australia in the World podcast, ‘Australia’s international development policy’ - https://australiaintheworld.podbean.com/e/ep-116-australia-s-international-development-policy/ Development policy Centre Senior Research Officer Cameron Hill’s piece on the Dev Policy Blog ‘A new aid strategy: purpose, priorities, and plumbing’ - https://devpolicy.org/a-new-aid-strategy-purpose-priorities-and-plumbing-20221012/ The Readout is the Development Intelligence Lab's podcast hosted by CEO Bridi Rice. Each episode, you'll meet one development leader, hear their big idea and discover how it can shape the future of Australian development assistance. Visit Development Intelligence Lab for cracking analysis on Australian development cooperation:https://www.devintelligencelab.com/our-analysis The readout is recorded and produced on Ngunnawal and Ngambri lands. Music by Viljami Mehto. Support and editing by Ruby St Ledger and Walter Colnaghi. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Solstice Middleby, PhD Scholar at Adelaide University, says that Australia is on overdrive with the “family” or “Vuvale” and “good neighbour” or “Falepili” narrative, but it’s actions do not follow. According to Soli, the aid industry is not tooled to deliver on the needs of the Pacific peoples. As a consequence, Australia is losing credibility in the Pacific as a development partner.Read Dame Meg Taylor and Soli Middleby’s “Aid is not Development: The True Character of Pacific Aid” here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dpr.12745The Readout is the Development Intelligence Lab's podcast hosted by CEO Bridi Rice. Each episode, you'll meet one development leader, hear their big idea and discover how it can shape the future of Australian development assistance.Visit Development Intelligence Lab for cracking analysis on Australian development cooperation:https://www.devintelligencelab.com/our-analysisHosted on Acast. See https://www.acast.com/privacy-policy for more information.The readout is recorded and produced on Ngunnawal and Ngambri lands. Music by Viljami Mehto. Support and editing by Ruby St Ledger and Walter Colnaghi. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“The great promise of integration was that we would be bringing different policy instruments to bear.” Strategic Advisor at the Development Intelligence Lab Richard Moore says little has changed in Australia’s international development policy since the DFAT-AusAID merger. Development cooperation may be important in the rhetoric, but facts suggest it is “not a priority” in practice. Read Richard Moore’s “Australian development cooperation: Urgent and important, but “not a priority” here: https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/australian-development-cooperation-urgent-important-not-priority The Readout is the Development Intelligence Lab's podcast hosted by CEO Bridi Rice. Each episode, you'll meet one development leader, hear their big idea and discover how it can shape the future of Australian development assistance. Visit Development Intelligence Lab for cracking analysis on Australian development cooperation:https://www.devintelligencelab.com/our-analysisHosted on Acast. See https://www.acast.com/privacy-policy for more information. The readout is recorded and produced on Ngunnawal and Ngambri lands. Music by Viljami Mehto. Support and editing by Ruby St Ledger and Walter Colnaghi. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Diastika Rahwidiati, a Senior Strategic Innovation Designer at Chora Design and former leader of Australia's aid program in Jakarta, shares her insights on development strategies in Southeast Asia. She argues that Australia has the capability to enhance its leadership and skills in the region. The discussion highlights the importance of adaptive investment approaches and creating effective partnerships, particularly with Indonesia. Emphasizing systemic learning, Rahwidiati believes a cohesive strategy can redefine Australia’s role in international development.

Dame Meg Taylor, former Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, discusses the critical relationship between aid and genuine development in the Pacific. She argues that much of Australia’s aid merely cycles back to Australia, emphasizing the need for greater transparency and effectiveness. Meg addresses how geopolitical dynamics influence local engagement and calls for accountability in aid delivery. Highlighting the importance of local knowledge, she advocates for tailored approaches that prioritize the needs of Pacific nations over donor interests.

Welcome to the latest series of the Readout.The Readout is the Development Intelligence Lab's podcast hosted by CEO Bridi Rice. Each episode, you'll meet one development leader, hear their big idea and discover how it can shape the future of Australian development assistance. The show features Australian and international development leaders at the top of their fields.Visit the Development Intelligence Lab for cracking analysis on Australian development cooperation: https://www.devintelligencelab.com/our-analysisHosted on Acast. See https://www.acast.com/privacy-policy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode five of the latest Readout series.In this episode, the Lab’s CEO, Bridi Rice, sits down again with Jo Choe and James Gilling.The group discuss recent development headlines: staffing moves at DFAT including Ambassadorial appointments and bureaucratic shuffles of Rod Brazier, Elizabeth Peak and Ewen McDonald, reactions to the recent visit by the Indonesian President, Joko Widodo, and the China-Solomon Islands implementation plan on policing.Given it is SDG reporting season at the UN HQ in New York at the moment Bridi, Jo and James discuss the latest UN SDG progress report and muse about why the SDGs have had limited impact here in Australia.Finally, the trio once again consider Australia’s new development policy (expected to drop shortly). How prominently will climate feature in the new policy, what might it say about climate finance and will we see climate follow gender and adopt a mainstreaming approach?To learn more about The Readout and the work of the Development Intelligence Lab, head over to devintelligencelab.com and find us on Twitter and LinkedIn.Happy listening.- The Lab. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to episode four of the latest Readout series. In this episode, The Development Intelligence Lab’s CEO, Bridi Rice, chats virtually with Jo Choe and James Gilling about recent development news.The trio unpack recent headlines: the Foreign Minister’s announcement of an increase in humanitarian aid to Sudan; the release of Overseas Development Institute's new Principled Aid Index; and Japan’s new development compact (its first since 2015).Reflecting on the Lab’s recent Intel question - Bridi, Jo and James muse about the types of development skills and the role Australia should play in SE Asia. Is this a radically different proposition from our engagement with the Pacific?And they consider the USAID approach to localisation (read USAID’s first review of its ambitious 2021 targets here). What lessons can Australia’s aid program take from both the setting of targets and the review process?To learn more about The Readout and the work of the Development Intelligence Lab, head over to devintelligencelab.com and find us on Twitter and LinkedIn.Happy listening.- The Lab. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join James Gilling, East Asia and Pacific VP at ABT Associates, and Jo Choe, Head of Program Quality and Gender at DT Asia Pacific, as they delve into Australia’s evolving role in regional development. They discuss Prime Minister Albanese's recent address and its implications for Australia's foreign policy. The duo explores the need for coordinated donor actions and advocates for locally led initiatives. They also contemplate a potential reset in development strategies, emphasizing the importance of context-specific engagement.