Max Kelly

Australia's Box–Ironbark Forests and Woodlands: saving the fragments of a threatened ecosystem

Australias box–ironbark forests and woodlands once covered about 14 per cent of the State of Victoria on the riverine plains and foothills of the Great Dividing Range. But approximately 83 per cent of the total original habitat has been destroyed and what remains of this significant ecosystem is now highly fragmented and vulnerable to further degradation. Moreover, only 14 per cent of the area remaining is on public land. A 10 year campaign on the part of the environmental movement eventually succeeded in forcing the State government to conduct an independent inquiry into this ecosystem and make recommendations on future management. This paper outlines the innovative public participation process adopted by the Victorian State government and the outcomes of the inquiry. A subsequent compensation package for commercial operations disadvantaged by the proclamation of a series of new national parks is also discussed, as are the shortcomings of a process that can have little or no impact on what happens on private land.

Development aid: Regulatory Impact Assessment and conditionality

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine how Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) can contribute to decision-making processes of Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans and grants. The point of departure for the discussion is the phenomenon that RIA, within a context of ODA, is applied by International Finance Institutions mainly in the context of Development Policy Loans, to introduce or strengthen country systems for Regulatory Impact Assessment. However, ODA grants, and loans, particularly when specific policy or regulatory conditions are attached to them, significantly impact economic and social conditions within the beneficiary country. This article examines what role RIA can play in facilitating a coherent decision-making process affecting the ODA allocation within a context of conditionalities requiring the introduction of new, or changes to existing, policies and regulations. The discussion considers the nexus between development aid effectiveness, conditionality and ownership, and RIA. The article argues a justification for applying RIA to ODA loans and grants which carry regulatory and policy conditionalities.

NGOs, Pluralism and Advisory Services--Timor Leste.

Abstract Purpose: This article analyses the role, approach, issues and opportunities faced by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the promotion of agriculture in Timor Leste from independence through to the countrywide roll out of a public extension service in 2009. Design/methodology/approach: The research draws on semi-structured interviews with NGO personnel, local, national and international, actively involved in agricultural development to ascertain how organisations engage with communities, their objectives, inputs, coverage and impacts. The analysis is based on the framework developed by Birner et al. (2009) for pluralistic advisory services, and the discussion is framed by contemporary NGO discourse. Findings:This article argues that NGOs have a central role in agricultural development, with particular advantages that can be built upon, however there must be explicit acknowledgement of the complex nature of the NGO and civil society, and a critical awareness of the need for strategic thinking, communication and coordination for effective aid. Practical implication: NGOs play a central role in agricultural development. There is a need for a more nuanced understanding of the opportunities and limitations of the NGO sector, both as service providers but also more broadly as part of civil society. Originality/value: Funding directed to the NGO sector for implementation of development projects is prolific. There is substantial discourse on partnerships between NGOs and other actors. However, little of the debate appears within discussions on agricultural service provision.

Regulatory impact assessment: the forgotten agenda in ODA

Abstract This chapter argues for the inclusion of Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) into the project and policy cycle of ODA design and implementation. The point of departure is that although government agencies and multilateral organizations adhere to the principles of using RIA for any new policy cum regulatory interventions, the same does not apply to ODA projects and programs. Yet the argument presented in this chapter is that ex-ante RIA is an important tool for establishing the acceptability of new regulatory requirement imposed by donors in a form of loan and grant conditionality. The current dominating politico-economic ideologies and doctrines embraced by most, if not all Multilateral Development Banks (MDB) are subjected to an ideological and implementation critique.

Women Researching in Africa: The Impact of Gender

This chapter introduces a collection of stories exploring the lives, consequences and motivations of female researchers in Africa. Each subsequent chapter gives unprecedented insights into how the author’s gender—and sometimes their ethnicity and age—impacted on their research experiences, and how doing research in Africa affected them as women. Gender may not have been an underlying theme during the research period, but by being reflexive, the authors re-explore research experiences and re-examine things that may have been overlooked at the time of the research. Three broad themes are discussed: (1) gender and identity as a female researcher in Africa; (2) relationships with ‘others’; and (3) methodological challenges for female researchers in Africa.

Researching the Rural: A Mzungu Loose in Africa

This chapter explores the intersection of gender and positionality in researching international development as a foreign white woman in Africa. Engaging critically with the notion of positionality in relation to academic research, Kelly takes the notion of subjectivity, embedded in debates on qualitative research more broadly from the perspective of the researcher, and unwinds the subjective, the objective and the complex interrelationships between the researcher and the researched. The attributes of the researcher, both professional and personal, are explored in terms of their potential and actual impact on the research, the researcher and the researched. Reflecting on the evolution of both author as researcher, and development research discourse, Kelly calls for a deeper, more critical engagement with positionality and gender within international development research.

Women Researching Africa: Linking Experience to Practice

This chapter draws key lessons from the diverse contributions to this volume on women researching Africa. It reviews the methodological challenges, issues of power, access and representation, as well as privilege and identity. The differential experiences of researchers based on a complex and interrelated range of factors, primarily: gender, ethnicity, age and social position, highlight the need for critical reflection within research on positionality, engaging clearly and explicitly with gender as part of this process. Our conclusions draw attention to gender in researcher positionality in researching Africa (and elsewhere), and for women to do research differently by breaking away from the colonial knowledge frames which traditionally enforce gender anonymity.

Animals in International Development, Ethics, Dilemmas and Possibilities

This chapter explores the role and perceptions of animals in international development efforts and the possible contradictions between differing priorities of agencies involved in international charitable efforts. Although there is a wide range of purposes for a charitable organization, as shown in the (England and Wales) Charities Act 2011 (c.25) and having one purpose does not preclude a second, organizations concerned with animal welfare are quite distinct from those working for poverty alleviation in the developing world (and indeed the developed world). A fun and novel gift of a donkey may equally be perceived as a cruel, environmentally unsustainable and misguided development effort, a valuable asset, or a burden to a household struggling to feed existing mouths. Exacerbating this situation is the fact that much of the debate around animals in a developing context is heavily polarized between livestock welfare, and animal rights, with a very limited middle ground.

Conceptualizing impact assessment in foreign aid

Abstract The purpose of this chapter is to sketch in broad-brush terms a number of major challenges associated with assessing the impact of foreign aid in the social sector. Within this context the chapter provides a critical analysis of issues concerning Impact Assessment from a range of vantage points. It provides an overview of results and impact as a component of a project cycle and, for a better understanding of issues concerned, focuses on the evolution of Impact Assessment, as it is relevant to the international development context. From the basis of historical development of Impact Assessment the chapter addresses its underpinning theories and practices in a contemporary context. This includes issues concerning Theory of Change and critical discussions about notions of Transparency and Accountability as well as Ex-Ante and Ex-post Impact Assessment.

Impact assessment: from theory to practice

This chapter explores key issues and concepts raised throughout this volume. The authors argue that impact assessment is a vital part of the current development landscape, yet it is an unfinished project. Impact assessment is frequently poorly conceptualized and theorized, and is so many things to different people that it is often poorly understood and poorly implemented. There is potential for competing and highly polarized camps to evolve a much better mutual understanding of the potentials and limitations of different approaches, the relevance of the development and global economic paradigms driving ODA allocations and the need for a better, and more diverse “toolkit” from which to work. Impact Assessment can contribute to more effective human development, if some of the existing misconceptions, and entrenched positions are addressed, a development specific discourse about the theory and practice of impact assessment can be openly established.