This list of reports this will not be maintained after April 2022. All Devpol reports can be found on the Devpolicy Blog site.

School of Business and Public Policy Undergraduate Economics and Master of Economic and Public Policy exit survey report
Rohan Fox, July 2021

In late 2020 a survey was provided to 22 final-year economics undergraduate students and 18 Master of Economic and Public Policy (MEPP) students at the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG). In addition to demographic information, the survey asked for employment preferences and expectations, study experience, personal challenges and suggestions for improvement. This survey extends the scope of the previous survey by adding MEPP student participants and further questions based on suggestions in the 2015 survey report and on suggestions of colleagues working at UPNG. The purpose of this survey is to provide information to higher education policymakers, university educators and administrators, and to current and future students.
» download PDF report

Change and continuity in Australian aid: What the aid flows show
Terence Wood, Matthew Dornan and Sachini Muller, January 2021

Australian foreign aid has changed considerably in the last 20 years. This report examines the changing nature of Australian government aid through the lens of publicly available data on aid flows, which provide evidence of change and allow direct comparisons between Australia and other OECD Development Assistance Committee donors. These comparisons help highlight where Australian aid conforms with international norms of good giving, where Australia lags behind the global community, and where it is a global leader.
» download PDF report
» download PDF executive summary
» read blog

University of Papua New Guinea economics graduates tracer survey 2020
Rohan Fox, December 2020

This report is the third in a series of studies of economics graduates from the University of Papua New Guinea. The study was undertaken in 2020 and follows the career progress and insights of University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) economics graduates from 2015 to 2018. Through this study it is hoped that greater understanding can be gained on key aspects of the labour market for economics graduates in Papua New Guinea, and that useful feedback can be attained on UPNG’s economics coursework.
» download PDF report
» read blog

Governance of the Seasonal Worker Programme in Australia and sending countries
Richard Curtain and Stephen Howes, December 2020

While research has demonstrated the benefits of the SWP for both workers and farmers,less is known about how the program is governed, especially in sending countries, and about the determinants of national participation. This report analyses these issues, and recommends ways to improve SWP governance, both in Australia and in the sending countries, with the objective of promoting the sustainable growth of seasonal labour mobility from the Pacific into Australia. It is the culmination of years of research, including fieldwork undertaken over six years in 11 countries.
» download PDF report
» download PDF executive summary
» read blog part one and two

Papua New Guinea’s primary health care system: views from the frontline
Colin Wiltshire, Amanda H. A. Watson, Denise Lokinap and Tatia Currie, December 2020

This report aims to provide insights into how recent PNG government reform efforts are impacting on the primary health care system. These include the introduction of a free primary health care policy, national grants to provinces for recurrent health expenditure, changes in medical supply policies, and development funds allocated to members of parliament for health infrastructure in their electorates. It presents illustrations of how PNG’s primary health care system functions, drawing mainly on the perspectives of health administrators and frontline workers on the ground. The findings detailed in this report set out the realities of providing frontline health services to communities at the local level. This provides some insights into health system operations and reveals how different provincial contexts influence the implementation of health reforms, the utilisation of available health funds and the performance of health facilities.
» download PDF report

Independent evaluation of the ANU - UPNG Partnership
Jim Adams and John Eyers, September 2020

This report was commissioned by the Development Policy Centre, to provide an independent evaluation of the partnership since 2015 between the School of Business and Public Policy (SBPP) in the University of Papua New Guinea (UPNG) and the Crawford School of Public Policy at The Australian National University.
» download PDF

The 2019 Australian aid transparency audit
Luke Levett Minihan and Terence Wood, February 2020

This report summarises the findings of the 2019 audit of transparency in the Australian Aid Program at the project level. The audit is based on the publication of information on the DFAT website about Australian aid-funded projects in 27 countries and regional programs, and replicates a similar audit conducted in 2016, which closely followed the same methodology of the first audit in 2013. The data show that transparency has deteriorated substantially since 2013 in the early parts of the aid project cycle, but a greater share of projects have reviews and evaluations published online, up 11 percentage points from 35 per cent in 2016 to 46 per cent in 2019. We also found that transparency was greater on average for larger projects, and that projects that were transparent early in the project cycle tended to stay that way. The report makes a number of recommendations related to strengthening aid transparency.
» download report
» read blog

PNG: Devpolicy Blogs in 2018-19
August 2019
» download PDF

Palliative care in the Pacific: initial research
Joanna Spratt, March 2019
» download PDF
» read blog

Australian aid five years on: the 2018 Australian Aid Stakeholder Survey
Terence Wood, Sachini Muller and Stephen Howes, February 2019

This report summarises the findings of the 2018 Australian Aid Stakeholder Survey, which was previously run in 2013 and 2015, and provides a detailed picture of how the quality of the Australian Government aid program is perceived by expert aid practitioners.
» view report
» read blog
» download survey data [zip, 3.5 MB]

Moving beyond grants: questions about Australian infrastructure financing for the Pacific
Stephen Howes and Matthew Dornan, February 2019
» download PDF
» read blogs on the reform and on flaws in the bill

A future-focused review of the DFAT-AusAID integration
Richard Moore, February 2019
» download short version
» download long version
» read blog

A pressure release valve? Migration and climate change in Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu
Richard Curtain and Matthew Dornan, February 2019
» download PDF
» read blog

2018 PNG Update: PNG in the year of APEC
November 2018
» download full PDF
» download Article 1: ‘Inaugural Address’
» download Article 2: ‘PNG’s Economy’
» download Article 3: ‘2018 PNG Economic Survey’
» download Article 4: ‘Leadership and the future’

Analysing Pacific labour mobility: Devpolicy Blogs 2017-18
September 2018
» download PDF

iXc: the first four years
Stephen Howes, August 2018
» download PDF
» read blog

Pacific Stories: Devpolicy Blog posts in 2016-18
Matthew Dornan and Tess Newton Cain (eds), June 2018
» download PDF

PNG: Devpolicy Blogs in 2017-18
June 2018
» download PDF

Trends in complaints to the Fiji Independent Commission Against Corruption, 2007-2014
Constantine Boussalis, Travis Coan, Caryn Peiffer and Grant Walton, January 2018

This report analyses complaints made to Fiji’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (FICAC) between 2007 and 2014. Using sophisticated statistical analysis, the report shows that an exponential rise in complaints has been accompanied by a mismatch between the ICAC’s mandate and respondents’ definitions of corruption. It suggests the agency can do more to reach out to disenfranchised groups, and mitigate public cynicism about its ability to meaningfully respond to corruption.

» download report
» read blog

The public and the aid community: comparing views about aid
Terence Wood and Camilla Burkot, August 2017

Until recently, little systematic academic work had been undertaken looking at the views of Australians on aid and international development. This report presents the findings of two surveys on various aspects of the Australian aid program and of broader development beliefs - one survey of the Australian public, and one of members of the Australian aid and development community. The findings show that when it comes to beliefs about aid and development, the Australian aid community and the Australian public hold similar perspectives on some issues (such as the average effectiveness of aid), but differ markedly on other issues (such as aid volume).

» download report
» read blog

Australian funding of global medical research: how to scale up?
Camilla Burkot and Stephen Howes, August 2017
This report argues that there is a strong case for scaling up Australian support for global medical research – research leading to the developing of new products, such as drugs, vaccines, and diagnostic tests, to address health problems predominantly affecting people in the developing world. The report reviews a variety of models for directing more Australian aid funding to medical research, and concludes that the best option would be the establishment of a global medical research centre akin to the existing Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

» download report
» read blog

PNG: Devpolicy Blogs in 2016-17
July 2017
» download PDF

Gone backward: findings from the 2016 Australian aid transparency audit
Virginia DeCourcy and Camilla Burkot, December 2016

This report summarises the findings of the 2016 audit of transparency in the Australian aid program at the project level. The audit is based on the publication of information on the DFAT website about Australian aid-funded projects in 27 countries, and replicates a similar audit conducted in 2013. The data show that overall transparency has declined, with the average availability of preliminary project information declining by almost 25 percentage points since 2013, and average availability of project-level documentation declining by six percentage points. However, the availability of reviews and evaluations has improved, and transparency scores for particular countries have significantly improved. The report makes a number of recommendations related to strengthening aid transparency.

» download report
» read blog

Economics and governance in PNG: Devpolicy Blog posts in 2015-16
Stephen Howes (ed.), October 2016
» download booklet [pdf, 4.3 MB]

Creating a healthy domestic political economy for aid and development – Summary Report
Camilla Burkot, Jennifer vanHeerde-Hudson, David Hudson, Jo Spratt and Terence Wood, July 2016

This report summarises and extends discussions from a workshop held in April 2016 at ANU. The workshop brought together about 25 NGO staff, campaigners, and academics to discuss the factors that drive a healthy domestic political economy for good aid and development policy in Australia.

» download report [pdf, 284 KB]

Pacific Possible – Labour mobility: the ten billion dollar prize
Richard Curtain, Matthew Dornan, Jesse Doyle and Stephen Howes, July 2016

This report looks at the issue of Pacific labour mobility from both sides of the equation. It seeks to understand the perspectives and concerns of both sending and receiving countries, and it proposes reforms for both sets of countries. The report places particular emphasis on providing opportunities for low-skilled and medium-skilled migration. A broad range of reforms is proposed, but is particularly focused on providing labour mobility opportunities for those beyond the elite of sending countries to maximise the welfare gains of migration, and to reduce the risk of brain drain. The report forms part of the World Bank’s Pacific Possible series.

» download full report
» download four-page summary
» read blog

Pacific Stories: Devpolicy Blog posts in 2014-15
Tess Newton Cain and Matthew Dornan (eds), June 2016
» download booklet [pdf, 1.7 MB]

A mixed review for New Zealand aid - the 2015 stakeholder survey
Terence Wood and Camilla Burkot, March 2016

This report summarises the findings of the 2015 New Zealand Aid Stakeholder Survey, which was carried out for the first time in 2015. The NZ survey closely mirrored the Australian aid stakeholder survey in both questions and methodology – we assessed the state of New Zealand government aid by soliciting the feedback of NGO representatives and contractors to the aid programme.

» view report [pdf, 2.6 MB]
» view blog
» download survey data [zip, 1.9 MB]

Australian aid: signs of risk - the 2015 Australian Aid Stakeholder Survey
Terence Wood, Camilla Burkot and Stephen Howes, February 2016

This report summarises the findings of the 2015 Australian aid stakeholder survey. The Development Policy Centre conducted its first ever Australian aid stakeholder survey prior to the 2013 elections. We assessed the state of Australian aid by gathering input from stakeholders — aid experts who have worked with the aid program regularly and who have first-hand experience of its performance. In the second half of 2015 we repeated the Australian aid stakeholder survey, using the same methods and asking similar questions, allowing analysis of the impact of the changes to the aid program between the two surveys.

» view report [pdf, 2.1 MB]
» view summary [pdf]
» download survey data [zip, 3.7 MB]
» view blog
» view Canberra Times op-ed
» view journal article

Australia’s Seasonal Worker Program: demand-side constraints and suggested reforms
Jesse Doyle, The World Bank; and Stephen Howes, Development Policy Centre, February 2015

This paper reports on the results of a comprehensive survey of employers and industry bodies across the horticulture sector examining employers’ views of the Seasonal Worker Program, which permits workers from eight Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste to work in Australia for a period of fourteen weeks to six months.

» view report [PDF, 1.2MB]
» read blog

A lost decade? Service delivery and reforms in Papua New Guinea 2002-2012
Stephen Howes, Andrew Anton Mako, Anthony Swan, Grant Walton, Thomas Webster and Colin Wiltshire, October 2014

This report, part of the joint NRI-ANU Promoting Effective Public Expenditure (PEPE) project, presents the results of a 2012 survey of 360 primary schools and health clinics across eight provinces in PNG, from the nation’s capital to its most far-flung and inaccessible regions. Many of the same facilities were surveyed at the start of the decade. By combining the two surveys, we can assess progress on health and education service delivery over time, and analyse the impact of important policy reforms.

» download full report [PDF, 5.8MB]
» view NRI Spotlight summary [PDF, 1.3MB]
» view A3 flyer summary [PDF, 4.1MB]

Individual chapters
» Foreword, acknowledgements, map and summary [PDF 843KB]
» Chapter 1: Introduction [PDF, 498KB]
» Chapter 2: Method [PDF, 709KB]
» Chapter 3: Primary schools: 2002 to 2012 [PDF, 1.2MB]
» Chapter 4: Health clinics: 2002 to 2012 [PDF, 684KB]
» Chapter 5: Education financing the the Tuition Fee-Free policy [PDF, 559KB]
» Chapter 6: Health financing and the free health policy [PDF, 739KB]
» Chapter 7: DSIP: are health and education benefitting? [PDF, 516KB]
» Chapter 8: Facility level explanations of performance [PDF, 550KB]
» Chapter 9: Conclusion [PDF, 457KB]
» References and acronyms [PDF, 131KB]

» read blogs

Financing PNG’s free primary health care policy: user fees, funding and performance
Colin Wiltshire and Andrew Mako, June 2014

This is the first major publication to be released from our Promoting Effective Public Expenditure (PEPE) project, with findings presented in June at the 2014 PNG National Health Conference in Port Moresby. The publication uses health financing results from PEPE expenditure tracking surveys to inform the implementation of PNG’s free primary health care policy.

» view publication [PDF, 2.6MB]
» read blogs

Economics and governance in PNG: Devpolicy Blog posts in 2013-14
Stephen Howes and Jonathan Pryke (eds), June 2014
» view publication [PDF, 1.8MB]

Pacific Stories: Devpolicy Blog posts in 2013-14
Matthew Dornan and Tess Newton Cain (eds), June 2014
» view publication [PDF, 1.7MB]

Debating ten years of RAMSI
Terence Wood and Stephen Howes (eds), April 2014

RAMSI, the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, is the regional policing, peace-keeping and development mission that arrived in Solomon Islands in 2003 in response to the country’s civil conflict. In 2013, a number of posts were run on the Devpolicy Blog to mark the 10 year anniversary of RAMSI, and these have now been collected.

» view publication [PDF, 874KB]
» read blog

What we’ve learned about development in Pacific island countries - Volume 2
Tony Hughes, April 2014

This is volume 2 of the report from the What Can We Learn project, 2012-13 (volume 1 was released in December last year and available below). It is written by Tony Hughes who is Project Coordinator of the WCWL project. The What Can We Learn (WCWL) project is funded by a group of donors active in assisting PICs’ development, including Australia, New Zealand, UNDP, ESCAP and ADB. For more information about WCWL click here.

» view publication [PDF, 1.0MB]
» read blogs

The costs and affordability of drug treatments for type 2 diabetes and hypertension in Vanuatu
Ian Anderson, Amanda Sanburg, Howard Aru, Len Tarivonda, Susan Ivatts, Rufina Latu, and Jacob Kool, February 2014

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes and hypertension, pose increasingly significant health, policy and financing challenges in Vanuatu, a lower middle income Pacific Island country. Pharmaceutical costs to Government are becoming unsustainable. This report demonstrates that diabetes type 2 and hypertension are already putting unsustainable financial pressure on the pharmaceutical and broader health budget in Vanuatu.

» view publication [PDF, 602KB]
» read blog

Benchmarking Australian aid: results from the 2013 Australian aid stakeholder survey
Stephen Howes and Jonathan Pryke, December 2013

In July and August 2013 the Development Policy Centre surveyed 356 stakeholders in the Australian aid program, from the senior executives of Australia’s biggest NGOs and development contracting companies, to the officials of multilateral, partner government and Australian government agencies. The survey asked them what they thought about the Australian aid program, what they liked, what they didn’t like, what they thought the future of aid was and what needed to be done to improve our aid.

In full
» Benchmarking Australian aid: results from the 2013 Australian aid stakeholder survey (PDF, 1.9MB)

In sections
» One page summary (PDF, 289KB)
» Executive summary (PDF, 638KB)
» Report (PDF, 1.1MB)
» Annex (including statistical tables and questionnaire) (PDF, 1.6MB)

Report launch presentation
» download presentation (PDF, 880KB)

For more information visit the stakeholder survey page of our website, and view blogs here.

What we’ve learned about development in Pacific island countries - Volume 1
Tony Hughes, December 2013

This is volume 1 of the report from the What Can We Learn project, 2012-13. It is written by Tony Hughes who is Project Coordinator of the WCWL project. The What Can We Learn (WCWL) project is funded by a group of donors active in assisting PICs’ development, including Australia, New Zealand, UNDP, ESCAP and ADB. For more information about WCWL click here.

» view publication (PDF, 750KB)
» read blog

Best of the Development Policy Blog 2012
February 2013
» view publication

Pacific Futures: World Bank Discussion Note
World Bank Pacific Department, Sydney, 2012

This discussion note was presented at a Devpolicy seminar on Thursday March 15.

» view discussion note [PDF, 294KB]
» read blog

Rural Poverty in Remote PNG
Cate Rogers and CARE Australia, October 2011
» view publication [PDF, 1.6MB]

Enhancing the Capabilities of Central Finance Agencies: Synthesis Report
World Bank, July 2011

This report is discussed in Devpolicy Policy Brief 3 by Björn Dressel, January 2012.

» view report [PDF, 629KB]
» read blog

Climate Change and Fiscal Policy: A Report for APEC
Stephen Howes and Leo Dobes, June 2011
» view publication [PDF, 3.4MB]
» read blog

Review of the PNG-Australia Development Cooperation Treaty (1999)
Stephen Howes, Eric Kwa and Soe Lin, April 2010
» view publication
» read blog