Bougainville referendum, Manaaki Update, UK elections, and more

+ Merry Christmas & Thank You from the CID team!

In what ever way you celebrate the upcoming holiday season, the CID team would like to take the opportunity to wish you well and thank you for your support during 2019.

While we remember the communities that we serve, the upcoming holidays are also an important time to take stock, reconnect with family and friends, rest up and remember some of the positive and Good News stories from the year. We have also found this 'official' 2018 - 2019 Naughty & Nice List from the North Pole Government!

We would like to wish you all a Meri Kirihimete, Merry Christmas, Manuia Le Kirisimasi, Kilisimasi Fiefia, Joyeux Noël, Feliz Navidad, Buon Natale, عيد ميلاد سعيد, and Me Nomuni na marau ni siga ni sucu dei na yabaki vou.

This will be the final CID Weekly newsletter for the year, with the next one will be week of 14th January.
 

+ Results of the Bougainville Independence Referendum

Mid-last week the results of the autonomous Papua New Guinea region’s non-binding independence referendum were announced; a 97.7% majority voting in favour of independence. For independence to come into effect, the results of the referendum must be ratified by Papua New Guinea’s national parliament following a consultative process between the PNG and Autonomous Bougainville governments. It is unclear how long this consultative process will take.

Sir Puka Temu, the Minister for Bougainville Affairs, has called on the international community to respect the process and restrain from interfering in the consultation phase. He notes "It's a political process. And so, there are issues of development, there are challenges out there, but I call on the international community to please refrain from making any interference during the consultation process."

While this process is likely to take time, Genevieve Korokoro, the deputy major of Arawa, Bougainville, is positive about the referendum process that has occurred to date. She highlighted the hope that the referendum had bought to communities and predicts an increasing focus within Bougainville on the pursuit of self-reliance.
 

+ MFAT Partnering for Impact: Manaaki Update

Manaaki Round Two Launched
Following a review of round one, MFAT are pleased to announce that they have soft-launched yesterday, 16th December 2019, the second round of a new and slightly improved Manaaki. 
 
The review identified some clarifications and amendments that could usefully streamline the Manaaki process for round two, as well as some slightly more significant changes to the fund. The more significant changes include increasing the funding available to $6 million per annum, lifting the MFAT co-investment cap for each activity to $1.25 million and broadening the criteria for in-country partners to include non-civil society organisations (e.g. local and central government) on a case-by-case basis. 
 
Below is a list of documents, for your reference:

• The revised Manaaki Guidelines for Applicants
• The revised Manaaki Application Form
• The Manaaki Summary of Review Findings
• Partnering for Impact: FAQs

 
All these documents are also available on MFAT's website. Applications for round two will be open for over three months and are due 5pm Monday 30 March 2020.
 
Partnering for Impact Update
Secondly, MFAT are planning to hold Partnering for Impact wānanga in the New Year in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.  The objectives of the wānanga will be to:

• Share progress made on Partnering for Impact, including Negotiated Partnerships, Manaaki and the Organisational Strengthening Mechanism
• Provide a briefing on Manaaki round two, including amendments to the eligibility and guidelines, and discussion on what makes a strong application

The times, locations and agendas for these wānanga will be provided closer to the time. Please save the following tentative dates:

• Wednesday 22 January – AUCKLAND
• Thursday 23 January - WELLINGTON
• Friday 24 January - CHRISTCHURCH

 

+ Under Review: The Australian Aid Budget

The priorities of the Australian foreign aid budget are to come under scrutiny in a landmark review being carried out by the Morrison government. The review is the beginning of the first major reset of the Australian international aid and development programme since 2013 and is set to identify new priorities and reassess which countries receive support. The review is recognised as being much needed with changes, such as the markedly growing presence of China, in the region having occurred.

In advance of the review, ACFID polled public on how they believe the $4 billion aid foreign aid budget should be spent. They found:

• 60% of those surveyed believed that Australian aid should primarily serve the poorest people and those most in need; and
• 33% believed spending should primarily serve Australia’s interests.

 

ACFID has stated that they believe that Australian assistance should be targeted at the bottom 40% of people by income in poor countries. Marc Purcell, ACFID chief executive states, "Prioritising the poorest and most marginalised people should be the foundation stone of the Australian government's assistance to our neighbours."
 

+ A - Z of Climate Anxiety

A for Anxiety, B for Biodiversity, C for Community… Last week the Guardian produced an A-Z on ‘climate anxiety’ – a light-hearted article exploring some of the serious dimensions of the climate emergency and the way they intersect with our mental health. Some of the topics covered include fast-fashion, hope, quinoa, single use plastic ...all the way to Zero waste.
 

+ Review of CID Code of Conduct has been completed

Almost 100% of CID's full membership had gained compliance with the Code at the beginning of 2019, and with the prominence of topical issues such as localisation and safeguarding, this year marked an opportune time to conduct a substantive review. The review ensures the continued relevance of the Code, capture insights and reflections from Code users and other stakeholders, and further strengthen its transparency and accountability mechanisms for the sector into the future.

The review of the CID Code of Conduct has been completed. Please take the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the Code review recommendations in the following report; Review of Council for International Development Code of Conduct & Proposed Recommendations.

The recommendations proposed in this report were approved by the CID Board on 26th November 2019.  CID will seek approval on the recommendations from the Code of Conduct Committee, including discussion on next steps for the CID membership approval process, and how any approved potential changes to the CID Code should subsequently be implemented. The CID Code of Conduct Committee will be meeting again on the 11th February 2020.
 

+ COP25

With the close of the UN Climate Change Conference, COP25, António Guterres, the UN Secretary General, has expressed his disappointment in the results of the conference, stating that “the international community lost an important opportunity to show increased ambition on mitigation, adaptation and finance to tackle the climate crisis.”

Feelings of disappointment were shared, and many others attending the conference were also unhappy with the results feeling that the agreement reached did not reflect the urgency of the climate crisis. Saliently, a resolution on the regulation of carbon markets, one of the most critical issues of the conference, failed to be reached.

A critical point of contention for delegates amid debate was the issue of equality and responsibility. In particular, developing countries expressed concern that powerful nations were diluting the need for international financing mechanisms.

 

+ Oxfam and cash-transfer programmes in the Pacific

Sandra Hart, Oxfam’s Pacific Cash & Livelihoods Lead, has delivered an excellent CID Talk on the work that Oxfam is doing to promote the use of cash-transfer as a humanitarian response after a disaster in the Pacific region. Access Sandra's PowerPoint presentation slides here.

The first cash-transfer response of the whole Pacific, led by Oxfam, took place from October 2018 to March 2019 to assist the population evacuated to Espiritu Santo after the Manaro Voui volcano eruption.

Since then, Oxfam has carried out feasibility studies in Vanuatu and Fiji, and is completing a third one in the Solomon Islands, with local and regional partnerships that include Save the Children, CARE, Solomon Island Red Cross and others. As part of the feasibility studies, they have consulted and trained local vendors and communities, and have piloted an innovative cash programme that uses blockchain technology, in Port Vila, Vanuatu. 

Cash-based programmes as a form of assistance are increasingly common, as the third commitment of the  Grand Bargain calls for an 'Increase the use and coordination of cash-based programming', and the evidence available so far provides positive feedback on the outcomes achieved.
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+ CID Members' Advocacy Snapshot

The September-December 2019 period saw CID Members engaged in numerous advocacy activities. One of our wonderful interns compiled a brief report with these activities, focusing on their thematic distribution.

Climate Change and Environmental Issues were most prominent, making up 45% of the Member advocacy activities recorded in this report. The scope of advocacy in this thematic area primarily included activities related to the Climate Strike, Zero Carbon Bill and the United Nations Climate Change Conference [COP25]. These were all salient topical issues in New Zealand, that the public engaged with to varying degrees.

Gender-related advocacy was also notable over this period of time. 20% of Members’ advocacy activities pertained to gender, whether this be gender-based violence, gender equality or female empowerment. A notable campaign in this regard was the UN Women ‘16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence’, which was engaged in by both the UN Women National Committee for Aotearoa New Zealand and Tearfund.

Child rights were also an important advocacy area, constituting 15% of Member advocacy activities. The push of advocacy in this area corresponded with Universal Children’s Day (the 20^th of November) and the 30^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on the Rights of the Child.

Other thematic areas that Members’ advocacy activities engaged with included migration, nuclear weapons and Pacific Development.

You can read the full snapshot here.

+ New CID working groups - get involved!

Thank you to those of you have put your names forward to help set up the CID Working Groups. We’ll be in touch.

These Working Groups will report to the CID Board, and help to drive activities and advocacy in key areas of interest for our sector. 

If you would like to be part of these groups, please contact CID at office@cid.org.nz

We will be in touch with all of you have already contacted us in the new year to discuss Terms of Reference and next steps. The CID working groups are as follows:

• Localisation 
• Partnerships with Business 
• Partnerships with Academia 

+ UK Election Results: Development and aid implications

The Conservatives have won 365 seats in the UK election, returning the party to power with a big majority. What then does this mean for the future of UK development and aid?

The “Get Brexit Done” manifesto released by the Conservatives prior to the election begins to detail many of the relevant tenets of the party’s policy intentions. Some of these intentions include; delivering on the commitment to achieve net zero green-house gas emissions by 2050, playing a leadership role in eradicating Ebola and malaria and hosting the first international LGBT conference.

The party also claims that post-Brexit it will support international institutions such as the UN and G20. Finally, it makes explicit a promise to “proudly maintain [their] commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of GNI on development and do more to help countries receiving aid become self-sufficient.

The Conservative win does put the fate of the UK Department for International Development [DfID] in question. It appears likely that Johnson’s long-time ambition of merging DfID with the Foreign Office will be carried to fruition. The possibility of this change is being met with opposition by much of the NGO community in the UK as well as civil servants from both departments.

+ CID Talks for 2020 - let us know!

Have you got a topic that you'd like to see discussed in a CID Talk? Are you expert, or do you know someone who's an expert of some cutting-edge development theme? Are you conducting a special piece of research and you'll like to share it with other fellows CID members and supporters? 

If yes, we would really like to hear from you! Please, send any CID Talk proposals or suggestions for the next year to Gaia at office@cid.org.nz