Aid Program Performance Report 2015-16

17.Program Quality and Partner Performance

Overview

Australia’s continuing aid program pipeline in PNG is estimated to be $3.5 billion over the next four years. The program currently has 36 significant aid investments valued at $3 million or more, 35 of which are valued at $10 million or more. The 36 investments are valued at $2.9 billion in total, representing 82 per cent of the continuing program. Australia’s aid to PNG is aligned with our performance framework, Making Performance Count: enhancing the accountability and effectiveness of Australian aid.

Program performance and quality is assessed against the PNG Aid Investment Plan (program strategy); as well as program and sector-level objectives, benchmarks and mutual obligations outlined in the Aid Partnership and sectoral schedules. The performance of Australia’s assistance is reviewed and agreed annually with the PNG Government at bilateral development partnership talks.

Investment Quality Reporting (IQR) is undertaken annually to review the performance of contractors, investments, sectors and the overarching program. For the second time on record, in 2015-16 the PNG program achieved 100 per cent compliance on all quality processes. The program completed 26 Aid Quality Checks (AQCs), 35 Partner Performance Assessments (PPAs) and four Sector Performance Reports (SPRs), which generated evidence-based assessments of progress and reviewed and updated management actions. This APPR draws on these products. This approach enabled us to better understand what works and what does not, and to inform decisions made by departmental staff and delegates. Importantly, it provided evidence-based data to support the claim that Australia’s aid investments are largely working as intended, despite PNG development levels stagnating or declining across the priority sectors.

The management consequences identified in 2014-15 were examined during the IQR process. Reporting shows that management consequences were appropriately addressed in the investments that were on track in 2015-16. New management consequences for 2016-17 were established as an integral part of the process and were outlined in the SPRs that were produced and below in management responses. In 2015-16, the law and justice program successfully reviewed the performance of the Combatting Corruption Project to confirm progress and determine key lessons for future investments. The PNG program has several health investment review/evaluations scheduled to commence in 2016-17 (Annex C refers). We have also updated the four-year evaluation pipeline to appropriately resource reviews/evaluations over the life of the extant program. In 2016-17 several programs will prepare for mid-term reviews to be conducted in early 2017-18. A list of evaluations completed in the reporting period and pipeline of evaluations in 2016-17 is included in Annex C.

18.Analysis of Aid Quality Checks (AQCs)

In 2015-16 the PNG program completed Aid Quality Check (AQC) reports for 26 investments, which were independently moderated by DFAT’s Principal Specialist for Performance Management and Results and members of the PNG program. Australia’s investments are largely delivering results and working as intended.

All investments reviewed were assessed to be relevant to Papua New Guinea’s development context, while promoting Australian interests overseas. Of the program’s 26 investments, relevance, effectiveness and meeting gender targets consistently achieved high ratings. On Gender, the PNG program continues to perform above the 80 per cent target (at 85 per cent), in line with DFAT’s Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Strategy. However, gender ratings at the investment level have decreased since 2014-15. This will be actively addressed as a management consequence in 2016-17.

As shown at Annex D, half of the PNG program’s investments performed strongly over the reporting period.  Scholarships, Education, Health and HIV Multilateral Partnerships, Health Capacity Development and Service Delivery, the Law and Justice Partnership, Drought, Microfinance Expansion Project, Transport Sector Support Program, and the Gender equality/Gender Based Violence investments are all tracking well across the reporting criteria. Investments that performed less well in 2015-16 included the Kokoda Initiative, the PNG Disaster Risk Management program, the World Bank PNG Multi-Donor Trust Fund, the Church Partnerships Program, the Pacific Leadership and Governance Precinct, Sports for Development, Strongim Pipol Strongim Nesen, the Economic and Public Sector Program, and the Strongim Gavman Program. The Kokoda Initiative continues to implement recommendations from the 2014 review to strengthen community engagement and improve livelihood opportunities for local communities. The 2015-16 transfer of management responsibility to the Australian High Commission and a managing contractor has improved performance. Most investments continue to perform well in 2015-16. Most impressively, the Gender Equality/Gender Based Violence investment successfully commenced its keystone project, Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development in PNG, which significantly improved performance. A table of AQC ratings is in Annex D.

An ongoing challenge for program performance ratings has been establishing the clear links between inputs, outputs and higher-level outcomes with evidence-based data. Investing in quality design and Monitoring and Evaluation will be a priority.

19.Performance of key delivery partners

In 2015-16 the PNG program wrote 35 Partner Performance Assessment (PPA) reports on contractors, multilateral partners and NGOs for agreements/contracts valued at $3 million and over. Analysis indicates that managing contractors remain the most common and effective way of delivering Australian aid to PNG. In 2015-16 approximately $289 million of the $404 million (71 per cent) of Australia’s total bilateral program was implemented through commercial suppliers. Analysis of the PPAs and the AQCs indicates that the performance of contractors continues to be of a ‘good’ standard. Isolated cases of underperformance in 2015-16 were proactively addressed. The performance and capacity of multilateral and NGO partners in PNG improved throughout 2015-16. Recognising the important role of multilaterals and NGOs, Australia continues to provide ongoing support and assistance to build the capacity of partners in PNG. National NGOs continue struggle to gain traction and often lack sufficient internal governance structures and fiduciary risk mitigation processes and procedures. As such, the PNG program continues to engage and support local NGOs via an intermediary, such as their Australian NGO partner organisation, a reputable international NGO or a managing contractor.