The Governance for Growth (GfG) program in Vanuatu has been running for
ten years, and is about to move into its third phase. Considered to be quite
innovative when it was first implemented, the program has supported some
significant economic policy and public finance reforms. It has also survived
changes to the institutional arrangements for the delivery of Australian aid, and
significant shifts in the political landscape in Vanuatu.
The program was recently the subject of two in-depth reviews, one led by
the Overseas Development Institute, and the other by a team of Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) economists. These reviews provide an
opportunity to consider the successes and failures of GfG, what elements of
the model were most useful in supporting success, and whether the lessons
of the last ten years have implications for other small island developing states.
These issues will be discussed in a panel session involving:
Pablo Kang, Assistant Secretary, Melanesia Branch, DFAT, and former Head
of Mission in Vanuatu
Matthew Harding, Director, Pacific Economic Growth Section, DFAT, and
Manager of GfG during the evaluations
Jonathan Gouy, Director, Development Economics Unit, DFAT and leader of
the economic review
Clinton Pobke, Manager and Jennifer Kalpokas Doan, Senior Program
Manager, GfG
Bob Warner, Visiting Fellow, Development Policy Centre, and member of the
GfG review team
This event is presented by the Development Policy Centre, a consortium partner of the Pacific Research Program (PRP). PRP is supported by the Australian aid program.