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AID PROGRAM, PERFORMANCE REPORT 2015-16
Bangladesh
September 2016
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KEY MESSAGES
This report summarises Australia’s aid program progress and performance in Bangladesh from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2016 against the Aid Investment Plan, Bangladesh 2015-16-2018-19 (AIP). Australia’s aid program in Bangladesh reflects the priorities of the Governments of Australia and Bangladesh, investing in human development, skills and productivity, and women’s economic empowerment. Progress is measured using a Performance Assessment Framework (PAF), incorporating performance indicators for the two strategic objectives of the program: improving education access, equity, efficiency and learning outcomes; and building resilience by reducing vulnerability and improving inclusion in the growing economy.
Over the reporting period, Australia’s aid program made good progress against the AIP’s objectives, through an efficient and consolidated portfolio. Concerns about the impact of the deterioration in security on the trajectory of economic growth and poverty reduction in Bangladesh, as well as our own capacity to deliver and monitor aid, escalated in the second half of the reporting period.
Australia’s aid program in Bangladesh is delivered through strategic, flexible partnerships with proven organisations providing a balance of quality development activities and enhanced policy influence. Our partnerships with the Bangladesh Government, BRAC, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) provided opportunities for policy dialogue in the
education and social protection sectors. Collaboration included connecting DFAT’s Innovation Xchange with BRAC’s Innovation Hub and initiating a visit to Australia by the Executive Director of BRAC to meet with Australian Government officials, NGOs and academics in late 2016. There have been gains in gender equality and women’s economic empowerment across both objectives via Australia’s support to the Government’s national education program and through BRAC’s education and social protection programs.
Through partnerships with WFP and BRAC, Australia supported emergency humanitarian assistance to those affected by Cyclone Roanu. Our humanitarian funding to WFP also supports Rohingya refugees in the Cox’s Bazar district by providing a school feeding program, food assistance and economic support for ultra-poor women in and around refugee camps.
Australia Awards scholarships are a high profile tool in our relationship with the Bangladesh Government.
Whilst long term Australia Awards were suspended during the reporting period, Australia delivered 30 scholarships for short course awards to Government of Bangladesh and BRAC officials to develop human resource capacity. Long term awards will resume in 2017.
Australia made good progress against performance targets for 2015/16, with 10 of the 11 indicators met.
Australia demonstrated strong results through a consolidation of investments from 17 to 9. Key achievements in 2015-16 include:
• supporting the Bangladesh Government’s primary education program to improve the quality of education through a revised textbook curriculum, increased levels of competency based questions in school tests, improved teacher materials and increased access to quality basic education in areas where government schools are not operating;
• contributing to social transfers for 85,264 households and increased incomes for 114,506 households, through strategic partnerships with DFID, BRAC and WFP, making a direct and significant difference to the lives of poor people;
• assisting more than 5,400 youth (57 per cent females) to receive vocational skills training in areas including basic electronics, mobile phone servicing, IT support and hospitality. All have since secured employment in their relevant fields;
• supporting implementation of the Bangladesh Government’s National Social Security strategy resulting in greater prioritisation of social protection by the Bangladesh Government in its annual budget.
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CONTEXT
The assumptions underpinning the Aid Investment Plan for Bangladesh have largely held during 2015/16.
The program assumes continued economic growth sufficient to sustain the country’s good performance on indicators of poverty, health and education; political stability allowing for uninterrupted production and delivery of services; and a broad space for progressive coalitions to undertake targeted poverty reduction and challenge social norms, particularly on the condition of women and girls.
Bangladesh met several MDG targets in 20151, including poverty reduction2, gender parity at primary and secondary education, reducing under-five mortality, containing HIV infections with access to antiretroviral drugs, and detecting and curing tuberculosis. It made progress in reducing the prevalence of underweight children, increasing primary enrolment, lowering infant and maternal mortality rates and improving immunisation coverage. International aid contributed to this success alongside domestic resources3. Nonetheless, Bangladesh remains a challenging environment, including for gender equality, and there are signs that development gains are fragile. It is ranked 142nd out of 188 countries in the 2015 UN Human Development Index.
During the period, aid delivery has been affected by security concerns related to extremist activity in Bangladesh. Although protracted political problems are not new in Bangladesh, the 2015 and 2016 murders of secular bloggers, publishers, religious minorities, security forces and foreigners, added a new dimension to the security threat environment. Security considerations necessitated suspending the volunteers program and required changed security protocols and delivery mechanisms for our partners. Although the 1 July 2016 attack on Holey Artisan Bakery falls outside of the reporting period, it reflects the changed security environment for the delivery of the aid program.
The operational environment in Bangladesh is increasingly complex for aid implementation. Although Bangladesh has an active civil society sector, during the reporting period authorities and militant groups further restricted the activities of NGOs, particularly human rights organisations. Independent media
organisations became increasingly restricted, with escalating attacks on bloggers and journalists. Bangladesh was ranked 139th out of the 167 countries on Transparency International’s 2015 Corruption Perception Index, reaffirming that systemic corruption continues to have an impact on development outcomes.
The World Bank currently classifies Bangladesh as a lower middle income country, with an estimated 31.5 per cent of Bangladeshis living below the poverty line. Bangladesh hopes to meet middle income status by 2021, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of independence. This ambitious target depends on higher levels of investment, particularly achieving the target of tripling foreign direct investment. The link between declining security and reduced investor confidence emerged during the reporting period.
Bangladesh’s economic growth for 2015-16 is officially estimated at 7 per cent by the Bangladeshi Government. This is difficult to reconcile with other indicators4, but even a growth rate of 6 per cent, as estimated by the World Bank, puts Bangladesh among the top economic performers in South Asia in 2015- 16. This growth is accompanied by easing inflation, higher international reserves and a largely stable public debt-to-GDP ratio5. However, private sector investment was stagnant for the last four years,6 remittances from workers in Gulf countries are expected to be hit by the impact of lower oil prices and reduced
1 MDGs: Bangladesh progress Report 2015, Bangladesh Planning Commission, 2015 2 Although Bangladesh still has the highest poverty ratio in South Asia
3 MDGs: Bangladesh progress Report 2015, Bangladesh Planning Commission, 2015 4 World Bank (2016): “Bangladesh Development Update”, p 5.
5 World Bank (2016): “Bangladesh Development Update”, p p5-9.
6 World Bank (2016): “Bangladesh Development Update”, p 1.
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employment rates7, and the ready-made garment sector, responsible for around 80 per cent of Bangladesh exports, is experiencing a decrease in foreign demand.
Public sector investment remains constrained by low rates of revenue growth and by inefficiencies in project implementation. Tax collection is currently well below targets (although at the highest rate Bangladesh has achieved to date)8 and increasing more slowly than GDP.9 Bangladesh also has a tax to GDP ratio among the lowest in the world10.
The emergence of the ready-made garment industry has been a force for far-reaching social change with approximately 80 per cent of Bangladesh’s 4.4 million garment workers being women, challenging
longstanding social norms that limited women’s participation in the formal economy. However, traditional values and gender roles continue to restrict the participation of women in the broader workforce. Women face persistent societal discrimination and the threat of gender based violence.
Australia supports Bangladesh’s ambition to reduce aid dependence and reach middle income status through aid investment and economic diplomacy strategies that increase human capacity and support economic growth. Australia does this through four strategic partnerships with the Government of Bangladesh, DFID, BRAC and WFP. These partners deliver programs on our behalf in key sectors including primary education, skills development, social protection and women's empowerment. The strength of these strategic partnerships has allowed Australian aid to deliver intended results, and in some instances exceed them. The growth trajectory for Bangladesh to reach middle income status and reduce aid dependency is, however, steep.
The Aid Program in Bangladesh
In 2015-16 total aid to Bangladesh constituted approximately 2.0 per cent11 of GDP, of which Australia’s contribution of $57.5 million represented approximately 1.2 per cent12. As Bangladesh becomes less dependent on foreign aid, development partners are focussing efforts to ensure that aid responds to Bangladesh’s need for technical expertise and innovative approaches to address the country’s remaining social problems, and is consistent with wider engagement with Bangladesh as an emerging economy.
The two objectives of the Australian aid program are:
Improving education access, equity, efficiency and learning outcomes: Australia is working with the
Government and nine other donor partners on a large-scale program that reaches 107,000 schools and 20 million students. The Primary Education Development Program Phase III (PEDP3) is a Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) focussing on improving the quality of education through better-trained teachers and competency- based education. Australia also partners with BRAC and DFID to provide quality primary and pre-primary education, including in places where Government programs do not reach.
Building resilience by reducing vulnerability and improving inclusion in the growing economy: Australia is working with the Government, BRAC, DFID and the WFP to strengthen social protection systems and livelihoods programs. The Strengthening Government Social Protection Program (SGSP) is assisting the Ministry of Finance to implement a National Social Security Strategy. Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction- Targeting the Ultra Poor (CFPR-TUP) program with BRAC is supporting extremely poor
households by providing cash transfers, productive assets, training and access to free health services.
7 World Bank (2016): “Bangladesh Development Update”, p 28.
8 https://knoema.com/WBWDIGDF2016Mar/world-development-indicators-wdi-february-2016?country=1001650-bangladesh
9 The tax-to-GDP ratio fell in 2013/14 (to 8.6%) and 2014/15 (to 8.5%) and, although it may increase slightly in 2015/16 (to 8.7%), the low rate indicates continual weaknesses in tax policy and tax administration.
10 World Bank (2016): “Bangladesh Development Update”, p 14.
11 GoB’s 7th five year plan, Aid fact sheet from the Bangladesh Development Forum (published in November 2015) and Development Finance Assessment report (published in 2016)
12 DFAT Trade stats on-line (GDP 2016 – US$226.3 b)
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Assistance to WFP delivers nutritional support and income generating activities to communities in Cox’s Bazar that are host to Rohingya refugees and undocumented Myanmar nationals.
Australia’s aid investments also promote gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.
EXPENDITURE
Table 1 lists the Bangladesh 2015-16 Financial Year bilateral expenditure for each aid objective, for regional and global programs, and Other GovernmentDepartments. Australia’s ODA to Bangladesh in 2015-16 was
$57.5 million, with the bilateral program accounting for $42.1 million (73 per cent) of total ODA. In 2015-16 the program continued to be consolidated into a smaller number of larger investments and into two (rather than three) objectives.
Table 1: Total ODA Expenditure in FY 2015-16
Objective A$
million % of total ODA Bilateral
Objective 1: Improving education access, equity, efficiency and learning outcomes
18.8 32.7
Objective 2: Building resilience by reducing vulnerability and improving inclusion in the growing economy
17.5 30.4
Other: Australia Awards, Post management 5.8 10.1
Sub-Total Bilateral 42.1 73.2
Regional and Global 14.3 24.9
Other Government Departments 1.1 1.9
Total ODA Expenditure 57.5 100.0
PROGRESS TOWARDS OBJECTIVES
Ratings in Table 2 cover the reporting period FY 2015-16. Ratings are consistent with Aid Quality Check (AQC) ratings, and reflect an evidence-based judgement about progress towards objectives and outcomes.
Table 2: Rating of the Program's Progress towards Australia’s Aid Objectives (2015-16 financial year)
Objective Previous
Rating Current
Rating
Objective 1: Improving education access, equity, efficiency and learning outcomes Green Green Objective 2: Building resilience by reducing vulnerability and improving inclusion in the
growing economy
Green Green
Note:
Green. Progress is as expected at this stage of implementation and it is likely that the objective will be achieved. Standard program management practices are sufficient.
Amber. Progress is somewhat less than expected at this stage of implementation and restorative action will be necessary if the objective is to be achieved. Close performance monitoring is recommended.
Red. Progress is significantly less than expected at this stage of implementation and the objective is not likely to be met given available resources and priorities. Recasting the objective may be required.
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OBJECTIVE 1: IMPROVING EDUCATION ACCESS, EQUITY, EFFICIENCY AND LEARNING OUTCOMES
Rating – green
This rating is based on steady progress on the Government’s primary education reform program supported by Australia within a multi-donor framework and a continuing strong performance by BRAC in delivering non- government pre-primary and primary schooling in marginalised areas. Efforts to support the Government of Bangladesh in provision of second chance education are producing results. Dialogue between Government and NGOs (including BRAC) show the importance of informal education in Bangladesh.
Australia continued to support national reform of education quality, disparity and public financial
management, to target hard to reach students through innovative models, to contribute to increased levels of knowledge exchange and to support empowerment of women and girls. In carefully selected partnerships and with limited resources, Australia supported the Government’s Primary Education Development Program 3 (PEDP3) and BRAC’s non-government education programs.
PEDP3 is a $10 billion national primary education program led by the Bangladesh Government, delivered in partnership with Australia and nine other donors, tying donor funding to performance via a Sector Wide Approach (SWAp). The Bangladesh Government demonstrated strong commitment to education reform13 during the reporting period despite changes in senior ministry personnel. PEDP3 is meeting targets to provide primary education to 20 million children (grade 0-5) through 107,000 primary schools and 450,000 teachers. Australia’s contribution is $49 million (of the $1 billion from donor partners) over the life of the program. This is a relatively small but strategic contribution, focussed on governance and technical reform, allowing us to leverage small improvements in the public education system, to be delivered on a broader scale. Five of nine disbursement linked indicators (DLIs) connected to policy reforms were met during the reporting period. Given the government’s ambitious education reform agenda, this level of progress was within expectations. Joint Government and development partner discussions in the period agreed on action necessary to raise performance in lagging areas (including in teacher recruitment and decentralised school management).Performance linked aid is widely accepted for this sector and is likely to continue to a next phase, scheduled to start in 2017. Australia is contributing to the next phase of the design.
Through technical assistance and participation in planning, monitoring and policy discussion Australia contributed to:
• textbook revision for all five grades and all subjects of primary education in line with the new competency based curriculum learning assessment methods and approaches to improve learning;
• expansion of the Each Child Learns program from 980 to 1440 schools in 2015-16 and initiation in an additional 50 schools, contributing to improved primary school learning outcomes14;
• 50 per cent of questions in the 2015 Grade 5 completion exam are now competency based not rote learning based, exceeding the target of 35 per cent and achieving an additional 25 per cent on the 2014-15 reporting period;
• training for government officials on a web based accounting system, contributing to improved financial management and accountability outcomes;
• finalisation of the outstanding 2013-14 audit and the 2012-13 financial review, confirming safeguarding of donor’s funds; and
• NGO engagement (including BRAC) through UNICEF to support the Second Chance Education program and greater integration of NGOs into national primary education forums.
Challenges for the next phase of PEDP include allowing for decentralised education provision, and accelerating the implementation of second chance education.
13 The GoB has increased its budget for primary education from US$1.5 billion in 2014-15 to US$1.7 billion in 2015-16 – BEP Progress Report 2015 14 Evidenced through ECL Longitudinal Study. Phase 1 indicated students from ECL schools performed slightly higher than those from non-ECL
schools.
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Australia completed its role as chair of the PEDP3 development partner consortium in mid-2015, but retained the ability to influence policy dialogue by participating actively in governance meetings. These included the Joint Annual Review Mission, Joint Consultation Meeting and the thematic working groups that focus on education quality, disparity and financial management. Through Australian-financed World Bank technical assistance, the Government was able to address a deviation from the agreed framework in the grade 5 primary education completion exam (PECE), resulting in better quality education outcomes. Australia funded UNICEF to recruit long term technical assistance to build government capacity and support a review and incorporation of gender and inclusive education materials into teacher training manuals.
Australia’s technical assistance has been broadly welcomed by the Bangladesh Government and other development partners. In particular, our support to the Quarterly Fiduciary Review and Annual Fiduciary Review helped safeguard and improve the Government’s public financial management system.
BRAC’s Education Program (BEP) met its five-year targets for numbers completing schooling and also met quality targets (competence, transfer to government schools and pass rates at end of primary schooling).
BRAC’s innovative approach has led to the introduction of new teaching aids on ethics, developing a mother- tongue curriculum and a focus on climate resilient approaches, such as boat schools to reach children in remote areas.
Australia’s Strategic Partnership Arrangement (SPA) with BRAC and DFID allows us to invest core funding effectively in a partnership we trust. The SPA promotes greater knowledge exchange between our organisations and allows us to capitalise on each other’s rich development data to promote development themes of shared interest and leverage from BRAC’s innovative development model. BRAC’s education programs promote gender equity and challenge social norms, focussing on building equal relationships and providing a foundation for girls’ success in education. For example, in 2015, 124,455 children completed their four year primary school education (61.5 per cent girls) and 345,620 children completed early childhood education (61.1 per cent girls)15.
Australia continued to advocate within PEDP3 for a stronger focus on gender beyond the major achievement of gender parity in enrolments, focusing on areas such as the curriculum, teacher training and school safety for girls. This advocacy has led to positive outcomes including in female teacher recruitment which reached 69 per cent in 2015-16 (up from 65 per cent in 2014-15).
OBJECTIVE 2: BUILDING RESILIENCE BY REDUCING VULNERABILITY AND IMPROVING INCLUSION IN THE GROWING ECONOMY
Rating – green
This rating reflects progress on three of the four funding programs that contribute to the objective and overall steady progress, with some significant achievements on social protection policy.
Australia supported three partner programs providing direct benefits to vulnerable groups. Of these, the Chars (river islands) Livelihoods Program (CLP), managed by DFID, came to an end in April 2016 having provided livelihood opportunities to 78,000 households in marginalised areas and meeting its target of lifting 85 per cent of them out of extreme poverty. In addition, CLP developed a model for linking the poorest households to markets.
BRAC’s Targeting the Ultra-Poor (TUP) program, supported under the BRAC SPA, exceeded its five-year targets to December 2015 by graduating 368,000 women and their households from ultra-poverty, with recorded increases in business ownership and household income for the vast majority.
In partnership with Australia, WFP is delivering a program in Cox’s Bazar, targeting ultra-poor women who have traditionally had minimal autonomy and been excluded from the economy. This is Australia’s second
15 BEP Progress Report 2015
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phase of support to WFP Cox’s Bazar program. WFP’s focus in the period has been on improving program operations to achieve better results. With Australia’s support, WFP has been able to negotiate school feeding, regular food assistance to refugees and economic support to ultra-poor women in a sensitive region. In 2015 the program has established nutrition baselines and has delivered, on target, high energy biscuits to 116,247 school children in around 500 schools, and regular food assistance to 32,265 refugees in camps.
Linking these three programs is the application of effective cash and asset transfer models, developed partly with Australian support, directed at female headed households and widely used in Bangladesh. These models also have a strong focus on increasing opportunities for women and their communities to move out of extreme poverty.
Solid progress has been maintained on the establishment of new national social security arrangements.
Bangladesh spends 2.2 per cent of GDP annually on social protection, but there is evidence to suggest that this could be more effectively targeted and managed. Australia had a significant role in the development of the current reform proposals, and now part-funds the Bangladesh Government led sectoral reform program Strengthening Government Social Protection (SGSP), a delegated cooperation arrangement with DFID, supporting the Ministry of Finance in implementing the National Social Security Strategy (NSSS). The NSSS has provided impetus for progress, including plans for e-payments, the development of a grievance system and increasing benefit levels. Along with other measures, this strategy sets out plans for an expanded grant to cover 50 per cent of people with a severe disability and increase the amount they currently receive by 600 per cent. Progress on some components of our support have been slow, with staffing of the unit still to reach expected capacity. Yet the reforms have broad support within the Bangladesh Government and there are no signs that the modest momentum, in what is a complex set of changes, will be reversed. DFAT has mobilised technical expertise externally and through its Social Protection Hub to support this work and sees very close linkages between the asset transfer program it supports through BRAC and the NSSS reforms which
articulate a greater role for such programs in poverty reduction.
Beyond the funded projects, DFAT supports initiatives to build resilience among Bangladesh’s poorest households through our partnership with BRAC, whose programs include women’s empowerment, community mobilisation, climate change adaptation, skills development for disadvantaged youth and safe migration. Reviews of the BRAC SPA identified that partners have missed some opportunities to share technical expertise and insights on these issues and to use joint efforts to influence change. The
development of a knowledge partnership within the SPA will provide scope for identifying vulnerability and inclusion issues where Australia has comparative advantage.
CROSS-CUTTING, REGIONAL, GLOBAL AND OTHER GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS
Bangladesh’s development program was supported by a range of cross-cutting investments funded from bilateral, global, regional and other Australian Government departments ($21.2 million, 37 per cent of ODA).
Australian Volunteers for International Development (AVID)
In early 2015, 19 Australian volunteers were placed in a range of local and international organisations in Bangladesh to assist in building the capacity of individuals, organisations and communities. In addition to supporting the targeted areas of our aid strategy, volunteers built relationships and capacity in broader areas of shared interest including food security and nutrition, and social protection and livelihoods. Due to the security situation in Bangladesh, DFAT suspended the AVID program in December 2015.
Australia Awards
Australia Awards support both aid program objectives by helping to develop human resource capacity in areas such as TVET training and assessment, inclusive education, leadership and policy courses. Thirty short course awards were provided in 2015-16 to BRAC and Bangladesh Government officials. There were 140
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long term awardees studying in Australia during the reporting period. Of these 73 (52 per cent) were women and 67 (48 per cent) men. There were 102 awards provided to public servants and 32 provided to ethnic minority communities. The selection process for Australia Awards includes provisions for gender balance and people with a disability. Whilst no new long term Australia Awards were provided in calendar year 2016, they will resume in 2017.
Pre-Departure and Welcome Home events offered opportunities for public diplomacy. An alumni networking event was organised under Australia’s new Australia Global Alumni Engagement Strategy 2016-2020,
engaging a range of Australian alumni to connect and share experiences. The Australian High Commission in Dhaka launched the Women in Leadership Alumni Network in Bangladesh to encourage women alumni to connect across the region and to support each other in overcoming challenges in the workplace. The network is aligned with the Australian Government’s regional women’s alumni initiative under the Australia Awards South and West Asia program. Six Bangladeshi women alumni participated in the regional launch in Colombo.
Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP)
Fourteen Australian NGOs delivered a range of projects across Bangladesh through local partner
organisations. Women’s economic empowerment, ending violence against women and girls and promoting the safety and security of women and girls were strong themes ($3 million). Australia provided funding to support ActionAid to develop a Women’s Resilience Index (WRI) for South and West Asia, to enable each country to assess the capacity for disaster risk reduction and recovery and the extent to which the needs of women are being integrated into national resilience building efforts ($0.16 million). Gaps raised in the WRI for Bangladesh will be addressed in the implementation of the Bangladesh Government’s Seventh Five Year Plan, which places strong emphasis on women’s resilience. Australia funded Save the Children Australia, Plan Australia and CARE Australia to improve maternal and child health, and education through separate interventions ($1.27 million). Through the disability organisation CBM Australia contributed to improvements in health and living standards and to empower people with disabilities ($0.45 million).
Direct Aid Program (DAP)
Twelve small DAP grants were provided by our High Commission to fund projects across multiple sectors such as education, health, disability, gender equality and water and sanitation, with four of the 12 projects specifically focussed on women’s rights and economic empowerment. In 2015-16 this included funding the Acid Survivors Foundation to encourage survivors to exercise their rights, raise awareness of acid violence in their communities and develop skills to build their livelihoods ($0.5 million).
Government Partnerships for Development
Australia supported RMIT and Monash University to develop capacity building of human resources and linkages between Australian businesses and senior officials in the Bangladesh energy and power sectors.
Activities included workshops, seminars and industry visits to coal mines, coal ports, liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants, coal fired power plants and the Australian Energy Regulator ($1.1 million).
Other Government Departments
The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) supported a number of initiatives in Bangladesh including sustainable and resilient farming systems, cropping system intensification, climate change adaptation and food security ($1.1 million). ACIAR and the Department of Education and Training (DET) funded Endeavour Scholarships and Fellowships supporting Bangladeshis to undertake study, research and professional development in Australia.
Regional Programs - Reported on in the South Asia Regional APPR.
PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS
Australia met or exceeded five of the seven program-wide performance benchmarks set for 2015-16.
Comments and achievements against each performance benchmark are in the table at Annex B. In education
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we improved the quality of primary school examinations, exceeded targets for numbers of children completing a course of primary or pre-primary education and for the national education program, 50 per cent of funds disbursement was linked to indicators achieved during the period. In social protection we met the indicator for the number of women and their households graduating from our partners’ livelihood programs. The indicator for the number of women and their households able to access social transfers was partially met. The shortfall is attributed to challenges faced by WFP including political unrest, flooding, Cyclone Roanu and a funding shortfall from the European Union. The gender parity indicator of providing scholarships to 50 per cent of women was only partially met (43 per cent), due to women’s low
representation at senior levels of management and a limited pool from which to select awardees for short term Australia Awards. However, long term Australia Award holders have consistently been at least 50 per cent women. The management performance benchmark of reducing the number of investments to deliver a targeted, efficient aid program was met.
Table 3: Performance Benchmarks 2016-17 to 2017-18
2016-17 2017-18
Aid objective Improve education access and learning outcomes Performance
benchmark
The quality of end of cycle examination is improved
65% N/A16
Performance benchmark
BRAC meets targets for numbers of children completing a course of primary or pre-primary education
293,200 328,700
Performance benchmark
50% of donor disbursement for PEDP3 linked to results received, with the remaining 50% subject to meeting annual audit requirements.
50% N/A
Performance benchmark
At least 50% of scholarships in each intake awarded to women.
50% 50%
Aid objective Build resilience by reducing vulnerability and Improving inclusion in the growing economy Performance
benchmark
Number of women and their households graduating from our partners’ livelihood programs.
12,565 255,136
Performance
benchmark Number of women and their households able to access social transfers.
108,735 93,000
Objective Program Management Performance
benchmark
Reducing the number of investments to deliver a targeted, efficient aid program
<9 <9
MUTUAL OBLIGATIONS
The Australia-Bangladesh Aid Investment Plan (2015-16-2018-19) guides how Australian aid will assist the government and people of Bangladesh to achieve the country’s development goals. A donor/Government Statement of Commitment on development cooperation signed in 2013 aligns with this strategy.
Australia’s aid directly supports the Bangladesh Government’s development objectives contained in the Seventh Five Year Plan 2016-2020. Australia remains committed to working with the Government to
16 This benchmark relates to PEDP3 which is currently scheduled to end June 2017, therefore there is no benchmark for 2017-18 .
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strengthen its national systems in service delivery to the poor and most vulnerable, and welcomes the Government’s vision to further reduce poverty and accelerate economic growth so that the benefits of development are shared by all.
Our funding for social protection aligns with the Government of Bangladesh’s National Social Security Strategy, which was finalised during the reporting period. The Bangladesh Government made solid progress toward meeting its responsibilities under the SGSP program, by establishing a Social Protection Unit and staffing it with an Executive Director and two staff to coordinate and implement the program.
Australia funds the Bangladesh Government’s primary education program, linking donor funding to mutually agreed performance indicators. The Bangladesh Government has maintained a commitment to reform in the education sector despite changes in top level management. Consistent with the performance linked aid model, development partners withheld funding in areas where agreed indicators were not achieved, and Australia employed public financial management assistance to assist budget planning and execution in the Education Sector. Total donor and Government funding to education increased from $1.5 billion in 2014-15 to $1.7 billion in 2015-1617.
Our assistance to communities in Cox’s Bazar is consistent with the Government’s National Strategy on Myanmar Refugees and Undocumented Myanmar Nationals in Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Government is close to finalising the country’s first census of Rohingya and undocumented Myanmar nationals in what observers hope is a step towards resolving the protracted problem.
Beyond the mutuality within each aid investment activity, Australia used opportunities as they arose including formal senior officials’ talks and local consultative fora, to advocate on issues relevant to aid implementation. For example, the Bangladesh Government’s Foreign Donations bill, currently before the Bangladesh parliament, imposes tighter controls on the use of aid funding and could be used to proscribe organisations that voice criticisms about the Government. Australia actively participates in
donor/Government fora which advocate in favour of civil society space.
PROGRAM QUALITY AND PARTNER PERFORMANCE
Overview
During the reporting period the Performance Assessment Framework (PAF) was updated, aligning the Aid Investment Plan and the emerging development priorities of the Bangladesh Government, and ensuring consistency with the Australian Government’s aid policy and performance framework. A stocktake of gender equality and women’s empowerment activities was undertaken, to be developed into a broader gender action plan.
Aid Quality Checks, evaluation activities and management responses from the 2014-15 APPR were successful in generating performance information and contributing to program effectiveness in the reporting period. All planned evaluations and reviews were completed in 2015-16, and management responses implemented. For example, following the recommendation of the PEDP3 Joint Annual Review Mission (JARM) review, DFAT initiated and partly funded a new Second Chance Education (SCE) division in the Directorate of Primary Education to prepare a comprehensive plan for implementation of SCE. The pilot to cover 100,000 out-of- school children is expected to start in mid-2016. Following a management response to manage risk and fraud using partner systems in a partnership approach, DFAT organised fraud control training for BRAC, which has since aligned its fraud reporting approach to that of DFAT.
A continuing consolidation agenda was managed prudently through careful selection of strategic partnerships and choice of aid modality, minimising impact on the performance of the program over the
17 BEP Progress Report 2015
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reporting period. In addition, timing of payments between investments was adjusted and long term Australia Awards were suspended in favour of short term awards and informal learning opportunities.
Staff at the Australian High Commission attended training on disability, child protection, fraud and anti- corruption and internal quality reporting systems; participated in regional workshops on gender equality, social protection and Australia Awards scholarships; and supplemented staffing with specialist inputs in education, public financial management and monitoring and evaluation. This enabled greater policy influence on technical education reform, deeper understanding of the high fiduciary risk environment in Bangladesh and high quality, evidence based performance evaluation and reporting.
ANALYSIS OF AID QUALITY CHECKS (AQCS)
The Bangladesh program completed Five Aid Quality Checks (AQCs) in 2015-16. All investments were found to meet at least an adequate rating of four, for relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, monitoring and
evaluation, sustainability, gender equality and risk and safeguards. The majority of ratings were fives with two sixes (relevance for PEDP3 and efficiency for BRAC SPA). There were no ratings of three or below.
The BRAC SPA, PEDP3, Social Protection and the Australia Development Scholarships program, all maintained the same rating as last year on effectiveness. WFP’s effectiveness rating improved as the expected outputs were achieved despite operational challenges, including a funding cancellation from the EU and a natural disaster occurring in the area.
The Social Protection program saw a drop in efficiency, monitoring and evaluation and gender equality, due to delays in implementation of one activity, the SGSP, although it generally met our expectations. All other programs maintained the same gender equality ratings as last year, except for Australian Development Scholarships, which saw an increase from four to five due to improvement in access and opportunity for women and targeting of applicants most likely to make contributions to women’s voice and agency in their home country. Both the Social Protection program and WFP program saw a drop in risk management and safeguards due to the in-country political context.
PERFORMANCE OF KEY DELIVERY PARTNERS
Australia’s aid to Bangladesh is delivered in partnership with a range of capable partners – the Government of Bangladesh (discussed under Objective 1), BRAC, WFP and DFID. This is the result of choices made in a period of program consolidation and represents the best way of catalysing impact with financial and staff resources.
BRAC
Australia is able to leverage BRAC’s high quality, large scale programs in areas of priority for Australia,
including in primary education, skills development, and women’s economic empowerment. The first phase of the BRAC SPA ended in early 2016 and delivered high quality, large scale development results. In the
reporting period Australia confirmed its participation in a further phase of the SPA, with a commitment of
$95 million up to June 2020. This second phase is building on the strengths of the first and facilitating partners to pursue greater knowledge exchange to capitalise on the rich development data accessible to each and to promote progress on development themes of shared interest (e.g. education, innovation, gender, climate change and poverty reduction). BRAC justifies the confidence of funding partners to provide core funding by performing strongly against all its program targets, and undertaking a program of
institutional strengthening to increase its effectiveness and sustainability. 18
As a strategic partner, BRAC invited DFAT to participate in the development of its five year strategic plan. The plan puts a greater emphasis on: extending BRAC’s reach; increasing its financial sustainability by adopting
18 Strategic Partnership Arrangement (SPA) Phase 1: Independent Programme Completion Review, May 2016
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cost recovery models of service delivery; meeting emerging needs in urban areas; increasing dialogue with Government on areas where it has skills and experience (including poverty reduction and education); more effective use of information and knowledge; and recruitment of more business oriented staff to assist its transition to a self-sustaining development organisation.
BRAC identifies strongly with the values of the Australian aid program, particularly with the aim to help poor and marginalised people into productive activity and to equip poor people through better education to play a part in society. All BRAC’s programs are solely or primarily targeted at benefits (such as better health, education and empowerment) for women and children. Its policies on child protection, fraud and risk, disability and gender equality are aligned with DFAT’s. BRAC has shown in repeated reviews that it has strong financial and procurement systems and has responded positively to suggestions for improvements.
One identified area for improvement is collaboration within the SPA on communicating the objectives of the partnership, which has been ad hoc to date. The Australian High Commission will further explore the
opportunities available for Australia to capitalise on the strategic partnership with BRAC in key sectors such as gender, women’s economic empowerment and climate change.
World Food Programme
Effective collaboration with WFP continued in the period. WFP maintained its strong track record of delivering humanitarian assistance in the complex environment of Cox’s Bazar. Operational challenges stemming from political unrest, flooding and cyclone have been addressed to meet the year’s targets. WFP has proven beneficiary selection processes and robust delivery mechanisms, including the use of cost- effective technology for checking eligibility and monitoring distribution. Women’s empowerment is at the centre of the WFP design, with a focus during the reporting period on gathering baseline data on gender equality, empowerment and decision making outcome indicators. WFP has collaborated closely with DFAT on the development of comprehensive monitoring and evaluation systems for its interventions.
During the reporting period, Australia provided technical assistance to WFP to carry out a disability analysis in Cox’s Bazar to determine barriers to participation in its Enhancing Food Security program. The survey identified widespread stigma, particularly towards people with intellectual impairments, a lack of understanding of disability and strong attitudinal barriers among families. The recommendations are informing WFP’s operational plan. Women identified with a disability are receiving a grant to establish a small business.
Australia withdrew AVID volunteers from the WFP sub-office as part of the overall suspension of the volunteer program. WFP replaced the volunteers with local staff.
DFID (UK)
Australia and the UK have a strong complementarity of development interests in Bangladesh, including prioritising gender equality and women’s empowerment in their programs. Australia is a partner with DFID in the BRAC SPA, has delegated cooperation agreements for CLP (now ended) and SGSP, and is a co-participant in support for primary education and humanitarian action in Cox’s Bazar. DFID has provided effective
management for the two delegated agreements, and has drawn on Australian expertise when appropriate.
DFAT carried out a review of SGSP in mid-2016 on behalf of both organisations.
The process of DFAT and DFID drawing up respective business cases for the new phase of the BRAC SPA during 2015 was intensive but collaborative and harmonised, with both partners relying on similar evidence to make their cases. Both organisations have been closely aligned in their approach to the further
development of the BRAC SPA into a knowledge partnership. The completion report for phase 1 of the BRAC SPA notes the risks to the partnership of the low level of resourcing in the two funding partners.19
19 Strategic Partnership Arrangement (SPA) Phase 1: Independent Programme Completion Review, May 2016
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RISKS
Table 4 Management of Key Risks to Achieving Objectives
Key risks What actions were taken to manage the risks over the past year?
What further actions will be taken to manage the risks in the coming year?
For emerging/ongoing risks provide a Risk Rating (low, medium, high, very high) 1. Deteriorating security
situation, an increase in violent extremism and political unrest delaying program implementation
High-level advocacy to government;
maintenance of sound relationships with security authorities and relevant Government Ministries. Close contact maintained with development partners and Government through local consultative group, HOM and staff.
Media monitoring and exercise of contingency plan. Use of flexible aid modalities.
Adjust program expectations according to political and security context and re-align programs as required. Maintain mix of support through government and non-government programs.
Very High
2. Reduction in the size of the Australia Awards program and suspension of the volunteers program impacts Australia’s visibility and influence.
Maintain strong advocacy with government and managing contractor to manage expectations. Ensure government is well informed of anticipated changes.
Periodic liaison with key areas of government (e.g. ERD, MFA).
Close relationship maintained through existing sectoral investments
High
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MANAGEMENT RESPONSES
2014-15 APPR management responses were met, including implementation against the AIP 2015-16-2018- 19. The AIP focus in 2015-16 was on aligning new aid priorities and partnership approaches to optimise our investments and increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the aid program with limited resources.
Consolidation of the aid program continued.
Management responses for the Bangladesh aid program for 2016-2017 are as follows:
• Ensure aid programming integrates an understanding of the political economy and security environment in Bangladesh
o Collaborate with other diplomatic missions and donors in Bangladesh to share information and inform analysis on the delivery of aid in a changing environment
o Consult with aid partners to assess the impact of the current security situation on the delivery of Australian aid investments.
• Better communicate and contextualise Australia’s aid investments
o Draft a social media plan to assist in building the profile and good reputation of Australian development in Bangladesh
o Increase and improve the impact of advocacy with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Home Ministry and Ministry of Finance-Economic Relations Division.
• Contribute to partner-led designs for next phase aid investments, to ensure pipeline.
• Strengthen and capitalise on strategic partnerships, particularly with BRAC o Deepen the awareness and engagement on the BRAC SPA within DFAT
o Ensure adequate levels of staffing are allocated to achieve the expectations for the SPA’s next phase; and
• Build on the program’s gender equality and women’s empowerment work by developing a Gender Action Plan for Post which will support progress toward the Division’s objectives on gender equity.
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ACRONYMS
AIP Aid Investment Plan
AQC Aid Quality Check
CFPR TUP Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction Targeting the Ultra Poor
CLP Chars Livelihood Program
DFID Department for International Development (UK)
ECL Each Child Learns
GDP Gross Domestic Product
JARM Joint Annual Review Mission
MTR mid-term review
NGO Non- Government Organisation
PAF Performance Assessment Framework
PECE Primary Education Completion Exam
PEDP3 Primary Education Development Program Phase III
PFM Public financial management
SGSP Strengthening Government Social Protection
SPA Strategic Partnership Arrangement
SVP Special Visits Program
SWAp Sector Wide Approach (Government Education- PEDP3)
TA Technical Assistance
TAF The Asia Foundation
WFP World Food Programme
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ANNEX A - PROGRESS IN ADDRESSING MANAGEMENT RESPONSES
Describe progress made against management responses in 2014-15 report
Note: Achieved. Significant progress has been made in addressing the issue
Partly achieved. Some progress has been made in addressing the issue, but the issue has not been resolved
Not achieved. Progress in addressing the issue has been significantly below expectations
Management responses identified in 2014-15 APPR Rating Progress made in 2015-16
Carefully consider how to deliver high quality, credible technical assistance and policy advice in the primary education sector, our area of greatest comparative advantage, in a resource constrained environment; prioritise resources to engage in planning for the next phase of the primary education program, ensuring that the process benefits from our 16 years’ experience in the sector and to ensure an uninterrupted pipeline;
Achieved Technical assistance and policy advice was provided to the PEDP3 program with resources being divided between management of the current phase and planning for the next phase (PEDP4). TA was focussed on design of next phase, with additional funding provided through a World Bank arrangement for the design process. Quality reforms continued to be a priority with DFAT leading on a Quality study and providing significant strategic policy advice to the Quality Working Group.
Build capacity in gender and women’s economic empowerment to better understand the local context and how to adapt our strategic approaches, programming interventions and results reporting accordingly;
Achieved Gender and women’s economic empowerment were prioritised during the reporting period, with our AQCs recording satisfactory gender scores. Advocacy continued on gender equality issues through Government and development partner dialogue. A stocktake of gender and women’s economic empowerment activities was taken across foreign policy, economic and public diplomacy and development, as a basis for an action plan.
Manage leadership change within DFAT to ensure high level champions for the ongoing BRAC partnership building process; finalise the business case for a possible new phase of the SPA to ensure an uninterrupted pipeline;
Achieved Australia confirmed its commitment to the SPA phase 2, signing an agreement to fund BRAC $95 million until 2020. The partnership with BRAC was strengthened during the reporting period by forging new relationships with the Innovation XChange and NGO Policy Section in Canberra. At our invitation, the new Executive Director of BRAC will visit Australia this year, to consult with government, academics and NGOs, and present at the ACFID conference.
Manage risk and fraud with a partnership approach, using partner systems to identify, manage and resolve cases and working with partners to identify and improve systemic weaknesses. Update our Assessment of National Systems in 2016;
Achieved The management of risk and fraud have progressively shifted to be more integrated with partner systems and approaches. DFAT provided fraud control training to BRAC during the period, which has led BRAC to revise its approach to fraud reporting. A Due Diligence Assessment of BRAC was completed in 2015-16.
Further develop Australia Awards short course options as the preferred bilaterally-funded mechanism for providing responsive and targeted ways to address Bangladesh’s skills deficits.
Continue advocacy for global funding of long term awards which remain an important part of building enduring people to people and institutional linkages. Broaden and strengthen the alumni network, including reaching out to women leaders and privately-funded students;
Achieved 30 short course awards were delivered to assist in developing human resource capacity to address skills gaps in Bangladesh in areas such as TVET training and assessment. Bangladesh was allocated global funding for 44 long term Australia Awards for the 2016-17 year, bringing the number of awards to pre-suspension levels. Post launched the women in Leadership Alumni Network in Bangladesh to facilitate networking opportunities and support for women in the region.
Work with WFP on new and ongoing initiatives for better results reporting and quality assessments; and
Achieved The Australian High Commission worked with WFP in Cox’s Bazar to improve M&E and develop a robust M&E framework with output, outcome and impact level indicators. $100,000 was earmarked towards ongoing improvements in WFP M&E and advised WFP on a program reporting template, contributing to better results reporting and substantive evidence for DFAT’s quality reporting.
Investigate options for alternative monitoring of programs to manage recurring security
challenges. Achieved The Australian High Commission has increasingly shifted toward program monitoring through
partner systems (BRAC, DFID and WFP). For example, DFAT contributed to a WFP digital cash distribution model, to allow for real time monitoring across the program. A complaints and feedback mechanism was established to ensure greater accountability in food security and nutrition
interventions.
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ANNEX B - PROGRESS TOWARDS PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS IN 2015-16
Aid objective 2015-16 benchmark Rating Progress in 2015-16
The quality of end of primary cycle examination is improved.
35% (up from target of 25% in 2014-15)
Achieved Australia funds the Bangladesh primary education program to increase the proportion of competency based questions in Grade 5 exams, shifting questions based on rote learning and memory towards questions directed at competency levels. In 2015-16 the target of 35% was exceeded, with a rate of 50% achieved.
BRAC meets targets for numbers of children completing a course of primary or pre-primary education.
438,000 (up from target of 368,450 in 2014-15)
Achieved Australia provides non-earmarked core funding to BRAC which complements our investment in the Government’s primary education program. In 2015-16, 470,075 students completed pre-primary and primary education, exceeding the benchmark of 438,000. Approximately 45 per cent of Australia’s aid budget was spent on education in 2015-16.
50% of donor disbursement for PEDP3 linked to results achieved, with the remaining 50% subject to meeting annual audit requirements.
50% (consistent with target in
2014-15) Achieved The Government’s primary education program is funded on a performance basis. 50 per cent of funds disbursed were directly linked to results achieved. Five of nine DLIs were met during the reporting period. To date 37 of 45 DLIs have been achieved. Progress against objective was met in 2015-16, with the remaining 50 per cent of funds disbursed on the government meeting the education program annual audit requirements.
At least 50% of scholarships in each intake awarded to women.
50% (consistent with target in 2014-15)
Partly achieved Australia provided 30 scholarships for short-course awards and informal learning opportunities to the Government of Bangladesh and BRAC to develop human resources. Despite gender parity being an important consideration, the difficulty of addressing this issue at senior levels remains a problem due to women’s low representation and consequently a limited pool from which to select suitable applicants. 43% of short course awardees in 2015-16 were women. Australia did not provide any long term Australia Awards in 2015-16.
The number of women and their households graduating from our partners’ livelihood programs.
105,409 Achieved In 2015-16, 114,506 beneficiaries (households) of BRACs CFPR-TUP and CLP programs graduated and uplifted themselves from extreme poverty, exceeding the benchmark by 9097 households. The methodology developed by BRAC, part funded by Australia for the last nine years, is now used globally to assist extremely poor families. It has been shown to be a highly effective intervention in other country contexts as well as in Bangladesh.
The number of women and their households able to access social transfers.
108,520 Partly achieved Australia supported 94,864 women and their households to access social transfers in 2015-16 through the BRAC CPFR-TUP, WFP and CLP programs, not reaching the target of 108,520 by a shortfall of 13,656. This shortfall can be attributed to challenges faced by WFP including political unrest, flooding, Cyclone Roanu and a funding shortfall from the EU. Transfers included cash and in-kind transfers such as food, productive assets, training and access to free health services.
Reducing the number of investments to deliver a targeted, efficient aid program
9 Achieved The Bangladesh program continued its consolidation of investments during the reporting period, reducing initiatives in Aidworks from 17 to 9.
Note: Achieved. Significant progress has been made and the performance benchmark was achieved
Partly achieved. Some progress has been made towards achieving the performance benchmark, but progress was less than anticipated.
Not achieved. Progress towards the performance benchmark has been significantly below expectations
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ANNEX C - EVALUATION PLANNING
List of evaluations completed in the reporting period
Investment number and name (if applicable)
Name of evaluation Date completed Date Evaluation report
Uploaded into AidWorks
Date Management response uploaded into AidWorks
Published on website
INJ 957 Support to PEDP3 Joint Annual Review Mission (JARM20) 15 May 2016 N/A N/A N/A
INL234 Social Protection and Extreme poverty Reduction
Longitudinal Monitoring and Independent Impact Assessment of CLP-2
25 June 2016 Will be uploaded soon N/A N/A
INJ579 Strategic Partnership Arrangement with BRAC
Independent Program Completion Review August 2016 BRAC review October 2016 October 2016
List of program prioritised evaluations planned for the next 12 months
Evaluation title Investment number and name
(if applicable) Date – planned commencement
(month/year) Date – planned completion
(month/year) Purpose of evaluation Evaluation type SGSP Annual Review 2016 INL234 Social Protection and
Extreme poverty Reduction
24 July 2016 10 August 2016 -Demonstrate results
-Verify performance -Inform business case for no cost extension
DFAT led (includes consultants engaged by DFAT)
Teaching and Learning Quality in Primary Education: Assessment, Status and Recommendations for the future
INJ957 Support to PEDP 3 June 2016 September 2016 To inform the design of the
Post PEDP3 program
DFAT led (includes consultants engaged by DFAT)
Independent Evaluation INK969 Support to Vulnerable
Communities in Cox's Bazar July 2017 December 2017 DFAT requirement after
completion of an investment and also the partner’s requirement to evaluate the program
Partner led
20 The JARM evaluation is prepared jointly with all DPs and the Government. This evaluation is not recorded in Aidworks and has not yet been uploaded to Aidworks or published on DFAT’s website. No joint management response has been prepared for this evaluation, however an Aid Memoire is available and will be uploaded on Aidworks.
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ANNEX D - AID QUALITY CHECK RATINGS AQC RATINGS
AQC investment performance over the previous 12 months and where available last year’s AQC ratings are included.
Investment name
Approved budget and duration year on year Relevance Effectiveness Efficiency Monitoring and Evaluation Sustainability Gender equality Risks and Safeguards
Strategic Partnership with BRAC $275.0m 2011- 2020
2016 AQC 5 5 6 5 5 5 5
2015 AQC 5 5 6 5 5 5 5
Primary Education Development
Program Phase 3 $49.4m
2011 - 2017
2016 AQC 6 5 5 5 5 4 4
2015 AQC 6 5 5 5 5 4 4
Australian Development $17.9m 2016 AQC 5 4 4 5 5 5 5
Scholarships 2015-2020 2015 AQC 4 4 5 4 4 4 4
World Food Programme in Cox’s $12.6m 2016 AQC 5 5 5 5 5 4 4
Bazar 2013-2018 2015 AQC 5 4 5 4 4 4 5
Social Protection and Extreme $9.2m 2016 AQC 5 4 4 4 4 4 4
Poverty Reduction 2014-2018 2015 AQC 4 4 5 5 4 5 5
Definitions of rating scale:
Satisfactory (4, 5 and 6)
6 = Very good; satisfies criteria in all areas. 5 = Good; satisfies criteria in almost all areas.
4 = Adequate; on balance, satisfies criteria; does not fail in any major area.
Less than satisfactory (1, 2 and 3)
3 = Less than adequate; on balance does not satisfy criteria and/or fails in at least one major area.
2 = Poor; does not satisfy criteria in major areas. 1 = Very poor; does not satisfy criteria in many major area.
