Although small by international standards, New Zealand’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) programme budget has increased significantly in recent years. For 2007/08, the ODA programme budget administered by the New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID) is $428.8 million, an increase of $70 million from 2006/07.
NZAID is a semi-autonomous agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It is responsible for managing New Zealand’s ODA programme. We examined the effectiveness of NZAID’s management of overseas aid programmes, given the increases in budget since it was established in 2002. We focused on how NZAID planned, implemented, monitored, and evaluated its overseas aid programmes.
We specifically looked at how NZAID managed three programmes - the Papua New Guinea bilateral programme, the Indonesia bilateral programme, and the Pacific Regional Health programme. For each of the three programmes, we examined six aid projects and initiatives.