NZAID
Logo of NZAID
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| Agency overview | |
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| Jurisdiction | New Zealand’s official development assistance (ODA) |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade |
| Website | http://www.aid.govt.nz/ |
The New Zealand Aid Programme is the New Zealand Government's international aid and development agency. NZAID is division of New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). Previously a semi-autonomous body, it was reintegrated back into the Ministry as the International Development Group following a restructure in 2009. Its Māori name is Nga Hoe Tuputupu-mai-tawhiti – the paddles that bring growth from afar. The Head of the New Zealand Aid Programme is Amanda Ellis, an economist specializing in international trade and development. Ms Ellis is responsible directly to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Murray McCully.
NZAID was established in 2002 by the Fifth Labour Government with the launching of a new overseas aid policy, "Towards a Safe and Just World Free of Poverty". The establishment of NZAID as a semi-autonomous body marked a significant shift in the management of New Zealand official development assistance (ODA). Prior to 2002, ODA had been managed by MFAT using largely non-specialist staff, policies and procedures.
A Ministerial Review in 2001 found that New Zealand's management of ODA lacked a clear mission: "Management and staff are pursuing poorly defined development assistance, foreign policy and trade objectives. There is a serious confusion of purpose. At the implementing end, desk officers are uncertain and concerned about the core mission of their work." The 2001 Review found that NZ ODA lacked focus; poverty analyses on which to base decisions; systematic analysis of past performance; and systematic use of good practice in aid design and delivery. The rotational staffing system (whereby career MFAT staff were rotated through the aid management division, rather than recruited specifically for skills and experience in ODA issues) had led to the relevant area of MFAT being regarded as "both a training ground for diplomats and a dumping ground for non-performers". Basic issues of staff and document management were found wanting. The establishment of NZAID was a response to these and other problems.
The Cabinet Minute (01) 28/8 which mandated the creation of NZAID "set the following major directions for New Zealand's ODA:
NZAID consists of six organisational divisions:
The mission statement of the New Zealand Aid Programme expresses a desire to "support sustainable development in order to reduce poverty and contribute to a more secure, equitable and prosperous world". This includes carefully targeting aid dollars towards activities and projects that are likely to result in tangible differences to the quality of people's lives, particularly in the Pacific region.
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