La Trobe Vice Chancellor, Theo Farrell and The Asia Foundation Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, Thomas Parks, signed a three-year partnership agreement at the La Trobe City Campus on Tuesday 16 April.
In his opening remarks, Theo Farrell noted the shared interests between La Trobe and The Asia Foundation in social justice and in addressing international security and development challenges. The partnership builds on collaboration over the last four years which has included:
- Embedding more politically smart and context-relevant approaches in international assistance through training Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade staff and tailoring political economy analysis frameworks to the Pacific context.
- Work with The Asia Foundation’s Coalitions for Change Program in the Philippines to explore how successful policy reform happens.
- Partnering on an Australian Research Council Discovery project examining how young leaders emerge in the Pacific and the implications for governments and donors.
- Building research expertise in the Asia-Pacific through developing research guidance for local researchers.
Thomas Parks noted the value of the Centre in providing precisely the kind of policy-relevant, actionable research that industry partners need, particularly given the increasingly complex geopolitical context that international agencies must now navigate and the diminishing importance of foreign aid, especially in Southeast Asia.
Professor Chris Roche, Director of the Centre for Human Security and Social Change (CHSSC),explained that the Centre’s approach to research is informed by the belief that:
‘The front-line practice of social change is under researched and often poorly understood. And as a result well intended efforts to support it, often result in undermining it.’
Dr Lisa Denney, Deputy Director of the CHSSC, highlighted the common ways of working that underpin the partnership, including intellectual curiosity, valuing locally led development, recognising the political nature of change and engaging in self-critique.
‘La Trobe and The Asia Foundation share the view that the most effective, durable solutions must be locally led, recognising and prioritising the knowledge and expertise of local people in defining their development trajectory,’ Dr Denney noted.
Over the next three years, the partnership will provide the opportunity for staff across La Trobe to bring together research and practice to help address some of the most pressing international challenges in the Indo-Pacific.
The Asia Foundation is a non-profit international development organisation committed to improving lives and expanding opportunities across Asia and the Pacific.
