Can aid prevent conflict? CHSSC Director Lisa Denney and Senior Research Fellow Thushara Dibley say yes. Their insights draw on their submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade inquiry into the role of Australia’s development program in conflict prevention.

CHSSC researchers have documented the evolution of accountability ‘coalitions’ supported by UNDP in Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. Read them here: 👉 Solomon Islands Fellowship Scheme Action Research Report: shorturl.at/oR9i6 👉Tuvalu Fellowship Scheme Action Research Report: shorturl.at/XmMLI

As we kick off 2026, the Centre for Human Security and Social Change is starting a new collaboration with the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to understand how local leaders and coalitions drive change, and how this is experienced locally.

Dr Aidan Craney facilitated an online workshop hosted by the Australia Awards Women Leading and Influencing Initiative. A repeated theme was the need to recognise young people not just as beneficiaries of development initiatives, but as crucial partners. Read the summary paper: shorturl.at/QEffh

The Centre for Human Security and Social Change Director Lisa Denney will speak on this webinar on 10 September: Navigating Crisis with Insight: Why the future of development cooperation needs political economy analysis Register here: asiafoundation.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

⚠️ New from CHSSC – Aug 2025 Newsletter: shifting power in INGOs, women’s leadership in the Pacific, Vanuatu report launch, the future of aid, upcoming events + more. Read here: mailchi.mp/f03711a17d6f... | Subscribe: latrobe.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=...

Join the International & Comparative Law Cluster’s 2025 Annual Lecture delivered by UN Special Rapporteur Professor Ben Saul. His lecture will explore the challenges facing international law today.

In response to criticism they are self-interested and neo-colonial in nature, INGOs are pursuing localisation. CHSSC's Dr Glenn Bond and co-authors draw on a multi-year case study to explore how power relations and interests shape these day-to-day practices. shorturl.at/MPjTm

Have a read of our own Centre Director, Lisa Denney, responding to Development Intelligence Lab’s Intel question this week. “It is likely that radical simplification has a role to play in some of what future development cooperation looks like – but not all of it” shorturl.at/a74fz

Curious about the future of aid in the Asia Pacific? Join us on 14 August when CHSSC, together with La Trobe Asia, will host a discussion on the role of multilateralism, Australian INGOs & decolonisation in the Asia-Pacific. Register for either in person attendance or livestream: shorturl.at/1nGsm

⚠️ See the latest news from CHSSC - June 2025: shorturl.at/U7mf1 ⚠️ In this Newsletter ➡️ Lowitja Institute International Health and Wellbeing Conference ➡️ Integrating climate resilience into development programming. ➡️ Evaluation of the INKLUSI program in Indonesia ...and more!

We are pleased to share the CHSSC’s Annual Report 2024. The report draws on several of our projects in Indigenous Australia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific highlight how embedding evidence and learning in development programs leads to better development practice and outcomes. shorturl.at/wyowC

We’re very pleased that four of our projects have been featured in La Trobe University’s 2024 Impact for Sustainable Development Report. The report showcases the university’s transformative contributions to global and local challenges: shorturl.at/2BAzi

Emergent ethics? A Pacific approach to research ethics requires continual negotiation. Read more from Vani Nailumu from Balance of Power here:https://www.developmentstudies.asn.au/2025/06/27/the-emergent-nature-of-ethics-in-research-a-pacific-researchers-experience/

This week, the Lajamanu Good Life Project presented at the Lowitja Conference. Glenda Wayne, Raelene Jigili and Mildred Spencer, supported by Alex Gyles, shared Warlpiri ways of assessing impact—how Yapa define and pursue a good life. The project is a 5-year partnership with CLC. 🔗 shorturl.at/FpkCZ

Lis Jackson & Thushara Dibley travelled to Jakarta to meet research partners, Saraswati & Cakra Wikara Indonesia, for the INKLUSI project. This was the first time face-to-face since 2022! After reflecting on what we all have learnt in the project, we spent the week identifying stories of change.

Why does accountability work look the same everywhere despite different contexts? In this newsletter Lisa Denney and Glenn Bond reflect on findings from their Political Economy of Accountability Ecosystems report ➡️ Read it here: shorturl.at/pHmcY

Our partners The Voice Inc. in PNG have shared a fascinating read out from their first Learning Event on what helps coalitions succeed. www.linkedin.com/posts/the-vo...

How many political economy fields do you see? Centre Director Lisa Denney and Mark Moran reflect on the multiple layers of political economy at play in Australian aid programs. devpolicy.org/the-four-pol...

How do foreign interests actually play out on the ground? In Timor-Leste, aid and investment don’t land neatly: they’re reshaped by local politics, power networks and community responses. ➡️ Read the new blog here: devpolicy.org/unpacking-th...

⚠️ JOB OPENING⚠️ Join the Central Land Council as a Community Development Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Coordinator based in Alice Springs. Help monitor and strengthen Aboriginal-led development initiatives across Central Australia. Closing Date: 22 May 2025 ➡️ More info: shorturl.at/7bIsd

The Warlpiri-led Yitaki-maninjaku, warririnin-jaku, payirninjaku manu pina-jarrinjaku (YWPP) project - grounded in community - was recently featured in Practice Insights Magazine. This project sits under the Warlpiri Education and Training Trust (WETT) Read it here: shorturl.at/3KNHZ

The Northern Land Council is hiring a for a Community Planning & Development Manager. The role requires providing strategic and operational leadership to grow the impact of the NLC’s Community Planning & Development program Apply here ➡️ shorturl.at/a0wM1

⚠️ See the latest news from CHSSC - April 2025 ⚠️ mailchi.mp/bdfd7cdb9b30...

@socialchangeltu.bsky.social is delighted to announce that David Poulton has joined our Advisory Committee. David is a Senior Consultant within Alinea International and co-founder as well as President of the Association of First Nations Australians in Development (AFNAD).

New Report: Local impacts of foreign interests in Timor-Leste In Timor-Leste, foreign influence shapes daily life, with impacts on police reform, infrastructure, and more, explored by Denney, Rajalingam, and Soares in this report. www.xcept-research.org/publication/...

Research by Eka Liu & Lis Jackson in Disability & Society highlights the importance of #DisabilityLeadership. Based on interviews with 55 leaders in Indonesia, it explores how identity shapes leadership & offers recommendations to support disability leadership. Read it here now: shorturl.at/wdy75

This synthesis report under the UNDP’s EU-funded Vaka Pasifika project sets out the key political economy constraints and opportunities that needed to shape locally-relevant accountability support drawing on 6 Pacific country studies. 👉 Download the report here: shorturl.at/AUTTG

Welcoming Kirk Gibson as our newest PhD Student 👏 Kirk is an international development practitioner working in the Pacific, Timor-Leste & Australia for over 15 years. He is passionate about the thinking and thinkers behind community development and about supporting locally led development.

Interesting post on Devpolicy from Lisa Denny (@socialchangeltu.bsky.social & ODI Global) on the need for aid to evolve in the age of Trump. devpolicy.org/a-silver-lin... @amitam.bsky.social

Centre Director Lisa Denney spoke with La Trobe Asia’s Asia Rising podcast about the Trump Administration’s USAID freeze, its impacts across Asia and potential future opportunities. Listen here: soundcloud.com/asia-rising/...

How can we turn the brutal dismantling of USAID by the Trump Administration into an opportunity to act on learning about how to do development better? See the new DevPolicy blog by Centre Director, Lisa Denney. devpolicy.org/a-silver-lin...

As the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) navigates its accountability challenges, blending cultural practices with contemporary governance offers a promising path forward to strengthen resilience and enhance community trust. ➡️ Read the report here: shorturl.at/wfB1D

📖 New Publication 📖 Supporting ‘Doing Development Differently’ Effectively: Analysing Attributes, Networks and Impacts of Donor-Supported Pacific Development Coalitions This article is open-access. Access it here: doi.org/10.1002/app5...