Seeking Consultants – Doing Well by Doing Good

January 20, 2021

The Crawford Fund is seeking consultants to undertake an analysis of the benefits flowing from Australian investment in international agricultural research and development in the period 2010-20. Our focus covers all aspects of agri-food systems including forestry, fisheries and natural resources management.

We have always promoted that Australian development assistance programs in agriculture and related sectors should retain their primary purpose of assisting economic and social development in the developing countries, in accordance with Australia’s national interests. But in addition, and without detriment to this purpose, we’ve argued that they can deliver direct and indirect benefits to Australia. The Fund had brought focus to this from time to time with major publications and analyses. The first was in 1991 with the book “Doing Well by Doing Good,” by the Fund’s inaugural Director, Emeritus Professor Derek Tribe AO OBE FTSE.

The key aims are to:

1. a) demonstrate the on-going value of Australia’s aid program investments to different dimensions of Australia’s agricultural innovation system
2. b) make the case for continued investment in Australian international agri-food systems research and development through this mechanism
3. c) make recommendations on how to focus this investment in response to emerging priority areas and current global trends

Further background information and assessment criteria are available here.

The terms of reference are available here.

Proposals should be submitted by 16 February 2021 and the study must be completed by mid-June 2021.

Any key questions should be addressed to Dr Colin Chartres, CEO of the Crawford Fund, by email initially at [email protected]