Canadian Development Aid: Past Practice and Future Partnerships

In November 2015, GEG Associate Researcher Nilima Gulrajani was invited to Ottawa to deliver the keynote public lecture at a conference titled Canadian Development Aid: Past Practice and Future Partnership organised by the Canadian Association for the Study of International Development at the School of International Development and Global Studies at the University of Ottawa.

The conference reflected on the past practices of development aid in Canada, priorities and partnerships for the future, specific issue-based concerns, and how these fit within the context of other priorities (eg Global Goals). The event, attended by over 100 people, included academics, officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (recently re-christened Global Affairs Canada), students and the NGO community.

Dr Gulrajani's keynote address fits within a broader research project on the Future of Aid Agencies. It situated discussions on the future of Canadian development policy within global policy discourses, presented some comparative data on Canadian engagement within this new environment and highlighted some lessons for improving donor capacity and management based on her recent GEG working paper. Following the presentation, panel discussions and roundtables were used to flesh out Canadian-specific issues by participants in the room and inform new directions in Canadian development cooperation.

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