ABOUT DEVNET

1993: ‘Development that Works: Lessons from the Asia Pacific’

The idea for a Development Studies network reflected the need for Aotearoa NZ’s small but diverse ‘development community’ to link together through dialogue and information sharing. In 1993, Massey University under the guidance of Croz Walsh organised a conference called ‘Development that Works: Lessons from the Asia Pacific’. It brought together a diverse array of development representatives to discuss development initiatives and the lessons learned.

1995-97: DevNet’s formation

By 1995, three Development Studies programmes were offered at Aotearoa NZ universities: Auckland, Massey and Victoria. Penny Schoeffel (then Fred Deyo) at Auckland University, John McKinnon from Victoria University and John Overton from Massey University were in contact over a number of issues relating to their programmes and were keen to cooperate further and share information. They were eager to strengthen their relations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (MFAT) development division, the NGO umbrella group – Council for International Development (CID) – and the wider development community. There was also contact with Croz Walsh (then at the University of the South Pacific) who distributed the newsletter Te Amokura to those with an interest in Development Studies.

In mid-1996 the Development Studies programme at Auckland University sent a questionnaire to development NGOs, consultants and other academic programmes to gauge levels of interest in establishing a communication network and related activities for development practitioners, policy makers, students and academics. After a very positive response, this was followed up with a meeting among MFAT, non-governmental organisations (NGO) representatives and Development Studies programme directors, where it was agreed to formally initiate a Development Studies Network. That year, DevNet was officially established to link Development Studies programmes, students of development, development practitioners, NGOs and donor agencies together as a way to share information and cooperate on activities of mutual interest.

1997-98: Association with the Development Resource Centre

The network was initially located at Auckland University for its pilot year 1997-98 under the coordination of Ross Bell. The year culminated in the inaugural conference ‘Linkages in Development: Issues of Governance’, again with a focus in the Asia-Pacific region. Generously supported by MFAT, it was a significant and successful event – appealing to a large number of academics, students and development practitioners.

The conference demonstrated the importance of bringing together the wider development community to learn from each other. In November 1998, DevNet’s secretariat was moved to Dev-Zone, a programme of the Development Resource Centre (DRC). Te Amokura lapsed but electronic communication and use of the DevNet website expanded significantly.

1999-2008: Conferences and academic programmes

The strong base established in DevNet’s early years continued to grow. The DevNet coordinator based at the DRC regularly visited universities around the country and also grew the network’s online presence, adding resources to the website and sending monthly updates of development-related research and
learning opportunities around NZ, the Pacific, and the world.

Tony Binns came to Otago in the mid-2000s and initiated a cross-disciplinary ‘Poverty Research Cluster’. Changes also occurred in the leadership of the various Development Studies programmes, with Vijay Naidu then John Overton heading the programme at Victoria, Regina Scheyvens coming on board to replace John at Massey, and Ken Jackson & Yvonne Underhill-Sem heading the programme at Auckland.

Biennial conferences were held, and they were all supported by the semi-autonomous unit NZAID which had been created out of MFAT. Conferences were hosted by Victoria (2000 – Poverty, Prosperity and Progress), Massey (2002 – Contesting Development), Auckland (2004 – Development on the Edge), Otago (2006 – Southern Perspectives on Development) and Victoria (2008 – Peripheral Vision). In 2007, a joint NZAID and DevNet Symposium was also held on ‘Civil Society and Governance’ with an emphasis on complementing the more wide-ranging DevNet conferences.