The Australia Awards fellowships (2006 to 2018) were a competitive grants program designed to strengthen and deepen partnerships between Australian organisations and counterparts in developing countries through short-term study and professional development activities in priority areas. The fellowships were paused in 2018 and little is known of the long-term impact of this award modality in building and sustaining institutional linkages and partnerships.
With the relaunch of the Australian Awards Fellowship program in 2022, the following case study by the Australia Awards Global Tracer Facility (GTF) reflects on an exemplar partnership to identify the factors which enabled its ongoing engagement and contributions to development and cooperation to inform future programming. This case study examines the impact of two fellowships in broadening engagement and sustaining long-term partnerships over time.
The report explores the Australia Awards’ role in cultivating institutional connections and people-to-people links between Griffith University and the Reserve Bank of Fiji. This initial partnership acted as a catalyst and led to the establishment of the South Pacific Centre for Central Banking (SPCCB), dedicated to improving the institutional capacity of central banks in the Pacific. This case study examines the use of Australia Awards fellowships by Griffith University to broaden and sustain engagement among the region’s five Pacific central banks and other key economic and financial stakeholders.
The findings of this case study demonstrate the importance of embedding partnership principles in future Australia Awards fellowship iterations to enhance the long-term program outcomes at both the alumni and organisational levels.