About DevNet

The Aotearoa New Zealand International Development Studies Network (DevNet) was established to link people and organisations in New Zealand involved and interested in the broad field of development. We invite you to be part of this initiative by becoming a member of the network.

If you would like to see a copy of the annual DevNet report to NZAID, contact the DevNet Coordinator.

Aim

DevNet’s aim is to facilitate the exchange of ideas, information and research between and amongst Development Studies staff and students in tertiary institutions, and key stakeholders in development. Such stakeholders include: aid and development NGOs, private sector development practitioners, and government (particularly NZAID Nga Hoe Tuputupu-mai-tawhiti, the New Zealand Agency for International Development).

Network Structure

The relationship between the various stakeholders is like this:

Membership

Membership is free. We would like everyone involved in development research and practice to be part of DevNet. You can sign-up here.

Governance

Overall direction of the Network is set by the National Forum, which meets at the time of DevNet Conferences (every two years) and is open to anyone to attend.

Ongoing governance of DevNet takes place via its steering committee, which meets every 3-4 months. Universities each have one representative on the steering committee, as do NZAID, the Council for International Development (CID) and Dev-Zone. Current members of the steering committee are:

Andrew McGregor (co-chair)

Otago University

Tony Banks

NZAID

Ken Jackson

University of Auckland

Rae Julian

Council for International Development

Maria McMillan

Dev-Zone

Sandy Morrison

University of Waikato

John Overton

Victoria University

Regina Scheyvens

Massey University

Monte Ohia

Te Wananga o Aotearoa

Vijay Naidu (associate member)

           University of the South Pacific

To be determined

Canterbury University

To be determined

Lincoln University

To be determined

Auckland University of Technology

 

(DevNet members may click on the names to view more about them in the Members Database, using their username and password. If you are not yet a member of DevNet, you cannot view this information. Please sign-up here to become a member.)

History

The idea for an Aotearoa New Zealand Development Studies network had existed for a number of years, reflecting a need for Aotearoa New Zealand'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 the 'Development that Works: Lessons from the Asia Pacific' conference. It brought together for the first time a diverse array of development representatives to discuss successful (and not so successful) initiatives and the lessons learned from these.

DevNet itself had its origins in 1995-7. At that time, three Development Studies programmes were running in Aotearoa New Zealand universities (Auckland, Massey and Victoria). Penny Schoeffel then Fred Deyo at Auckland, John McKinnon at Victoria and John Overton at Massey were in contact over a number of issues relating to their programmes and they were keen to maintain a spirit of co-operation and information sharing. These academics were in contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade's (MFAT) development division (the earlier manifestation of NZAID) and the Council for International Development (CID), and wanted to strengthen their links with these organisations and the wider development community. They were also in touch 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 late July 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 between development practitioners, policy makers, students and academics. The response for this idea was extremely positive. This was followed up later in the year at a meeting between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, NGO representatives and Development Studies programme directors, where it was agreed to formally initiate a New Zealand Development Studies Network. That year, the Aotearoa New Zealand International Development Studies Network (DevNet) was officially established to link development studies programmes, students of development, development practitioners, non-governmental organisations and donor agencies together as a way to share information and cooperate on activities of mutual interest.

Following DevNet's establishment, the network was situated 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 Pacific Asia region. It was a significant event. It was generously supported by MFAT with funding and was a successful event in terms of its appeal to a large number of academics, students and practitioners in development. 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. Te Amokura has lapsed but electronic communication has expanded significantly, and DevNet's Updates are received by close to 1,000 recipients.

What's the difference between DevNet and Dev-Zone?

Although the names are similar, DevNet is not the same as Dev-Zone.

Dev-Zone is a programme of the Development Resource Centre, a specialist information and education centre in Aotearoa New Zealand focused on development and global issues. Dev-Zone provides information services on development and global issues: it operates a library, provides email updates on a variety of development topics, and manages a comprehensive web site on development issues. Like DevNet, Dev-Zone is free to subscribe to; if you live in Aotearoa New Zealand, you can borrow books and videos from the library, and all Dev-Zone members can subscribe to the email updates.

You'll see that DevNet's links to publishing, scholarships, and development studies information go straight to databases on Dev-Zone's website. DevNet and Dev-Zone have other things in common: both focus on development issues; DevNet's administrative department is housed at Dev-Zone; the DevNet coordinator, Terence Wood, also works as a Dev-Zone Information Officer; and the Dev-Zone manager, Maria McMillan , is on the DevNet Steering Committee.

Despite these common factors, DevNet is a separate entity from Dev-Zone. The DevNet email updates are specifically focused on conferences, programmes and courses, scholarships, and calls for papers relating to the crossover between development studies and development practice. The email updates from Dev-Zone contain information about development jobs, as well as information about resources from the Dev-Zone website, which includes articles, reports, organisations, events, books, email networks and ways you can take action to create a just world.

Still confused?  Contact Terence Wood, DevNet Coordinator, with any questions.