Robin Davies

Robin Davies was appointed Associate Director of the Development Policy Centre in December 2012 and, since mid-2014, is concurrently an Honorary Professor at the Crawford School.

For almost twenty years before joining the Development Policy Centre, Robin worked at the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), both in Australia and overseas, including ten years as a member of its senior executive service. Until late 2011, he headed AusAID’s international programs and partnerships division.

Robin was Australia’s representative on the G20 Development Working Group from its establishment in 2010. He played an active role in shaping the Seoul Development Consensus for Shared Growth and subsequent work on “growth with resilience”. As founding head of AusAID’s Sustainable Development Group from 2007 to 2009, he represented Australia in negotiations leading to the establishment of the multilateral Climate Investment Funds in 2008 and oversaw the development and implementation of a series of Australian climate change funding initiatives, including the International Forest Carbon Initiative and the International Climate Change Adaptation Initiative.

Robin managed AusAID’s devolved country program in Indonesia from 2003 to 2006. In that capacity he oversaw the first stage in a substantial scaling up and strategic reorientation of Australia’s aid to Indonesia, which for a time became the largest recipient of Australian aid, and led the Australian Government’s humanitarian response to the impacts of the December 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Aceh and North Sumatra.

Robin was AusAID’s first permanent representative to the OECD Development Assistance Committee in Paris from 1999 to 2002. He represented Australia on the boards of the UN World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development in this period. He has also worked at Australia’s Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Robin was appointed to the board of UNICEF Australia in September 2013 and chairs its Programs, Policy and Advocacy Committee.

Robin holds an honours degree in philosophy from the Australian National University.

• Development financing
• Global public goods
• Migration and development
• Aid policy and management
• Australian aid