Tender care

With a wealth of academic and technical expertise, Monash University is well placed to become a major player in international aid consultation, writes DEREK BROWN

Competition for tenders on international aid projects can be fierce.

And given their value – US$45 billion annually – the projects draw interest from some of the most prestigious consultancy firms in the world.

Monash University is at the forefront of the bidding, according to Mr Paul Verwoert, manager of the Offshore Projects and Development Assistance Unit at Monash International.

Since a Monash International project management team was formed four years ago, the group has tendered for 15 international aid projects.

Mr Verwoert believes Monash International’s success is due to a careful blending of academic knowledge and business know-how.

“One of Monash’s major strengths is the intellectual and technical expertise of our employees,” he says. “In developing a tender proposal, we draw on these skills and combine them with the practical expertise of the business community.

“Tendering for international aid projects funded through organisations such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations or AusAID, is the perfect way to apply that expertise in an international arena.”

Monash International is involved with international aid initiatives on many levels, from tendering for and undertaking consultancies, to proposing and taking on projects which result from the original consultations.

Mr Verwoert says past projects have drawn on academic expertise from a variety of areas, including economics, health sciences, engineering, human rights law and management.

“We have been involved in a number of initiatives, ranging from delivering health services management programs to Indonesian Ministry of Health officials to developing teaching, research and curricula at more than 20 Thai universities,” he says.

And Monash’s involvement in international aid initiatives plays a vital role in creating and strengthening networks between the university and private and government sectors around the world, according to Ms Julie Robertson, project development manager at Monash International.

“The networks we create during our consultancy and project work are useful, not only because they are often a source of additional projects for Monash International, but also because they help raise the profile of the university internationally,” she says.

Ms Robertson, an economist with 15 years’ experience in project development in the private sector, was involved with Monash International’s most recent tender win – an Asian Development Bank-funded study looking at development options for economic cooperation between Mongolia and the People’s Republic of China.

“China and Mongolia share a common border of about 3000 kilometres, and both countries are in transition, moving from centrally planned economies towards market economies using economic reform and applying open policies,” Ms Robertson says.

“The two countries have expressed strong interest in accelerating growth and development by strengthening economic cooperation.”

Monash International’s consultants met Mongolian and Chinese government officials, travelled widely in the region and conducted extensive fieldwork, says Ms Robertson.

“They looked at the region’s facilities, financial services and development projects and identified areas where the Mongolian government and China could collaborate, such as agriculture, energy creation and tourism,” she says.

“This study is proposed as the first step in a series of studies funded by the Asian Development Bank to enhance regional cooperation. And we think Monash is well placed to successfully bid for further projects in the area.”

Another Asian Development Bank contract awarded to Monash International aims to provide the Chinese government with policy support in developing strategies for great western China.

The executive director, Office of International Affairs, at Monash University, Mr Tony Pollock, believes Monash Inter-national’s role as a broker, business developer and project manager for development assistance projects will continue to gain strength.

“Over the next five years, Monash International intends to continue concentrating its project work on developing countries in Asia and southern Africa by tendering for projects in fields where Monash has considerable expertise and experience,” he says.

“We will maintain and develop our current strategy of pursuing and managing projects in collaboration with other companies or as the lead contractor in countries strategically important to the university.”

ACTION: To find out more about Monash International and its current range of activities, visit www.monash.edu.au/intoff/

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