Brick by Brick: The Building of an ASEAN Economic Community

The Regional Economic Policy Support Facility

xvii By: ROS Size: 6" x 9" J/No: 07-13802 Fonts: AGara, Aurora & Helv. The Regional Economic Policy Support Facility Brian Brogan This collection of studies results from the first five years of operation of the Regional Economic Policy Support Facility (REPSF), a component of the Australian Government’s ASEAN–Australia Development Cooperation Program (AADCP). During this five-year period, REPSF produced a total of fifty research papers. AADCP is the prime vehicle for the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) development cooperation activities carried out in collaboration with ASEAN through interaction with the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC). AADCP consists of three separately managed streams, namely, the Program Stream (PS), the Regional Partnership Scheme (RPS), and REPSF. The PS and the RPS implement activities of medium to small size in policy and capacity-building. REPSF was the first stream to be mobilized in January 2002. It conducted a rolling programme of small to medium economic policy research projects. These projects assisted ASEC in its mission to provide ASEAN Working Groups with economic policy and development analysis for working towards the goal of integrating the economies of the ten ASEAN member countries (AMCs) in line with the objectives and priorities of ASEAN Vision 2020, the Hanoi Plan of Action, and the subsequent Vientiane Action Programme (VAP). In December 2005 Australia’s Foreign Minister Alexander Downer announced the funding of a further AUD5 million for joint research examining 00 BrickByBrick Prelims 10/30/07, 2:29 PM 17 xviii By: ROS Size: 6" x 9" J/No: 07-13802 Fonts: AGara, Aurora & Helv. xviii Brian Brogan economic integration between ASEAN nations and the other East Asian nations — Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, India, New Zealand, and Australia.Therefore REPSF was given an extension period from the completion of REPSF I in January 2007 to 30 June 2008 for this East Asia Summit Research Initiative. REPSF is a funding mechanism which, in consultation with its key stakeholders AusAID, ASEC and ASEAN’s Senior Economic Officials Meeting (SEOM), provides ASEC with the capacity to develop and implement a programme of priority economic policy research. It is more specialized than the other two streams of AADCP. Its programme of economic policy research on aspects of ASEAN economic integration is undertaken by researchers selected through either competitive tender or deliberative invitation (depending on the budget level of the study). ASEC personnel and ASEAN sectoral bodies monitor the research in progress. During the project the researchers present drafts of their report to audiences of relevant ASEAN or other experts. On its completion the research report is transmitted to the initial ASEAN or ASEC sponsor and to AusAID and is usually released onto the REPSF and ASEC websites, www.aadcp-repsf.org and www.aseansec.org, respectively. The copyright on the completed reports resides with ASEC. REPSF is bound by a number of guidelines — mandated modalities for topic and team selection, and for research management. These guidelines give REPSF a high degree of autonomy in operational matters, but research priority setting is in the hands of the three stakeholders. Team selection and research management guidelines mandate conformity with AusAID’s financial management and general development criteria (such as AusAID’s gender equity goals). The research team selection guidelines have required a broad regional balance across the ASEAN and CER countries in addition to AusAID’s gender balance requirements.Tight deadlines, availability of suitable personnel, and specialist needs of some of the research topics have sometimes made compliance with these criteria difficult to achieve. REPSF and its ASEC colleagues have consistently striven for high standards in team selection and research management. Not all of the final reports have reached the highest standards but a number of them (including all those collected in this book) have, and the average is high indeed. All finished within budget and most within the agreed time-frame. In Phase I REPSF’s fifty research reports were undertaken by thirty ASEAN-based research organizations/individuals, thirty-six Australian-based research organizations/individuals, and two “others” — one organization from the United States and one from New Zealand. Thirteen research 00 BrickByBrick Prelims 10/30/07, 2:29 PM 18 xix By: ROS Size: 6" x 9" J/No: 07-13802 Fonts: AGara, Aurora & Helv. subcontracts have been joint partnerships with two or more organizations/ individuals. REPSF’s broad priorities, specific topics included in the rolling programme and other agreed activities are set by the Research Priorities...