Grace Stanhope

Research Fellow, Southeast Asia Aid Map

Areas of expertise

Foreign aid; global development finance

Contact

Biography

Publications

News and media

Grace Stanhope is a Research Fellow in the Lowy Institute’s Indo-Pacific Development Centre working on the Southeast Asia Aid Map, a tool that tracks and analyses foreign aid and development finance flows to Southeast Asia from 2015 onwards.

Grace joined the Lowy Institute from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in 2023 and previously worked as a sub-editor in the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery. She holds a Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics and a Bachelor of Development Studies from the Australian National University.

2026 Australian aid budget: Predictability beats preparedness

Australia’s aid spending held steady, but the budget offers no plan for the energy crisis now reshaping the region.

Policy Brief

Mainstreamed but sidelined: Global funding for gender equality

Rising international aid for gender equality has disguised a stagnation of targeted funding for core gender issues.

Japan is charting a new course for development – but looking in the wrong direction

Tokyo’s emergency energy package is nimble and generous, but locks in fossil fuel dependence at a cost to the region’s future.

Podcast

The future of Australian aid

Conflict prevention or conflict avoidance in Australia’s foreign policy

The greatest risk for the Indo-Pacific comes from fragmented peace efforts backed by competing geopolitical powers.

Signal failure for China’s railway diplomacy in Southeast Asia

As Indonesia renegotiates railway debt with China, other Southeast Asian nations face a cautionary tale about mega-projects.

Podcast

Development Futures: The 2025 Southeast Asia Aid Map and global aid cuts

Commentary

Why Australia should worry about who's helping our neighbours

Originally published in The Canberra Times

Climate disasters drain Southeast Asia’s shrinking aid budgets

The 2025 Lowy Institute Southeast Asia Aid Map reveals relief spending has soared while prevention investment stagnates, forcing hard choices for development partners.