Australia – SPC Partnership Evaluation 2022: Institutional strengthening and partnership mechanisms

stock image of Pacific Islands landscape — *Photo Credit: Tom Vierus / Ocean Image Bank*

From July to November 2022, researchers from ISF and CoLAB Consulting, Fiji undertook an evaluation of the contribution and impact of the current ten-year partnership ($42.5 million core funding agreement) between the Government of Australia (GoA) and the Pacific Community (SPC).

SPC is the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region, proudly supporting development since 1947. It is an international development organisation owned and governed by 27 country and territory members. Australia is a founding member and key donor of SPC. As a member, Australia participates in SPC’s governing bodies, and as a donor, principally through the partnership.

The evaluation was commissioned to assess the effectiveness and impact of the Partnership, which is due to conclude in December 2023. The evaluation found the Partnership significantly strengthened SPC’s institutional capabilities, drove reform of the organisation, and increased SPC's focus on gender inclusion. The report considered the Partnership represented value for money, delivering a wide scope of activities effectively and efficiently.

The evaluation's findings will inform negotiations on the next Partnership between the Government of Australia and SPC over the course of 2023.

The Evaluation Report presents the synthesised findings of two parts of an evaluation exploring the contribution and impact of the Government of Australia (GoA) and The Pacific Community (SPC) Partnership (‘The Partnership’) 2014-2023.

The evaluation foci were:

Part 1: ‘Institutional strengthening and Partnership mechanisms’ focuses on contribution analysis of the Partnership towards strengthening institutional effectiveness in achieving better development outcomes across the Pacific. This part was carried out by University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and CoLAB Consulting.

Part 2: ‘Impact and Value for money’ exploring the contribution and impact of the current ten-year Partnership Agreement between Australia and SPC in terms of economic impact. Evaluation Part 2 has a clear focus on the value for money aspects of strengthening the corporate backbone of SPC. This part was carried out by the Strategic Development Group.

The final synthesised report report was prepared by ISF and CoLAB Consulting and draws findings from both parts of the evaluation.

RESEARCH OUTPUTS

Australia-SPC Partnership Evaluation 2022 (2022) (Report)