This report reaches five main conclusions for the implementation of e-government and digital government initiatives, and it concludes with four recommendations for future programming of international support in the area of ICTs and e-government.

Fortunately, with increasing vaccination coverage, we’re now finally seeing signs the number of new measles cases in Samoa is slowing.

Violence against children is at endemic levels across Pacific island nations and Timor-Leste. Millions of children experience exceptionally high levels of physical, emotional and sexual violence, as well as neglect.

This report focusses on the vanilla sector in the Cook Islands, Niue and Samoa. The research highlights how the vanilla sector is being developed in these Pacific Island countries and the linkages that are being established to regional and/or international markets.

A key finding of this research is that while intangible cultural heritage such as dances, performances and craft production is already a mainstay of Samoan tourism, tangible cultural heritage sites beyond the museums and the Samoan Cultural Village in Apia are largely missing.

Business Link Pacific (BLP) is a multi-country small-to-medium enterprise (SME) development activity funded by MFAT at NZD$10m over five years. The goal is to build the market for business advisory services in participating Pacific Island Countries (PICs) and to enable SMEs to access services that...

This report puts forward a small number of renewable energy initiatives that have the potential to improve sustainable development and resilience in both countries and strengthen the robustness of their electricity sectors.

Oxfam New Zealand’s Advocacy and Campaigns Director, Joanna Spratt, finds there is scarce literature on palliative care in Pacific island countries and territories, but the documented disease profile shows a need for expanded palliative care as well as more funding; leadership; support training, coaching and...

This article describes a project investigating the potential and constraints to developing cultural heritage tourism opportunities as a pathway for sustainable development for local communities in the Pacific and specifically in Samoa and Madang, Papua New Guinea.

Solar-powered batteries are the key to a future without electricity grids for Polynesian countries in the Pacific.

Tropical Cyclone Evan passed over Samoa on 13-14 December 2012 and caused widespread damage. This report evaluates the Tropical Cyclone Evan Recovery and Rehabilitation Programme (TCRRP), which was implemented as budget support, and the Tourism Cyclone Recovery Programme (TCRP) which was implemented as a program.

This paper draws on data from the new Samoa Election Results database to highlight salient features and trends in Samoa’s electoral history.

The concept of Temporary Special Measures (TSM) was introduced in the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women came into force in 1979. Besides Samoa the rest of the Pacific countries have been slow to adopt TSM, which may...

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis), is widely grown in the Pacific islands where it is often an integral part of traditional agroforestry systems. There are substantial immediate market opportunities to expand fresh and frozen breadfruit export markets – however, significant marketing constraints remain.

In 2010, I was seconded from my classroom teaching position to work as a facilitator in the implementation of the newly-established National Standards. In this role, I ran in-depth Literacy and Assessment workshops in schools. I found that despite the national effort to close the...

Third in a series of papers on the role of Sovereign Funds (SFs) in the Pacific Islands, this report suggests a 'reference portfolio' approach as a benchmark governance choice for Pacific Island funds

This report summarises the research that has been undertaken on Sovereign Funds in the Pacific and draws out key findings, lessons and opportunities for funds to move closer to “best practice”.

There are many factors as to why Pasifika learners are not achieving alongside the rest of their social groups. Some factors may relate to socioeconomics, poverty, barriers to learning, and a school environment not conducive to Pasifika ways of being. School boards govern schools and...

The thesis addresses significant gaps in the existing knowledge on land rights in the Pacific, which are the voices of urban women, fa’afafine, and fakaleitī1. The lands concerned are customary land in Samoa, and Crown owned land in Tonga. The knowledge in the thesis relates...

This Samoan study explores people’s experiences and understandings of climate change, including whether and how climate-related factors have influenced internal and international mobility patterns in the last 30 years. This interdisciplinary village and family-based study combined a Samoan worldview which acknowledges the place of traditional...