SPC is the leading implementing agency for PROJECT Governance and is collaborating with sub-grantee partners: East-West Center (EWC), CARE International and the International Foundation of Electoral Systems (IFES).  

The project is operating at both the national and regional level, providing technical assistance, capacity development, and creating platforms for growth and dialogue. It is engaging stakeholders at various levels, from grassroots communities to political leaders. These stakeholders include national and sub-national governments, local communities, financial and anti-corruption specialists, journalists, judges, politicians, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), youth, women and traditional and faith-based leaders. The activities of PROJECT Governance is aligned to the long-term vision of the 2050 Strategy for Blue Pacific.  

PROJECT Governance is implemented using SPC’s People-Centred Approach (PCA), consisting of four interconnected and mutually reinforcing components: human rights, gender equality and social inclusion, Pacific cultures, and environmental sustainability.  

Goal

A stronger Blue Pacific through the sustainable practice of sound, just, and responsive governance

Target Countries

It is implemented in 12 Pacific Island Countries (PICs): The Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Palau, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, Nauru, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.  

Objectives

PROJECT Governance has three main objectives:  

1. Strengthen Sound Governance - Sound governance requires integrity in government transactions. However, a critical gap that continues to undermine efforts to implement sound governance is the limited availability of key data (open data) on governance and human rights. PROJECT Governance is reshaping transparency incentives and removing technical or capacity barriers to governments sharing data with their citizens and with each other.
2. Bolster Just Governance - PROJECT Governance activities will promote fair and equal application of laws and integrity of electoral and political processes that represent the will and interests of the people (just governance). The following PROJECT Governance activities are working to strengthen PICs National Mechanisms for Implementation, Reporting and Follow-up (NMIRFs) and National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), and bolster Pacific judiciaries commitment to human rights.
3. Enhance Responsive Governance - Responsive governance exists when government institutions and policies are accessible, accountable, and responsive to the people they serve, especially disadvantaged groups. The activities in the following objective aims to increase civic engagement through the promotion of civil society, role of media, academia and the private sector’s engagement in local and national governance processes and implementation of policies. 

A number of initiatives are part of PROJECT Governance, such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Advisory Opinion on state obligations concerning climate change. This is an unprecedented case that allows for Pacific Islands to provide input on an issue that affects them most. The background of the case—with the cause initially spearheaded by Pacific youth and then taken up by the Government of Vanuatu—underlines the importance of Pacific participation in this groundbreaking case.

For more information on the latest news, updates, and resources for PROJECT Governance and its sub-grantee partners, please visit the PROJECT Governance website: https://projectgov.org/