Programs & Projects

The Pacific Islands Program

The Pacific Islands Program

A focus on Pacific Islands has been a central component of the Lowy Institute’s work for more than a decade. We research contemporary challenges facing the Pacific islands region in areas including geostrategic competition, sustainable economic development, governance and leadership challenges, poverty alleviation, and Australia’s relationship with Pacific countries and organisations. We also hold major conferences, workshops, dialogues and exchanges. We have produced influential work on Australia’s Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, the 2006 Fiji Coup, normalising Australia’s bilateral relationship with Fiji, Australia’s bilateral relationship with Papua New Guinea, the future development challenges of Papua New Guinea, the economic benefits of greater labour mobility between Australia and the South Pacific, security and resilience dynamics in the Pacific, and foreign aid flows in the Pacific.

The Institute manages four major projects focusing on the Pacific:

The Pacific Research Program (PRP) is a consortium partnership between the Lowy Institute and the Australian National University’s Department of Pacific Affairs and Development Policy Centre, with the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The PRP is designed to be a globally pre-eminent centre of excellence for research on the Pacific. Read more details .

The program contributes to the Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map which is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and is designed to enhance aid effectiveness in the Pacific.

The Australia-PNG Network is a project supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, designed to foster people-to-people links between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Read more details.

The South Pacific Fragile States Project was a project supported by the Department of Defence to produce independent research and forward looking analysis on the key drivers of instability in the South Pacific and the associated security challenges for Australia and the wider region. Read more details.

The Mapping Foreign Assistance in the Pacific Project

The Lowy Institute Pacific Aid Map is an analytical tool designed to enhance aid effectiveness in the Pacific by improving coordination, alignment, and accountability of foreign aid through enhanced transparency of aid flows. The Pacific Aid Map has collected data on close to 13,000 projects in 14 countries supplied by 62 donors from 2011 onwards. All data has been made freely available on this interactive platform, allowing users to investigate and manipulate the information in a variety of ways. The Pacific Aid Map is supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.


Country profiles from Pacific Islands countries can be found here.

The Chinese Aid in the Pacific map is no longer maintained, and the data can be found in the Acidic Aid Map.

Experts
Latest publications
News and media
China and Taiwan are big Pacific donors – but not for gender equality
China and Taiwan are big Pacific donors – but not for gender equality
This year, Lowy Institute researchers used Pacific Aid Map data among other sources to ascertain how much aid has been spent on gender equality initiatives in the Pacific between…
Digital dominoes: Australia’s strategic play in the Pacific
Digital dominoes: Australia’s strategic play in the Pacific
Pacific Island countries, with their sprawling geography, have been caught in a digital divide. Lack of critical, digitally enabling infrastructure slows down development progress…
The US–Pacific Islands Partnership, one year on
Commentary
The US–Pacific Islands Partnership, one year on
Originally published in Pacific Island Times, 22 September 2023.
Infrastructure for influence: Pacific Islands building spree
Infrastructure for influence: Pacific Islands building spree
There is a building spree going on in our neighbourhood as Pacific Island countries leverage geopolitical rivalries to fill a huge gap. A rough estimate is that the region needs…
Pacific Aid Map 2023 - Key Findings Report
Reports
Pacific Aid Map 2023 - Key Findings Report
The annual Pacific Aid Map — launched by the Lowy Institute in 2018 — is an analytical tool designed to improve aid and development effectiveness in the Pacific Islands region. It…
2023 Pacific Aid Map
Interactives
2023 Pacific Aid Map
Australia is the Pacific's largest development partner in our sixth annual interactive, mapping every aid project in the Pacific from 2008–2021 as the region faces new development…
Reducing remittance costs in the Pacific Islands
Policy Briefs
Reducing remittance costs in the Pacific Islands
Despite years of policy efforts from G20 nations, fees for remitting to Pacific Islands are still among the most expensive in the world.
PNG’s fuel crisis to further calls for exchange-rate reform
Commentary
PNG’s fuel crisis to further calls for exchange-rate reform
Originally published in The Economist Intelligence Unit
Troubles and Puzzles: The 2022 General Elections in Papua New Guinea
Journal Articles
Troubles and Puzzles: The 2022 General Elections in Papua New Guinea
Originally published in The Journal of Pacific History 
Voice of America
18 July 2023