Case study atlas
Strengthening Sustainable Fisheries Development in Tuvalu: A Collaborative Approach
Scoping and designing a new phase of MFAT support aligned with Tuvalu Fisheries Department’s corporate plan.
The challenge
The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) had invested in a four-year programme of support to bolster Tuvalu's fisheries sector. As phase 2 of the Fisheries Sector Programme approached, MFAT commissioned a report to scope and explore various strategic options. After the business case gained approval, MFAT re-engaged Future Partners to develop a comprehensive design document to guide implementation of the new phase of support.
What we did
- In 2020, Kirsty Burnett and Ian Cartwright engaged with Tuvaluan government officials, private sector representatives, and community stakeholders to align priorities for fisheries sector interventions with the Tuvalu Fisheries Department's Corporate Plan. They shared their findings with the Tuvalu Fisheries Department (TFD), MFAT, and other stakeholders, providing a draft list of proposed interventions with indicative costings; due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, the final Activity Design workshop and Q&A session were conducted remotely.
- Kirsty and Ian delivered a detailed analysis of Corporate Plan objectives, mapped against the support from various development partners, ensuring clarity on roles and preventing overlaps or gaps in support.
- They provided a comprehensive rationale for each proposed intervention — outlining the problems, issues, and justifications — giving MFAT officials, who may not specialise in fisheries, sufficient understanding, and highlighted key success indicators to enhance a Monitoring, Evaluation, Results and Learning (MERL) Framework during implementation.
Outcomes
Benefits for partners The resulting Activity Design, complete with a MERL Framework and budget, was aligned with the TFD’s Corporate Plan. This groundwork offered MFAT a range of viable options, enabling timely approval of the business case. Consequently, the creation of a full Activity Design became a straightforward process. This initiative underscores the importance of sound and strategic planning in relation to international development investments, within the Pacific Islands' fisheries sector. “Kirsty and Ian are a ‘dream team.’ One focused on MFAT’s business processes, and the other was a well-regarded fisheries management expert who knew Tuvalu. They efficiently got on with the job, were self-sufficient, sought input as needed, engaged with the key stakeholders, and produced documents that needed little additional work.” Sam Finakaso, Director of Fisheries, TFD
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