Solomon Islands and Vanuatu Strengthen Provincial Governance Through Peer Capacity Building Workshop

The Provincial Governance Strengthening Program, under the Ministry of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening, wrapped up a week-long peer capacity building workshop on the performance-based grant system in Port Villa, Vanuatu on Friday, 19th June 2026.

During his opening address, Mr. Ian Abbil, Director of the Department of LoCAL Authorities (DLA), welcomed the Deputy Secretary of MPGIS and the Provincial Governance Strengthening Program team. The Director of DLA expressed gratitude to the delegation for accepting the invitation to travel to Port Villa and facilitating this valuable peer capacity training for Vanuatu’s provincial governments. Highlighting the workshop’s objectives, the Director emphasized the significance of this second stage of peer exchange, noting that it enables Vanuatu’s Provincial Secretaries to directly engage with the delegation and seek guidance regarding performance-based grants in preparations for a similar system in Vanuatu by learning from PCDF.

Mr. Nelson Ari, the Deputy Secretary for Operations at MPGIS, stated in his remarks that the visit builds upon the strong groundwork established during the high-level delegation’s trip to Honiara the previous year. According to the delegation’s review and the final report, the Provincial Capacity Development Fund from PGSP presents a model that could be adapted for Vanuatu’s needs. This alignment, he explained, is not accidental, as both countries share comparable governance frameworks, face similar development challenges, and are equally committed to enhancing provincial systems that deliver meaningful results to their communities. The experiences of Solomon Islands, the successes, setbacks, and lessons learned are directly relevant to Vanuatu’s goals of strengthening the local authorities and creating a window for capital development funding.

What began as a peer exchange in December 2025 has evolved into a more comprehensive program focused on peer capacity building. The recent reciprocal invitation marks a growing partnership built on trust, common priorities, and mutual respect. In this new phase, officials from Department of Local Authorities, Department of Strategic Policy, Planning and Aid Coordination (DSSPAC), Ministry of Finance and Economic Management (MFEM), and provincial authorities will collaborate through hands-on practical learning to further strengthen institutional capacity in both nations.

The objectives are to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing among sister agencies on performance-based grants, strengthen officials’ technical skills through peer learning and proven practices, and support the integration of effective approaches into Vanuatu’s policies and systems for lasting impact.

The four-day workshop addressed the following key topics:

• An overview of the SI PGSP and PCDF, including governance arrangements, access conditions, performance assessment, as well as operational policies, frameworks, and guidelines for the PCDF.
• Participatory planning and budgeting, focusing on inclusive, bottom-up processes.
• Integrating risk awareness and resilience into provincial and subnational development strategies through planning and budgeting, with emphasis on safeguards, disaster preparedness, and risk reduction.
• Strategies for developing provincial government capacity to facilitate decentralization in development and service delivery.
• Leveraging data and information to generate evidence for improved planning, budgeting, policy formulation, and decision-making. This included the significance of monitoring, evaluation, research, learning, and practical methodologies for MEL in provinces, such as Ward Profiling and Integrated Vulnerability Assessments.
• Ensuring financial oversight and accountability, effective financial management of the PCDF, as well as approaches to financing and resource mobilization.

On the last day of the workshop, the DLA formed an internal task force to come up with way forward and the next steps.

The Solomon Islands team included Mr Nelson Ari (Deputy Secretary, Operations, MPGIS), Momodou Lamin Sawaneh (Chief Technical Advisor, MPGIS and Program Manager, Integrated Economic Development and Community Resilience Project), and Mr Alfy Davies (National Engineer). Technical officials from DLA, Provincial Offices, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Corporate Services Unit, DSSPAC, MFEM, UNDP Gov4resilience, and the Governance for Growth (Vanuatu) Program participated.