Current work

Kiribati

P4SP is supporting the Government of Kiribati to implement its new social protection reform agenda. This includes providing both long term and short term technical advisory support to help establish the government’s Social Protection Unit which is leading social protection policy and reform in Kiribati.

Our engagement with the Government of Kiribati has helped strengthen the delivery of existing social protection schemes and ensure reforms are informed by accurate and contextually relevant evidence. Our social protection experts are also supporting the Government of Kiribati to develop a management information system that will improve the delivery of social protection schemes delivered by the Social Protection Unit.

Fiji

In Fiji, we are supporting the government to progress its ambitious social protection reform agenda, led by the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection (MWCSP). In early 2023, the P4SP team conducted a technical review of Fiji’s six key social assistance schemes. This review focused on a range of issues, including beneficiary selection, and the systems and processes needed to support effective and efficient program implementation. From mid-2023 onwards we will work in partnership with MWCSP to implement recommendations from the review, focusing on policy change, operational reform, and digitisation of social protection systems.

Tonga

P4SP provides technical support to the Government of Tonga to help strengthen their Social Welfare Scheme for the Elderly, and Disability Welfare Scheme. We work closely with the National Retirement Benefits Fund, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Finance to deliver this support.

In 2023, P4SP delivered social protection training and analysis to key social protection stakeholders. In 2024, P4SP conducted an operational review of the Social Welfare Scheme for the Elderly, identifying strengths and opportunities for enhancement. Our ongoing focus is to support the Government’s objectives in strengthening social protection to support the people of Tonga, through providing in-depth analysis and technical advice.

Training

A key role P4SP plays is to help institutions and other stakeholders across the Pacific and Timor-Leste to improve their knowledge and skills related to sustainable social protection, and to build strong networks of people working on similar issues in different countries. To date, P4SP has provided social protection training and workshops— both online and face-to-face— to over 170 people, with more than 70 percent of training participants identifying as female. Our online regional training, which was first delivered in mid-2022, has been very well-received and will continue over the life of the P4SP program.

In early 2023, P4SP also delivered a two-day social protection training in partnership with the Pacific Disability Forum in Suva, Fiji, as part of the Pacific Regional Conference on Disability. Training also forms part of P4SP’s support to individual countries. For example, in May 2023 P4SP conducted a three-day training course in Tonga which was attended by representatives of government, civil society, INGOs and multi-lateral organisations. Further training is planned for a number of countries including Tonga, in 2023/24.

Research and analytics

P4SP provides targeted research and analytics to partner governments to support them progress their social protection objectives. We also conduct research to build the evidence base on social protection in the Pacific region and Timor-Leste more broadly.

P4SP has developed costings and simulation tools for a number of countries in the region, and in 2022, conducted an analysis of social protection financing across the Pacific which has raised the profile of social protection in the Pacific and is being used to strengthen social protection advocacy, policy, and programming in the region.

In partnership with Sustineo, a consulting firm that provides technical and management services in Australia and the Indo-Pacific region, P4SP is undertaking a review of social protection evidence in the Pacific and Timor-Leste, to shine a light on the current evidence landscape and to identify gaps and opportunities for further research on social protection.

Completed work

Timor-Leste

From late 2021 to mid-2024, P4SP worked with the Partnership for Human Development (PHD) program– another Australian Government funded development program. Together, PHD and P4SP provided technical support to the Government of Timor-Leste on the implementation of Bolsa da Mae – Jerasaun Foun (BdM-JF) – a new social protection scheme for pregnant women, children up to the age of six, and children with disabilities.

We supported BdM-JF by providing a long-term social protection technical adviser embedded within the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion from August 2022 – March 2024. We also provided on-demand, tailored, short-term technical advice in a range of areas, including program monitoring and evaluation, and quantitative analysis.

In partnership with Alinea International, we undertook a qualitative baseline study in early 2023 to better understand how BdM-JF impacted the lives of mothers and children. By supporting the Government of Timor-Leste, we supported building a more inclusive social protection system that will reach more communities across the country.

The Government of Timor-Leste ended the BdM-JF scheme in December 2023.