PIDF Institutional Structure Discussion Paper

PIDF Institutional Structure Discussion Paper, March 2015
Background
At the Second PIDF Summit in 2014
the Governing Council called for the
creation of an agreement to institutionalise the PIDF. The PIDF Agreement will
operationalise the vision of creating a United and Distinctive PSIDS Voice on Sustainable
Development.
The background context to the PIDF Agreement and consultation process is captured neatly
by the Rio+20 Future we Want and SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (Samoa Pathway)
outcomes documents. Sustainable development:
can only be achieved with a broad alliance of people, governments, civil society
and private sector, all working together to secure the future we want for present
and future generations. (Future we Want, para.14 and Samoa Pathway, para
1)1
This consultation process is aligned with the Outcomes Documents from the first two PIDF
Summits2 and the Guiding Principles set out by the Governing Council.
The Scope of Feedback Sought in this Consultation Process
A Draft Institutional Structure has been produced to prompt debate over how to turn the
PIDF vision into an institutional reality. This Structure was developed by the Senior Officials
Committee (SOC) and the Secretariat of the PIDF.
The research process that led to this Draft Institutional Structure involved reviewing the
structures of existing organisations that had the potential to meet the principles. These
organisations were the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Pacific
Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) and the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs,
Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF).3
A public consultation process is being undertaken to gather ideas and gauge support for the
Draft Institutional Structure. Your opinion is sought on the Structure before the consultation
phase moves onto developing a Draft PIDF Agreement, which will be distributed to PIDF
UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20), The Future we Want, Rio, June 2012 & SIDS,
Accelerated Modalities of Action (Samoa Pathway), Samoa, September 2014.
2
http://pacificidf.org/pidf-publications/
3
http://www.iucn.org/; https://www.pecc.org/; http://coraltriangleinitiative.org/
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A United, Distinctive and Sustainable Pacific Society
member countries for their consideration prior to the 3rd Annual Summit held in Denarau,
Fiji from August 12-14, 2015.
The Draft Institutional Structure is consistent with the PIDF Guiding Principles and mindful of
the evolution in the governance structure that has occurred to date.4 Therefore, public
feedback should also be consistent with these Guiding Principles.
The PIDF values your opinion and will consider all submissions that engage with the
principles behind the PIDF and address the challenges and opportunities facing the
institutionalisation of sustainable development policies across the Pacific.
PIDF Guiding Principles

The Governing Councils Guiding Principles include:
a) The vision, mission, purpose and function of PIDF [as expressed in the Summit
Outcomes Documents].
b) PIDF is to operate as an international organization with legal personality and shall be
accorded the requisite diplomatic privileges and immunities;
c) PIDFs members are representatives of the public sector (governments), private sector
and civil society;
d) PIDFs governance arrangements must inclusive representation of the public sector,
private sector and civil society and must include the following features:
The annual PIDF summit as the highest forum for policy determination with attendance at
leaders level;
A political level governing council that advises the annual summit on strategic policy
directions for PIDF;
A Ministerial Level Board that advises the Governing Council on strategic policy issues;
A senior officials committee that provide policy and strategic policy analysis and advice
to the governing council and directions to the Secretariat;
A Secretariat headed by a Secretary General that oversee the implementation of the
decisions of the annual summit, governing council and officials committee; and
Establishment of national PIDF committees charged with the coordination and the
implementation of PIDF decisions at national level.
e) All members of PIDF to contribute to the budget of the PIDF.
4
http://pacificidf.org/feedback/
2
In sum, the key principles concentrate on exclusive Pacific regionalism, inclusivity and multisectoral cooperation and collaboration.
Thematic Pillars
From the birth of the PIDF there was a consistent focus on the integration of the three
thematic pillars namely:
1. Leadership:
PIDF is to look at providing the current and future leadership of the Pacific with the space
to reflect together on the current challenges and find solutions together to address the
challenges. The Leadership pillar also grounds the discussion and solutions on the leaders
to demonstrate leadership in taking the initiatives to address and resolve development
challenges facing our region.
2. Innovation:
PIDFs second thematic pillar aims to provide the space and the platform for innovative
solutions to be presented to the PIDF Stakeholders to address development challenges.
Technological and science based solutions as well as cultural and traditional solutions will
be given the platform to demonstrate viability and relevance to the regions
development challenges
3. Partnership:
PIDF aims to build partnerships to assist Pacific Island countries address development
challenges. Partnership will seek to be as consultative as possible and will attempt to
build partnerships through its networks and with organisations, development and
academic agencies and other entities that have a common interest in addressing
development challenges that our region faces.
The PIDF Governance Vision
The challenge is to convert the triumvirate multi-stakeholder ambition of the PIDF
(government, civil society and private sector) into a governance structure.
Figure 1: Governance Relationships
3
Government
Civil
Society
Private
Sector
As it stands only the managerial element of the PIDF vision has been institutionalised (the
Leaders Council, Executive Board, Senior Officials Committee and Secretariat). An
implementation structure at the national level also needs to be operationalised and the
Draft Institutional Structure reflects this distinctive PIDF vision.
PIDF Membership Principles
The following membership principles capture the essence of the PIDF vision.
A Pacific for Pacific Islanders
Inclusivity
Ownership
Representation and Participation
Multi-stakeholder Governance
Sustainability
External Partners Welcome at Arms Length
4
Figure 2: Draft Institutional Structure
Governing Council
&
Executive Board
Senior Official's
Committee
Secretariat
Solomon Islands
National
Committee
Fiji National
Committee
Nauru National
Committee
etc
Development
Partners
This Draft Institutional Structure introduces and integrates National PIDF Committees into
present PIDF organisational arrangements, including specialist representatives of sectors
within a particular country.
National PIDF Committees will be responsible for the development, management and
implementation of a countrys national sustainable development/green growth strategy and
its integration with regional efforts that are covered by the PIDF Summit. As such, National
PIDF Committees will be composed of members of Government, the Private Sector and Civil
Society united by their nationality and by their commitment to sustainable
development/green growth principles.
Most of the day-to-day activities of the PIDF will occur through the National Committees
(e.g. project implementation). National Committees will function to centralise and focus
attention on key issues and be the clearinghouses through which project funding is
funnelled and managed. They will provide a platform for advancing green growth in areas
such as: Mining and Energy, Fisheries and Forestry, Tourism, Agriculture, Manufacturing and
Trade, Transport and Infrastructure, Health and Disaster Prevention. The precise agendas of
National Committees will be driven by national priorities.
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In order to promote inclusivity and participation a representative from each National

Committee will sit on the Senior Officials Committee. National PIDF Committees will report
to the PIDF Summit on national activities to further the sustainable development/green
growth agenda from across the sectors represented in that country.
Membership of the PIDF
The issue of PIDF membership is fundamental to any discussions of the PIDF institutional
structure. The Draft Institutional Structure is based on existing practice and the principles
expressed in PIDF Summit Outcomes Statements. The key principles are exclusive
regionalism (A Pacific for Pacific Islanders), inclusivity (representation and participation)
and multi-sectoral cooperation and collaboration.
The practice to date has been for national governments to select representatives to
institutional organs (such as the Senior Officials Committee) and to select delegates to
participate in PIDF Summits. Partners and Observers have also been invited to the Summits,
but have not participated in decision-making.
The Draft Institutional Structure moves beyond existing practice to embed PIDF activities at
the country level through National PIDF Committees. This will allow the sustainable
development/green growth agenda can be implemented and extended.
Present PIDF Membership focuses on the key managerial organs:
The Leaders Council. Currently the Leaders Council is composed of the leaders of Pacific
Islands that have participated in PIDF Summits and this will continue. The Chair of the
Executive Board will sit on the Governing Council to provide the link to the other
management organs.
The Executive Board. The Executive Board is composed of Ministerial level leaders from all
Pacific Islands that have participated at the PIDF Summit. It supports the Leaders Council
and provides oversight over the Secretariat. It has ministerial and executive level
membership from government, civil society and the private sector. It is proposed to
continue these arrangements. The Secretary General will be a member of the Executive
Board providing the bridge to the Senior Officials Committee and Secretariat.
The Senior Officials Committee. The Senior Officials Committee is composed of
representatives of National Committees of all Pacific Islands that have participated in PIDF
Summits, representatives of the private sector and civil society organisations, and the
Friends of the Chair. In the proposed structure the Senior Officials Committee will be
composed of the Chairs of Chairs of National Committees. This could mean that they could
be members of civil society or the private sector if selected by a National Committee to be
its Chair. Initially it may be practical for the Senior Officials Committee Chair to be the
Secretary General to assist the member governments in establishing their National PIDF
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Committees. Otherwise the Secretary General will be a member of the Senior Officials
Committee providing the bridge to the Executive Board and Secretariat.
Secretariat. The Secretariat is currently headed by the Secretary General (SG). The SG will be
appointed by the Executive Board through an open selection process and will continue to
manage the day-to-day operations of the PIDF.
New Categories of PIDF Membership/Association focussed on Implementation

New categories of membership are needed to focus on implementing the PIDF vision. To
guarantee independence and inclusivity implementation will primarily occur at the national
level, while external funding will be separated from governance arrangements (a Discussion
Paper on Funding Models has also been produced as part of this consultation process).
National PIDF Committees: As noted earlier, National PIDF Committees will be composed of
representatives of the member governments and national civil society and private sector.
National Committees would be seen as a key method of operationalising the PIDF vision of
inclusivity and multi-sectoral cooperation and therefore should have broad membership
from across the sectors relevant to that country. The precise composition of National
Committees and how they function would be guided by the member government.
PIDF Associate Partners: Cooperation with other institutional and individuals from within
and outside the Pacific will be welcomed. The existing Memoranda of Understanding
(MOUs) with the University of the South Pacific (USP) and Secretariat of the Pacific
Community (SPC) fit this category. The Partnerships with countries such as China, Russia,
Indonesia and UAE would also fit this category.
PIDF Associate Partners would be eligible to be Observers at PIDF Summits. However, they
would not be eligible to participate in the governance of the PIDF (they would be Associates
without voting rights). They would be able to contribute funds to the PIDF to support
thematic priorities or implement specific projects. This would be a key avenue for
collaboration with developing partners while keeping them at arms length from the
governance of the PIDF.
Next Steps: The Nature of the PIDF Agreement
This consultation document proposes a Draft Institutional Structure to operationalise the
PIDF vision. There are many questions that need to be answered before a Draft PIDF
Agreement can be finalised and it is hoped that this consultation process will resolve many
of them.
One final question is what shape the PIDF Agreement should take. Options range from a
charter whereby members could opt in, to a legally binding agreement signed by
representatives of governments. The PIDF has already been gazetted by the Government of
Fiji to grant it the status of an International Organisation and has a host agreement for the
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Secretariat. The question remains as to how it should be institutionalised. The PIDFs

inclusive and multi-sectoral vision would seem to support a charter, which civil society and
the private sector could opt in to, but a preference needs to be identified.
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PIDF Institutional Structure Discussion Paper, March 2015