Monitoring and Evaluation of the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus

The Project at A Glance

The Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus) is a trade and development agreement focused on improving economic prosperity and resilience in the Pacific region. PACER Plus intends to create the conditions to remove some of the unique challenges faced by Pacific Island Countries, such as limited employment opportunities, isolation and small, narrow markets.

International Economics, with funding from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFTAT) and in consortium with Oxford Policy Management, designed an overarching monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework for PACER Plus and associated initiatives.

What We Found

The project’s overall objective was to provide MFAT with an overview of how the different initiatives act together to reach a common goal and provide a zero draft of indicators that will be instrumental in measuring the progress made towards that final objective. International Economics also identified a series of common difficulties that clients face whenever they implement such M&E frameworks and outlined an implementation strategy for the proposed M&E system.

Our Strategy and Impact

The team at International Economics elaborated a draft M&E tool based on Theory of Change (ToC) and a Draft High Level Indicator Table (HILT). The derivation of the ToC logic and HILT, were based on the independent evaluation’s readings of the Pacer Plus framework of agreements and initiatives, literature review on sustainable impact assessments of FTA agreements, Aid for Trade literature and other relevant documents applicable to the context of small island development states, and where possible to the specific context of the Pacific Region. The outputs were used by MFAT to to ensure that the outcomes of PACER Plus can be tracked and assessed in a cohesive overarching monitoring and evaluation framework that covers PACER Plus constituent parts.

Our Core Solutions

Governments, international donors, and the private sector face many important questions on the expected outputs and impact before, during and after the implementation of their projects. Applying our analysis and research knowledge, we help our clients maximise efficiency and improve their development objectives. Through the lessons learnt and the feedback mechanisms we implement in our monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) processes, we support institutional strengthening and the re-alignment of resources to ensure the sustainability and maximum impact of projects, helping our clients make well-informed strategic decisions.