Pacific Islands Development Program

What Pacific Islands Development Program does

The Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) is a capacity-building, leadership development, and policy research program operated by the East-West Center, a non-profit educational institution established by the U.S. Congress and headquartered in Honolulu, Hawai'i. Founded in 1980 at the request of Pacific Islands leaders under the guidance of Fiji Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and Hawai'i Governor George Ariyoshi, PIDP serves national and regional government leaders as well as communities across approximately 25 Pacific Island nations and territories, including American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu. Its work spans leadership development, governance training, policy research, regional cooperation, community engagement, and alumni engagement through the broader East-West Center network.

PIDP's offerings are organized as a portfolio of programmatic areas rather than commercial products: Leadership Development and Governance (including the Pacific Islands Leadership Program, or PILP), Community Engagement and Development (including the PacYES youth initiative), Our Place in the Region (regional positioning analysis), Publications and Information, and a slate of signature events such as the Micronesian Conference of Leaders, Celebrate Micronesia Festival, and the Cultural Animation Film Festival. Personnel is led by Director Hon. Henry Puna (appointed February 2026) and Deputy Director Jaimee Neel (appointed June 2026).

PIDP is funded primarily through institutional and grant-based channels rather than commercial revenue; there are no disclosed pricing models, customer contracts, or revenue figures. Key institutional partners include the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOU extended September 2025 to continue and expand PILP) and the Hawaii Pacific Foundation (Doctoral Research Award). The program distributes its work through direct engagement with governments, event-based programming, alumni networks, and digital channels including Facebook, X/Twitter, LinkedIn, and an email newsletter.

Name

Pacific Islands Development Program

Legal name

East-West Center

Website

https://pidp.eastwestcenter.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Pacific Islands Development Program is a non-profit capacity-building and policy research program of the East-West Center, founded in 1980 to serve Pacific Island governments and communities through leadership training, regional cooperation, and policy research across the Pacific region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Development and Capacity Building Services

NAICS

National Security and International Affairs (928), Administration of Education Programs (923110)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Cooperation, Capacity Building & Policy Advisory Programs (BPADABAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education, Skills & Workforce Development Aid Programs (BPADABAE), Development Cooperation & Foreign Aid Administration (BPAIAIAG)

Keywords

• Leadership development programs
• Capacity building services
• Policy research consulting
• Regional exchange programs
• Community engagement initiatives

Headquarters

HQ city

Honolulu

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Pacific Islands Development Program is a non-profit capacity-building, leadership development, and policy research program that delivers training, conferences, regional analysis, and community engagement to Pacific Island governments and communities. Core offerings include the Pacific Islands Leadership Program (PILP), PacYES youth and community engagement, regional policy analysis, publications, and signature events such as the Micronesian Conference of Leaders and Celebrate Micronesia Festival.

Product overview

The Pacific Islands Development Program (PIDP) is a research and capacity-building program established in 1980 at the East-West Center. Rather than a unified software product, PIDP operates as a portfolio of interconnected programmatic offerings organized around Pacific Islands development: Leadership Development and Governance (including the Pacific Islands Leadership Program), Community Engagement and Development, Our Place in the Region analysis, and Publications and Information. These programs work in concert to deliver capacity development, policy research, regional interchange, and alumni engagement across Pacific Island nations. The program also organizes signature events including the Micronesian Conference of Leaders, Celebrate Micronesia Festival, and Cultural Animation Film Festival.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Leadership Development and Governance Program (Pacific Islands Leadership Program - PILP)

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Taiwan Ministry of Foreign AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025Extended MOU on Pacific Islands Leadership Program. EWC President Celeste Connors and François Chih-chung Wu, deputy foreign minister, signed the MOU in Taipei to continue and expand the Pacific Islands Leadership Program collaboration.
• Hawaii Pacific FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHawaii Pacific Foundation provides the Doctoral Research Award supporting advanced research by doctoral students. This partnership enables graduate-level research related to Pacific Islands issues.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Broad incumbents

• Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA): Japan's bilateral development agency operating extensively in the Pacific with leadership training, technical cooperation and capacity building programs comparable to PIDP's PILP and policy advisory work.
• East-West Center: The parent institution of PIDP, the East-West Center is a U.S. Congressional-chartered institution conducting research, training and dialogue across Asia, the Pacific and the U.S. — directly comparable as the broader umbrella under which PIDP operates.
• Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade — Pacific Programs: Australia funds extensive Pacific leadership, governance and capacity-building initiatives (e.g. Australia Awards, Pacific Leadership Programme) that parallel PIDP's offerings and target overlapping Pacific Island audiences.
• Asian Development Bank (ADB) Pacific Office: Multilateral development financier operating major Pacific capacity-building, governance and economic programs in Pacific Island states — comparable institutional role in regional development assistance.

Direct peers

• Pacific Leadership Programme (PIF): The Pacific Islands Forum's flagship leadership initiative building leadership capacity among emerging Pacific leaders — directly comparable in target audience, content and method to PIDP's PILP.
• Pacific Islands Forum: The premier regional intergovernmental organization of Pacific Island states; comparable to PIDP as a convener of Pacific leaders and coordinator of regional policy cooperation, though governance-focused rather than capacity-building.
• Pacific Community (SPC): The principal scientific and technical organization for the Pacific region, delivering capacity development, research and policy advice to Pacific Island governments and administrations — overlapping directly with PIDP's mandate.
• Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF): Taiwan's bilateral development agency and a natural partner of PIDP through the PILP MOU; runs scholarship, technical training and human-resources development programs in Pacific Island partner states.

Regional players

• Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP): Pacific-based intergovernmental organization coordinating environmental and climate-resilience programs across Pacific Island states — comparable as a Pacific-focused capacity-building and policy advisory body, with overlapping government counterpart network.

Others

• Lowy Institute — Pacific Program: Australia-based policy think tank producing independent research on the Pacific Islands and convening policy dialogues — thematically adjacent to PIDP's policy research and regional interchange functions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PIDP_EWC
• Facebookfacebook.com/PacificIslandsDevelopmentProgram
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pacific-islands-development-program

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Pacific Islands Development Program