IB2018/4 Research into Constituency Development Funds in Solomon Islands

Public funds directly allocated to elected officials for use in their electorates are often referred to as constituency development funds (CDFs). Over the past decade, public policy scholars and government officials have become increasingly interested in the use and operation of CDFs (Baskin and Mezey 2014; CPA 2016). Baskin (2014:2) documented the relatively modest growth of CDFs in developing countries from 1980 to 2000 and their rapid acceleration from 2000 to 2010. In Solomon Islands (and in its close neighbour Papua New Guinea), CDFs have risen to internationally unprecedented levels. This In-Brief provides an overview of a current research project that is examining how CDFs are managed at the constituency level in Solomon Islands. It describes the context for the research, the approach taken to fieldwork, which was completed by a team of local and international researchers from the Australian National University in 2017, and provides some initial impressions from the field.