This seminar presents findings from Waves of Resilience: ADB’s Support to Small Island Developing States.
Small island developing states (SIDS) face a distinct constellation of structural constraints, including geographic isolation; vulnerability to climate change, disasters, and economic shocks; limited institutional capacity; and narrow private sectors. These constraints interact to shape, and often limit, development outcomes. This seminar presents findings from Waves of Resilience: ADB’s Support to Small Island Developing States, a recently completed evaluation by the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Independent Evaluation Department (IED) examining ADB’s strategies and operations across its 16 SIDS developing member countries during 2012–2024.
Drawing on an analysis of 265 sovereign operations, 132 technical assistance projects, and eight nonsovereign operations, as well as country missions to Fiji, Kiribati, Maldives, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, and Tonga, the presentation explores how development partners can more effectively support resilience in countries facing persistent structural constraints. It highlights lessons on institutional capacity building, climate and economic resilience, long-term program design, and differentiated approaches to development support.
The seminar concludes with a discussion of the implications for institutions supporting small island developing states across the Asia-Pacific region.
Event Speakers
Emmanuel Jimenez
Emmanuel Jimenez is Director General, Independent Evaluation Department of the Asian Development Bank. Reporting to ADB’s Board of Directors, his responsibilities include assessing ADB’s development effectiveness, as well as providing lessons to inform ADB operations.
Nassreena S. Baddiri
Nassreena S. Baddiri is a Senior Evaluation Specialist at the Independent Evaluation Department (IED) of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), where she leads corporate, thematic, and country-level evaluations. She currently leads IED's evaluation of the Asian Development Fund (ADF) 13 and 14.