Building Blue Coalitions: Mobilising Capital for Small Island Developing States
Back to Blue, a joint initiative of Economist Impact and The Nippon Foundation, addresses the urgent challenge of declining ocean health.
Learn how we work with these types of clients:
→ Finance and investment
→ Philanthropy and impact
→ Government
Explore the services featured in this project:
→ Qualitative research
→ Stakeholder engagement and coalition building
Objective
Commissioned by Economist Impact to augment its internal capacity, The Action Exchange conducted an assessment of how regional delivery frameworks might offer a breakthrough for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in accessing blue finance.
The aim was to move beyond high-level environmental goals to identify specific investment mechanisms, positioning the initiative as a definitive authority on the ocean economy ahead of a major global summit.
Approach
The work was built on a foundation of qualitative research, involving more than 50 in-depth interviews with decision-makers across government, investment and civil society.
This programme of stakeholder engagement and coalition building enabled a nuanced exploration of the structural barriers facing SIDS. Rather than offering a generic roadmap, the analysis focused on the practicalities of regional cooperation, translating complex institutional challenges into a coherent narrative designed to resonate with a sophisticated policy and investment
Outcome
The assessment has begun to shift the global conversation on blue finance for SIDS, providing a credible evidence base for regional delivery models that were previously under-explored.
As well as clarifying how these frameworks can bridge the financing gap for SIDS, the project has engaged an international coalition of stakeholders needed to deliver long-term impact. This work cements Back to Blue as a central participant in the discourse and provides a platform for more ambitious, evidence-led engagement with SIDS and funders.
Key results:
The campaign delivered strong reach with 22K link clicks and above-benchmark engagement across social platforms, indicating high content relevance and consistent audience interaction. It also generated 105 post shares, reflecting strong organic visibility among high-intent audiences.
A dynamic infographic was developed to visualise key points from the report. It delivered scaled engagement with 33K clicks and steady engagement rate across social platforms, validating audience preference for digestible, infographic-led formats. There were 356 shares on Meta highlight high content virality and audience willingness to amplify.
