The Reserve Bank (RBF) has been selected as one of the recipients of the 2023 Fletcher Leadership Program for Financial Inclusion’s (FLPFI) Research Prize.
The FLPFI Research Prize is administered by the Fletcher School at Tufts University based in the USA which specialises in addressing the need for innovative financial inclusion solutions and targets policymakers from central banks, ministry of finance and other institutions that develop financial inclusion policies.
The research to be undertaken will cover gender analysis of financial products and services, a key deliverable under the RBF’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) 2022-2030.
As part of the implementation plan under the NFIS 2022-2030, the research aims to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the supply-side constraints and the regulatory and infrastructural impediments facing women in accessing and using formal financial products and services in Fiji.
The findings from the study will assist in formulating a Gender Inclusive Finance Roadmap, a first for Fiji.
The National Financial Inclusion Taskforce, through its Inclusive Finance Working Group, will provide oversight of this project.
Apart from the 2023 Fletcher Leadership Program, the RBF also partners with Monash University and Griffith University on research in areas such as social economic development, digitalisation, financial stability & macro economy and economic resilience.
These partnerships have cultivated stronger connections between our institutions and helped build local capacity in conducting credible policy-oriented research.
A successful outcome of the initial partnership between the RBF and Griffith University was the establishment of the South Pacific Centre for Central Banking (SPCCB) now renamed the Pacific Islands Centre for Development Policy and Research.
This research platform is focused on improving the institutional capacity of central banks in the Pacific.
Outcomes achieved so far include research publications (working papers and journal articles) as well as various engagement activities including forums, symposia, seminars, conferences, and training workshops.
