A formative evaluation of the RIF highlights strong early performance, alongside targeted opportunities to optimise delivery, consistency, and long-term impact
Between March and October 2025, Sapere in partnership with Tiria was engaged by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to undertake a formative evaluation of the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) during its early stages of implementation.
At the time of evaluation, the $1.2 billion fund – established through Budget 2024 – had already begun allocating capital (overview of projects progressing through the pipeline at time of review shown in diagrams below by focus area and applicant type), with its first funded project completing a post-delivery report under the fund’s monitoring and evaluation framework. In this context, there was an early but meaningful evidence base to assess whether the RIF was positioned to achieve its intended outcomes.
A system grounded in established capability
The RIF’s implementation builds on the operational foundations set up by Kānoa – Regional Economic Development & Investment Unit. Our evaluation found that Kānoa’s existing systems and delivery approaches have been effectively leveraged, providing a solid platform for implementation.
Stakeholder feedback was typically very positive in relation to applicants’ engagement with Kānoa engagement leads, where their value in navigating the fund and identifying opportunities was highlighted – indicating strong relational capability within the system.
Performance is broadly on track – though not yet optimal
Across most dimensions, the fund was performing as expected at this early stage. Notably, the overall delivery process exceeded expectations, reflecting effective early execution.
However, several areas emerged where performance, while acceptable, could be strengthened to optimise further over time:
- Integration across teams within Kānoa remains uneven, affecting consistency in application handling and decision-making
- Reporting and learning systems were initially underdeveloped, though improvements are underway
- Communication and transparency could be enhanced, particularly around assessment processes and decision rationale
- Timeliness of decisions and system usability presented practical challenges for some applicants
This pattern – where baseline performance is sound but improvement opportunities remain – is consistent with early-stage programme delivery. The evaluation focuses deliberately on how the system can continue to evolve toward best practice.
Key system-level insights
The evaluation highlights a central tension: the RIF is both well-supported and relationship-driven, yet somewhat dependent on individual engagement roles to function effectively. While this enables flexibility and responsiveness, it also introduces variability.
Greater standardisation – through clearer guidance, improved systems, and stronger integration – will be critical to ensuring consistent, scalable delivery as the fund progresses.
Five priority recommendations for strengthening delivery
We identified five high-level actions to enhance performance and support long-term impact:
- Strengthen integration, governance, and knowledge management to improve consistency, data quality, and system-wide learning
- Clarify scope and eligibility criteria, including distinctions between project types and funding requirements
- Improve transparency in assessment and decision-making, including clearer application of evaluation frameworks
- Streamline application systems, improving usability and functionality for applicants
- Reduce administrative burden, particularly for smaller or lower-risk projects, by aligning application complexity with project scale.
These recommendations are designed to move the RIF from effective early delivery toward an optimised approach to best support delivering sustained regional impact.
Our team included
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