Between March and October 2025, Sapere, in partnership with Tiria, evaluated the early implementation of the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment while projects and governance arrangements were still evolving. Most areas were performing as expected, with the overall process exceeding expectations.
Key recommendations focused on improving integration, governance, transparency, application systems, and reducing administrative burden for smaller or lower-risk applicants.
We commend Kānoa and MBIE for the:
1) work it has put into developing and implementing its monitoring and evaluation framework for the RIF
2) openness and focus continuous improvement that we observed in our engagements with them as part of our work and in relation to our recommendations.
Our team included: Angus White, Matthew Williamson, Dr Jamie O’Hare and David Moore.