UniSC and MORDI Tonga Trust sign MOU advancing Pacific-led research and community development

30 Aug UniSC and MORDI Tonga Trust sign MOU advancing Pacific-led research and community development

SUNSHINE COAST, AUSTRALIA | 13 August 2026 — The University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) and MORDI Tonga Trust have formalised a new partnership aimed at strengthening collaboration in research, capacity building and community-led development across Tonga and the wider Pacific.

The partnership was formalised through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at UniSC’s Sunshine Coast campus on 13 August, bringing together UniSC’s Pacific research expertise through the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research (ACPIR) and MORDI Tonga Trust’s extensive community networks and development experience across Tonga.

The collaboration will focus on research and initiatives addressing some of the Pacific’s most pressing development priorities, including climate resilience, food security, sustainable agriculture, community wellbeing, disaster preparedness and inclusive economic development.

For MORDI Tonga Trust, the partnership builds on almost two decades of working alongside rural and outer island communities to strengthen livelihoods, enhance resilience and support locally led development.

MORDI Tonga Trust’s long-standing presence across Tonga’s island groups provides strong community relationships, practical development experience and access to local and traditional knowledge. These strengths will support research that is co-designed with communities, locally relevant, inclusive and responsive to Pacific priorities.

The partnership will also create opportunities for joint research projects, student engagement, knowledge exchange, co-authored publications and the development of evidence-based solutions that bring together academic research and Pacific knowledge systems.

UniSC Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Professor Ross Young, said the agreement reflected a shared commitment to building partnerships based on trust and using research to address real-world challenges facing Pacific communities.

“We are conscious, in our position as Australia’s youngest public university, that we seek to grow relationships with key partners built on trust and how we use the research we’re generating to help solve real problems,” Professor Young said.

MORDI Tonga Trust Board of Trustees Chairman Dr Vili ‘Apifo’ou Fuavao said the MoU represented an important milestone in a relationship between the two organisations that has spanned more than 15 years.

“This is another step in affirming our existing partnership,” Dr Fuavao said.

The partnership provides a foundation for both organizations to expand their existing collaboration and explore new opportunities for research, learning and knowledge exchange across Tonga and the wider Pacific.

By combining UniSC’s research capabilities with MORDI Tonga Trust’s community-based development expertise, the partnership aims to ensure that research contributes to practical solutions and strengthens the capacity of Pacific communities to shape their own development priorities.

The MoU was signed by Dr Vili ‘Apifo’ou Fuavao and Professor Ross Young at a ceremony attended by representatives from UniSC, ACPIR and MORDI Tonga Trust.