Sustainable Development Goal 4.b in the Pacific – A pilot study for monitoring tertiary education scholarships for development

United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. SDG 4 includes 10 targets, of which Target 4.b aims to expand higher education scholarships for developing countries. Target 4.b leverages the benefits of international education to support countries in achieving SDG 4. For host and sending countries, the exchange of students across borders shares the societal benefits produced by tertiary education (knowledge, information, innovation) (Perna et al., 2014). The modality of scholarships broadens access to high-quality tertiary education in areas necessary for locally-led development and provides opportunities for partnership and collaboration to achieve the SDGs. Although SDG 4.b makes clear the objective is to contribute to building human capital and knowledge in low- and middle-income countries, it is not explicit as to which scholarships should be included in measuring the achievement of the target (Balfour, 2016; IIE2016; Antoninis, 2018). In particular, the inclusion or exclusion of providers outside of traditional donors, such as developing countries and non-state actors like corporations and universities, is not explicit in Target 4.b (Balfour, 2016; Antoninis, 2018). The reality is that various stakeholders are implementing international scholarships for developing countries, and the breadth of this contribution to human capital development is unclear. Therefore, the approach to monitoring SDG 4.b in this pilot study aims to include a broad range of stakeholders involved in funding international scholarships. Unlike other monitoring attempts, this study not only focuses on official development assistance (ODA) from developed countries but also specifically includes contributions from developing countries and non-state actors.