About
Mission
RESI is an initiative hosted by ODI Global dedicated to strengthening the voice, visibility and influence of Small Island Developing States in global decision-making.
Small Island Developing States sit at the intersection of many of the defining challenges of our time. Climate change, debt, food and energy security, biodiversity loss and geopolitical shifts are already reshaping island economies, communities and futures.
But SIDS are not only places where global challenges are felt first. They are also places where solutions are being pioneered.
Across the world, island nations are developing new approaches to climate resilience, adaptation, finance and sustainable development, generating knowledge and experience with relevance far beyond their shores. Yet too often, that knowledge is fragmented across institutions, disconnected from lived experience or lost through political and institutional change.
exists to change how governments and institutions work together to address the most pressing challenges facing small island developing states.
Hosted by ODI Global, an independent, non-partisan global affairs think tank, RESI serves as a central knowledge and engagement hub focused exclusively on Small Island Developing States.
We preserve institutional memory, connect research and lived experience, track progress over time and make knowledge about SIDS accessible to the policymakers, diplomats, researchers, funders, advocates and communities working to shape island futures.
Our approach brings together two powerful tools for influence: evidence and story.
Evidence
Through our flagship State of SIDS report and wider research, RESI brings together fragmented knowledge and translates it into clear, accessible and actionable insight. By tracking the issues shaping SIDS over time, we help preserve lessons, identify progress and provide decision-makers with a stronger foundation for action.
Story
Through films, podcasts, events and editorial storytelling, RESI elevates island voices and brings audiences closer to the people, communities and ideas behind the evidence. We create space for island leaders, practitioners and communities to share not only the challenges they face, but the solutions they are building.
At RESI, we believe evidence alone rarely changes the world, and stories alone rarely change systems. Real change happens when evidence and story work together.
By bringing both into the same ecosystem, RESI helps preserve knowledge, amplify island leadership and ensure that progress is not lost. Our mission is to help ensure that Small Island Developing States do not just appear on global agenda, but help shape them.
The RESI Platform
For researchers
The report repository: every RESI paper, and the evidence behind it, gathered in one place instead of scattered across institutions.
Fresh data
The datasets behind the dashboards, as they are updated, rather than whenever they next appear in a publication.
First looks
The Climate Blueprint films, and the work around them, before they are released.
What comes next
As the platform opens up, a place to keep your own reading, requests and working notes.