Most complex problems don't have simple solutions. In sustainable fisheries, where environmental pressures, community livelihoods, government policy, and global markets collide — the difference between good intentions and real change often comes down to one thing: coordination.
For philanthropies like the Walton Family Foundation, a consortium approach led by a strong secretariat can offer something rare: genuine leverage. Coordination reduces duplication, amplifies synergies, and ensures every dollar works harder. A unified platform gives government a clear partner for policy adoption. And the relationships and governance structures built through a consortium are designed to outlast any single grant cycle.
In complex systems, investing in the coordination layer is where the system actually moves.
When the Problem Is Too Big for Any One Organization
Indonesia's tuna fisheries are extraordinary. Ecologically rich, economically vital, and foundational to thousands of coastal communities across one of the world's most complex archipelagic environments. They're also under serious pressure. Overfishing, data gaps, climate variability, and the sheer scale of managing fisheries across vast ocean territory makes Indonesian fishery management incredibly difficult. No single NGO, government agency, or private sector actor can tackle this problem alone.
The Indonesia Tuna Consortium (TC) was built to bring the disparate actors with a vested in interest in Indonesian tuna fisheries together. And its strong secretariat model is what glues the coalition together.
More Than a Coalition: A Coordinated System
The Tuna Consortium brings together a powerhouse lineup of nonprofit partners: Yayasan Konservasi Alam Nusantara (YKAN) contributes scientific and technical expertise; Masyarakat dan Perikanan Indonesia (MDPI) anchors community engagement and field data; Fair Trade USA empowers cooperatives and responsible sourcing; International Pole and Line Foundation (IPNLF) Indonesia advances traceability in one-by-one fisheries; and Marine Change bridges conservation with market realities. Each partner is excellent at what they do. But excellence in isolation isn't enough to move the needle on sustainability in such a complex system.
As the Consortium's secretariat, Resonance provides the connective tissue with strategic facilitation, roadmapping, adaptive learning systems, and cross-partner coordination that uplifts a group of capable organizations into a genuinely unified force.
What Secretariat Management Actually Looks Like
Good secretariat work is often invisible when done well:
The result? The whole becomes significantly greater than the sum of its parts.
The Results Speak for Themselves
Now at the midpoint of Phase III — launched in July 2024 — the Tuna Consortium has supported implementation of Indonesia’s Tuna Harvest Strategy by strengthening the systems that underpin sustainable fisheries. To date, partners have recorded over 415,000kg of fish across more than 3,800 fishing trips to strengthen fisheries data systems, trained 129 government officials and 77 enumerators on fisheries monitoring, and engaged more than 800 stakeholders – from fishers to industry actors – through trainings, co-management forums, and supply chain workshops.
These aren’t just numbers. They reflect a growing ecosystem of collaboration around Indonesia’s tuna fisheries that the Tuna Consortium contributes to. Better data, stronger institutions, and empowered fishing communities are beginning to translate ambitious policy into real-world implementation.
The Bottom Line
Resonance's mission is to ignite opportunity and advance global good. The Indonesia Tuna Consortium is proof that when the right partners are brought together under a smart, well-managed framework, the impact is faster, deeper, and more durable.
Complex challenges need more than good intentions. They need someone to hold the architecture together.
That's what we do.
Interested in how Resonance can support your next multi-stakeholder initiative? Let's talk.