Publications

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong Institute was commissioned by Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Planning of Lao PDR to deliver an intensive training program on Project Monitoring and Evaluation. The training program was tailored make for monitoring and evaluating ODA Projects in Lao PDR. The training program was co designed by the MI and Dr. Savengkith Phommahack, Deputy Team Leader. The training aimed to develop participants' capacity to design, plan and implement effective monitoring and evaluation missions or assignments especially on projects which received funding from international donors.

Seventeen Government Officials who are directly involved in Aid Management participated in the training; Ten from six divisions of DIC, two from Infrastructure Sub-Working Group and five from Macro SWG. Ten of the participants are female.

Mr. Bouasavath Inthavanh Deputy Director General of DIC and Mr. Sysomphorn Phetdaoheuang, project Manger of Enhancing Aid Effectiveness Project, and Dr. Savengkith Phommhak, Deputy team Leader of the Project were actively participated in the training as local resource persons and provided much needed case studies, Lao ODA context, past experiences and good practices throughout the training course.

Four sub-projects under the North-South Economic corridor Development Project were used as case studies fro participants to practice developing Design and Monitoring Framework, reviewing Project Administration memorandum, planning project monitoring and evaluation , conclusion and recommendations and using lessons learned for future project design and planning.

Different M&E tools were employed during the course including Mood Barometer, suggestion box, feed backing, focused group discussion, end-of-workshop evaluation and plan to action. The evaluation results show that participants are satisfied with the training contents, methodologies and the competence of resource persons. Case studies, exercises and simulations are relevant and applicable to their works. Several participants recommended that a follow up workshop be organized after a six-month application period to share lessons learned and good practices and learn more  in-depth using M7E methods and tools.

Written by Mekong Institute

Local Regional Economic Development and Regional Management seek to create synergistic dynamics between government institutions, small and medium enterprises, training providers, and non-governmental organizations, and other regional actors. It aims to mobilize local resources and the creativity of rural people and communities to take advantage of their human, economic and social potentials for economic growth, for employment generations and for social development of a specific region.

In cooperation with its development partners in Lao PDR and Cambodia, GIZ has initiated a capacity building program called "Actively Shaping Rural Development through Local Regional Economic Development and Regional Management" to develop competencies in the local and regional bodies to build local capacity to design and steer rural development process.

In order to strengthen capacity to sustain training in local Regional Economic Development and Regional Management( LRED), the GIZ, in partnership with the Mekong Institute, has organized a series of three intensive training programs entitled "Actively Shaping Rural Development-through Local Regional Economic Development and Regional Management." The aims of these three training programmes are to:

-Create a cadre of trainers in Cambodia and Lao within NGOs, development training firms and concerned government institute, which can implement and support local stakeholders in implementing Local Regional Economic Development and Regional Management.

- Add institutional capacity to the Mekong Institute to provide training and backstopping in Loca Regional Economic Development and Regional Management.

- Localize "Local Regional Economic Development and Regional Management" Training package in Lao and Khmer languages.

The three phrases of the intensive training programs are:

Phase 1: Introduction to concepts of Local Regional Economic Development and Regional Management which aims to expalin the role of LRED and REgional Managment in the development of a rural economy and the roles of different stakeholders in the process.

Phase 2: Tools for Regional management which focuses on the instruments in economic promotion and development, like agriculture value chain and marketing.

Phase 3: The Multi-Party Stakeholder Dialogue which covers the topic of communication, network building, and facilitation & moderation skills.

The Mekong Institute in collaboration with GIZ organized the first phase o the training series on "Actively Shaping Rural Development - through Local/Regional Economic Development and Regional Management" for professionals from RUA, CEDAC, SILAKA, LWD, DLMUPCC, Bavel District Office, and take Provincial, of Cambodia; EDC and GIZ-Attapeu, of Lao PDR. The training programme was conducted from 7-12 February 2011 and aimed to provide the participants the knowledge of regional management (RM), organizational structures for regional management, role of different stakeholders in RRD and RM, local economic development context, and regional networking (set-up, steering, and management0. Some staff from Mekong Institute also attended the training programme to build MI's institutional capacity to provide training and backstopping in LRED and RM.

Active participatory learning was emphasized throughout the training programme. Various facilitation and presentation techniques were combined, which included discussion among participants, sharing work experiences in rural development, using concrete case studies from the field, and practicing different planning and facilitation methods. The structured learning visits to Naphu sub-district, Udon Thani Province of Thailand provided the participants with real life example of local administrative system in Thailand.

Written by Mekong Institute

The Smallholder Development Project (SHDP) and Mekong Institute (MI) agreed to collaborate on a specific project to develop partnership and promote cooperation between the two parties. A four-day structured learning visit on "Rice Production Value Chain in Northeast, Thailand" was conducted from 26 to 29 January 2011 for twenty-three (23) Lao government officials, rice Structured Learning Visit aims to study the Rice production Chain as well as study the roles of Rice Seed Center, Central Market, and Private/Cooperative Rice mills in the value chain.

Two MI facilitators were involved in organizing the program, facilitating discussions, and sharing experiences with the participants. The participants visited four places in Khon Kaen province and one place in Roi Et province, Thailand in order to enhance their understanding on the program contents and to apply the principles, processes, structures, and best practices learned during the entire visit. At the end of the Structured Learning Visit, the participants presented their reflections on the visit.

The results of the evaluation showed that the Structured Learning Visit was successful both in terms of program design and contents, and overall organization and management. However, there was a suggestion for improvement on the need for resource persons to elaborate and explain more on how to identify, analyze and solve the problems after the field visit presentations of the participants.

The participants also indicated further training needs on expanding rice seed work into private sector as well as establishment of cooperative group. Specifically, the participants expressed the need to acquire advanced technical training on maize production, marketing channel, quality control services and management. The participants also mentioned that the involvement of financial providers is important and the staff from those organizations should be included in the program.

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong institute conducted a ten-day training program on "Integrated Water Resources Management for the Mekong" for eight Junior Riparian Professionals from line agencies of National Mekong Committees of the four lower Mekong Countries. The program, which was carried out from 4 to 14 January 2011, aimed to provide the participants with knowledge and skills related to water resource management n the context of Mekong Cooperation. The topics covered integrated water resource management principles, water resources management functions, basin planning and decision support framework, development potentials in the lower Mekong Basin, and key water resources management issues.

The use of participatory approaches and a strong focus on practical knowledge were highlighted in teh course. Likewise, two structured learning visits were included in the program, one on Pak Mun Dam and another on kaen Lawa Watland Management, to give the participants some insights on the various problems involved in the planning and implementation some insights on the various problems involved in the planning and implementation of hydro power projects and water management n Thailand.

The participants evaluated the course as successful and provided some recommendations for training improvement. participants mainly proposed that duration of the training course should be extended to 3 weeks to have enough time for field visits and internalizing classroom training modules. The approaches and training methods employed such as the use of lecture, group discussion and presentation, video, and field works were highly appreciated by the participants and they suggested continuing its use as they found those methods an integral part of their leaning experience.

The training curriculum, contents and methodologies were co-designed with the MRC Integrated Capacity Building Programme.

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong Institute (MI) organized the expert meeting on Mekong Institutes Labor Migration and Care Program on 11 July 2011 at MI Training Center located in Khon Kaen, Thailand.

The one-day meeting aims to provide space for the experts to validate and prioritize the needs of labor migration management and skill standardization and recognition in the GMS, as well as to elaborate on a join plan of actions for the next three years.

The experts raised some questions for MI to clarify on how, who, and whose that the need assessment has been conducted with and implied to. The key word actors is significant to be indicated in order to design an effective framework and cooperation.

There is no objection in terms of MIs focused areas: labor migration management and skill standardization and recognition. However, the experts questioned on how MI is going to run the program on skill standardization and recognition. Furthermore, the experts recommended the linkage and integration of MIs labor migration framework with the existing ASEAN framework on migrant workers, ASEAN Integrated Economic 2015-2020, ASEAN Declaration on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers, and international labor standards.

After the group discussion on action plan based on three MIs modalities; research, training and policy consultation, the meeting came up with the recommendations on what, how, and with whom to run the training and consultation program. Regarding the research, experts pointed out there are many researches on this issue already but what MI has capacity to do is to digest researches by merging with existing international frameworks and labor standards. Then create a handbook in simple local languages to facilitate the consultation meetings or trainings for better implication and implementation of the labor migration policies among the GMS which considering as a main gap of migration management.
 

Written by Mekong Institute

The Project Monitoring and Evaluation Learning Program is the third program in the series offered by Mekong Institute and funded by Asian Development Bank through its Phnom Penh Plan program. The two-week workshop was designed for middle managers in the Greater Mekong Sub-region countries to improve their capabilities in monitoring and evaluation of projects.

The program was conducted from 6-17 May 2011 at the Mekong Institute Residential Training Center, Khon Kaen, Thailand. The two-week intensive learning program was design as a "deepening" and follow up program for alumni of the Phnom Penh Plan who have attended previous learning programs on project management, as well as by project management practitioners who are civil servants in the GMS countries. 25 participants from the six GMS member countries attended the workshop.

This Project Monitoring &Evaluation learning program aims to enhance the technical skills of targeted government officials in designing and conducting project monitoring or evaluation. It pursues to equip the participants skill for presenting findings and recommendation to the respective project stake holders in the context of GMS cooperation and integration. At the end of the learning program, participants developed action plans on how to apply acquired knowledge and skills in the workplace.

The program was designed and taught by a team of four project management experts: two Phnom Penh Plan (PPP)-commissioned project management experts and two MI faculty members. In evaluation, the participants reported that the trainers were qualified, experienced and employed effective training delivery methods.

This program demonstrated to participants how to design, conduct and use monitoring and evaluation concepts, tools, and techniques at different stages of the project cycle. The modular training design was divided into four modules to simulate the actual phases of doing Project Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E). Module 1 outlines the basic M&E framework, and focuses on the review of the Design Monitoring Framework (DMF) and Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) as basis for doing Project Monitoring and Evaluation. Module 2 focuses on Data Gathering and covers Stakeholder Analysis, Data Gathering Techniques, Qualitative and Quantitative Data, Data Sampling, and M&E Team Composition. Module 3, Data Processing, includes Measuring Differences using Before-After and With-Without (BAWWO) Analysis, Significance, Necessity and Sufficiency Analysis. Module 4 covers M&E Report Writing using REESI criteria and presentation skills.

The program learning methodologies included practical application of project monitoring and evaluation techniques and tools through group exercises, simulations and case studies. Two salient features of this training course are (i) its emphasis on the empowerment and meaningful engagement of different stakeholder in the design, planning, implementation of project monitoring and evaluation processes; and (ii) having an opportunity to practice using different tools and techniques in reporting and presenting the M&E findings and recommendations to key stakeholders.
The overall results of program evaluation show that participants were highly satisfied with the learning contents and methodologies. As rated by participants, the total average rating for attainment of overall program objectives was rated 4.20 - "very well attained." Outcomes of the program include knowledge and skills gained for professional development. Moreover, the participants demonstrated increased ability in communication, presentation, cultural competency, and networking. Working in multi-country groups has also strengthened personal ties to improve national cultural understanding which foretells future inter-governmental collaboration within the region.

Based on the feedback received, this report concludes that the learning program was successful. Finally, recommendations for further program improvement are provided in Part 4 of this report and are summarized below.

• Coordination with the different government agencies especially on the Lao PDR side should be done earlier so that they can prepare the necessary presentation materials. During the fieldwork, the presenter just made an oral presentation and data/figures were dictated that made the presentation very long.
• An agenda should be sent to these government agencies in advance so that they will know exactly what data and information to present. Preferably, the presentation or at least the basic data should be in English for the benefit of all participants. A print out of the data presented will be more convenient to the participants.
• The translator should be facilitating during the presentation to manage the time and to give way for participants to ask their prepared questions. During the meeting, the presenter gave a very long oral presentation that even the translator had a hard time catching up with the idea of the presentation.
• Limit the number of questions in the survey monkey. 48 questions are still too many for a survey.
• Have more class room days but fewer classroom hours each day as the workload was too heavy
• Include more examples of Project M&E to facilitate understanding of different aspects
• More time should be allocated for field work survey.