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Written by Mekong Institute

Written by Mekong Institute

The structured learning visit (SLV) program on Area-based Development, Community Agribusiness, OTOP and SME Development was organized from 25 to 28 November 2009 and the sponsor is InWEnt gGmbH - Capacity Building International, Germany in cooperation with Mekong Institute, Inter-governmental Organization.  The participants were District Governor, Manager and/or Chief level, Academic, Operating Officers/  Senior Trainers from government, non-government and private sector in the fields of capacity integration development from Cambodia and Lao PDR attended this learning visit program.

The SLV was designed to explore best practices of Thailand in pro-poor product research and development, five-star OTOP, Micro-finance and community business, SME Cluster and Community learning center on sufficiency economy through observation and interaction with community enterprise group, technical support organization, and community livelihood development project pioneers around the basket areas in the Central region of Thailand (Bangkok, Ayutthaya and Angthong Provinces).

The program consisted of four learning days:

Day 1:             Keynote Address and Setting the Context (Opening Remarks, Participant Familiarization, Exploring Expectation and Program Overview)

Day 2:             Visit Pro-poor Product Research Development Projects and Five-star SME OTOP at Royal Chitralada Projects and Aran-yik Knife Community

Day 3:             Visit Micro-finance at BAAC, OTOP Community by Sai Noi Womens Group and Local Learning Center on Sufficiency Economy by Ban Hae Community

Day 4:             Presentations of Reflection to the Visits, Synthesis and Learning Evaluation and Return to Home Countries

Over the four days of the program the MI program facilitators completely facilitated the learning visits.  The participants disclosed their feedback that the structure learning visit design in terms of knowledge gained, relevance and applicability to the job and meeting expectation were mostly attained(a total rating average 3.68%).

The participants evaluated that program service was very satisfied(a total rating average 4.55) in terms of material providing, time management and other logistic arrangement during the exposure visits.  With regard to overall satisfaction,  a total rating average 4.55 stated that program service was very satisfied.  Based on the participants feedback, this report concluded that the SLV on Area-based Development, Community Agribusiness, OTOP and SME Development was successful. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE TH

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong Institute (MI) was commissioned by Thailand International Development Cooperation Agency (TICA) to conduct a four-week annual international training course on Enhancing Entrepreneurship in SME Development and Export Consortia from 20 July to 14 August 2009 for twenty-six government officials and private sector personnel of seventeen developing countries in Asia and Africa.

The course aimed to develop participants appreciation of the importance and significance - and complexity - of sustainable enterprise development in a regional and national context.  It sought to develop the capacity of participants to assess and consider more effective enterprise and private sector development strategies and activities in their own countries.

The training course was designed and delivered using modular training approach where participants went through three progressive stages : i) Learn to Do training on concepts, techniques and tools to be employed; ii) Do to Learn the participants were required to apply what they learned in their work assignments with proper coaching from assigned advisors; and iii) Share to Learn the participants had opportunity to present the results of their group work, learning experiences and lessons learned.

Nine external resource persons and two in-house subject experts were invited to deliver lectures and facilitate discussions, and share experiences to the participants.  Nine structured learning visits in Khon Kaen, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Bangkok were conducted to enhance the participants understanding of the program contents and to apply the principles, process, structure, and stakeholders in planning and implementing business from the visits.

The training course comprised five inter-related modules. Module 1 Unleashing Entrepreneurship: Setting the Context allowed the facilitators and participants to introduce themselves and provided an overview of the learning program, methodology, and process. Module 2 The Essentials of Enterprise Development: Why and How presented experience of establishing enterprise Silk Net as well as simulation game on Business Strategy. Module 3 Ensuring Business Survival and Sustainable Growth covered the concepts of enabling environment such as business development and financial services, productivity and competitiveness, and value chains to strengthen the enterprise sector. Module 4 Managing Enterprises included study visits to enhance the participants understanding on the contents through observation and interaction with enterprises management teams. Module 5 Developing Cluster and Business-to-Business Networks (B2BNs) introduced the concepts and described key steps and suggested tools and methods for developing business clusters and networks.

The results from a range of evaluation methods showed high satisfaction rating by the participants. However, recommendations for improvement included providing more information on export consortia, SME policy and PPP, inviting guest speakers from senior management level, providing more case studies, and organizing discussion forum with local entrepreneurs.

Written by Mekong Institute

The Mekong Institute (MI) was commissioned by the InWEnt gGmbH Capacity Building International, Germany to co-design, develop and deliver a series of capacity building program for InWEnt targeted groups of Cambodia and Lao PDR. One of the programs is Microfinance Learning Experience in Northeast of Thailand.

This program was organized for fifteen non-governmental organization officers and government officials of Lao PDR. The structured learning visits aimed for participants to study Thailand Microfinance and community banking and financing system and to study role of BAAC in supporting microfinance and community financial institutions (village banks, village revolving fund and community enterprises).

The evaluations conducted throughout the learning visits confirmed that the objectives were achieved and the learning visit was successful. Most of the participants were very satisfied with the program as shown in the total average rating on 1) satisfaction on structured learning visits design, 2) Mekong Institute services satisfaction, and 3) overall impressions on the structured learning visit.

Written by Mekong Institute

This report presents an evaluation of the learning program "Income Generation and Poverty Reduction for Development" conducted at Mekong Institute (MI), Khon Kaen, Thailand from 24 July-11 August 2007. The course was jointly funded by Thailand International Development Cooperation Agency (TICA) and Colombo Plan Secretariat.

A total of 18 participants from 12 developing countries of Asia, Africa and South America attended the course, with women's participation accounting over one-third. The participants held a mixture of middle-level to senior-level positions at a wide array of the government ministries and departments, and universities.

"Income Generation and Poverty Reduction for Development" was a three-week intensive learning program. The program was aimed at assisting participants in the analyzing poverty, understanding various poverty reduction strategies, and monitoring and evaluation of poverty reduction interventions in diverse socio-economic and environmental contexts. The course provided the participants with an opportunity to share experiences and ideas to build confidence n understanding and addressing the issue of poverty. The course was also successful in fostering an important network among professionals from different countries.

The course activities included presentations by facilitators, class discussions, group works/ assignments, case studies, study visits to " Sufficiency Economy Village" and "Population and Development Association" in Mahasarakham and Khon Kaen provinces, respectively. Besides, excursions to various parts of North-east Thailand and a variety of social and recreational activities were organized at weekends.

All learning activities, classroom sessions as well as field trips, were rated high in terms of contents and organization of the course by most of the participants. They were also appreciative of the resource persons not only for the course content but also for their ability to explain difficult content in clear and simple terms. Most of the participants indicated that 2-days time for field trip was rather inadequate and they suggested including more field trips in future. On the whole, all participants expressed their satisfaction with the MI facilities and support services, remarking MI facilities as efficient and well-run with dedicated and friendly staff. This report also contains recommendations drawn from the participants' feedback and MI staffs' assessment. These recommendations provide basis for future revision of the course organization and content.