Private Client/IFC - Ecosystems Services Assessment of a solar project in Vietnam - 2018

Project Description:

Our client proposed to develop a solar photovoltaic project in Vietnam. The Project site was located in a local commune, which is inhabited by both the ethnic minorities and Kinh (Vietnamese) people. The mission’s main objective was to undertake an ecosystems services assessment to: Determine the impact on surrounding communities of the loss of ecosystem services; Assess the capacity of the area surrounding the Project site; propose sustainable alternatives for offsetting the loss of those services and achieving a comparable livelihood resource balance.

MKE’s team was responsible for undertaking a rapid ecosystem services assessment, conducting household surveys, interviewing relevant stakeholders, drafting and submitting final evaluation reports to the client.

BKP Development Research & Consulting GmbH - Final Evaluation of the European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project (EU-MUTRAP ASIE/2011/022818) - 2018

Project Description:

The current European Trade Policy and Investment Support Project ("EU-MUTRAP"), has been implemented since 2012 with a total budget of EUR 16.5 million. Its objective is to further Vietnam’s integration into the global, ASEAN and sub-regional trading systems and to enhance EU-Vietnam trade and investment relations. Mekong Economics evaluates two components of the project, two out of the total six EU-MUTRAP grants, assists the PMU in technical aspects and prepares the reports focusing on the evaluated components and grants

Lux Development - Final term evaluation of project VIE/033 - 2017

Project Description:

The VIE/033 Climate Adapted Local Development and Innovation project targeted to benefit approximately 400,000 people living on 124,000 hectares of land and 22,000 hectares of lagoon area with three results: enhancing knowledge and management, increased protection, availability, resilience and use of resources, and more efficient productive activities.

MKE was assigned to conduct the final evaluation on VIE/033’s impacts. In particular, our team conducted field visits and documents review, designed evaluation module, collected, processed and analyzed data and submitted the final report.

Enclude B.V - DGIS: Evaluation of the Inclusive Business Accelerator in Vietnam and Mozambique - 2017

Project Description:

The IB Accelerator was designed to both consolidate and scale-up private sector engagement in Base of the Pyramid (BoP) markets. Current offerings of BoP business support were scattered and service providers were not aware of the many BoP market opportunities that exist or lack the quality and capacity to create inclusive business strategies at scale.

MKE conducted an evaluation on the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the programme. Data collection tools included SME phone surveys, logistical support and interviews. A final report was prepared.

BTC - The Mid-Term Review Of The Project “Support To The Innovation And Development Of Business Incubators Policy Project (BIPP)” - 2017

Project Description:

The project BIPP was designed to improve the  policy framework for technology business incubation: an essential element of increasing the competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises. The project supported the Ministry of Science and  Technology to develop an appropriate enabling environment for the establishment and growth of technology business incubators and their S&T clients.

The resultant changes in policy and  legal framework were field tested through two technology incubators (one in Hanoi and one in HCMC) and  through a pilot capacity building fund (Innofund) which supported the  management  of other established incubators and their tenants throughout Vietnam. Best practice and lessons learnt were captured through a comprehensive monitoring system and the results fed back into further policy development.

MKE completed the MTR which analysed the performance of the project according to the DAC criteria and to the horizontal and transversal themes.

IFC - Market research on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam with a specific focus on those owned by women (WSMEs) - 2017

Project Description:

MKE assisted the lead firm, providing input for desk research including the facilitation of explorative interviews, conducting 300 WSMEs (SMEs owned by women) surveys and 200 male-owned SMEs. MKE delivered the raw data, translated the answers to open questions into English, and facilitated 9 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and wrote a brief report describing the main findings for each FDG. MKE also wrote selected sections in the Inception Report and Final Report, and participated in the meetings with key informants and IFC.

State Government of Victoria (Australia) - International Education Opportunities in Vietnam - 2017

Project Description:

The South East Asia Victorian Government Business Office (SEA VGBO) seeked to commission a project to scope international education barriers and opportunities in Vietnam for Victoria State’s universities and education service providers. MKE delivered a comprehensive report that provided strategic recommendations to support market access for Victorian higher education, vocational education and training (VET), English language and professional development providers.

Other tasks included: Undertaking desk research to define and broadly scope the sectors in Vietnam, and understanding the activities of Victorian organizations in Vietnam and Victoria’s comparative advantage; Outlining 4 case studies of successful foreign and local “commercial cooperation models” in Vietnam; Conducting 10 in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City; Developing an itinerary for the Kuala Lumpur VGBO’s market visit to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. MKE was to deliver a report with rich findings and recommendations.

An overseas firm - Natural gas’s substitute fuels in Vietnam: market research into the scope of supply for the industrial sector - 2017

Project Description:

The client wished to study the market of key substitute products of natural gas in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the big picture of fuel supplying markets in Vietnam. Therefore, the client commissioned a study on the goal of outlining a macro perspective of some fuel sources, how each market functions as well as profiles of the key suppliers. There were a number of fuels subjected to the study, including: Fuel Oil; LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas); Coal; Biomass (woodchip, rice husk and cashew oil).

Belgian Development Agency (BTC Vietnam) - International consultant on human resources development and capacity building strategies - 2017

Project Description:

Facility to Capacity Building (FCB) project was a part of the Vietnam – Belgium 2011-2015 Indicative Cooperation Program that aimed to “Contribute to the socio-economic development of Vietnam through institutional capacity development to support the implementation of the SEDP 2011-2015”. The General objective of FCB was “to contribute to the sustainable development and growth of Vietnam by facilitating Vietnam to become a knowledge-based industrialised country by 2020”.

International Finance Company (IFC) & a Private Client - Ecosystem Service Assessment - 2017

Description of Project:

Around 70.2 ha land in a hilly area of a commune (of one province in Vietnam) was acquired for the Client to develop a Solar Power Project. The Client, being a client of IFC, was required to manage the environmental and social risks associated with the project as per IFC’s sustainability framework. This assessment focused on the applicability of PS6 ‘Biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of living natural resources’ and PS7 ‘Indigenous Peoples’. It was estimated that a number of households (HHs) were economically displaced by the Project, which were compensated by the Client during the land acquisition and compensation process. Besides, an additional number of HHs from nearby hamlets accessed the Project site and adjacent areas for grazing livestock and fuelwood collection. The study strived to assess, considering IFC’s Sustainability framework, the ecosystem services provided by the area containing and surrounding the project site by: determining the impact of the loss of ecosystem services on local HHs living adjacent to the land acquired for the project; and subsequently identifying sustainable alternative livelihood services to replace the lost services.

The following tasks were undertaken:

• Reviewed the Project’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment for relevant background information on the Project scope and impacts on its area of influence;

• Developed a representative sample of Jrai and Kinh households. Using this representative sample, survey household patterns of use/dependence on livestock grazing, fuel-wood collection and other services at the Project site and other common, resource areas surrounding the project site.

• Undertook a rapid ecosystem services assessment within the Project site based on the social impact