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”.

Care - Facilitation to enhance women’s participation, increased access to information and market in the Rubber Sector - 2016

Project Description:

The project aimed to conduct a series of pilot intervention activities, with the ultimate aim of determining the best method to support women and men small-holder farmers (SHFs) to increase their rubber productivity, quality and gain secured access to land and ultimately to increase their income through improved market actions.

MKE designed and conducted a feasibility study to determine app/phone usage in the area, interviewing target beneficiaries and conducting key informant interviews (KIIs) with rubber sector engaged organizations; interpreting the results and ensuring suitable iterative planning and implementation of the pilot training activities. MKE team discuss where shortcomings in the SHF exist and what broad types of trainings or apps would be most suitable and train activities to rubber farmers and to demonstrate certain tools are used or certain techniques.

MKE conducted all monitoring and evaluating of the use and uptake of apps and those of trainings; produced a final report analysing the results (achieved through “outcome harvesting”) from the pilot interventions, and provided recommendations and considerations towards upscaling such interventions on a region-wide level.

World Concern - Nutrition Causal Analysis - Improved economic and nutritional outcome of poor rural people in Norther Kayin State - 2016

Project Description:

A Nutrition Causal Analysis (NCA) was one of the activities planned during the inception phase of CDN’s LIFT-funded rural livelihoods project. The NCA included a quantitative and qualitative methodology. The quantitative data for the NCA was collected from household interviews (400 households).

MKE reviewed and finalized the quantitative questionnaire and FGD questionnaire, and uploaded it into Kobo Toolbox, translated the qualitative and quantitative questionnaire into Burmese, and contributed in the design of a high quality study (qualitative and quantitative) in coordination with World Concern Myanmar. Further, MKE conducted the pilot testing and finalized the qualitative and quantitative questionnaire; then cleaned the quantitative and qualitative data and produced high quality data available for analysis. The final stage of the project involved the writing of a report based off of the findings from both qualitative and quantitative analyses. This report included a list of recommendations for the implementation of the project.

UNDP - Assessment, Identification and Monitoring of Small-scale Water Infrastructure Needs for Drinking & Irrigation Water in the DryZone of Myanmar - 2016

Project Description:

The project aimed to reduce the increasing impacts of climate change on agricultural and livestock production cycles in the dry zone of Myanmar, particularly the impacts of increasing temperature and evaporation, declining water availability, and intensifying weather events especially flash floods and cyclones.

MKE took responsibility for writing the work plan, organizing township level coordination meetings, including preparing all necessary invitations, administration, logistics, and setting the agenda. MKE also managed and led the coordination meetings to varying degrees, based on results of Township level coordination meetings, realized field verification and consultation with the communities by village meetings and a rapid need assessment (RNA).

Further, MKE assisted in the preparation, translation and capitalization of the results to inform the choice of target villages, organized village level consultation meetings, and Water User Groups (WUG). 

Canadian DFTAD - VIETNAM SKILLS FOR EMPLOYMENT PROJECT (VSEP) - 2015

Project Description:

Provided performance monitoring (including performance monitoring systems, the achievement of results; CEA management effectiveness; the ongoing relevance of the project; risks or evolving risks; the effectiveness of risk mitigation strategies; and the degree of sustainability of results achieved). Also provided technical advisor services, including providing recommendations and propose solutions when required for the appropriate execution of all project activities in order to achieve the expected outcome.

International Labour Organization (ILO) - The next generation of people, firms and work in ASEAN: Preparing enterprises for the future of labour markets (in 2025) - 2015

Countries Involved:

ASEAN Member States.

Project Description:

Mekong Economics provided a Team to conduct a survey with businesses operating in the 10 ASEAN member States, in which 900 interviews with firms in Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia and on-line survey with 3,000 firms from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

The survey aimed at understanding the future of work in ASEAN as well as looking at how prepared companies are to absorb the future workforce. Key respondents to the enterprise-level survey would include human resources managers as well as those involved in strategic planning and decision-making

CARE International - Economic Empowerment of Women from ethnic groups in the Mekong (Post intervention Data Collection and Analysis for the Impact Evaluation) - 2015

Project Description:

Mekong Economics provided a local Team to collect the primary data though focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with various stakeholders to assist in the impact evaluation of CARE’s interventions in the area of women’s participation and economic empowerment with ethnic groups, to learn which approaches and models worked, to test our theories of change, and to provide recommendations for future programming strategies and direction in the Mekong region.

The World Bank Group - Implementation of the EAP Enterprise Surveys (EAP ES 2014) - 2014

Countries Involved:

Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

Project Description:

The EAP ENTERPRISE SURVEYS 2014 was a World Bank (WB) project aiming to study the business environment in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Laos and Vietnam. With the participation of 13 key professional staffs and sub-contractors, MKE led the following responsibilities:

·        Identifying sample frames in accordance with World Bank outlined strategy and approval;

·        Conducting the face-to-face interview with approximately 6,090 establishments of the sample frame;

·        Providing to client a set of a cleaned database of all completed interviews in the STATA electronic database

·        Preparing report, in English, on the data describing all codes, sampling biases introduced in the survey implementation and other pertinent information for researchers.

Belgium Technical Cooperation/Ministry of Planning and Investment - Assessment of the Business Environment and Competitiveness of enterprises in services sectors - 2014

Project Description:

The overall project had four specific outputs:

1.      Comparative Literature Review (Cross-country and multi-sectoral);

2.      Qualitative Primary Research Report (24 in-depth interviews, 16 Case Studies, 4 Value Chain Analysis, and Study Tour Findings);

3.      Final Synthesis Report with concrete recommendations and solutions to 2020, and highlight visions to 2030.

4.      Two workshops

Trade Commission of an Embassy - Opportunities for Aquaculture & Fisheries Products, Equipment, Technologies & Services - 2014

Project Description:

To determine the nature and extent of (commercial) opportunities in Vietnam’s aquaculture sector (as defined by the Client Country’s supply capability), and to develop a market entry strategy to assist the Client Country’s suppliers to access those opportunities.