A range of other working groups and partnerships are active in Vietnam, bringing together representatives from donors, NGOs, government ministries, mass organisations and the media to share information and experiences. Below is a selection of some of the key partnership groups the NGO Resource Centre has been involved with. Further information on many of the partnerships is available online at www.worldbank.org.vn/partner/partner.htm, www.un.org.vn, www.undp.org.vn and www.vdic.org.vn.
Poverty & Environment Network (PEN)
The Poverty and Environment Network is being established to promote cooperation and information sharing among organizations and individuals working in areas related to Poverty and Environment in Vietnam; to improve awareness and enhance capacity in integrating poverty and environment into policies and planning for sustainable development. The main objective of the PEN therefore is to foster the goal of improving the mainstreaming of poverty-environment issues in Viet Nam.
The PEN will seek to mobilize the participation of existing specialized single-issue poverty-environment related networks (i.e FSSP; Wetland Network, Non-Timber Products Network, etc.) to enable a wider sharing and exchange of experiences on all the different thematic areas relating to poverty-environment linkages.
Interested people can contact Ms. Kim Thi Thuy Ngoc for registration at pep.vn@undp.org or kimthuyngoc@gmail.com.
Craft Working Group/Craft Link (CWG)
Commencing in 1993, a number of NGOs working in Vietnam formed a network to support handicraft development among poor artisans. The goal was to help craft producers, particularly poor women, to increase their incomes and help to revive/promote traditional Vietnamese craft-related skills and culture, including those of ethnic minorities. During the past decade, a number of INGOs have supported research, training and other project activities. Products from these projects and independent small producers have been sold at handicraft bazaars, which have been held in Hanoi several times a year since December 1994. In September 1995, Craft Link was established as a Vietnamese not-for-profit craft marketing and development organisation.
There are two sections within Craft Link: the Development Section and the Business Section. The Craft Link Development Section helps craft producer groups, especially the poor, improve their livelihoods sustainably through craft, and helps revive and promote traditional culture and skills. The Craft Link Business Section operates as a not-for-profit craft business that assists Craft Link Development by finding markets for craft producers groups, especially those work with Craft Link Development; educating the public about these producers and their products; and providing financial support for the development activities of Craft Link Development. For more information, contact: Craft Link, No.41 Van Mieu, Hanoi; tel.: 733 61 01; fax: 843 79 26; e-mail: craftlink@hn.vnn.vn; website: www.craftlink-vietnam.com.
Early Childhood Development (ECD) Working Group
The purpose of the ECD Working Group is to provide a forum for interested people to share resources and experiences for the purpose of promoting children's well-being through ECD in Vietnam. Key objectives of the Working Group include information sharing on organisational experiences, government policies and innovative approaches; sharing resources such as research, materials, curricula and training guides; networking for geographic and programmatic coordination; responses to funding opportunities, partnerships and planning; and advocacy, aiming to support the development of government policy and increase resource allocation for ECD. The ECD Working Group is facilitated by UNICEF and participating INGOs.
Education Forum
The Education Forum is an open learning forum that brings together a wide range of education specialists, practitioners, policy makers, researchers, government representatives, donors and NGOs. The objectives of the forum are: to provide a place for the free exchange of ideas and experiences between practitioners, policy makers, Vietnamese and international education specialists; move forward the debate on key challenges and fundamental issues facing Vietnam's education system; and identify solutions for providing quality education for disadvantaged children. During recent years, topics have included presentations and discussions on the government’s 10-year Education Strategy, as well as the implementation of new education reforms. The forum meets approximately every three months for a full day. Facilitation of the Education Forum rotates between the three organisers: UNICEF, Oxfam GB, and Save the Children UK. For more information, contact any of these organisations.
Health Partnership Group (HPG)
The Health Partnership Group is made up of government stakeholders, donor organisations and INGOs and focuses its discussions on health issues and policy initiatives. It is represented by two elected INGO representatives, who provide feedback from the INGO community to the group, which then passes the information onto to relevant government and donor representatives. Together with input from interested INGOs, the HPG representatives also prepare various statements on proposed sectors or programmes in order to improve approaches to the health sector in Vietnam.
The current INGO Representatives to the Health Partnership Group are Matthew Frey (Save the Children US) and Laura Wedeen (Pathfinder International). They have been selected to provide feedback from the INGO community to the group and would be grateful for any comments or concerns that you can share with them. Email: mfrey@savechildren.org.vn or lwedeen@pathfind.org
Together with the input from interested INGOs, the representatives to the HPG have prepared a statement on a proposed sector or programme approach to the Health Sector in Vietnam. They will continue to keep INGOs updated on the progress of the proposal. Please contact them to be included in the mailing list.
HPG Meeting June 26, 2007
HPG Meeting March 29, 2007
HPG Meeting January 31, 2007
De-briefing Session, 3 May 2006
- Meeting Minutes from the Question and Answer Session
- Presentation by Dr. Lokky on the Programme Approach
International Support Group – Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development (ISG-MARD)
The International support Group (ISG-MARD) was established in 1997 in accordance with Decision No. 541 NN/TCCB-QD on 9th April 1997 with an advisory function in the effective use of ODA resources for agriculture and rural development. The overall objective of the ISG is to support MARD generally and the International Cooperation Department particularly in; (i) coordinating with international donors, including NGOs on up-coming projects and programmes, (ii) building partnerships, (iii) fostering Vietnamese ownership of foreign supported projects; and (iv) act as a facilitating mechanism in policy dialogue and coordination at vertical and horizontal levels (donors, ministries and provinces).
Activities of the ISG-MARD Group
The 13th Meeting of the Steering Board for the International Support Group (ISG) of MARD took place on 24th January 2007. Patrice Gautier, as the new representative for INGOs in ISG, and Trine, co-director of the NGO Resource Center, attended.
The objectives of the meeting were to give an update on the progress of MARD’s implementation of 5-year Agriculture and Rural Development Plan and on ISG performance in 2006, and to approve the proposed ISG Work Plan 2007 and personnel change in the ISG SB. Documents are available at NGO Resource Center.
In 2007, the ISG will continue to focus its activities in five key areas: three Core Key Areas [Policy Dialogue Platform; Donor and Foreign Direct Information coordination; Information Gathering and Dissemination] and two Supporting Key Areas [Capacity Building and Management Processes; Monitoring and Evaluation]. The two Supporting Key Areas are crosscutting in nature and are sub-component of each of the three Core Areas. The three Core Areas represent the three main functions of ISG.
The ISG work plan for 2007 is quite ambitious. Some parts would surely be of interest to some INGOs and there are definitely some possible win-win collaborations to be identified. Patrice Gautier visited the ISG secretariat in February to better identify expectations from the team. Thereafter, a meeting with interested INGOs and with the secretariat was organised (March 07) to draft a work plan for the collaborations between INGOs and ISG.
As part of the SANRM WG meeting on Friday April 6, 2007 ISG-MARD gave a short presentation on developing closer coordination between ISG and INGOs in strengthening policy dialogues, especially at the provincial level. This ISG-MARD initiative aims to increase the international community's participation to varying degrees in the policy making process of the Government of Vietnam, thereby enabling policy makers at MARD to benefit from international expertise and improve the quality of new policies and strategies which contribute decisively to the sustainable development of the agriculture and rural sector in Vietnam. For more information and to read to concept note, please click here or contact: ISG - International Support Group, Room # 209, Building A9, 2 Ngoc Ha, Hanoi, Vietnam, tel: (04) 733 6610 – 7336757, email: isgmard@fpt.vn
Gender Action Partnership (GAP)
The Gender Action Partnership was established in late 2002 as an open forum for discussions on key development issues related to gender for all members of the development community. GAP is an inclusive partnership whose membership includes representatives from government agencies, local organistions, bilateral and multilateral donors and INGOs. The group aims to support more coordinated efforts towards equitable development and poverty reduction in Vietnam by supporting gender-responsive policies, practices and approaches in the national development process. The National Committee for the Advancement of Women (NCFAW) is the key government agency responsible for the provision of policy advice to the government on gender equality in national policy and planning, and acts as the GAP Secretariat. For more information, contact: National Committee for the Advancement of Women, 39 Hang Chuoi, Hanoi, tel. (04) 971 1349, email: ncfaw@hn.vnn.vn.
GAP Meeting 12 October 2006
Please consult the following documents for details on the meeting:
- Presentation on project support administration reform (Vietnamese)
- Report on Gender equality activities and action plan for women’s advance 2006-2010 MARD (Vietnamese)
- 1st step in GAP reform – Looking back and looking at GAP today (English)
Partnership Group for Aid Effectiveness (PGAE)
PGAE coordinates, discusses and monitors the aid effectiveness agenda with the aim of working together to promote aid effectiveness in Vietnam. The High Level Forums on Aid Effectiveness and the Paris Declaration in 2003 provided the final impetus to formalise PGAE as the coordinating body for the follow up on the commitments of Paris. There was a clear need for such a coordination body, because prior to PGAEs formulation, there were no regular and coordinated discussion forums between the Government of Vietnam and donors, outside the official Consultative Group (CG) meetings in December and June. PGAE meetings are co-chaired by a government and a donor representative, with the latter being appointed by mutual consensus among all donors on a rotation basis every six months.
Participants to the meetings include government officials and representatives of all donor agencies present in the country, namely: representatives of the Like Minded Donor Group (Canada, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Australia), the 5 Bank group, EU, UN/UNDP, Japan and USA. Non-government stakeholders also play a role in the group.
For more information, contact the PGAE Secretariat on pgaesecretariat@gmail.com or click here to visit the PGAE section of the NGO RC website.
