TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..............................................................................................
ACRONYMS ..................................................................................................................
INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 1
OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................ 1
THE STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT ........................................................................................................... 1
SECTION ONE ............................................................................................................ 3
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC UPDATE .............................................................. 3
ECONOMIC ......................................................................................................................................... 3
SOCIAL
POLITICAL ......................................................................................................................................... 4
POVERTY REDUCTION AND ODA ................................................................................................. 4
SECTION TWO: REFLECTIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED .......................... 5
I-
OVERVIEW .................................................................................................................................. 5
I.1- Contribute to positive changes in the position and condition of poor women in line with
Vietnam’s National Action Plan. ...................................................................................................... 5
I.2- Contribute to positive changes in the lives of ethnic minority people ........................................ 7
I.3- Promote and replicate the Commune Bank model ..................................................................... 9
I.4- Build capacity of local partners to replicate and take responsibility for programme activities
........................................................................................................................................................ 10
I.5- Strengthen the supply of basic social services by the government and the demand for basic
services by poor people .................................................................................................................. 12
I.6- Promote the participation of poor people in local community groups, organisations and
processes that affect their lives ...................................................................................................... .12
I.7- Develop strategic linkages and relationships with various academic, research institutions,
NGOs or quasi NGOs through collaborative work and capacity building ..................................... 14
I.8- Carry out advocacy work on micro-finance, basic education and multilateral development
banks............................................................................................................................................... 16
II. ORGANISATIONAL STRENGTHENING .................................................................................. 17
III. FUNDING AND FUND RAISING .............................................................................................. 18
IV. FINANCE ..................................................................................................................................... 18
SECTION THREE: PROGRAMME ACTIVITY TABLES ................................. 18
I. OVERVIEW OF SON LA PROGRAMME (DA1) ...................................................................... 18
II. OVERVIEW OF HA TINH PROGRAMME (DA2) .................................................................... 21
III. OVERVIEW OF LAI CHAU PROGRAMME (DA3) ................................................................. 24
IV- OVERVIEW OF QUANG NINH PROGRAMME...................................................................... 27
V. OVERVIEW OF POLICY RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY ...................................................... 28
VI. OVERVIEW OF HUMANRESOUCES AND ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ........... 31
VII. OVERVIEW OF FUNDING AND FUND RAISING ................................................................. 33
VIII. OVERVIEW OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION ......................................................... 34
APPENDIX ONE: LIST OF AAV STAFF .............................................................. 35
APPENDIX TWO: LIST OF AAV’S REPORTS AND DOCUMENTS
PRODUCED IN 2000 .............................................................. 37
ACRONYMS
AAUK
AAV
ADB
ASPBAE
AT
AUSAID
CB
CBF
CFPW
CG
ActionAid United Kingdom
ActionAid Vietnam
Asian Development Bank
Asia South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education
Agricultural Technician
Australian Agency for International Development
Commune Bank
Commune Bank Facilitator
Credit Fund for Poor Women
Consultative Group
CIDSE
DA
DAES
DfID
DIPSERCO
DWU
DWUBS
EPI
EU
FC
FO
FFS
FIS
GBP
HEPR
HR/OD
HH
HRPM
INGO
IPM
IFAD
IT
LTP
MARD
MDB
MOET
M/DOLISA
MRDP
NCFS
NGO
NLCB
OXFAM GB
PACCOM
PO
PPA
PRA
PTA
PWBLF
RCLCE
RDSC
REFLECT
RTCCD
S&C
SCF-UK
SDO
SEADD
TOT
UNDP
VACVINA
VBA
Cooperation Internationale pour le Developpement et la Solidarite
Development Area
District Agricultural Extension Services
Department for International Development (British Government)
The Diplomatic Service Corporation
District Women’s Union
District Women’s Union Banking Service
Expanded Immunisation Programme
European Union
Field Co-ordinator
Field Officer
Farmer Field Schools
Financial Information System
Great Britain Pounds
Hunger Eradication & Poverty Reduction
Human Resource and Organisational Development
Household
Human Resource Policy Manual
International Non-Government Organisations
Integrated Pest Management
United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development
Information Technology
Long Term Perspective
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
Multi-lateral Development Bank
Ministry of Education and Training
Ministry/Department of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs
Vietnam Sweden Mountainous Rural Development Project
National Committee for Food Security
Non-Governmental Organisation
National Lotteries Charity Board
Oxfam Great Britain
People’s Aid Co-ordination Committee
Project Officer
Participatory Poverty Assessment
Participatory Rural Appraisal
Parent Teacher Association
Prince of Wales Business Leaders Forum
Research Centre for Literacy and Continuing Education
Research and Development Services Centre
Regenerated Freirean Literacy through Empowering Community
Research and Training Centre for Community Development
Savings and Credit
Save the Children Fund / United Kingdom
Social Development Organisation
South East Asia Development Division of DfID
Training of Trainers
United Nations Development Programme
Garden, Fishpond, and Pigsty Association of Vietnam
Vietnam Bank for Agriculture
VBP
VHW
VND
VUFO
VWSG
WB
WU
WUA
Vietnam Bank for the Poor
Village Health Worker
Vietnamese Dong
Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations
Village Women’s Savings Group
World Bank
Women’s Union
Water Users' Association
ActionAid Vietnam’s Geographical Working Areas
Lai Châu
DA3: Lai Chau; established in 1999
No of beneficiaries: 4498 HHs
Son La
Hanoi
DA1: Son La; established in 1992
No of Beneficiaries: 9808 HHs
Quang
Ninh
Quang Ninh Saving &Credit
Launched in 1995
No of Beneficiaries: 6686 HHs
Ha Tinh
DA2: Ha Tinh; established in 1995
No of Beneficiaries: 6552 HHs
DA4- Ninh ThuËn
INTRODUCTION
Overview
The year of 2000 has seen a significant transition period within ActionAid Vietnam.
Its Country Strategy Paper for 1997-2000 became out of date; the Country Director,
Ramesh Singh resigned his post and left the country in May to take the new job as the
Asia Regional Director while his successor, Ramesh Khadka hasn’t been able to take
his chair until mid-December. There have been several important strategic planning
exercises and major reviews carried out by AAV’s team during that period, including:





Mid-term review of Ha Tinh integrated rural development programme for the
period 1995-2000.
Three year plan for 2001 to 2003.
The Country Review and Development of the new CSP for 2001-2005.
Review of advocacy work in AAV for 1998-2000, and
Some other preparation work for the shift in rights-based approach (RBA) etc.
In 2000, AAV continued to expand its intervention in term of geography, focus and
relationships. For the first time, AAV has started its work in the South of Vietnam.
The fourth development area has been established in Ninh Phuoc District of Ninh
Thuan – a south central coastal province. Together with the implementation of other
integrated rural development programmes focussing on the poor, new advocacy work
on education for ethnic minorities and food security have been initiated and the scope
and nature of our relationships with other organisations, government agencies and
donors expanded considerably. It has also been for the first time, AAV has started
entering in the partnership with the Center for Rural Progress (CRP) – a Vietnamese
NGO in which the later takes full responsibility for the management and operation of
the newly set-up DA in Ninh Thuan province.
The structure of the report
This annual report incorporates information from various reports of key reviews listed
above as well as other PPA/PPP exercises carried out during the year under report.
Detail information of programme activities, advocacy initiatives and other work have
been provided by DAs and department managers.
It would be noted that the process and report aim not only to communicate the results
of our work, but also to generate and share learning, from success and failure, both
inside and outside the organisation. The current process is highly participatory so as to
allow/enable different poor groups of people and other project stakeholders to get
fully involved in all exercises.
The report is divided into three main sections as follows:


The first section provides the country update on economic, social and political
situation and other events in 2000 that has had a bearing on our programmes.
The second section is organised in two parts. Part I focuses on programmes
and advocacy work, consisting of key themes with its special reference to
‘Peoples Participation’, and containing an assessment as well as reflections on
the past year's successes and challenges, lessons learned and new directions in
programmes in these thematic areas. Part II looks at various challenges and
1

achievements faced by different functions of Human Resource Management
and Organisational Development (HR/OD), Funding & Fund Raising, Finance
etc. Information is presented against strategic objectives set up in the CSP for
1997-2000, aiming at providing an overall picture on how far we have gone
toward achieving these objectives.
The third section, by contrast, is organised by programme areas and
departments, and contains detailed information organised in tabular form on
all of AAV's activities during 2000.
2
Section One
POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC UPDATE
ECONOMIC
Fragile Recovery. After two years of low growth, the economy is in recovery.
However, the recovery is a fragile one because the investment-response remains weak
and because rapid credit expansion has increased the risks for inflation and for the
health of the banking sector. GDP growth picked up in the first half of 2000 on the
back of Government’s demand stimulation, rising consumption and strong export
performance. Total investment, as a share of GDP, though rising slightly, is still lower
than it was in 1997. Domestic private investment rose -- in response to the liberal
Enterprise Law that came into effect in January of this year -- but the magnitude of
this rise is unclear. Foreign investment remains depressed and foreign investor
confidence remains low. Inflation has not picked up, but that could change if rapid
monetary expansion continues. In the absence of more information on the uses of this
credit, a better assessment of the risks for inflation and for the health of banks is not
possible.
Continued reforms. Recent reform measures give cause for hope. If those measures
are complemented by the approval of a significant SOE reform program, they could
turn investor confidence around. The signing of the bilateral US trade agreement –
opening up trade and foreign investment in Vietnam and giving Vietnamese exporters
access to the US market – has somewhat improved the mood, even if the real effects
will not flow until late next year. The opening of the long-awaited stock market -even if it is more form than function – has reinforced that mood by signalling
continued reform. Similarly, the elimination of additional business licenses and better
implementation of the Enterprise Law has sustained growth of new entry of private
firms. The recent shift to a more flexible interest-rate policy, have given more
freedom to banks to price loans in line with differences in borrower risk, even if
continuation of a ceiling rate limits the amount of risk that banks can take.
Pick up in GDP Growth. Despite the sliding scale, national planners set this year’s
target at 6%; this time the GSO opted for a lower figure. And at a National Assembly
meeting in November, it was announced that Vietnam had met, and surpassed, the
target, attaining GDP of 6.7%; some GSO and MPI experts say the figure may be
slightly higher still. Inflation is expected to remain under control.
SOCIAL
Almost all indicators of human well being have improved markedly throughout the
1990s, and Vietnam has generally outperformed countries at similar income levels.
For example, its net primary school enrolment rate (92 percent) and its adult literacy
rate (94 percent) are amongst the highest in the developing world. Similarly its infant
mortality rate (37 per 1,000) and its life expectancy (67 years) are significant above
international norms. Vietnam seeks to build on this progress through addressing
significant challenges in this sector. The emphasis now needs to shift to improve the
quality of social services and to facilitate people to make well-informed choices.
Despite widespread expansion in the provision of basic social services, gaps exist in
the access to these services by groups differentiated by income levels, geographical
location, gender and ethnicity. Social indicators are worse for the poor and for those
living in upland areas.
3
POLITICAL
Internal differences slow congress preparations. There are many important strategic
planning processes taking place within the Vietnamese government. These are in
preparation for the Ninth Party Congress that is likely to be held in March or April
2001. The Congress will decide the future priorities of the Vietnamese government
and consider the Ninth five-year plan for 2001 to 2005. All local-level congresses
have formally taken place around December 2000 or in early January 2001 to discuss
the “draft documents” of the congress, elect new local party leaders, and pick deputies
to attend higher-level congresses. The first hurdle is in drafting the documents for the
congress, which was supposed to be done at the Central Committee’s plenum in April
but was put off until July 2000.
Efforts to abolish more licences bear fruit. Nowhere is the debate between economic
reformers and conservatives sharper than in the positions they have staked out on the
abolition of permits and red tape. In February, 84 sub-licences were abolished. The
Working Group on Implementation the Enterprise Law wanted to get rid of a further
61 sub-licences, but they proved to be too contentious.
The tone of political debate. This has also sharpened, which represents a departure for
a country where there is a premium on seeking consensus. Some of the proceedings of
the recent National Assembly session were televised, and showed deputies sharply
questioning ministers, apparently to the approval of the viewing public.
China is seen as a model to follow. During its May-June session the National
Assembly ratified an agreement with China that definitively established the land
border between the two countries. China is increasingly seen as an ideological
soulmate, and a successful economic model.
The trade agreement with US. The signing of a bilateral trade agreement with the US
in July 2000 would be seen as the precursor to negotiations for Vietnam’ entry into
the WTO.
POVERTY REDUCTION AND ODA
While poverty remains high, Vietnam has made considerable progress in poverty
reduction. In the Human Development Index (HDI), Vietnam’s present rank is 121
out of 174 countries, indicating a medium human development. The Gender-related
Development Index (GDI) rank for Vietnam is 91 out of 130 countries, meaning that
Vietnam has succeeded in building basic human capacities of both women and men,
without substantial gender disparities.
The long-term vision for poverty reduction is reflected in the Government’s draft
socio-economic development strategy for 2001-2010, 5-year plan and I-PRSP.
Overall, the Government has shown a strong commitment to combating multidimensional poverty in the next decade. Goals are set not only in terms of reducing
the number of poor households, and totally eliminating chronic hunger households,
but also in terms of improving the poor’s access to basic social services; expanding
opportunities for the poor to benefit from social protection and welfare policies; goals
are also set to continue providing social support to the most difficult areas.
During the December Consultative Group meeting in Hanoi, major donors considered
their support in light of their expectations of the future pace of the reform agenda.
Donors pledged US$ 2.0 – 2.2 billion in assistance for the coming year.
4
Section Two
REFLECTIONS AND LESSONS LEARNED
I-
OVERVIEW
As regards to its poverty focussed programmes, AAV has continued working to
expand and protect the production and income base of the poor people with whom we
work with the aim of improving poor people’s livelihoods. Our strategy for achieving
this include:




Increase agricultural production and income through improvements in
irrigation aimed at increasing the number of annual crops and through support
for the availability of appropriate information, technology and inputs;
Increase access to capital through savings and credit activities;
Increase human capacity through education and health activities, such as
increased access to safe water, and
Increase programme impact and influence decision-makers for more pro-poor
policies through advocacy work.
This section does not provide any detail information of specific programmes in each
DAs but focuses on presenting areas where ActionAid achieves its objectives, where
improvements could be made, other reflections and lessons learnt across the
organisation.
I.1- Contribute to positive changes in the position and condition of poor women
in line with Vietnam’s National Action Plan.
Achievements
AAV’s activity with the greatest positive impact on
women is the S&C schemes operating in all DAs.
Encouraging and enabling poor women to join S&C
groups, to save regularly and take out cash loans has
proved to be a popular and effective mechanism for
improving women’s and households’ wellbeing, as
well as empowering women. Combined, AAV’s
agricultural and S&C programmes have significantly
increased women’s competence and say in financial
and production matters, which has also been
instrumental in enhancing men’s perception of
women.
Mr. Tha, the Field Officer in
Son La said: S&C scheme has
helped men and women in
reviewing their positions
within the household and the
community: “Men feel women
are very proud to be the
recipients of credit, while
women feel they are less
dependent on men in their
daily life”.
In Quang Ninh, the focus on the WU as the main partner for Commune Bank (CB)
Model implementation has likely not only had positive impacts on the lives of WU
members, but also on the status of the organisation itself. Thank to their increased
capacity from working on the programme, commune level WU officers have been
requested to actively participate in commune planning and to collaborate with other
mass organisations on training, and DWU staff have been invited to provide
consultancy services to the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, the Bank
for the Poor and the HEPR board.
A recent participatory Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the Ha Tinh programme found
that women in particular perceived an impressive reduction in poverty, and that the
5
role and position of women, especially
that of many poor women, has
dramatically changed, with women now
commanding more social respect than in
the past. This has resulted from the
increased importance of women in
economic terms, along with their
improved knowledge base as a result of
training and exposure – all as a result of
AAV’s interventions.
Making positive changes to condition
and position of a poor woman:
A 38-year old woman - Mrs Lai said she
used to be the head of a large and poor
family in Tan Binh village of Thuong
Loc, Ha Tinh. Her serious illness five
years ago had driven her family into an
economically hard time and chronically
suffered food shortage. As being too
poor, she could not get loan from the
bank, and had to borrow so expensive
loans from moneylenders when needed.
In summary, AAV’s programmes has had
the following positive impacts on women:
Once AAV’s S&C scheme was set up
her village. She joined it and was first
elected as a group accountant. Some
trainings offered by the scheme enable
her to run the group. She took loan
firstly for making rice-cakes, then for
more productive animal husbandry and
fish raising. She was then elected to
work as village WU official in 1999.
With a loan from the bank, she has been
able to run a profitable milling
machine.
 Empowerment
and
enhanced
women’s participation: increased
rights to share their opinions and be
involved in decision-making on
financial, production and family
planning matters. Women are also
more engaged at the community level,
for
example
through
their
involvement in meetings of WUAs.
 Changed labour division within
families: reduced work burden,
Her family no longer suffers food
resulting in more ‘leisure’ time to
shortage, her kids are enrolled at school
devote to their own needs.
and she has purchased some house
 Better knowledge and skills: benefit appliances.
from capacity building opportunities
through agricultural extension, health, education and S&C programmes, enabling
women to discuss these issues at a more informed level, and
 Improved lives of women, their families and children: through income generation,
better access to the basic services of health care, education.
Areas for improvement
Despite considerable efforts have been made to promote this work, at DA level there
has been a lack of clarity about how gender policy is systematically translated into
programmes. It likely results from people’s poor knowledge of gender issues and/or
limited understanding of the nature of the work. During the country review, no
respondents in AAV knew what Vietnam’s National Action Plan said about women.
As far as the programme design is concerned, S&C programmes do not directly
benefit/reach the poorest group. Findings from Son La have shown that the rate of
poor women participating in the scheme accounts for only 20%, compared to 60% and
20% of those who come from average and better off households respectively (Quang,
Son La Programme Review, 2000). A group in Uong Bi, Quang Ninh discussed how
they preferred the CB model as it gave them an opportunity to borrow money that
they could not otherwise receive from the Bank for the Poor as they were not poor.
At the partner workshop in Laichau, people raised that participation in the S&C
scheme and other programmes also impose more work and responsibility on women.
6
However, women seem please even with additional workload as they would be able to
get improved access to services when in need, making their work much less difficult.
Findings from Tin-Toc village, Lai Chau have proved that the men’s group is much
better informed than the women are. While Thai women voluntarily and actively
participate in AAV’s programmes, Kh’Mu women know a just little. Even more
extreme is the situation in the H’Mong areas where women almost know nothing
about AAV’s programme activities despite the recent PPA and PPP processes. As
result, men have taken most of the functional roles while women have assumed
support ones only.
A main reason for the disparities in Son La is described as being the language barrier;
this is certainly true to a certain extent. From a gender perspective however, it would
seem that the main reasons for the lack of inclusion of women from less dominant
minority groups are twofold; language and the difficulty of reaching women when
trying to work with the existing social values in the programme areas.
Lessons learned
Women’s participation in management of community-level organisations is still
disproportionately small. It is clear that there is still some way to go before women
are able to overcome the restrictions of their traditional roles that keep them out of
management positions.
Keeping women and the WU at the hub of the S&C programme and capacity building
through the IPM programme has, in a subtle manner, broken the supremacy of the
village manager in areas such as agriculture, and has reduced women’s dependency
on others.
Encouraging women to participate regular group meetings would facilitate greater
social and community engagement and provide women with a platform to discuss
issues of concern, as well as acting as a mutual support group.
I.2- Contribute to positive changes in the
lives of ethnic minority people
Achievements
AAV has been working with some ethnic
minority groups like H’Mong, Kh’Mu, Dzao,
Muong in Son La, Lai Chau and Quang Ninh.
Partners in Son La have felt that the greatest
achievements in having positive impacts on
different ethnic minorities’ lives have come
from agricultural extension, education, health,
water supply, and S&C programmes.
If we hadn’t had access to
veterinary service:“We had always
raised 10-12 piglets but they often
suffered much from diseases and
died. As a farmer, we relied on
paddy land and livestock, but I had
given up raising animals. Since the
beginning of this year, a village
based paravet worker has been
trained, and with the drug box
provided by AAV, he has done a
good job. All animals were treated
and vaccinated and no one died. I
feel confident to raise pig again and
so far we have a sow with 8 piglets”.
Mrs. My, Na Tau, Dien Bien
district, Lai Chau.
For example, irrigation projects appear to
have brought in boarder impacts by not only
increasing crop productivity, e.g. several
villages with irrigation project can now
cultivate two crops annually and reclaim new
pieces of land, but also changing poor farming practices, contributing to economic
stabilisation for ethnic minorities. Similarly drinking water projects have, on one
hand, provided sufficient amounts of water for upland H’Mong villagers’ daily use,
7
on the other hand they have also helped significantly reduce workload for women and
girls who had to go far on steep slops to collect water every day.
Other programme activities have also served to raise professional knowledge and
skills (agricultural extension and education), awareness (education) and development
of household economies (S&C). On the whole, AAV’s staff perception of positive
changes among minorities complimented those of partners, adding observed changes
in increased spending power for agricultural production, more strongly built houses
with TV and radios, better dressed people, improvement in village services. Results
from the staff workshop have shown that activities have benefited ethnic groups in the
following ways: loans for seedlings, training for village-level vets and health workers,
agricultural and new adult literacy techniques.
It is more important that AAV’s programmes have increased ethnic minorities’
participation in community activities. The new working approach known as “bottom
up”, PPA/PPPs exercises and more recently the REFLECT programme have actually
brought in much greater impact on their attitudes, increasing demand for better social
services and programmes and building confidence in their own ability to participate
meaningfully in public affairs.
Getting poor people participated in public affairs through REFLECT.
Na Hin is a poor village of Dzao ethnic minority in Van Son commune, Son Dong, Bac
Giang. There are 15 HHs with 89 people but 49 out of them are illiterate in the village.
Findings from the baseline survey showed that one of the major causes of poverty in the
village is illiteracy.
A REFLECT class was started in the village early this year with 20 members. At the
beginning, most of members did not like to speak or discuss in the class "we do not know
what to say ... other may laugh if we are wrong in saying etc..". Bid by bid, they spoke and
discussed more and more about their own pressing issues. They identified some immediate
actions in order to improve their lives such as to protect drinking water sources, to
establish regulation on animal raising etc..
After 7 months of participating in the REFLECT class, these members have been able to
read and write. Moreover, resulting from using community techniques, they feel confidence
to discuss in a group of people, and could also carry out some development actions such as
the prevention of malaria, the change of labour during busy seasons etc..
In Quang Ninh, almost Dzao and Hoa (ethnic Chinese) poor women in Thuong Yen
Cong commune in Uong Bi, Quang Ninh have join and much benefited from the S&C
programme.
Areas for improvement
As discussed earlier, there has been much challenge working with ethnic minorities
due to the language barrier, different social norms and levels of dominance between
groups. The Thai are dominant making up the statistical majority in both Lai Chau
and Son La. That would explain why “the participation in and benefits from AAV’s
programmes of the two poorest H’Mong and Kh’Mu groups have been substantially
lower than the Thai group” (Quang 2000). This trend is also being reflected in the
impact on different ethnic groups in Lai Chau.
In both of these areas the Thai people (and ethnic Kinh in Son La) hold almost official
posts in the communes and villages. As result, they certainly hold key positions in
managing AAV’s programmes, a Thai woman has been working as the agricultural
8
extensionist in Tin Toc – a Kh’Mu village for example. It is good for the Lai Chau
programme to place a top priority in recruiting local and vernacular-speaking staff,
however most of them only speak Thai. It will likely become issues if only focusing
on the one ‘minority’ language as it may detriment programme impact on other
groups without very careful management.
Lessons learned
AAV’s own experience in working in areas inhabited by minority ethnic groups has
demonstrated that specific ethnic groups face different problems and are impacted
differently by development interventions as a result of different social structures
(including gender roles), agricultural practices, and so on. As such, for interventions
to be effective, AAV will need to disaggregate both problems and solutions according
to different minority ethnic groups.
I.3- Promote and replicate the Commune Bank model
Achievements
Considerable progress has been achieved by AAV and its DWU partners in the areas
of geographical expansion, growth in numbers of members, and savings and loans.
AAV has been working in 43 communes with total of a little more than 16,000
women. Combined outstanding loans have been in excess of VND 5 billion and
savings stood at more than VND 3.6 billion.
Improved access to simple and convenient
S&C facilities have proved to be central to
improving poor people’s livelihoods by
protecting them from shocks, such as poor
harvests or ill health, and by helping them to
accumulate capital for investment in
productive activities. In addition, the
establishment of S&C groups has proved to be
an important means of improving women’s
position, role and ability, enabling them to
make decisions about on-and off-farm
investment opportunities, and strengthening
community organisations.
Overall, the results of the CB programme in
Son La and Quang Ninh have been so
positive. In Son La, 4 out of 12 CBs, and 2
CBs in Quang Ninh are now reported to have
started paying the salaries of CB Facilitators
(CBFs), thereby moving the scheme towards
financial sustainability.
Mrs. Nhung, Ban Cup village,
Chieng Mai, Son La said: “Before
1994, because of having 10 children,
we found it extremely hard to earn
enough money for our children to go
to school. Since a CB was
established in my commune, I have
decided to participate immediately.
So far, I have borrowed five loans
and invested them in agricultural
production, fig raising. Since then I
have been able to save up some
money to buy textbooks and pay
school fees for my children, and to
build a house and a well. Now, six of
our children have gone to school and
three have a stable job. This
programme is really a reliable
source for borrowing when we need
capital.”
The results of the S&C programme in Ha Tinh have been more mixed. After initial
success in establishing self-help groups (SHGs), the number of groups began to fall
since 1999 due to internal resources of these groups have been too small to attract
more members. AAV has recently initiated a new model, aiming to link the existing
SHGs through a credit union. This new Poor Women’s Credit Fund model is currently
under pilot, and the decision to open membership to middle-ranked households are
both important to the long-term sustainability of the programme. A review after ten
9
months in operation suggests that the revised model is working well, but further
upgrading is needed before it can be expanded to other areas.
The S&C schemes in Lai Chau have expanded rapidly. However, while the savings
mobilisation was high in Lai Chau, demand for loans remained relatively low, which
could have an effect on the scheme’s long-term sustainability.
Areas for improvement
In all DAs, although DWUs have been gradually taking over responsibility for direct
management and operation of S&C schemes, their capacity in these areas have been
seen as relatively weak though with huge training efforts have been made, threatening
the sustainability of the scheme in the long run.
Other issues have largely associated with the S&C model’s design, such as group
meetings take up too much time; the accounting systems appear to be too complicated
for non-financial WU staff; scheme staff overloaded with paperwork; the new system
introduced in June 2000 “created chaos” to WU staff; late repayers negatively affects
the workings of groups and programme sustainability etc.
Perhaps the most critical issue of not reaching the poorest as discussed in the previous
section is also one that appears not to be thoroughly implemented or thought through.
In Son La for example, 35% of poor women in the project area do not participate in
the commune banks, especially those from upland areas
Lessons learnt
Credit needs of the poor are different from others, thus more flexible services would
almost certainly become more appropriate for the poor and the poorest.
Frequent changes and modifications of the S&C model (often recommended by
external consultants) have created confusion and inconvenience for management of
the programme.
There is an urgent need for further simplifying financial and book keeping systems for
non-financial WU staff, particularly for those who come from ethnic minorities.
There should be a strategy to offer more professional training programmes for WU
staff with special reference to ethnic minority participants.
The problem of delinquency can be a very real threat to financial sustainability, thus
there should be collection policies in place.
I.4- Build capacity of local partners to replicate and take responsibility for
programme activities
AAV’s capacity building work has had a positive impact in helping to ensure the
sustainability of projects and practices beyond the lifetime of AAV’s involvement.
During a review of AAV’s development approach, officials at the provincial and
district level noted that “more important than skills and information, AAV encourages
partners to think differently, consider new approaches and look for alternative
solutions”. The new way of work also much promote accountability system. There
have been several evidences from some projects that capacity building of partners
would certainly result in the sustainability of new management structures, for
example:
10
 The District Social Development Funds A new working approach to generate
in Son La and Ha Tinh indicated a learning and capacity building.
positive shift towards more sustainable In the past, evaluations of programmes
assisted by AAV were externally driven.
capacity building initiatives through the
External consultants were brought into
provision of financial and technical the country to gather and analyze
support for replication of AAV’s information, and their reports were
activities outside of the project areas. shared with the headquarters office,
Partners in these areas have gradually donors & provincial authorities.
come to understand and share a
AAV has recently undertaken a 6-month
‘bottom-up’ approach and methodology participatory mid-term review of the
for poverty reduction and are capable impact of its programme in Ha Tinh.
of applying it.
Most of work has been done by AAV
 Following training and the recent team. The evaluation has focused on
MTR, it is expected that AAV’s staff data collection at the commune level
and partners in Ha Tinh will be able to through separate meetings with various
carry out technical reviews, M&E stakeholder groups. Findings have been
exercises of projects to the appropriate synthesized in commune reports that
standard, a task that has been done by have been verified through feedback to
stakeholders. These reports have been
expatriates in the past.
then synthesized into a district report,
 DWU officials are increasingly taking
which will be shared with provincial
over the responsibility for training WU
authorities. In this way, AAV attempts
staff at commune and village levels, as
to generate learning, and build capacity
result, several CBs are now able to
for local people, and to increase its
operate independently. The DWU in
accountability to its partners from the
both Dong Trieu and Uong Bi districts,
ground up.
Quang Ninh have been potentially able
Source: Poverty Policy Learning Group
to replicate the S&C model throughout
their areas.
 Stakeholder group findings emphasise that Ha Tinh programmes have helped to
develop the skills and promote the status of local organisations, such as the WU.
 With IPM training of trainers targeted at local farmers, the dependence on external
trainers (from the Department of Plant Protection) has reduced to 50% in Ha Tinh.
Areas for improvement
At present the majority of the capacity building initiatives in DAs’ focuses on training
for staff to implement AAV’s funded activities rather than focusing on strategic
building partner capacity. In this connection, findings from Hatinh MTR proved that
“to date none of the projects have reached a point where they will be sustained if
AAV stops work”. The MTR also highlighted that AAV has planned, implemented,
monitored and made all key decisions about the work in which it has involved, and
raised serious issues in relation to capacity and sustainability.
Lessons learnt
Decision-making responsibilities need to be shared with partners and built into
working arrangements from the start. Good partnership involves mutual trust, respect
and understanding as well as shared aims and views.
AAV did too much. So transfer of responsibility for planning, design, implementation
and monitoring of projects from AAV to local partners and communities is necessary.
It will require additional capacity building and needs to be built into plans.
11
Decentralised and bottom-up approaches that foster close links with and provide the
opportunity to listen to poor people and encourage their active participation in
development are essential for successful poverty reduction programmes.
I.5- Strengthen the supply of basic social services by the government and the
demand for basic services by poor people
Achievements
In all DAs, working in the education sector has managed to both improve the supply
of basic services and increase the demand by local people. The establishment of
communal library has increased the availability of education services for the poor.
Parent-teacher associations (PTA) have been working with local educationalists to
give parents a better understanding of the meaning and value of learning thereby
increasing the numbers of school attendants and the demand for education.
Other activities across DAs have been working to improve the extent of government
services i.e. training programmes for village level health workers and teachers,
agricultural extensionists; working with local authorities to design HEPR strategy and
action plan etc.
Areas for improvement
Many poor people are still unaware of the benefits and values of basic social services
as well as basic rights, especially in upland areas and among H’Mong groups who had
less contact with AAV and government programmes. Thus, there is still a lot of work
to empower these poor and marginalised people.
Lessons learnt
Apart from having a balanced programme between economic and social sectors, there
is a great need for ensuring that the poorest would be able to realise their potential and
to pro-active participate in and benefit from AAV’s programme. Thus the rights-based
approach should be introduced to strengthen the current service delivery and working
approach that are too dependent on AAV.
I.6- Promote the participation of poor people in local community groups,
organisations and processes that affect their lives .
Achievements
One of the key strategies behind our development approach is to promote capacity
building of community groups and institutions at the grassroots level to enable poor
people to get access to and to manage resources by working together and organising
themselves. This capacity building at the grassroots level is also critical to the
institutional sustainability of many of our programmes. Almost every component of
our work, whether in savings and credit, irrigation or education, involves work on
developing and strengthening the capacity of community organisations.
Community-based organisations (CBOs) established so far include Water Users’
Associations, Savings and Credit groups, Parent Teacher Associations, Farmer-tofarmer extension, Integrated Pest Management groups.
Details on how these CBOs work have been shared in the last annual report. Findings
from recent reviews have further confirmed the fact that the establishment of these
CBOs have the potential to promote practical and representational empowerment as
they create good forums for poor people with special reference to poor women to
12
share ideas and to gradually build up their confidence in expressing ideas, and through
these forums to make their own contribution to policy making process. The success of
the establishment of WUAs in DA2 with the new policy approved by the Hatinh
provincial Government for the retention of 30% of irrigation fees as proposed by
WUAs has become one of good example in this case.
As for the PPAs/PPPs, implementation and evaluation techniques adopted by AAV
and training given to local officials in using participatory methods, AAV is now
recognised by the provincial government in Ha Tinh as a resource for participatory
planning and assessment processes, pioneered through the groups discussed above
and through support for a PPA to identify problems of the poor and appropriate
development interventions to be included in the provincial HEPR plan.
Overall, there have been a number of successes resulting from AAV’s efforts to
promote greater participation. Stakeholder group findings during the Ha Tinh MTR
suggest that partners have gradually come to understand and share a “bottom-up”
approach and methodology for poverty reduction. In four out of the five communes
reviewed, over 40% of groups interviewed noted that as a result of the programme
local authorities now pay more attention to the needs of poor people.
Ways to promote participation and voice the poor’s opinions:
AAV has begun to employ participatory planning methods in its project areas for the last
few years and quickly demonstrated their value.
As well as gathering valuable information for use in planning, according to a number of
villagers the process helped to empower poor and marginalised people to speak up about
their concerns, and to get more involved in community work in a more democratic
environment. It also built the capacity of Government officials and development workers
in using the participatory approach and underlined to them the value of learning from
poor people. For AAV, conducting a PPA has become a key exercise when starting to
work in any new area.
Findings of the PPA exercises recently conducted in Hatinh constituted a major input
into the development of the Ha Tinh HEPR Strategy and Action Plan.
At the central level, together with other PPA implementers, AAV has been invited to
participate in several forums and Government/donor meetings to examine the causes of
remaining poverty in Vietnam and discuss strategies to further reduce poverty. Many of
the NGOs’ findings and ideas were incorporated in Attacking Poverty, a joint report of
the Government, donors and NGOs, and have subsequently been key in informing the
debate about how to formulate pro-poor policies.
Source: NGO Poverty Policy Learning Group
Moreover, these important changes have had an impact beyond Ha Tinh. The work on
PPAs for the HEPR and Attacking Poverty is widely acclaimed. MOLISA says AAV
is one of the leading INGOs in relation to HEPR. Oxfam GB and Asia Development
Bank both appreciate the high quality of the PPA report with its excellent use of field
experience. Oxfam-GB thinks that its analysis had been used very effectively in the
World Bank’s Comprehensive Poverty Reduction Strategy workshop.
The issue of regressive taxation raised in Hatinh PPA report was picked up in the
Public Expenditure Review and resulted in research being carried out to verify what
was going on in Ha Tinh and other provinces. This was followed by an on-going
review by the Ministry of Finance and will be closely monitored by the World Bank.
13
It is strongly believed that bringing the voice of poor communities into the policy
making processes and involving communities in monitoring the implementation of
government plans would largely contribute to the enhancement of poor people’s
rights.
Areas for improvement
AAV has not done enough to ensure that local people and communities move from
passive participation in project planning and implementation to fully active
participants in their own development. Stakeholder discussions failed to demonstrate
a strong sense of commitment and ownership of activities among local people or
authorities, which has severe implications for the necessary momentum to sustain the
work after AAV’s departure (Findings from MTR in Ha Tinh)
Despite the increased opportunities for group interaction through the establishment of
CBOs, there has been not good progress in addressing the outstanding issue of not
really getting the poorest yet to actively participate in programmes. In the case of the
agriculture programme in Son La, poor farmers were encouraged to borrow seeds but
were unable to repay loans as they lacked the technical skills and other inputs to farm
productively. Sadly, the Son La report states that “they (the poor) felt that their
participation would be a burden on the community”.
Lessons learnt
Seeking participation of stakeholders during all stages of a project, including the
planning phase is crucial for strengthening the sense of ownership of the project as
well as increasing its sustainability through improved management.
Participation must be on the basis of utility and value of the activity to intended
beneficiaries, and unsupported by other incentives (including financial ones) that
would compromise sustainability.
I.7- Develop strategic linkages and relationships with various academic, research
institutions, NGOs or quasi NGOs through collaborative work and capacity
building
Achievements
It is one of AAV priorities. During the past year, while keeping sustaining and
strengthening on-going relationships with several Vietnamese and International NGOs
for collaborative research and advocacy work, AAV has successfully established new
relationships and partnerships with other NGOs, research institutions, and donors as
well. These included the Vietnam Garden Association (VACVINA) - a Vietnamese
NGO for the joint research on food insecurity issues at household level; and the
Research Center for Literacy and Continuing Education (RCLCE) for the REFLECT
pilot programme.
The significant evolution has been the establishment of a partnership with the Center
for Rural Progress (CRP), a Vietnamese NGO for the new DA work in the South.
AAV has experienced both successes and challenges in the development of the
partnership. Having worked together for the last six months to run a PPA exercise and
other preparation work for setting up the DA in Ninh Thuan province, the two
organisations have much learnt to understand each other working approaches, making
an initially good start for a longer-term partnership. However, it appears to have some
issues as Vietnamese NGOs like CRP is not legally recognised yet; and under the
14
current mechanism CRP works under a ‘umbrella’ government agency, making it not
always shares AAV’s values. It has taken and likely continues to take time and efforts
of AAV’s staff to further develop a good partnership. It is so important at this stage to
build a good partnership model as AAV seeks to work in partnership with local NGOs
in all new DAs to be set up in the next few years.
On micro-finance, together with SCF-UK, Oxfam-GB, MRPD, DfID, AAV has
played an active role in the advocacy work for micro-finance. The State Bank said
that AAV has played a useful role in enhancing the mutual understanding between
regulators and micro-finance practitioners and in contributing to the formulation of a
proposed regulatory framework for micro finance institutions. As a result of the work
carried out by AAV and the Micro-finance Working Group, policy makers are aware
of the importance of micro-finance and recognise the need for a legal framework. In
September 2000, the State Bank’s Department of Banking Institutions produced draft
regulations on micro-finance. This is an important achievement.
The advocacy work on education is moving steadily towards its goal, with interim
objectives already met. RCLCE, a Government Research Organisation has been
persuaded to be AAV’s partner with full responsibility for the management of the
REFLECT pilot programme. This is an essential step in persuading the Ministry to
adopt REFLECT approaches. With the collaborative work on REFLECT, AAV’s
reputation and credibility with MOET as an agency with both project and policy work
on education has grown from nothing in 1998 to being very strong today. Space for
dialogue with MOET has been created and the work has also improved general
relations between AAV and Provincial authorities in Lai Chau and Bac Giang.
Director of DOET in Lai Chau said that, if AAV’s can find the funds, he will allow
replication of REFLECT by RCLCE throughout the Province.
Excellent relationships have been formed between the World Bank and AAV. The
Bank says there is a “unique relationship of trust and mutual respect” between AAV
and the Bank with both working together to improve the lives of poor people.
AAV’s efforts to persuade the government to allow not only international but also
local NGOs to participate in two official policy forums, namely the Poverty Working
Group and Consultative Group Meeting, is a ground-breaking achievement that sets a
precedent for the future and is a significant contribution to broadening the space for
civil society involvement. Both Oxfam-GB and Oxfam-Hong Kong confirm AAV’s
key role in getting local NGOs to take part in discussions with government at the
Consultative Group meeting in 2000.
Areas for improvement
There has not been a clear and overall strategy and in fact these work have primarily
involved the Country Director and the Policy Research and Advocacy (PRAD) only.
Despite a series of very significant achievements relating to participation and
strengthening civil groups and other research institutions, the fact that objectives
developed implicitly and organically and not widely shared as activities progressed
means that the majority of AAV’s staff are unaware of any overall design or
accomplishment, leading to inactively exploit opportunities to promote these work at
lower levels.
Lessons learnt
15
A clarity and policies in place would become essential for developing a partnership
with other organisations with special reference to Vietnamese NGOs and civil society
organisations.
The new push to build the advocacy role and profile of AAV involved a huge
investment of staff time, particularly in light of the decision to move away from a
system of external relations centred primarily around the Country Director and PRAD
The strategy of collaborating with other NGOs, both international and Vietnamese, in
its advocacy work has served to strengthen the impact of AAV’s advocacy initiatives.
However, this strategy has been most effective when combined with building solid
experience and relationships with government authorities and donors on certain issues
for which AAV is recognised as a knowledgeable, experienced and objective
institution, for example in the area of microfinance.
I.8- Carry out advocacy work on micro-finance, basic education and multilateral
development banks
Achievements
Government, donors and INGOs were unanimously positive about AAV’s advocacy
activities, and many remarked that there had been a significant and welcome increase
in such work over the last year.
Increasing profile and credibility. AAV has achieved its objective to become known
and respected for its advocacy work. Through its constructive engagement with
government departments in Hanoi it has enhanced its reputation as a responsible and
well-informed organisation and has reduced government suspicions about advocacy
and helped to broaden the space for action. Amongst INGOs and with the World
Bank, it is now recognised as being one of the most active and credible NGOs
working on policy advocacy.
Oxfam GB AND Oxfam Hong Kong said that over the last two years, AAV had
changed from being an organisation that produced lots of good quality documentation
to one that had a “nimble and opportunistic” approach to advocacy. This had been a
very positive change. MOLISA, MOET and the State Bank of Vietnam all had
positive comments with regard to AAV’s work. MOFA appreciates “the support and
assistance granted by AAV to some of the works conducted by the Department of
Multilateral Economic Co-operation” a sentiment echoed by the State Bank.
Working from experience. The WB and Asia Development Bank complimented AAV
on having a sound programme base for advocacy and a large potential for achieving
success because of its strong links with communities. “When it speaks on a subject,
what it says is backed up by experience on the ground.” Having staff based in the
Provinces means that AAV has much closer relations with Provincial and District
Officials than many other INGOs and can work very effectively with them. MOLISA
confirmed this view: “AAV only talks about what it has done, through its own
experience and it is much more convincing”.
Creating space for dialogue and advocacy. AAV’s important role in opening dialogue
between INGOs and the government on national policy issues is widely recognised.
Oxfam Hong Kong noted that: “AAV seems to understand the importance of building
trust between government and the NGO community as a precursor to influencing
agendas and was wise of AAV to select issues where it would be an ally of
government in international fora”.
16
The World Bank believes that bringing the voices of poor communities into the policy
making processes and involving communities in monitoring the implementation of
government plans would make a more positive contribution than simply pushing for
the replication of successful models. This would be in line with AAV’s aim to
increase participation and broaden democratic space.
Building local advocacy capacity. AAV is also widely appreciated for its contribution
to developing the advocacy capacity of INGO and LNGO colleagues through the
NGO Poverty Policy Learning Group and for broadening space for NGO lobbying
and consultation with government departments.
Strengthening civil groups is an important goal for advocacy and is important in
Vietnam if democratic space is to be increased and policy makers held accountable
for their actions. AAV should commit to devote resources to providing fora where
local staff of INGOs and LNGOs can come together to increase their understanding
and analysis of key issues and develop their skills in advocacy.
Areas for improvement
The need for a tighter focus. This was the most frequently cited criticism of AAV’s
work. All respondents from The World Bank and Oxfams felt that it would be better
for AAV to concentrate on a small number of issues and work on them systematically,
allowing staff to promote them relentlessly in all forums and achieve more impact.
Engaging more actively with other civil groups. AAV has done a good job on its
active networking with key INGOs and LNGOs, and with the World Bank, PACCOM
and a small range of government institutions. However, respondents believe that, in
the future, it would be good to cast the net more widely and involve a greater variety
of actors in advocacy activities.
Improving research for advocacy. AAV has done a lot of operational programme,
sector and thematic reviews and research. However, not all of them are readily
available especially in Vietnamese language or used in policy advocacy work.
Lessons learnt
The lack of success in conducting advocacy work at other than central government
level can largely be attributed to the limited capacity of AAV’s own programme and
staff, as well as the lack of space for such activities on the part of provincial
authorities, thus an appropriate training programme would become essential.
II. ORGANISATIONAL STRENGTHENING
There has been a lot of work done to turn AAV into a “learning organisation”, such as
the establishment of a professional and systematic human resource management,
policies, structure and system and the development of a comprehensive system and
three year plan for strengthening capacity of all AAV staff at all levels as a part of
Human Resource Development. These have helped a lot in further strengthening the
country team.
Lessons learnt
Our action plan is too huge, covering lots of objectives and activities. For the newly
established HR/OD, in fact we have not got enough time and staff to work out
appropriate planned activities.
17
Our prioritised focuses are too much. So it becomes difficult to manage time and
resource for our activities.
We did not fully delegate responsibility and authority to senior managers and other
level of staff in HR work.
III. FUNDING AND FUND RAISING
In 2000, funding continued to be secured and consolidated to meet the needs of
programme operations and activities. In June, one off reserve transfer of GBP68,000
was received from ActionAid India to support the programme in Ninh Thuan
province, a new development area in the South. S&C replication scheme was
supported by grants from the McKnight Foundation and the New Zealand Embassy in
Hanoi. During the year, two training workshops on sponsorship communication were
organised for programme staff with an objective of improving the information
collection for community reports.
Lessons learnt
Due to the nature of funding and fundraising function, proposals and reports are
required to meet very strict deadlines and donors’ requirements. Failure to do so will
result in either missing the chance of getting funds or possible negative relationship
with donors. The preparation of proposals and reports so far has met the general
standards of donors, but it still requires a lot of energy and efforts of staff concerned.
In order to improve this, a number of issues that are pulled out as lessons learnt are as
follows:
 It appears that the proposed and actual budget formats are not consistent. There is
also a misunderstanding of ‘budget’ that is used in funding proposal. As a result,
the ‘budget’ can be interpreted into three different ways: forecasted budget,
approved budget and proposed budget. These have not only caused difficulties for
the Funding and Fundraising staff in compiling and preparing financial proposals
and reports but also an implication on the transparency value of the organisation.
In future, there should be a close co-ordination between programme, finance and
funding and fundraising staff on all the finance-related issues.
 Late submission of reports from programme and department staff has limited the
time of Funding and Fundraising staff in editing, revising and tailoring proposals
and reports. The implication is clear. Inappropriate time spent to prepare proposals
and reports can affect the quality of these documents and the consequent funding
for programmes and activities.
IV. FINANCE
The year 2000 was the first year implementation of ActionAid Finance Strategic Plan.
Its starting point was the 3-year plan process in which medium term plan was first
time introduced at country programme level instead of the annual plan as usual. The
devolution of planning and budgeting to commune level was also taken place in Ha
Tinh and Lai Chau. The first cost effectiveness analysis for Ha Tinh was conducted in
coincide with the Mid Term Review. This year also experienced the difficulty in
recruiting the head of finance position that led to the shortage of staff (the internal
auditor) in almost the whole year. This has seriously affected the auditing task.
18
After the first year implementing AA Finance Strategic Plan, some lessons should be
learnt for future:
Firstly, the 3-year plan should be designed so as it can benefit the annual plan and
budget. In order to do that, the contribution from senior management team members
becomes very important. And ownership of the process is core as all DAs/departments
are responsible for developing their 3-year plan; finance only plays the co-ordinating
role in this process. Besides that, the co-ordination between departments whose
activities need to be planned at DA level (e.g. advocacy, gender etc.) and related
DAs/departments is very important for success.
Secondly, the implications of the devolution of planning and budgeting processes
should be carefully discussed and agreed among the senior management team in order
to maintain the consistency through out the organisation and avoid confusion.
Thirdly, the cost effectiveness analysis should be integrated in every programme
review as compulsory requirement. This will help finance prepare its plan to get
involved in the review from the beginning. And results from the cost effectiveness
analysis will form parts of the programme review. This helps the readers easily relate
the programme results with their costs. On the other hand, findings and lessons learnt
from the analysis should be widely discussed with staff, especially DA staff, for
future improvement.
Lastly, the involvement of accounting staff to auditing the partners creates
opportunities for the shift in the accounting function to meet requirements from the
new working approach: work in partnership with partners. This also requires proper
training on audit skill and techniques for the relating staff.
17
Section Three
PROGRAMME ACTIVITY TABLES
I.
OVERVIEW OF SON LA PROGRAMME (DA1)
INPUTS
Savings and Credit
 Training provided bimonthly to S&C group
leaders and commune bank facilitators (CBFs).
 Internal study tour arranged for VWSG leaders,
CBFs to Chieng Mai, one of the best CB.
 In-country study tour held for DWU staff and
AAV S&C staff to Lai Chau.
 The improved model on bookkeeping system
applied in 3 more communes (Muong Tranh,
Chieng Ban, Chieng Chung)
 Another improved model on group structure
newly applied in 3 CBs (Chieng Mai, Chieng
Mung, Hat Lot).
Agriculture
 40 plot demonstrations on sloppy lands
 50 plot demonstration on dry lands.
 16 plot demonstration on multi-purpose gardens.
 12 plot demonstration on husbandry.
 8 agriculture integrated ecological villages
developed
 2small-scale irrigation projects completed and 2
other on construction.
 Paravet activities
OUTPUTS



OUTCOMES
3904 loans with total loan value of 2,337,365,500 VND
Total savings value of 786,575,589 VND
Delinquency rate reduced from 15% in Oct ’99 to 9% in Oct
’00
6 out of 12 CBs were improved the bookkeeping system to
meet the financial management standard.
3 out of 12 CBs improved on group restructure and started
showing some positive results.
The DWU and 4 other commune banks (Chieng Mai, Chieng
Chung, Muong Tranh, Muong Bon) were independently
operated to date (They pay for their own operational costs).

1054 farmers (37% women) participated in trainings on plot
demonstrations; 3676 farmers (40%) participated in group
meetings/excursions on plot demonstrations.
 Seeds and fertilizers with total value of 291,660,400 VND
from the seed bank used by 3381 HHs.
 20 ha of double paddy land irrigated.
 2400 buffaloes, 3601 cows and 1958 pigs had immune
injections; 662 bafaloes, 421 cows and 1582 pigs treated with
recovered rate of 85-90%.





18






Relationship among programme
stakeholders was improved.
Management capacity and confidence of
the DWU staff and CBFs was enhanced.
Members of S&C scheme learn a habit
to save moneys and learn the way to
make use the loan for households’
productive investment.
Members were more responsible for
repayment on time.
The role of partner in programme
management increased.
Adoption rates of new seeds increased
significantly.
Productivity of maize and rice increased
Income
from
animal
husbandry
increased
Health
 Supporting textbooks and allowance for VHW
students.
 Organizing 3-days refresher training courses on
malaria prevention for VHWs.
 Supporting VHWs with medical bags.
 Supporting District Health Center with cold
boxes for keeping vaccine.
Water Supply
 3 water suppy project completed in Ta Hoc and
Chieng dong commune.
 7 water supply projects on constructions in Ta
Hoc, Chieng mai, Chieng mung, Muong tranh,
Chieng ban and Chieng Dong communes.
Education
 Supporting local communities to set up the
Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) and book
banks for primary pupils.
 Training on participatory methods for PTAs.
 Facilitating local community and sharing costs
for construction of classrooms in primary
schools.
 Conducting education needs survey for Chieng
Ve commune and review of education activities
for Chieng Dong commune.














51 VHW students of the VHW 9-month training course
graduated.
80 VHW students finished 3-month VHW training course.
180 VHWs were trained on malaria prevention.
58 VHWs received medical bags for their operation.
10 cold box for keeping vaccine and a overhead projector for
training VHWs were provided to District Health Center.

Clean and sufficient water for 131 HHs.
The role and responsibility of local authorities in project
design and management were reinforced.
Water user Associations were formed.


Saving time to collect water.
Reducing water-caused disease.
04 classrooms for Chieng Dong primary school were put in
used from 1st September of 2000-2001 school year.
A book bank in Chieng Dong commune is managed
effectively by the PTA.
A PTA in Chieng Ve commune was formed in August 2000.
The PTA of Chieng Ve and Chieng Dong communes was
trained on participatory methods.
A book bank of 452 set of primary textbooks for Chieng Ve
commune was set up in August 2000.
04 classrooms for Chieng Ve primary school are under
construction.

Improved education results of primary
pupils in Chieng Dong communes.
Higher enrolment of children at primary
school ages.
Parents pay more attention to education
of their children.
19



Villagers are able to access to basic
health care service at their villages that
is more convenient than to go to
commune clinic center.
Epidemic diseases can be discovered and
treated more effective at villages
Capacity building
 Training
on
village/commune
development planing by partner.
 Training new village para vets for
communes outside the project area by
partner.
 Demonstration plots on paddy lands for
communes outside the project area.
 Supporting for implementation of
irrigation projects and water supply
projects.
 Training agriculture extension workers
for commune outside the project area by
partner.






48 commune cadres were trained on village development planing.
15 new para-vets were trained and equiped with veterinary medical
bags for Chieng Chan commune.
04 demonstration plots on paddy lands for villages of Chieng Chan
commune were carried out.
34 agriculture extension workers of communes outside the project
area were trained on agriculture extension methods and techniques.
An irrigation project and 03 water supply projects were implemented
in Co Noi, Chieng Luong and Chieng Chan communes.
A report on surveying semi-submerged lands for paddy
cultivation in Chieng Luong commune.
20


Partners were strengthened their
capacity to prepare plans and implement
development activities by themselves.
Experiences and lessons from AAV’s
programme were used by partners for
development activities outside the
project area.
II.











OVERVIEW OF HA TINH PROGRAMME (DA2)
ACTIVITIES
An extensive Mid-Term
Review of DA2 programme
in a very participatoty manner
was carried out from April to
October
Workshops on Rights Based
Approach
Workshop on Advocacy
Discussions on AAV Policy
Papers such as Infrastructure,
Phasing out etc
Discussion on revised HRMP
Participation on Cua Lo
Gender Workshop
Expansion of S&C
programme into Nga Loc
commune
New Credit Fund in Nhan
Loc commune
Consolidation of the
programme in other
communes
Assistance to the Ha Tinh
Microfinance group
Tender process of Irrigation
Projects


OUTCOMES
Better understanding of the programme of all stakeholders
Key lessons and future orientations for the programme during the
2001-2005 period

Staff commitment to follow this approach

Staff capacity/commitment to apply advocacy in their work


Good understanding/awareness of all staff of RBA
Contributions to the discussions within AAV
Good understanding/awareness of all staff of the need of
doing advocacy
Contributions to the discussions within AAV
Contributions to the discussions within AAV

Staff understanding/awareness and approval of these papers


Contributions to the discussions within AAV
Active participation of all staff and partners








Activities in 6 communes with 3,020 members
Savings balance of VND281mill; outstanding loans of
VND553.46mill
Regular meetings with high participation of members
Larger and various types of loans meet people’s needs
Staff understanding/awareness of AAV HRMP
Good gender awareness and immediate application of it in their
work/families
The Credit Fund model is confirmed
More active participation of DWU and CWU in all aspects of the
programme
Partners and beneficiaries understand better and become more
capable in running the programme
Better disciplines of members in terms of attending regular
meeting, repayment and savings deposits

Total funding of VND57mill






OUTPUTS
Mid-Term Review Reports





Two new projects in Phu Loc and Nga Loc commune
Lower construction costs than projected
21

AAV’s S&C model is being replicated by the Provincial WU into
Vu Quang District
A number of local WU official gained systematic knowledge of
microfinance


Establishing and
strengthening Water Users’
Associations
IPM

Paravet

Agricultural extension

WUAs established in all 7 communes (76 villages) in Tra
Son zone with 8,166 members.
All WUAs have been strengthened and become more
active



1,380 people trained in IPM
44 farmer-teachers received further training



350 households were trained in veterinary science
30 paravets received further training and 12 of them are
active with medicine kits
4,950 livestock received treatment; only 117 failed
Locally producing rice seeds in 6 communes involving
535 households. Very positive results were reported in
Son Loc and Nhan Loc communes
19,500kg of quality rice seeds was produced





Education







Health


Book banks to all 10 primary schools in and one outside
Tra Son zone
Reference textbooks to 7 lower secondary schools
357 awards of VND100k each to 336 very poor pupils and
21 poor teachers who performed well
170 preschool and primary teachers have received further
on-the-job training
A comprehensive survey on preschool and primary
education situation in Can Loc district completed in
August
Support to improve hygienic conditions of two primary
schools
Toys to all preschools in Can Loc Districts
Health motivator network established in 3 communes- My
Loc, Nhan Loc and Thuong Loc
22













Formal recognision of Provincial and District Authorities on the
rights of WUAs attaining 1/3 of irrigation fees for their operation.
Better understanding/awareness of local authorities and people on
the need of having Participatory Irrigation Management
Active participation of local people in managing irrigation
projects
People can apply what they have learnt in their agricultural
production
Reduced expenditures on pesticides and inorganic fertiliser
Cleaner environment
People feel safer investing in animal husbandry
Local paravets become more active
Many people know how to raise livestock properly
Local production of rice seed won support from both local
authorities and people
There is a need of specialising the production in certain restricted
areas with limited number of producers to ensure good quality of
seed
Very good work relations with local Education Department, Fund
for Promoting Education and related schools
Very good cooperation in implementing activities
More attention should be paid to Parent-Teacher Associations
Better health conditions of local people especially women and
children




Close cooperation with the District health Centre



Provincial HEPR Fund

Continuing pilot activities (Irrigation, Extension, Family
Planning etc.) in four communes in Huong Son District



Preparation for the CSP

DA2 Manager participated organisational reviews in DA1,
DA2 and Ha Noi
DA2 Manager conducted a survey of rural poverty in a
southern province of Tra Vinh

More people have access to clean water
Better clean water supply to more than 10,000 people in the Tra
Son Zone
Reduced occurrence of water-born diseases
Very good cooperation and work relations with District
Authorities
District Authorities pay greater attention to poverty reduction
activities and more capable in carrying out short term
development activities
Very good work relations with Provincial Authorities
Authorities pay greater attention to poverty reduction activities
and are more capable in carrying out short term development
activities
Review reports

Trip report

Clean water
In cooperation with the District health Centre organised 11
training courses on common diseases and treatments for
447 people
9 public water supply stations built for 2,207 beneficiaries
in Son Loc commune
District Social Development
Fund




2,500 poor households received training on agricultural
techniques
56 cataract people were operated
A new school built in Nga Loc commune
23



III.
OVERVIEW OF LAI CHAU PROGRAMME (DA3)
INPUTS
OUTPUTS
OUTCOMES
Savings and Credit

Regular training and financial support to
Women Union of Dien Bien district and
Dien Bien Phu Township to run Commune
Bank Programme;
 Training provided to project partners on
applying the new policy on savings and
loan.
 Training provided to project partners on
changing of report and book keeping
system;
 Support for implementing new policy, new
report and book keeping system in 7
communes;
 In-country study tours arranged for staff and
partners ;
Agriculture activities
Paravet:
Support to establish veterinary service network
in Muong Pon, Na Tau, Thanh Nua, Muong
Phang communs;







Lai Chau 1
Commune Bank Programme operated in 5 communes
of 115 groups with 2,046 members.
Savings balance: VND 448,695,342
Outstanding loans: VND 797,606,100

Lai Chau 2
Commune Bank Programme operated in 5 communes
of 93 groups with 456 sub-groups of 2,050 members.
Savings balance: VND 279,205,100
Outstanding loans: VND 895,496,200;
A ten days – study tour to Son La, Quang Ninh and
Soc Son was organized in December for 19 staff
including Trust Fund staff, commune bank facilitator
and group leaders;

116 paravet practitioners have been qualified from a
training programme funded by AAV to service 71
poor villages;
53 veterinary medicine boxes equipped




Poor households have been able to access capital for
productive investment in agriculture, livestock rearing
or to deal with shocks including ill-health or harvest
failure;
Poor households can build up their own capital
through the formation of independent savings groups;
The Women's Union has been able to carry out wealth
ranking, mobilisation of group membership,
monitoring of group activities and supplementary
lending from the AAV/Women's Union loan fund
.




24
Poor people have access to veterinary services;
Encourage of animal vaccination
Development and maintenance of village veterinary
network
Establishment of revolving funds for vaccine and
medicines for animal
Capacity improvement of the district veterinary
station;
Agriculture extension:
 Participatory planning for agriculture
extension of rice production, livestock
rearing and irrigation system was conducted
on March and April in five villages
 Piloting a programme of improving wet rice
cultivation for the poorest people, training
on wet rice cultivation techniques was
provided for all farmers of five villages of
Muong Pon commune.
 Training for commune and village based
extension workers;

Participatory planning reports on agriculture extension
for 23 poorest villages have been finalised and
circulated;
300 households of five villages of Muong Pon
commune have been trained on wet rice cultivation
techniques; 50 hungry households of five villages of
Muong Pon commune have piloted new rice varieties
of Bao Thai and Hong Kong in summer crop
The agricultural extension network at village level
was established in six communes including 12
commune extension workers and 39 village – based
extension workers;

Irrigation:
 Water Resource Management programme
has been suuported in Muong Pon village of
Muong Pon commune

Completed design for irrigation project with local
authorities’s constribution of 67,000,000 VND in
Muong Pon commune has been worked out;

Participation of poor people of Muong Pon has been
promoted through Water Users’ Association; ;

43 village-based health workers of Muong Phang and
Na Tau communes have been trained in health
education, disease prevention and treatment of
common illnesses and basic equipment and funds for
drug banks have provided with them to serve poor
communities of 43 villages of 1039 households.


Promoted village health network in Mai Son.
Poor ethnic minorities of Muong Phang and Na Tau
communes have access to basic health care services at
village level;

Construction works for two water supply projects has
been completed to benefit 80 households of Kh’Mu
ethnic minorities




Time savings realised in water collection.
Reduction of water-borne diseases.
Daily water usage has been increased
Womens’ workload associated with water collection
have been reduced;





Communities of Muong pon commune have been
encouraged to participate through consultation
processes held during poverty analysis, programme
design and monitoring and evaluation exercises;
decentralisation of extension structure through village
extension system in Muong pon commune;
Agriculture extension services of Muong Pon
commune have been promoted through demonstration
and farmer training at village level
Poor households net income from wet rice production
and livestock rearing has been increased in Muong
Pon commune;
Health


Training for village health workers (VHW)
trainers on pedagogical methodology
carried out in Muong Phang and Na Tau
communes
Support provided for textbooks and stipends
for VHW students.
Water Supply


Participatory designs of three water supply
projects of Muong pon commune have been
carried out in June;
2 water supply projects completed in Tin
Toc, Huoi Chan villages of Muong Pon
commune.
25
Education

Piloting REFLECT program has been
comleted in Thanh Nua and Thanh Xuong
communes;

10 classes of Piloting REFLECT program has been
comleted in Thanh Nua and Thanh Xuong communes;
210 adults (30 out of 210 learners are men, the
remaining of 180 are women) of poor communities
have successfully got their basic education;
11 facilitators being trained in the REFLECT training
for trainers; and they have been working efficiently to
continue REFLECT piloting programme


60 commune partners’ staff trained on PPP;


60 village PPP reports have been in used by different
stakeholders;


Participatory evaluation of agriculture programme has
been carried out by all of the stakeholders;

17 partners representatives in Dien Bien district are
trained in PPP training of trainers;.
12 partners representatives of six communes and 8
representatives of different partners at district level,
visited development programmes in Mai Son district
of Son La and Tua Chua district of Lai Chau
province;



Literacy for ethnic minorities in the programme area
has been promoted in Dien Bien district;
Methodology of illiteracy eradication of REFLECT
has been recognised by local authorities at all levels;
District Social Development Fund

Training course on PPP carried out in 6
communes of Dien Bien district;
 Supports to practise bottom up planning for
development in 60 villages of Dien Bien
district;
 Evaluation of agricultural programme with
the participation of all stakeholders was
carried out in three communes of Muong
Pon, Na Tau and Thanh Nua.
HEPR (district level activities)
 7-day training course on Paticipatory
Poverty and Planning (PPP) carried out in
Dien Bien district;
 Organised study tour to visit development
programmes in Mai Son district of Son La
and Tua Chua district of Lai Chau province;

26



Bottom up planning for development has been
enhanced Dien Bien district;
Participation of poor people in planning,
implementation of their own development activities
have been promoted in Dien Bien district;
Promoted district HEPR projects.
Improving the capacity of local partners at district and
commune levels;
The role and responsibility of local authorities in
project management reinforced;
IV- OVERVIEW OF QUANG NINH PROGRAMME
ACTIVITIES
Savings and Credit





Training provided on CB model modification
and book keeping system included for CBs staff
in two districts in Fec.00
Established two new Communal banks in Dong
trieu in Apr.00.
Training provided on delinquency management
for two districts and CBs staff in April 2000.
19 of old CBs model have being modified into
new model from July to at the end 2000.
New loan policy and repayment policy have
been introduced to the all members.
OUTPUTS








Flat method has used to calculate interest in all CBs
Financial management standard procedure has applied in
all CBs
Re structural group with 5 members for each and the name
of group to be renamed into cluster
The programme has 346 clusters with 9002 members,
surplus 2324 members in the year of 2000
Total balance of savings: VND 1,282,581,000
Average value of deposits per member: VND142, 000.
Total value of outstanding loans: VND 3,749,479,800.
Most loans have been used for raising animals (72%),
growing vegetables and fruits (22%) and small trading
(3%).
27
OUTCOME



Poor women in Quang Ninh have been
able to build up their own savings and
thus increase economic stability.
Loans used for income generating
activities have helped improve the lives
of the poor and contributed to hunger
eradication and poverty reduction.
Improving the management capacities
of programme staff.
V. OVERVIEW OF POLICY RESEARCH AND ADVOCACY
INPUTS
Education
 Started 10 literacy classes with 200 learners in Dien
Bien District scheduled to finished in July 2000. The
same event was implemented in Son Dong District of
Bac Giang Province.
 Conducted monthly trainings for facilitators in two
pilot provinces from January to July 2000.
 Developed and Utilised learning materials: RCLCE
collaborated with related organisations (WU, Farmer’s
Association etc.) at local and central levels to develop
and utilise appropriate forms of learning materials.
 The programme will support the pilot communes to
establish community libraries (one each) with about a
hundred of different materials each.
 Developed and published 5 issues of Bulletin on
Literacy with Community Development.
Food Security
 Established a partnership with VACVINA (LNGO) to
research household food security in 20 villages in
Vietnam
 Participated in the ACC network for Food Security
established by the FAO Hanoi office.
 Made interventions on participatory irrigation
management (PIM) at two government workshops
 Translated, published and disseminated widely the AA
Trade and Food Security booklet
 Arranged for the AA International Food Rights team
to give presentations on trade and food rights at a
meeting of the Poverty Policy Learning Group
 Participated in the Sustainable Agriculture and Natural
Resources Management Group.
OUTPUTS







Started the pilot REFLECT programme in
Bac Giang and Lai Chau Provinces. It
was launched into 5 communes in Bac
Giang and 2 communs in Lai Chau.
22 facilitators for literacy and another 22
facilitators for post-literacy were trained.
20 literacy classes were formed with the
total of 439 adult participants
20 post-literacy classes were formed for
those who completed their literacy classes
with 409 participants.
A strategic alliance with the Asia South
of the Pacific Bureau of Adult Education
has been established.
Phase 1 of the joint 200 Village Project
to identify issues of food insecurity at
household level in 20 communes has
been successfully implemented.
Together with FAO, SNV and Oxfam
Belgique, a Policy Task Force has been
set up to work with National Committee
for Food Security (NCFS) on policy
issues for the National Programme for
Food Security.
28
OUTCOMES







The work on education is moving steadily towards its
goal, with interim objectives already met.
RCLCE has been persuaded to be AAV’s partner with
full responsibility for the management & implementation
of the pilot programme.
Local authorities in piloted areas have become supportive
to REFLECT pilot programme. They have expressed
their commitment to expand REFLECT throughout these
provinces.
AAV’s reputation and credibility with MOET as an
agency with both project and policy work on education
has grown significantly. It helped creat more space for
dialogue with MOET. The work has also improved
general relations between AAV and the local authorities.
Good relations have been established with government
organisations, NGOs and other donors involved in food
security. The Research Institute of Water Resources of
MARD has invited AAV to cooperate with them to
develop PIM model for example.
AAV has gained a reputation as one of the two most active
INGO members of the ACC network and is respected for
speaking from experience.
INGOs and LNGOs are more aware of the links between
trade and food security.
Microfinance
 Together with other NGOs and donors to work with
the State Bank and other government institutions for
setting up a legal framework for community-based
microfinance programmes.
 With the State Bank organized two workshops, one in
Hanoi and one in Ho Chi Minh City to increase policymakers understanding of micro finance;
 Offering comments to the first Draft of the
Government Degree on Banking Services of Nonbanking Institutions.
Multi-Lateral Development Banks (MDB) & HEPR
 Researched the World Bank’s policy agenda and
initiated engagement with the World Bank by
attending their meetings/workshops.
 Regularly engaged with MOLISA, MPI and MOFA to
discuss MDB issues as well as offered
comments/inputs in their HEPR and development
strategies
 Lobbied for the participation of AAV and other
INGOs and LNGOs at the Sapa Retreat on the
Comprehensive Poverty Reduction Strategy, and
facilitated group discussions on governance and
participation, and on agricultural development.
 Countinued to facilitate the Poverty Policy Learning
Group for bringing INGOs and LNGOs interested in
macro policy issues to build their capacity through a
series of presentations and workshops
HEPR Programmes & Others
 Conducted PPA exercise in Ha Tinh Province to help
articulate Ha Tinh HEPR strategy and formulate the
WB’s poverty report.
 Held workshop on Challenges and Issues in Poverty
Alleviation in Hai Phong.
 Participated in the poverty consultative group working

A Government Degree on Banking
Service for Non-banking Institutions
has been drafted and widely circulated
for comments.







There has been an improvement on mutual understanding
between policy makers and micro finance practitioners,
thus making a good contribution to the formulation of a
proposed regulatory framework for micro finance
institutions.
Policy makers are aware of the importance of micro
finance and recognize the need for a legal framework.
AAV gained in credibility with its partner INGOs and with
those governmental bodies involved.
At provincial level, the status of Commune Banks has
increased.
INGOs and LNGOs have increasingly
become interested in macro issues
regarding pro-poor development
strategies of Government and MDBs.
AAV become one of active members of
several groups and network for poverty
reduction purposes, such as the Policy
Task Force Group, Policy Learning
Group, Civil Society Working Group
etc.

Relationships improved between INGOs and SDOs, and
between NGOs and MDBs aimed at critical engagement on
MDBs’ pro-poor assistance strategies.
Ha Tinh PPA report with in-depth
insight into the views of poor people on
the causes of poverty, coping strategies,
roles of local institutions in attacking
poverty, and their needs and priorities
published.

AAV has become well recognised by the government and
donor community regarding our experience and
commitment to attacking poverty.
Participatory approaches have gained preliminary
acceptance among local authorities at different levels.
AAV has been approached by MOLISA to assist with
29


with government organisations and donors on poverty
alleviation.
Worked with mass media on approaches for
disseminating information on poverty reduction.



Some recommendations from the Ha
Tinh PPA report were incorporated in
World Bank reports, “Attacking
Poverty” and “Voices of the Poor.”
A video on poverty alleviation in Ha
Tinh Province made reflecting the
views of the poor.
AAV representative discussed poverty
alleviation strategies on nation-wide
Vietnamese TV.
30

participatory trainings for local authorities and HEPR staff
and field staff in Ha Tinh are seen as resource people in
PPA work.
Relations with donors and government ministries have
been further developed.
VI. OVERVIEW OF HUMANRESOUCES AND ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
INPUTS
Policy/Decision making
 Policy review not only on the basic regular(every 2
years) but also when it will become necessarily.
 Policy review have been involved by all level of
staff
 Other level of staff are invited to attend the
Management meeting.
Capacity building/Training
 Training provided regularly and based on needs to
AAV staff and partners
 Training on management skill for all senior
managers.
 Complete capacity building needs analysis
Learning climate
 Workshop for Values, behavioural
 Learning groups’ meeting for a vision of our idea in
learning organisation and sharing feedback among
senior managers
Progressive information
 Internal bulletin with brief new from each
department
 Internal communication meeting in DAs and HN
office
OUTPUTS









OUTCOMES
Salary review with effect from 1st Jan 2000
Staff workshop for all kinds of review
2 staff from prog and support function are
invited to the M.M by turn in Alphabel.

Staff in all DAs and partners were sent to
training courses in NGO TP or AIT
2 week of management training for all senior
managers in Danang
Capacitybuilding need analysis workshops are
conducted in all DAs and Hanoi office.

Workshops in all DAs and Hanoi office 2
meetings

Monthly or quarterly Bullentine.
Monthly internal communication meeting with
Question and answer section.

31






Updated and reasonable policy system within the
organisation.
Involve everyone in policy making and decision
making
Participatory in management meeting.
Knowledge and skill among AAV's staff and
partners was improved.
Provide and strengthen management skill and
experience for senior managementlevel.
To improve training quality and base on really need
of staff and people.
Working and relationship are improved toward
learning.
Improve understanding each other in work and
relationship/ Team building purpose.
All departments, DAs are well aware of what happen
within and outside AAV
Better communication and healthy working
environment.
Structure and HR issues
 Job description review for staff base on the need
and their request.
 Staff counseling for gaps identification in term of
structure, working cooperation and coordination.
 Competency workshop for all staff who have staff
to be managed
Inter-learning

At DA level and some Hanoi staff

Quarterly staff counselling for Hanoi based
staff and every six month for DAs staff.
Competency workshop in Hanoi for 2 days





Meeting with other INGOs and NGOs
Exposure plan for year 2000
Meeting with NGO TP, Oxfam UK, SCF UK,
CRP to share and discuss onconsultancy rate,
capacity building, partner and partnership
Staff were sent to other CPs and DAs for visit
and learning
32



Staff's job description have updated accordingly.
Open discussion on gaps of current procedures
Complete JD and identify management gaps and
needs for capacity building.

Do the survey on common things and share each
other
Improve induction, sharing and learning

VII. OVERVIEW OF FUNDING AND FUND RAISING

INPUTS
Applied for funding to the New Zealand Embassy
for replication programme in Quang Ninh.
Negotiated transfer of 1,000 child sponsors from
ActionAid India to community sponsors for Son La
Completed reports to DFID, DFID-SEA, NLCB,
McKnight Foundation, AusAID, New Zealand
Embassy and community sponsors.
Prepared proposal (in collaboration with AAUK) to
McKnight Foundation for further 3 years support
to replication programme in Quang Ninh.
Prepared proposal to Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA)
for support to the pilot REFLECT program in Bac
Giang & Lai Chau provinces.
Conducted Output to purpose review of Ha Tinh
for DFID-SEA
Negotiated with DFID for revised reporting
requirements
Conducted training workshop on sponsorship
communication for DA managers and project staff
Recruited Funding and Fundraising Coordinator

Participated in regional sponsorship workshop
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Acted as regional representative on the
International Funding Planning System
Participated in UK Marketing Review

Produced quarterly report to PACCOM
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Participated in the Prince of Wales Business
Leaders Forum corporate social responsibility
project
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OUTPUTS
US$10,000 received from the New Zealand
Embassy to support replication in 2000.
1,000 Sponsors transferred to Son La
All donors and sponsors were provided with timely
and good quality reports on the programme(s) they
support.
Awaiting funding confirmation from McKnight
Foundation.
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Awaiting funding confirmation from JOA.

Review results presented at DFID-SEA workshop

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Revised reporting requirements accepted by DFID

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2 DA managers and Son La field staff received
training.
Vietnamese national took over responsibility for
funding and fundraising
Increased understanding of sponsorship in AAV
and of AAV in other programmes
Comprehensive and timely feedback on the system
provided to the UK by Asia programmes.
A programme perspective represented in the
Marketing Review
PACCOM report submitted to government in full
and on time
Full member of corporate social responsibility
project
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33
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OUTCOMES
Continued expansion of savings and crecit scheme.
Son La funding secured until phase out at the end
of 2003
Maintained and developed positive relationships
with new and existing donors and sponsors.
Verbal agreement from DFID-SEA of second
phase of funding for Ha Tinh
More useful reporting agreed with DFID for Son
La programme.
Improved information collection for community
reports.
Further progress in nationalisation of posts
Strengthened linkages and understanding between
AAV and other Asia programmes
Asia programme concerns and requirements
reflected in the design of the system
Contributed to further decentralisation and new
direction for AA Marketing activities.
Positive relations with PACCOM maintained
Increased understanding of corporate social
responsibility issues and contributed to improved
conditions for workers in the footwear industry
VIII. OVERVIEW OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION
Internal changes (how we do things)
External changes (as a result of our work)
The first time 3 year plan process in AAV
was coordinated by Finance.


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Medium term planning and budgeting.
Linking expenditures with objectives set out in FPT.
Setting up costs structures targets for the whole organisation.
Updating local Financial Procedures and
Policy Manual toward giving more
flexibility to managers .

More flexibility for managers in managing and monitoring her/his budget as s/he is given authority to spend up to 10%
more than budgeted or transfer budget cross activities.
Decentralisation from CD to manager in term of asset management as disposal of fixed asset could be authorised by
manager together with internal auditor.
Decentralisation from CD to manager in term of selecting the contractor as DA manger and HoF form part of tender
committee instead of CD.
Staff, especially at DA level, were involved in planning and budgeting so they are more accountable and motivated.
Increase the understanding of staff on cost centre , budgeting and planning.
Budget was shifted from sectoral approach to communal approach so it more responding to the needs of the community.
Financial and operational aspects were combined together for easier management.
Block budgeting was encouraged to use for more flexibility and realistic.
Performance measures were first used to indicate how well the work go.
This causes some implication in DA structures, staff responsibility and may be remuneration.
Linking activities with their costs and their impacts on the community.
Deeply looking at trend of DA costs over long period to find out whether the DA went in the right direction.
Comparing the same activities implemented by AAV and partner to analyse why differences exist.
Deeper understanding of staff on financial policies and procedures.
New staff get familiar with accounting system from beginning.
Accountant had to go for internal audit.
Internal audit has not been conducted on regular basis resulting the risk of irregularity happen.
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Annual budget 2001 – commune based
budget was introduced with the shift to
new way of working.
Cost effectiveness analysis was initiated
for DA2.
Finance induction and training.
No internal auditor in place for almost
whole year.
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34
Appendix One:
LIST OF AAV STAFF
NAME
TITLE
Hanoi office
1. Ramesh Khadka
2. Juliet Edington
3. Pham Van Ngoc
4. Emma Woodford
5. Le Thi Lan
6. Pham Thuy Anh
7. Lam Phuong Nga
8. Phan Duy Toan
9. Duong Van Thieu
10. Che Phong Lan
11. Nguyen Tat Quan
12. Vu Ngoc Anh
13. Ngo Duc Minh
14. Ha Thi Quynh Anh
15. Luu Quang Dai
16. Tran Ngoc Tue
17. Pham Nguyet Linh
18. Ngo Thi Minh Huong
19. Tran Lan Huong
20. Nguyen Hong Ha
21. Le Thu Huong
22. Nguyen Huyen Minh
23. Nguyen Duc Thang
24. Pham Duc Uy
25. Bui Ngoc Thanh
26. Doan Minh Tram
27. Bui Hanh Phuc
28. Nguyen Ho Nam
Hatinh Office
29. Le Van Dinh
30. Tu Thi Phuong Nga
31. Nguyen Thi Huong
32. Nguyen Huy Ha
33. Nguyen Thu Hien
34. Vo Cong Hoan
35. Phan Le Thuy
36. Phan Thi Lan
37. Nguyen Huy Tuan
Country Director
Funding and Communication Manager
PRAD Manager
Programme Co-ordinator for Quality &Design
Microfinance Coordinator
HR/OD Manager
HR-OD Officer
Son La Programme Coordinator
Senior Project Officer
S&C Project Officer
On study leave
Ha Tinh Programme Acting Coordinator
Lai Chau Programme Coordinator
Agriculture & S&C Project Officer
Southern Programme Coordinator
Head of Finance
Accountant
Internal Auditor
Office Administrator
Office Administrator
Funding & Fund Raising Coordinator
Assitant Accountant
Head Driver
Driver
Driver
Cleaner
Guard
Guard
S&C Field Manager
S&C Field Officer
S&C Field Assistant
S&C Field Assistant
Field Accountant & Monitoring and Evaluation
Agri. Field Officer
Health Field Officer
Administrator./Accountant
Guard
35
38. Phan Thi Ha
39. Nguyen Dinh Thieu
40. Nguyen Thi Thanh
Son La Office
Cleaner
Driver
Agricultural Project Officer
41. Lo Van Tha
42. Cam Van quy
43. Nguyen Van Thang
44. DaoThi Thuy
45. Nguyen Bich Ngoc
46. Leo thi Hang
47. Lo Duc Hop
48. Vu Thanh Binh
49. Pham Thi Ly
50. Giang Thi Diep
51. Dao Thi Phuong
Lai Chau Office
52. Khoang Thi Phan
53. Nguyen Phuong Anh
54. Lo Thi Thu
55. Dieu Chinh Ngoan
56. NguyenVan Nhien
57. Vu Dinh Loi
58. Lo Hong Phong
59. Lo Thi Oi (Huong)
60. Le Hai Trung
S&C Senior Field Officer
S&C Field Officer
S&C Field Officer
Senior Field Accountant
Field Accountant
Field Officer
Field Officer
Guard
Cleaner
Cook
Administrator/Accountant
Field Officer
Administrator/Accountant
Field Officer
Field Officer-Team Leader
Field Officer
Field Officer
Field Officer
Field Officer
Guard
36
Appendix Two:
LIST OF AAV’S REPORTS AND DOCUMENTS
PRODUCED IN 2000
Category/title
Programme/Monitoring and Evaluation

Author
Date
Agriculture Extention: Farmers and Adoption Duong Van Thieu
of Improved Techniques – Mai Son district,
Son La province.
Ha Tinh Desk Review, Can Loc District, Ha Kate Dunham
Tinh Province.
ActionAid
Agriculture Programme Mid-Term Review,
Vietnam
Can Loc District, Ha Tinh Province.
February 2000

Education Activities in Mai Son district, Son
La province (in Vietnamese).
Nguyen Van Dao
et al.
June 2000

Improved Model of Commune Banks in 03
communes: Hat Lot, Chieng Mung and
Chieng Mai, Mai Son district, Son La
province.
Le Thi Lan et al.
June 2000
Phan Duy Toan et
al
July 2000
Pham Van Thieu,
Nguyen Hong
Dieu Chinh Ngoan
Nguyen Van Dao
July 2000



Education survey in Chieng Ve commune,
Mai Son district, Son La province (in
Vietnamese)
March 2000
July 2000

Education support programme of AAV in
Dien Bien District, Lai Chau Province.

A participatory Mid-Term Review of Ha
Tinh Integrated Rural Development
Programme
ActionAid
Vietnam
August 2000

Advocacy in ActionAid Vietnam, a Review
of the Period 1998 – 2000.
Hilary Coulby
December
2000
Evaluation of Son La Rural Development
Programme over the period 1997-2000.
General documents
Vuong Duy Quang
December
2000

ActionAid
Vietnam
March 2000

2000 Management Plan
37
38