2016 LAO PDR RESIDENT MISSION

2016-2018 CIVIL SOCIETY PARTICIPATION PLAN- DRAFT

I.

BACKGROUND TO CIVIL SOCIETY IN LAO PDR

1. Civil society globally refers to groups distinct from the government and the private sector who
operate around shared interests, purposes and values. Of particular relevance to ADB around
the world are nongovernment organizations (NGOs), community based organizations (CBOs),
peoples organizations, foundations, professional associations, private research institutes and
universities, labor unions, mass organizations, social movements, and coalitions/networks of
civil society organizations and umbrella organizations.1 These different types of groups together
are known as civil society organizations (CSOs).
2. ADBs internal global definitions of civil society and related stakeholder terminology sometimes
conflict with the same terms used by stakeholders in the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic
(Lao PDR).2 In the Lao context, three main civil society groups are considered to contribute to
civil society and are relevant to the terminology for civil society used by ADB (but these terms
are not always consistently used by all stakeholders):
2.1 International nongovernment organizations (INGOs), including international
research institutes.
2.2 Local civil society organizations (CSOs), which include local non-profit
associations (NPA), foundations, training centers, research institutes, social enterprises,
and community based organizations (CBOs), which may include agricultural production
groups, savings groups, micro-savings groups, handicrafts groups, co-operatives,
volunteer groups, and others. Often the members of CBOs are also the beneficiaries of
the group.
2.3 Semi-governmental organizations which were established by government decrees
but who remain at least partially independent and that are involved in the socioeconomic development of the country, such as the Lao Bar Association (LBA) and the
Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI).3
3. ADB recognizes these civil society groups as development actors in their own right whose
efforts complement those of the government and the private sector, and who play a significant
role in development in Lao PDR.
4. Mass organizations, while party-sponsored socio-political structures, do fulfill many civil society
roles and functions. As in neighboring countries, there is controversy over whether mass
organizations can be considered civil society, as their primary accountability is to the state, not
their members. However, some mass organizations in the Lao PDR play a very active role in
development at the sub-national and national levels, including through the provision of training
and capacity development, organizing community-based activities, and acting as facilitators for
development partners in rural areas. Mass organizations are characterized by strong vertical
networks, most having a representative in each village in Lao PDR linked to the district,
provincial, and national levels. The main mass organizations are the Lao Front for National
1 ADB. 2012.
2 Chiara Perticucci. 2014.
3 Wagner & Vongsana. 2013.

Construction, the Lao Womens Union, the Lao Federation of Trade Unions, and the Lao
Peoples Revolutionary Youth Union. In addition to Mass Organizations, in some sectors, there
is strong government support for community-based groups, such as Village Education
Development Committees (VEDCs). These village level groups, for example, are a policy of the
Ministry of Education, and their role is envisaged to cover a very active citizenship and
involvement in increasing the quality of education and community support for educating
children, and many civil society groups will engage with and work through these village level
structures when implementing activities.
5. There is general recognition, by both ADB and many of its stakeholders in the Lao PDR, that
strategic engagement with civil society represents an opportunity to increase aid effectiveness,
drive more innovative and efficient projects, reach a wider population, and manage risks.
However, in the Lao context, any strategy for engagement should align with the ADBs mission
and the Lao PDR governments development priorities, as well as being conducive to increased
long-term, inclusive collaboration among the government of the Lao PDR, the ADB, and civil
society stakeholders.4
6. There are currently about 165 INGOs operating in the Lao PDR 5 under Decree 13/PM, and the
guidelines for implementation were revised and approved in February 2015 (No.
1064/AE.OI.3).6 INGOs with offices in Lao PDR are almost without exception focused on
delivering development programs in sectors such as agriculture and rural development, health,
natural resource management, environment, education, explosive remnants of war, and gender.
7. In April 2009, the Prime Minister signed Decree 115/PM on Associations, allowing for
registration of NPAs for the first time. It required all organizations to re-register under the new
scheme. As of June 2015 there were approximately 130 fully registered NPAs, 7 but 84 of those
are at the provincial level and over 80% of those are for business development, for example the
Hotel, Restaurant, Resort and Guesthouse Association, or the Lao Coffee Association.
8. There are two main networks relating to civil society in the Lao PDR, the iNGO Network
comprising approximately 78 INGOs,8 and the Lao Civil Society Network (LCN) (formerly known
as the Lao NPA Network (LNN)), an informal network of NPAs involved in development work in
the Lao PDR, which has facilities for training and meetings and houses the offices of some
NPAs based in Vientiane.
II. SUMMARY OF LRM CSO ENGAGEMENT IN 2015
9. In the Lao PDR, there are several examples of successful government-civil society cooperation
in ADB-financed projects, many through the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) program.
Others, such as the Vientiane Sustainable Urban Transport Project, also include substantial civil
society participation. The ADB has a long tradition of interacting with civil society at different
levels, particularly with those who are formally registered under government decrees.
Engagement between the ADB and civil society groups typically occurs in two ways in the Lao
PDR: 1) consultations, for example in terms of project design, and 2) the implementation of
some ADB-financed project components/activities with their own either resources or technical
4 Chiara Perticucci. 2014.
5 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of International Organizations. 2014.
6 INGO Network. 2015.
7 Data provided from MoHA and PoHA (Novak 2014)
8 INGO Network. 2015.

expertise or both.9 Motivated by missions rather than revenue, civil society groups strive to be
represent a much-needed check for ensuring that development projects achieve their social
value.
10. Examples of project-specific engagement in 2015 included:
Example 1:

Example 2:

Example 3:

AISESEC, Youth-Led Organization, provided coordination service for the

engagement of talented Lao youth members to conduct an assessment on
higher education of Savannakhet University. Example 1
The higher education assessment is financed under the ADB-financed PPTA:
Second Strengthening Higher Education Project
AISESEC is also providing coordination service for the engagement of talented
Lao youth members to conduct an assessment about the effectiveness of inservice teachers training and District Secondary Pedagogy Advisor who use ICT
to support the continuous of the teachers in difficult areas in Lao PDR.
The assessment is financed under the ADB-financed PPTA: Secondary
Education Sector Development Project.
The executing agency (Loan: GMS Tourism Infrastructure for Inclusive Growth
Project) is collaborating with the nongovernment organization Swisscontact to
prepare the destination management plans, which set out flexible frameworks to
sustainably plan, develop, manage, and market tourist sites and destinations.

[Pack to update in a short, bulleted list]

III.THE PROPOSED CSO ENGAGEMENT PLAN 2016-2018
11. The Plan has five core elements, described in more detail below:
CPS process
Raising awareness with the Government of Lao PDR
(Note: The following activities will follow the first two and may continue into 2017)
Improve documentation of CSO engagement
Monitor projects for civil society participation
Include CSP as part of mission TOR where relevant
12. CPS process- LRM will engage with INGOs and NPAs from the beginning of the process, and
work to make their engagement meaningful.
13. Raising awareness with the Government of Lao PDR- ADB supports convergence of ADB,
civil society and the Government of Lao PDR, and would like to share lessons with the
government on ADB's experience in working with CSOs in Lao PDR through workshops or other
events. The proposed approach is (i) hiring one or two consultants; (ii) the consultant(s)
conduct(s) a perception survey of EAs/IAs/ADB staff (LRM operations) on CSOs (with a focus
on NPAs and INGOs) engagement in ADB-financed projects in Lao PDR. The results of the
9 Chiara Perticucci. 2014.

perception survey will be endorsed by Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of

Planning and Investment. Based on the result of the perception survey, (iii) the consultant SERD
Social Specialist (s) provides training for EAs/IAs/ADB staff. A consultant This would be
financed under RETA 8611 will provide support for the training.
14. The business opportunities for CSOs could be mentioned during project fact-finding or
consultation with INGOs and NPAs in particular. INGOs/NPAs could be consultants
to implement some project activities and hired through CMS. They could contribute their own
resources (finance/expert) to implement some of ADB-financed project activities where ADB or
the Government as a lack of capacity and knowledge. These opportunities could be clearly
mentioned to EA/IA and ADB staff as CSO engagement approaches and included in the
capacity training program for EAs/IAs/ADB staff. Before reaching that point, these approaches
will be agreed by the LRM country team and endorsed by LRM CD. A concept paper for the
perception survey and EA/IA/ADB capacity training on CSO engagement will also be required.
15. Improve documentation of CSO engagement in the Lao PDR portfolio - Currently, there is
far more civil society engagement than is being documented in the Annual Report of ADB-CSO
Cooperation. This should be strengthened by requesting EAs who engage with civil society to
include these partnerships in their quarterly progress reports, as well to document it in staff
BTORs and aid memoires. Another option could be to identify "good practice partnerships" to
recognize and raise the profile of such initiatives at quarterly QPRM meeting presentations with
government;
16. A number of projects under implementation and in the indicative assistance pipeline included in
the Lao PDR Country Operations Business Plan will potentially be of particular interest to CSOs
and will benefit from CSO participation. These are identified below. They are a mix of lending
and non-lending (grant) projects that have intensive engagement with NGOs who are involved
in advocacy or project monitoring, and those that are suitable for proactive CSO engagement as
partners in implementation of the on-going projects and the proposed investments 2016-2018
are in Annex 1.[Taken from CARM CSP Plan- OK to include?]
Ongoing operations: [Pack to complete]
Example 1
Example 2
Proposed investments 2016-2018: [Pack to complete]
Example 1
Example 2
17. Monitor projects for civil society participation- Although civil society participation (CSP) is
planned, it is not monitored. Therefore, consultation and participation plans and stakeholder
communication plans monitoring could be strengthened for all projects as part of normal project
supervision.
18. Include CSP as part of the mission TOR where relevant- By including meetings with INGOs
and NPAs (during processing) or by monitoring CSP (during implementation) as part of the
mission TOR, it will be formalized, captured, and then better monitored to ensure its quality.
Updates on these activities should be included in the mission debrief as well, based on mission
leaders discretion. The CSO participations pipeline and monitoring framework are in Annex 2

III.

STAFFING

19. Implementing this civil society engagement plan requires staff time, both from HQ and from
LRM. The proposed staff members are as follows: [Pack to review/update]

IV.

LRM NGO Anchor (External Relations Officer; national staff): 25% of time dedicated
to supporting civil society engagement. As mission leaders develop contacts, the
time spent making contacts and setting up meetings may be reduced, and but
regular civil society outreach events will also require planning and follow up, as will
annual reporting (e.g. Civil Society Cooperation Report, LRM accomplishment report,
etc.), and monitor implementation of the LRM plan together with LRM officers
particularly monitor CSO participation in LRM delegated projects .

SERD Social Development Specialist (Civil Society and Participation): 20% of time to
support and monitor implementation of the LRM plan, particularly monitor projects
administered by SERD, including missions to support events or capacity
development as needed.

HQ and LRM mission leaders: time requirement will vary depending on the type of
project, but should include regular mission outreach with CSOs.

MONITORING AND REPORTING

20. Monitoring will be done simply, with the main purpose of reflecting on implementation and the
impacts of the plan on LRM operations and relationships with civil society. The Plan will be
shared with CSOs and will be available online. The LRM NGO Anchor will summarize CSO
activities through regular annual reporting mechanisms such as the Civil Society Cooperation
Report (prepared by the ADB NGO and Civil Society Center) and the LRM Accomplishment
Report submitted to management. The CSO engagement plan will be more formally reviewed
at mid-term along with the CPS as a whole, to ensure that the Plan remains useful to ADB and
civil society stakeholders. SEHSs Social Development Specialist (Civil Society and
Participation) will provide monitoring support and report to SERD management on
implementation progress.