DPC, MOIC organized a workshop on project cycle management to key ECL Project
Luangprabang Province, 18-19 February 2021, the Department of Planning and Cooperation, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, organized a workshop on project cycle management for project teams from three project target provinces of the promotion of Export Competitiveness and sustainability support Public-Private Dialogue in Northern Lao PDR (ECL) project. The workshop was chaired by Mr. Phouvieng Phongsa, the Director General of the Department of Planning and Cooperation, with total 47 participants (18 women), representatives from Provincial Industry and Commerce Offices (PICO) and the Provincial Chambers of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).
The workshop aims to build capacity on project management, including key elements of project logical framework, fiduciary aspects of the project operations, and techniques on conducting effective virtual meetings.
Mr. Phouvieng Phongsa, the Director General of the Planning and Cooperation Department, emphasized the relevance of the topics for ensuring effective project implementation. Mr. Phongsa also encouraged all participants to maximize the opportunity to facilitate exchange of information and lessons between provinces and between local and central units.
The first session of the workshop was devoted to basic financial and procurement management for donor funded project and techniques on conducting effective virtual meeting in the context of “New normal”.
The second session was focused on basic project cycle management. Besides discussing key features of Project Cycle Management, especially techniques in analyzing problems, participants were given opportunity to analyze key issues hindering sustainable and inclusive growth of key agricultural products of the three provincial targets, namely rice, maize and tea. Root causes of low productivity of three chosen products were identified using problem tree techniques and the results of analysis were presented and discussed in the plenary session.
The third session of the workshop was a study visit to Ock-Pop-Tok handicraft business, where participants gained a good understanding about how value chain approach is applied in enhancing productivity of textile handicraft in six target villages. Key principles of public private partnership in private sector development as well as sustainability of business support programs were discussed during the study visit.
The workshop was supported by ECL Project which is funded by the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF). EIF is an Aid for Trade partnership in action for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Operational since 2009, the EIF is a multi-donor program that supports the LDCs to become more active players in the global trading system by helping them tackle supply-side constraints to trade.
ECL Project intends to promote private sector-led economic growth in the least developed Northern Region of the country in response to the Government’s eight National Socio-Economic Development Plan (NSEDP). The project consists of three components: Improvement of the local business environment, Enhancement of productivity and exports of critical sectors, and project management.
