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UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

GOVERNMENT OF THE NETHERLANDS

Support to the National Machinery for the Advancement of Women to

Mainstream Gender in National Policy and Planning

VIE/01/015

FINAL EVALUATION REPORT

April 2005

Minoli de Bresser

Vu Thi Thanh Hoa

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FOREWORD

The evaluation team has found the undertaking of this evaluation an extremely interesting, rewarding

and sometimes challenging assignment. During the process and especially during the analysis of the

findings and recommendations, the team experienced certain “elements” (for want of a better word)

which influenced its thinking. The most positive element was the dedicated interest of the three

stakeholders- the project team, the Government of the Netherlands and the United Nations

Development Programme-who all clearly “care” about the project and worked hard to support its

implementation and maximise its impact.

The more difficult element for the team was weighing the different assessments of the project’s

success from the main stakeholders because these assessments reflected each party’s own

expectations, individuals’ past experiences with such development projects and their own expertise. It

was fortunate that the international consultant had been involved in the oversight of the first project

with the National Committee for the Advancement of Women and both consultants had a good

understanding of gender issues in Vietnam’s development context. However, a two-week mission to

Vietnam cannot substitute for a 3-year involvement with the project as was the case with the

stakeholders.

Therefore the evaluation team wishes to conclude that it has seriously considered the comments of all

the stakeholders and weighed these again the information gathered during the interviews and its own

understanding of capacity building for gender equality. In some instances, the findings of the team

may not coincide with one or more of the individual organisation’s assessments; however, as

independent evaluators we have done our best to take an objective and balanced standpoint.

Finally, we would like to convey our sincere thanks and appreciation to the project team and the

UNDP office for all their work-logistical, administrative and substantive-for the preparation of the

evaluation mission and for its work in Vietnam.

Minoli de Bresser

Vu Thi Thanh Hoa

April 2005

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Key Points

Project has been successful in raising awareness about gender equality and gender

mainstreaming among a wide audience of government and Party officials, mass

organisations, academics and youth.

Project has laid the foundation for mainstreaming of gender into policies, programmes

and laws but there is a long way to go for across-the board systematic mainstreaming

Capacity of the NCFAW machinery has been strengthened significantly in gender

awareness raising and in gender mainstreaming

Project management and implementation have been generally smooth but there is room

for improvement under the national execution modality.

Key problem areas- ambitious project design; concept of gender equality still new and

not fully accepted; limited capacity and institutional authority of NCFAW; gender

equality/mainstreaming not a priority for parts of government and for some donors.

Background Context

Gender equality and gender mainstreaming are relatively new concepts to Vietnam. They have

involved a radical shift in thinking for the Vietnamese people and government away from the

“advancement of women” approach to the “gender and development” approach.

Therefore a longer period of time is needed to not only adopt new concepts and tools but also change

attitudes and behaviour to integrate these concepts into daily life and work.

Project VIE/01/015 is a follow-on project from an earlier UNDP/Royal Netherlands government-

funded project VIE/96/11; the main objective of this project as to raise awareness especially among

mid-and senior-level government and Party policy- and decision-makers about the concept of gender

equality and gender analysis for planning.

Project Design

The project was designed to address three priorities in the National Strategy (2001-2010) and the

second Action Plan (2001-2005) for the Advancement of Women and therefore was relevant to

Vietnams development context.

Of the three outcomes, two were designed in an overly ambitious way and therefore created unrealistic

expectations on the part of the project partners. The inclusion of the third outcome relating to gender

awareness raising was appropriate and feasible, considering that it was a logical follow-on from the

first project.

Targetting training at mid-level and senior planners/policy-makers/decision-makers at both national

and provincial levels was very appropriate. At the same time, it was also very appropriate to build up a

core group of gender advisers and trainers who could continue the training at the end of the project.

Not enough attention was given in the project design to the linkage between the achievement of

individual output indicators to the outcomes; similarly not enough attention was given to how to

sustain them at the end of the project.

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Project Performance Results

Awareness raising on gender equality and gender mainstreaming

Through the projects training activities, there has been a significant change in the way that the

targetted beneficiaries/organisations think about women’s contribution to national development. It is

no longer viewed as a “women’s welfare” approach focussing on the provision of basic needs to

women; it is now viewed as a “gender and development” approach involving the analysis of both

women and men’s priorities and promoting equal opportunities for both.

However, it should also be noted that this awareness raising among individuals and small groups has

not yet led to systemic or organisational changes for gender mainstreaming.

Capacity building in general

Through its capacity building activities (training, research studies, statistical documents, the Tra Vinh

local planning process in particular) the project has produced good-quality individual outputs such as

the gender mainstreaming guidelines, workshop facilitation manual, the Statistics Booklet on Women

and Men in Vietnam etc. It has also actively given advice on gender mainstreaming into some

important processes such as the development of the Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth

Strategy and the Gender Equality Law.

Through capacity building the project has also increased the understanding of gender concerns among

participating agencies. For example, statisticians in GSO realise more fully the importance of sex-

disaggregated data and gender analysis.

However, there is no evidence yet that individual ministries and supra-bodies have taken ownership of

the concept and are mainstreaming it in a systematic way into national policies and plans. Similarly,

there is no system yet for the regular collection of sex-disaggregated data with exchange of data and

feedback among ministries on specific gender issues.

There is also concern that the processes where this mainstreaming has taken place are mostly donor-

supported.

Capacity building of NCFAW

Through its two-pronged approach of raising gender awareness and building up a core group of gender

advisers and trainers the project has not only raised awareness on gender equality/gender

mainstreaming among a wide audience but has also built up capacity (expertise, training,

organisational) in the NCFAW national machinery (ministry and provincial CFAWS, the 4 training

institutions, mass organisations GSO etc.).

At the same time the facilitation and technical skills of the project staff have also been built up during

the projects implementation. They have been substantively involved in several key processes such as

the gender analysis of the Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy, the development

of the Gender Equality Law and the curriculum development in the four training institutions.

Assessment of Training Activities

In general, the quality of the training activities has been very good and much appreciated. The content

of the gender mainstreaming guidelines and the participatory way of training were particularly

appreciated. With every new training exposure the core group of trainers gained more expertise in

gender mainstreaming and in training methods. It has been emphasised by many beneficiaries that

future training activities should be targetted more at male leaders and policy-makers.

This group of gender trainers and advisers is now a valuable in-country resource that should be used

for future training and advisory services on gender mainstreaming. It has also been recommended to

have more male trainers who may be able to better relate to male leaders/policy-makers and at the

same time demonstrate that gender is not only a “women’s matter”.

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Project Management and Implementation

The national execution modality for this project was appropriate given that NCFAW had had previous

experience with national execution of the first project. However, most of the staff of the three project

partners was new and initially had a different understanding of each others roles and responsibilities

and a limited knowledge of the national execution procedures. These improved with time and the

implementation of the project was generally smooth.

During 2004, when there were staff changes and a peak of project activities, there were delays in some

activities and in the recruitment of some staff. At the same time, due to a cut in its original

contribution by UNDP and a tripartite decision to eliminate some activities (due to external factors)

the total scope of the project was reduced and therefore became more manageable. As a result, the

project was extended by 5 months and at no cost so that the remaining agreed-upon activities could be

completed.

Cooperation with International Agencies There are two mechanisms that exist to promote cooperation between international donors and

government agencies; the Gender Action Partnership and the Gender Advisers Network.

The Gender Action Partnership is a large group of donors, NGOs and government agencies but it is

largely driven by a small group of donors who are concerned about gender. The Gender Advisers

Network consists of Vietnamese gender experts and trainers set up under this project. So far there has

been no interaction between the two groups; there is a unique opportunity for NCFAW to use these

two mechanisms for advocacy, for influencing policy-making and for resource mobilisation for gender

equality/gender mainstreaming.

Impact and Sustainability

Impact

As mentioned above, the main impact of the project is that it has significantly raised awareness among

the targetted beneficiaries about gender equality and gender mainstreaming. The added value of this

project has been that this concept/methodology have been presented in a more scientific and

systematic way, supported by practical examples. As a result, some of these beneficiaries are using

this new knowledge in their training and programme planning work, usually with some adaptations to

local conditions and needs.

The project also has had impact on the female candidates for elections to the Peoples Council and

National Assembly who have gained more self-confidence to present and debate their action plans. As

a result the percentage of first-time women candidates to the National Assembly has risen from 26.2%

(in the first project) to 27.3%.

Through absorbing new knowledge about gender, a limited sense of empowerment has been created in

some project beneficiaries- notably of the female candidates, the gender trainers and advisers and the

project staff.

Sustainability

There is a view that the project has been an “external” entity to the regular work of NCFAW and its

secretariat and therefore, when the funding ends, so do the activities and processes.

The prospects for institutional sustainability of gender mainstreaming are therefore mixed unless

NCFAW takes proactive action to follow-up on key issues in particular the Gender Equality Law. This

law provides the legal framework for an official directive and accountability mechanism that would

mandate gender mainstreaming by all government agencies.

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Technical knowledge about gender equality and gender mainstreaming now exists in a group of

enthusiastic and committed people and this group needs to be used further for gender mainstreaming

work and also should be provided with opportunities to “refresh” their knowledge/expertise.

There are two alternative sources for funding of future activities; one is defined in the Ministry of

Finance circular of January 2005 and the other is to mobilise funds from the international donor

community (e.g. through the Gender Action Partnership).

Lessons Learned

Contextual factors influence the design of a project and need to be taken into consideration to

ensure the design of realistic outcomes

Design of a project should ideally be based on a capacity assessment of the implementing

agencies

If a project is a follow-up to an earlier one it is important for it to build on the results of the

previous project.

A broad project design with an annual detailed workplan allows for necessary adjustments

during implementation. This mechanism can also mitigate against design constraints.

There were critical factors-contextual, institutional, resources- that influenced the effectiveness

of NCFAW; these were partially offset by the projects support but will have to be addressed in

the future.

The training activities have been an excellent means of raising awareness and building capacity

about gender equality and gender mainstreaming.

The Tra Vinh experience of mainstreaming gender concerns into the local planning process

provided a practical example for Vietnamese officials and trainers.

National execution procedures are complex and time needs to be given to all direct project

partners to understand them and their implications on individual responsibilities.

Recommendations

At the macro level:

It is recommended that prior to formulation of a project, a capacity assessment of the

implementing agencies is carried out. Such an assessment would not necessarily question the

rationale for a project but rather examine the contextual, institutional and resource factors that

would affect the sustainability of the project. It could also result in a more focussed design of

the project outcomes.

It is recommended that NCFAW continue to facilitate and provide advisory support to capacity

building processes for gender equality and gender mainstreaming. It needs to carry out this

mandate in a more proactive and innovative way by seizing on new opportunities to influence

strategy- and policy-making e.g. the Gender Equality Law, the Poverty Reduction Support

Credit, the Socio-Economic Development Plan 2006-2010

Given that gender equality and gender mainstreaming are still relatively new to Vietnam, it is

recommended that donor agencies give more priority to supporting the mainstreaming of

gender into their own country strategies/programmes and individual projects.

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At the Micro Level

Regarding the training activities, some improvements could be made to make them more

effective. Some main examples are to target more male leaders and policy-makers; to

develop a shorter course for this group; and to include more practical case studies and

sectoral examples of gender mainstreaming in the gender mainstreaming guidelines.

It is recommended that the Government and donors continue to support and replicate

provincial planning exercises for gender mainstreaming, such as was implemented in Tra

Vinh.

It is recommended that at the start-up of a national executed project, the direct project

partners meet to clarify their respective roles and responsibilities and may even consider to

prepare a joint memorandum of understanding.

Final General Recommendation

It is strongly recommended that UNDP, the Royal Netherlands Embassy and NCFAW organise

a follow-up meeting to discuss which follow-up actions, recommended by the

evaluation team, should be pursued and what kind of support the two donor agencies could

give to this process. It would be particularly worthwhile to consider the preparation of a

“position paper” on NCFAW and an action plan to strengthen its institutional position and

its resource base to ensure that the momentum for gender mainstreaming that has been

created by this project is maintained.

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Table of Contents

page

Foreword 2

Executive Summary 3-7

Table of Contents 8

List of Acronyms 9

Approach and Methodology 10-11

Project Design 12-15

Project Performance Assessment 15-21

Project Management and Implementation 21-24

Impact and Sustainability 24-26

Lessons Learned and Recommendations 27-31

Annexes:

Annex 1 : TOR for the Evaluation

Annex 2 : Programme and List of Interviewees

Annex 3 : List of Evaluation Questions

Annex 4 : List of Project Publications and References

Annex 5 : Inventory and Assessment of Training Activities

Annex 6 : Organisational Chart of NCFAW

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LIST OF ACRONYMS

AUSAID Australian International Development Agency

CDAW UN Convention on Discrimination against Women

CFAW Committee for the Advancement of Women

CIDA Canadian International Development Agency

CPRGS Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy

DANIDA Danish International Development Agency

DOH Department of Health

DOLISA Department of Labour and Social Affairs

DPI Department of Planning and Investment

ET Evaluation Team

FA Farmers Association

FF Fatherland Front

GAD Gender and Development

GAN Gender Advisers Network

GAP Gender Action Partnership

GMG Gender Mainstreaming Guidelines

GSO General Statistics Office

HCMPA Ho Chi Minh Political Academy

JGDGF Joint Government Donor Gender Framework

MARD Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

MCI Ministry of Culture and Information

MOET Ministry of Education of Training

MPI Ministry of Planning and Investment

NA National Assembly

NAPA National Academy of Public Administration

NCFAW National Committee for the Advancement of Women

NEX National Execution

ODA Official Development Assistance

ONA Office of National Assembly

PC Peoples Council

PCIC Party Commission for Ideology and Culture

PPC Provincial Peoples Committee

POA National Plan of Action

RIPSA Resident International Project Support Adviser

RNE Royal Netherlands Embassy

STA Senior Technical Adviser

TOR Terms of Reference

TOT Training of Trainers

TPR Tripartite Review Meeting

UNICEF United Nations Childrens Fund

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

USD US Dollars

VAMESP Vietnam Australlia Monitoring and Evaluation Project

VWU Vietnam Womens Union

WB World Bank

WCS Womens Cadre School

WFM Workshop Facilitation Manual

YA Youth Academy

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1. APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

The final evaluation of project VIE/01/05 Support to the National Machinery for the Advancement of

Women to Mainstream Gender in National Public Policy and Planning was carried out from 7

February to 7 March 2005 (i.e. 4 work weeks). The evaluation team (ET) consisted of one

international consultant and one national consultant who was guided by the terms of reference (TOR)

attached in Annex 1. Details of how the evaluation was organised are described in Annex 2 with the

programme and list of interviewees. The team also obtained detailed comments and reports, via email,

from the senior technical adviser (STA) of the project

It was the policy of the ET to conduct the interviews in as open and participatory way as possible. As

the meetings proceeded it became clear that some common trends and views were emerging on several

important aspects such as the relevance of gender and gender equality in Vietnam, the relevance of

gender awareness-raising and mainstreaming, the role of the National Committee for the Advancement

of Women (NCFAW), the role of the donor community, the impact and sustainability of the project

outcomes and other issues that will be dealt with in this report.

After brainstorming on the findings, conclusions and recommendations the ET presented their initial

results to UNDP and the Royal Netherlands Embassy (RNE) at a debriefing meeting held on 1 March.

At this meeting it was agreed that the ET would submit a draft report within one week for comments

from UNDP, RNE, the project office and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI). The ET

would thereafter finalise the report and submit it to UNDP for distribution and further consultation on

the follow-up recommendations.

Since this is an independent evaluation exercise, it should be emphasised that the conclusions of the

ET are based on the interviews of beneficiaries and stakeholders and that the ET reserves the right to

make the final decision about which comments from the above parties it eventually reflects in the

report.

Following the TOR, the ET has evaluated the project against the following target outcomes that are

specified in the project document.

1. Increased gender-sensitive policy formulation and its effective implementation based on the

contributing role of the national machinery for the advancement of women (NCFAW,

Committees for the Advancement of Women(CFAW), Vietnam Womens Union (VWU))

through capacity building, advice, advocacy, facilitation, monitoring and review of

mainstreaming the Plan of Action (POA2) and gender in national plans and programmes;

2. A strengthened gender data-base and qualitative and quantitative research and analysis to

support national policy formulation, implementation and monitoring.

3. Increased gender awareness of specific target groups by addressing their respective perception

and motivation for achieving gender equality.

For every one of these outcome targets a set of output indicators has been identified in the project

document. The ET has studied which of these indicators has been achieved, to what level of quality

and most important of all, what impact these have had on the project’s outcomes and what are the

prospects for sustainability once the donor support has ended.

In following this approach, two points need to be kept in mind. One is that the ET’s findings and

conclusions are based on interviewing a representative group of beneficiaries. For example, the team

interviewed a group of trainees from the different training courses, some of the gender advisers and

beneficiaries from a few provinces. However, since there was a clear consensus of opinions that

emerged on certain aspects of the project, the team feels quite comfortable with its conclusions.

Secondly, the achievement of individual output indicators does not automatically lead to the

achievement of the target outcomes, because the latter involve changes in institutional processes and

changes in work attitudes. Such changes require a longer period of time and reiterative exposure to

new concepts/methodologies, in this case to gender/gender equality/gender mainstreaming.

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For ease of understanding the linkages among the various elements, diagram 1 below presents the

evaluation framework:

EVALUATION FRAMEWORK

2. PROJECT CONCEPT AND DESIGN

Outcome 2

Strengthened Gender

data-Base and Research

Outcome 1

Gender-sensitive Policy

Formulation and

Planning

Outcome 3

Increased Gender

Awareness of

Target Groups

Output Indicators

Development Context

National Individual

Beneficiaries

Provincial Institutional

Questions to ask:

Outcomes: Level of Impact?

Extent of Sustainability?

Output Indicators: Have the outcome targets been achieved?

To what level of quality and relevance?

Beneficiaries: Were the appropriate beneficiaries targetted for the different activities?

Are they using the knowledge gained in their daily work?

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2. PROJECT CONCEPT AND DESIGN

In order to understand the development context in which the project was designed the ET needs to

describe certain country conditions.

The Government of Vietnam has a strong history of promoting the equality of women dating back to

its Constitution of 1946 and women’s rights are provided for in many laws, policies, decrees and

resolutions. The National Committee for the Advancement of Women (NCFAW) was created in 1993

initially to promote the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against

Women (CEDAW). Following the UN Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, the Government

approved a National Strategy for the Advancement of Women from 2001-2010. In order to implement

the strategy NCFAW was mandated to coordinate the formulation of the first Plan of Action for the

advancement of women covering 1996-2000. This Plan of Action was evaluated under the

coordination of NCFAW and a second Plan of Action (POA2) from 2001-2005 was approved in

March 2002.

These Plans of Action identify the priority areas for the socio-economic development and

empowerment of Vietnamese women. NCFAW’s mandate is to monitor and advise on the

implementation of the strategy and action plan, to provide policy advice on the formulation of laws,

policies and programmes for gender equality, to coordinate with relevant organisations on the progress

in implementing the CEDAW and to be a focal point for international cooperation on gender equality

and the advancement of women.

In the early 1990s the concept of gender and gender equality was relatively new to Vietnam; during

the 1980s the development priority had been to promote the advancement of women as there was clear

evidence that women lagged behind men in socio-economic-political terms. However, the “women in

development” approach did not address the inherent structural social-economic-power relationships

between men and women in the family and in society as a whole. This was even more essential in the

context of poverty where both men and women lack opportunities and resources. Therefore it was

necessary to take a more “holistic” approach to analysing the problems- now called the gender and

development approach(GAD). Instead of focussing only on women, GAD looks at the relations

between men and women and by using the gender mainstreaming methodology, aims to ensure equal

development outcomes for both men and women.

It is therefore important to understand that this was a radical shift in thinking and approach for the

Vietnamese government and people. It was a complex concept and not everyone considered it to be

appropriate for Vietnam, given Vietnam’s history of promoting the equal rights of women in all

spheres of its development. The donor community therefore felt it would be appropriate to support

NCFAW to raise awareness at all levels about gender, gender equality and gender mainstreaming.

VIE/96/011 Evaluation and Follow-up

UNDP and the Dutch Government co-funded project VIE/96/011 Capacity Development for the

implementation of the National Plan of Action for the Advancement of Women for three years. This

project focussed on raising public awareness of the importance of gender equality, on strengthening

NCFAW’s capacity to organise and facilitate gender training and to enhance the leadership skills of

those charged with implementing the POA at both national and provincial levels.

At the end of this project, a final evaluation of the project concluded the following:

“Our overall view of the project is that it has made a significant impact. Through its activities it has

succeeded in raising the profile of NCFAW and its objectives at the national level, it has provided

gender training for large number of cadres, both men and women at all levels- often introducing them

to the difference between “women’s issues” and gender for the first time- and it has taken an important

first step towards strengthening the national machinery for the advancement of women”.

This final evaluation also indicated that there was a serious vacuum in the mainstreaming of gender

into national policies, programmes and laws. Therefore, although raising the public awareness on

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gender/gender equality was a positive result, this was not sufficient for the systematic mainstreaming

of gender concerns into government planning and policy-making processes. The final evaluation also

expressed concern that the results of this project were not fully sustainable unless further donor

support was forthcoming to continue the capacity building process in NCFAW.

Project VIE/01/015 was identified and designed in 2000/2001 to address these concerns. The initial

planned budget for the project was USD 900,000 with the RNE contributing the greater share of

USD533,500 and UNDP contributing the balance of USD366,500. However, due to the fact that part

of the UNDP contribution which was to come from a Headquarters-managed gender trust fund did not

materialise, the UNDP contribution was reduced by USD150,000. The Government provided an in-

kind contribution equivalent to USD 70,500. The project’s original duration was from February 2002

to February 2005; in February 2005 a tripartite review meeting agreed to extend the project until June

2005 (with no additional budget increase) to allow sufficient time for all project activities to be

completed.

Based on the interviews and study of documents, the ET has made the following assessment of the

projects concept and design:

The concept of the project was certainly relevant to the overall goal of the Vietnamese

government to promote the advancement of women as reflected in its National Strategy and

Plans of Action. The project’s outcomes directly address the following priorities identified in

the Plan of Action up to 2005:

Objective 4 aims to “enhance the quality and efficiency of women’s performance in the

political, economic, cultural and social fields, resulting in more women being recommended

for and elected to leadership positions at all levels and in all sectors”

Objective 5 aims to “strengthen the capacity of the national machinery for the

advancement of women”. Under this objective is a sub-objective that aims to

“enhance the capacity for survey, research and data collection on women and gender”

The three outcomes of the project were designed to address the above three objectives.

The ET agrees with the overall approach of NCFAW and the two funding agencies to

address gender equality at the “macro” level, rather than at the sectoral level. With the

gender awareness created during the first project, it was a logical decision to introduce

the gender mainstreaming methodology to policy-makers and planners and to build up

a core team of gender trainers and advisers to advocate the methodology.

It was appropriate to continue gender awareness raising and leadership skills training for

national and local female leaders since these are the future decision-makers of Vietnam and

their understanding of gender and gender equality will be essential for gender mainstreaming

into policies, laws etc.

The overall objectives of the project also reflect the country priorities of the two funding

agencies, UNDP and the RNE, which emphasise the mainstreaming of gender concerns into

their respective cooperation agreements and their own organisations.

The project’s design did take into account some of the key recommendations of the final

evaluation of project VIE/96/011. For example, people who were trained in gender concepts in

that project were selected for further training under VIE/01/015 with the aim of establishing a

core group of gender trainers and advisers. The evaluation also recommended further capacity

building for NCFAW to advise on gender mainstreaming into policies and programmes,

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including at the ministerial CFAW level. The evaluation also supported the continuation of

gender awareness raising for high-ranking and mid-level government and Party officials

However, the project’s outcomes were designed in an overly ambitious way and have therefore

resulted in unrealistic expectations about what the project should achieve. In particular

outcomes 1 and 2 were over-ambitiously designed for the planned time period; outcome 3 was

formulated in a more realistic manner.

The ET found that the formulation of outcome 1 was confusing because it seems to incorporate

two outcomes: one, the mainstreaming of gender concerns into policy and plan formulation and

two, monitoring and evaluation on mainstreaming POA2 and gender in national plans and

programmes .

The output indictors for each target outcome were generally formulated in a more realistic way

although some were too ambitious. It is also the ETs view that there were too many output

indicators that had to be achieved in the projects 3-year duration, given the capacity constraints

of NCFAW and the project office.

Finally, the ET considers that even if all the output indicators had been successfully achieved,

this would not necessarily result in the achievement of the target outcomes. The reason for this

is because gender mainstreaming involves firstly attitudinal change and secondly, behavioural

change which are much longer-term processes, often going into the next generation.

Individual change also needs to be accompanied by institutional reform and socio-economic

development in order to reach the final goal of gender equality.

Regarding resource availability, the ET is of the opinion that these were adequate as a large

part of the project was locally executed and involved local costs. The ET is aware that there

was a reduction of substantial UNDP resources by $150,000 midway but cannot find evidence

that this critically affected the project. According to the project staff, the scope of activities was

reduced and reflected in a new workplan; a more significant impact may have been that this cut

in funding gave a wrong signal regarding commitment to the other project partners.

Regarding the design of implementation and management arrangements, these basically follow

the national execution principles and are generally appropriate and workable. In this case

NCFAW had previous experience of executing a large donor-funded project which had some

advantage. The difficulties in management of the implementation were created from the

procedures and systems that underpin national execution; these were considered excessive and

sometimes confusing by the stakeholders and may have lead to different expectations about

individual involvement.

The ET understands that at the first Tripartite Review (TPR) of the project in December 2000

all three project stakeholders discussed the capacity constraints of NCFAW and flagged the

risks involved. However, it was also agreed that the project was needed to support NCFAW as

the “flagship” for advocating gender equality and gender mainstreaming and to proceed on this

basis. The fact that NCFAW executed the first project provides even more reason for a

capacity assessment before the second project was designed.

The ET considers that such an assessment would not have necessarily questioned the rationale

for the project but would have better targetted capacity building interventions and in such a

way, the project may have had more realistic and focussed outcome targets. For example, if the

projects aim was to mainstream gender into the planning process, it is the ETs view that MPI

should have been a key participant in it.

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It should be noted that this project was one of the first projects designed in the new UNDP

format and as with all new formats, there was a learning curve for the formulators. The new

project document format is now more general with an increased and appropriate emphasis on

outcomes; detailed activities are agreed in an annual workplan that can be revised based on

agreements reached at the annual TPR meetings. In principle, the ET believes this is a good

approach as it allows the project partners to adjust activities flexibly according to new needs

and priorities. However, this may have also led to different interpretations by the project

partners on priorities and how to achieve the projects outcomes.

3. ASSESSMENT OF PROJECT PERFORMANCE

Following on from section 2, the ET has evaluated the projects performance firstly in relation

to the 3 target outcomes and then in more detail against the output indicators. The results are

presented below:

Target Outcome 1 states “that gender-sensitive policies would have been formulated and

implemented with the contributing role of the national machinery for the advancement of

women, through capacity building, advice, advocacy, facilitation, monitoring and evaluation

on mainstreaming POA2 and gender in national plans and programmes”.

In terms of producing individual tools for mainstreaming gender into policies and plans e.g.

the gender mainstreaming guidelines (GMG) and workshop facilitators manual (WFM) the

project has produced good quality results.

However, the ET has not been able to find evidence that gender/gender equality considerations

have been mainstreamed in a systematic way into a national policy or plan by a particular

ministry. What the team did find were individual examples where NCFAW/the project team

has given comments on a particular policy or plan development process. For example, the

project provided technical advice to the Task Force on the Comprehensive Poverty Reduction

and Growth Strategy (CPRGS), specifically references to gender equality in the section on the

causes of poverty. However, the drafting committee decided to group most of the information

on gender equality into one section rather than “mainstream” it throughout the strategy.

Similarly, the project team gave technical comments on the gender and development strategy

that was developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in

2002/2003. A third example was the project’s advisory and training support to the local

planning process in Tra Vinh province where the intention was to mainstream gender concerns

into the province’s socio-economic development plan.

However, these are examples where the project, with its knowledge and expertise, has

advocated and supported a particular process of policy/strategy formulation. It does not

constitute a process whereby government planners and policy-makers, through being exposed

to gender mainstreaming, have taken ownership of the methodology and integrated it into their

own planning process. The constraints to this will be explained in later sections of this report.

Target Outcome 2 states that “National policy formulation, implementation and monitoring

will be informed by a strengthened gender data-base, qualitative and quantitative research and

analysis”.

The ET finds that this outcome has had the weakest result and again, no system has been

established for the systematic feeding of sex-disaggregated data into the line ministries to

influence their plan/policy-making process. What have been achieved are individual output

indicators such as the booklet on “Statistics on Women and Men in Vietnam” which is in high

16

demand throughout government and donor agencies. A second product has been the Gender

Statistics Book (the first of its kind in Vietnam) which includes sex-disaggregated data on 59

indicators in six development sectors and analyses the gender gaps in these sectors. It is

worthwhile to note that the capacity building process exposing the General Statistics Office

(GSO) to sex-disaggregated data and analysis has been an important element of this outcome.

Target Outcome 3 states that” Increased gender awareness of target groups by addressing

their respective perception and motivation for achieving gender equality” will result.

The ET finds that the project has made its most positive and significant contribution to this

outcome. Through its two-pronged approach of raising awareness on gender/gender

equality/gender mainstreaming (i.e. establishing a core group of gender trainers that can

continue the training and general awareness-raising to a range of CFAW members, government

administrators, parliament and Party members, academics and students), the project has with

no doubt stimulated interest and debate on gender equality and gender mainstreaming at both

national and local levels.

For every target outcome there is a set of output indicators that are identified in the project document.

This section analyses whether the output indicators have been achieved, their level of quality and how

they are being used. Please also refer to Annex 4 which gives a detailed inventory and assessment of

the training activities of the project.

Target Outcome 1 Improved and increased gender-responsive policy formulation and

implementation

Output indicators

The gender mainstreaming guidelines and workshop facilitation manual (WFM) were

developed in the first year of the project through extensive and intensive consultation and

training needs analysis with different groups at both national and provincial levels. They have

been finalised, translated into Vietnamese and widely disseminated. These guidelines/manual

are of high quality and considered to be one of the most significant achievements of the

project. They are also the first of their kind in Vietnam. There was unanimous appreciation

from all persons interviewed by the ET, that these documents are very useful and relevant to

Vietnam. Many interviewees had been exposed to general gender concepts before; however,

with the help of these manuals, they commented that the concept and methodology were

explained to them in a more systematic and scientific way (i.e. added value).

All the 4 training institutions and all gender trainers were using the guidelines/manual to carry

out gender training in their respective organisations. In many cases, they extracted relevant

parts from the guidelines and simplified them to suit the local situation e.g. in Bac Ninh

province the Vietnam Womens Union (VWU) has organised several commune-level trainings

on gender/gender mainstreaming by developing their own training material with information

from the guidelines. Another example at the national level is that CFAW representatives (e.g.

in the Ministry of Education and Training) who have undergone gender training by the project

are using their knowledge to develop the CFAW action plans.

Two important feedback comments were given by most interviewees:

The guidelines need to be further developed as a planning tool for sectoral planners and

law-makers. This means that they need to include more detailed examples/case studies

of how to mainstream gender concerns into a particular sector or law or policy.

17

Training in gender equality/gender mainstreaming needs to be targetted to male

leaders and policy-makers as many still have the view that “gender” relates to

“women’s issues” only.

The ET would also like to stress that in the development of these documents there was a

significant capacity building process (related to the understanding of gender and gender

mainstreaming) that took place of both the project staff and the national machinery for the

advancement of women e.g. provincial and ministry CFAWS.

A core group of 25 gender trainers has been developed by the project; out of these, 11 gender

trainers are used regularly for training on gender/gender equality/gender mainstreaming in other

institutions and in the provinces. These trainers participated in a 7-day training of trainers course

in gender mainstreaming and are available to the NCFAW machinery for future training.

Regarding their quality, it is not possible for the ET to generalise but was impressed by the few

advisers/trainers they met. These advisers/trainers had a good understanding of the gender

issues. The one training for CFAWS attnded by the team’s national consultant was very

dynamic and participatory. However, since it requires years of exposure to become a real

“gender expert” the ET is concerned about the depth of expertise this group has acquired.

A gender advisers network (GAN) was established in 2003 and for which NCFAW is the

secretariat. All GAN members have been exposed to a 5-day and/or 3-day gender training to

build up their expertise to advocate this approach and methodology in their work places. The

gender trainers are also GAN members. The GAN meets about 4 times a year to share

experiences on gender mainstreaming and the obstacles they face.

Interviews with some GAN members revealed to the ET that they face practical difficulties in

implementing this methodology. Firstly, their male bosses are not aware of the gender

approach/methodology and secondly, it is not possible to implement it without an official

administrative mechanism that mandates gender mainstreaming into their regular

planning/programme development work.

Two research studies on “Women in the textile and footwear industries” and “Emerging gender

issues as a result of Vietnam’s economic integration” have been carried out by a local research

organisation, Mekong Economics. At the time of this evaluation, the studies were still in draft

form and were being finalised. It was the intention of the project to disseminate the findings at

a national workshop planned for April/May 2005.

The ET generally reviewed the studies and believes that they contain a lot of useful and

good quality information that highlight gender equality issues in the industrial

workplace. These studies also respond to a comment that the ET received from policy-

makers/planners for more analytical studies that demonstrate that gender inequality

exists in different sectors in Vietnam. However, NCFAW would need to re-organise and

present the findings in a strategic and focussed way to “catch” the interest of and convince

policy-makers.

The STA developed a mission report format and checklist for the review of the POA2 and the

Joint Donor Government Gender Framework (JGDGF) in 2002.

However, the ET understands that these tools were not used by NCFAW’s planning

and administration section which was responsible for the review of the POA2 as

they were considered too complicated. The ET also looked at these tools and found them to be

practical tools and therefore is not clear why this was the case.

18

The Comprehensive Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy was approved by the Government

in May 2002. With the initiative and financial support of RNE, the project team participated in

the mainstreaming of gender issues and monitoring indicators in the CPRGS, again the first

government/donor strategy of its kind. The project team (national staff and STA) prepared the

terms of reference for a gender analysis of the CPRGS and also gave advisory inputs to the

CPRGS Task Force on a gender policy matrix and mainstreaming gender concerns into the

CPRGS.

A cooperation among the World Bank, OXFAM GB and UNDP was established in 2003 to

“roll out” the CPRGS in Tra Vinh province as a “pilot” planning exercise and the project

seized this opportunity to support gender mainstreaming in the local planning process. First, it

facilitated training in gender/gender equality/gender mainstreaming for a large number of

provincial authorities (government planners and policy-makers, mass organisations, Peoples

Council representatives). Second, it provided a very experienced gender trainer to support the

process in a more sustained way. It also introduced the POA monitoring tools developed by the

project.

This process resulted in a significant level of awareness and interest about gender/gender

mainstreaming especially at the provincial leadership levels. Due to a time constraint and some

resistance from external local consultants, it was not possible to mainstream gender concerns

into the province’s socio-economic development plan for 2004; however, it is the firm

intention of the provincial leadership to do so in the 2005 socio-economic development plan.

In December 2004 the project held a workshop for representatives from the DPIs, VWUs and

CFAWs from 10 northern provinces to present the case study on the Tra Vinh local planning

experience. The ET considers that this process was very appropriate and the expertise (one

national consultant) provided by the project of high quality.

In June 2004 the VWU was assigned to draft a law on gender equality. This law is regarded as

the basis for an official administrative mechanism to mandate the mainstreaming of gender into

all policies, plans and laws. A drafting committee was formed and NCFAW is a member of

this committee. The aim is to have the law ready for approval by the National Assembly (NA)

in May 2006. The ET was informed by a member of the committee that all laws in Vietnam

need to go through a very extensive process of consultation from local to national levels (the

public, government and Party) and given that the concept of gender equality is new and will

not be known to many people, there is likely to be much debate and possibly delay. Again, the

project team, including the STA, took the initiative to provide good quality technical advice to

the law drafting committee including giving examples of similar laws in other countries. The

project also provided a 2-day training in gender mainstreaming for all 15 members of the law

drafting committee which they are able to apply to the current process.

Delegates to the 11th

National Assembly election in March/April 2002 and the Peoples

Councils in April 2004 were trained in gender equality and gender mainstreaming and in

presentation and leadership skills. These delegates came from the Party Central Commissions,

the National Assembly and the Peoples Councils at provincial/district/commune and ward

levels and local government agencies. More details are given in Annex 5 on the detailed

inventory and assessment of training activities.

In the third and final round of first-time women candidates for the NA 174 women

were nominated (out of a total original number of 216) and 75 of these were elected as

NA deputies.This represents an increase from 26.2% (in the first project period) to

27.3%.

At the provincial level, the project funded trainers to provide training in presentation and

leadership skills and gender awareness in 17 provinces. It is not possible to give comparable

19

figures since this activity was co-supported by the Canadian International Development

Agency(CIDA), the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) and the provincial

authorities and therefore the result cannot be attributed solely to the project.*

One point emerged clearly from interviewing some of the successful candidates; they

noted that the training was of a high standard and had given them more self-confidence and a

sense of empowerment to present themselves and their action plans especially in a male-

dominated forum and had made them more aware of gender concerns which they were

committed to using in their future work.

Through cooperation with the UNDP-funded Office of National Assembly(ONA) project

which was developing a comprehensive training plan for NA deputies, it had been the intention

of the project to sensitise future leaders/ NA members about gender equality/gender

mainstreaming. However, this was ultimately limited to the project’s providing useful

documents such as the gender mainstreaming guidelines and leaflets to the ONA project team

and offering technical support. The ET understands from interviews with relevant persons that

so far there has been no further follow-up.

Target outcome 2 A strengthened gender data-base and qualitative and quantitative research

and analysis established to support policy formulation and implementation

Output Indicators

With the projects technical support GSO has produced a useful leaflet on “Statistics on Women

and Men in Vietnam” which gives a sex-disaggregated “snap-shot picture” of men and women

in different sectors such as politics, labour and economic activity, agriculture etc. This leaflet is

widely used by government officials, gender advisers and trainers and by donor

representatives when explaining gender inequalities and the need for gender-sensitive policies.

GSO has also developed a booklet on sex-disaggregated data using 59 indicators on women

and children’s rights identified by UNICEF and this also includes some analysis of gender gaps

During the process of producing these statistical documents, the project has carried out some

capacity building particularly in making GSO staff aware of the importance of collecting sex-

disaggregated data and using such data for gender analysis.

As a result, some progress has been made towards reaching the output indicator of increasing

gender sensitive data, gender indicators and analytical capacity. However, the longer-term goal

of establishing a gender database and a system for its collection has not been achieved. The ET

considers that these are still individual products and additional activities and processes would

need to be developed to establish a system for sex-disaggregated and other data to feed into the

planning/policy-making systems of the line ministries at national and local levels. The ET

understands that a Statistical Law is being formulated that will provide the legal framework for

such a system of data collection, analysis and feedback.

* The UNDP briefing note for the TPR of February 2005 states that there was a percentage

increase of 3/74%

20

A new activity that was introduced during implementation was the cooperation with the

Vietnam Australia Monitoring and Evaluation System Project (VAMESP) in MPI to engender

a set of indicators to monitor ODA and feed these into the planning process. Despite initiatives

by the project team from 2002 this cooperation did not materialise mainly due to the delayed

start-up of the VAMESP project (it eventually started in 2004) which meant that the two

projects were not in synchronisation with each other.

Target Outcome 3 Increased gender awareness of specific target groups by addressing their

respective perception and motivation for achieving gender equality.

Output Indicators

Under the first project a national media campaign was carried out to raise gender awareness

among the media and general public. This project provided funding for a local evaluation of

that activity which was undertaken by two independent consultants in September 2003. The

evaluation aimed to assess the success, issues and lessons learned from the above national

media campaign. The findings and recommendations were expected to inform the organisation

of a second media campaign planned for November 2003 under this project.

According to the evaluation findings, the Ministry of Culture and Information (MCI) was

found not to be the proper target for such purposes. This role belongs more appropriately to the

Party’s Commission for Ideology and Culture (PCIC). Secondly, at the time MCI had other

pressing priorities and therefore it was decided not to implement this activity.

The ET considers that raising awareness among the media and public on gender and

gender equality is a much more complex matter than was initially anticipated in the

first project and that media messages need to be tailored to the educational and

exposure levels of different populations.

The formulation in the project document states that gender-sensitive curriculum would have

been developed in the 4 national training institutes: the Youth Academy (YA), the Womens

Cadre School (WCS), the HoChiMinh Political Academy (HCMPA) and the National

Academy for Public Administration (NAPA). The choice of introducing gender mainstreaming

in these institutions was based on the fact that all political leaders and decision-makers, senior

government officials and leaders of mass organisations have to go through various orientation

training programmes and that therefore this was a good point at which to raise their awareness

about gender issues.

After interviewing leaders and lecturers who benefitted from the gender training organised by

the project, the ET agrees that this was an extremely appropriate strategy.

Based on a training needs assessment, the project facilitated a training course in gender

mainstreaming for 27 lecturers responsible for gender-sensitive curriculum. This was followed

by a workshop on curriculum development with technical advisory support from an

international consultant and a national consultant provided through the project.

All beneficiaries from the 4 training institutions noted that these training courses had been of a

high standard in terms of content and the participatory approach. They were very interested and

enthusiastic about this exposure to gender mainstreaming into curriculum development. Many

lecturers had been exposed to gender concepts earlier but they noted that this particular training

presented the concept and methodology in a scientific and systematic way. They also

appreciated the participatory approach and the modern training tools that were used in the

training.

21

The YA and WCS, which are not in the national training system and cannot grant degrees,

have incorporated gender aspects into their curricula. The HCMPA and NAPA are part of the

national training system and any curriculum changes have to be approved by the Ministry of

Education and Training (MOET). However, they do have a 50% flexibility provision which

allows them to change their lesson plans and they have mainstreamed gender into these.

The subject of gender and development was a new subject to the students and they were very

enthusiastic about it and wished to learn more. Therefore the lecturers were trying to increase

the number of hours devoted to this subject in their lesson plans.

The training institutions also found the gender mainstreaming guidelines a very useful and

practical tool; one example of their use was by the WCS who were using the guidelines for

their own training activities and also as consultants when working on other projects.

The following critical comments were also made by all the institutions.

Firstly, they noted that the international consultant who was provided by the project

had been more an expert in the participatory approach than in the mainstreaming of

gender concerns into curriculum.

Secondly, the conducting of training in a participatory way required extremely good

and modern physical facilities and equipment.

Thirdly, it would have more impact if some gender trainers could be male as they

would probably be better able to convince male leaders and decision-makers.

Fourthly, there needs to be an official directive from the highest level mandating the

mainstreaming of gender concerns in order to ensure that simple awareness translates

into implementation in everyone’s daily work.

Finally, the HCMPA and NAPA expressed the view that as well-established national

training institutions that target future leaders of Vietnam, they are very appropriate to

organise and carry out gender training. In this context both the HCMPA and NAPA

mentioned that they are pursuing the idea of a gender department and gender centre in

their respective institutions, with external assistance.

4 PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION

Implementation

The project is executed by NCFAW under the national execution (NEX) modality. This means

that NCFAW, through the project office, is responsible for the management of the project,

mobilising inputs, monitoring implementation, being accountable for the proper use of project

funds, and reporting on both substantive and financial aspects according to NEX procedures.

UNDP and the RNE have an overall oversight function, a problem-solving role and substantive

(and sometimes administrative) support role on project progress which are realised through

UNDPs quarterly and annual tripartite review system.

The project has cooperated with various other government agencies to carry out the activities

and achieve the stated outcomes. The agencies listed in the project document are the VWU,

HCMPA, ONA, GSO, FF and MCI. However, there were additional agencies that the project

cooperated with such as the YA and WCS and donor agencies such as OXFAM GB and CIDA.

The project office consists of the following positions, 4 of which are funded by the project:

- a national project director (government funded and part-time)

- a deputy national project director (government funded and part-time)

- a national project manager (cum technical coordinator since January 2004)

- a national project facilitator(cum technical support adviser since January 2004)

22

- an administrative assistant

- a translator (since July 2004)

- an accountant

- a resource centre staff (government funded and part-time)

- a driver (government funded and part-time)

This team was supported by an experienced STA/gender expert who was full-time on the project for

the first two years and thereafter, carried out short advisory missions up to January 2005. When the

STA left, an international project support adviser (RIPSA) was recruited for 5.5 months in 2004 to

assist the project’s implementation. Since all parties had to adjust to the new project design and annual

workplan approach and recruit new project staff, the project started gradually (as with most donor-

supported projects) and increased the pace of activity in a steeply rising curve after the first year.

The top of the curve where most activities are concentrated seems to have taken place in the latter part

of 2003 and during 2004 and clearly there were many significant achievements as described in section

3.

The ET is of the opinion that due to the ambitious design of the project and NEX requirements, a

heavy responsibility was placed on all the direct stakeholders- the project team, UNDP and RNE.

Despite this factor, the project leadership has managed the project extremely well and efficiently in

terms of closely following the project design and its outcome targets. The deputy national project

director and her staff have worked extremely hard and dedicatedly to achieve these outcomes. In 2004

there were some difficulties due to project staff going on maternity leave and the vacancy of the

translators post i.e. termination of a 2-month contract and difficulties in recruiting a replacement.

There was also a rapid turnover of UNDP programme staff which naturally affected the level of

support as new staff needed time to learn and understand the new ways of working. Finally, concern

has been expressed about the timeliness and efficiency of actions from UNDPs service and operations

sections, for example in the recruitment of the RIPSA (which required consultation with UNDP

headquarters) and the project facilitator; the subcontracting of the research studies and on making

payments to consultants.

These factors created delays in the implementation of some activities. The ET is of the opinion that the

main reasons for these delays were due to:

a “pile-up” of project activities in the second year which stretched all parties’ workloads

lack of authority of the deputy national project director to take important decisions in the

absence of the national project director (who is also the chairperson VWU)

difficulties in finding the right candidates for both national and international posts

many NEX procedures especially in recruitment and subcontracting

unfamiliarity and initial technical problems with UNDPs PeopleSoft payment system

unclear levels of involvement of the two donor agencies in supporting implementation

The project office has also expressed the view that there was an occasional tendency to micro-manage

the project by the two donors especially in the first year of the project. Some examples given were the

organisation and payment for a Vietnamese delegation to attend an international conference, the

purchase of equipment for the office and the recruitment of international and national consultants.

The ET considers that a large part of the reason for this situation is because the NEX modality gives

“mixed signals”; on the one hand, the principle of national execution is to give responsibility and

authority for execution to the national agency; on the other, the donor agencies are accountable for

the proper use of project funds and also consider they should have some influence on the project itself.

23

Financial management

Regarding financial management, in general the project team has done a good job of managing project

funds and accounting for them in a transparent way. KPMG carried out an audit of the project in

December 2003 and gave the project “Grade 2” (on a scale of 1-3) on: financial accounting,

monitoring and recording; management systems for recording and reporting and for management

structure. The only aspect that was given a “Grade 3” was for the incorrect application of the logbook

for managing the use of the project vehicle and the project manager took immediate steps thereafter to

apply the correct system.

Technical inputs

Regarding the combination of inputs (both national and international) the ET considers that in general

the combination was appropriate. Given that gender mainstreaming is new to Vietnam and given the

new developments with the CPRGS as a framework for donor/government development cooperation,

the ET is of the opinion that international advisory inputs provided by the STA were necessary, timely

and of high quality. Realising that it is very difficult to get good and experienced international

consultants (and given Vietnam’s high expectations of such expertise), more care needs to be taken in

selecting short-term consultants to ensure that they have the expertise expected from the clients. (e.g.

the case of the gender curriculum expert).

The selection of suitable local subcontractors and quality monitoring of their work have also been a

difficulty. However, the ET does support the idea of using local institutions in order to build up their

own capacities especially in such a new field as gender equality/gender mainstreaming. It is also the

ET’s opinion that if project outcomes and indicators had been more focussed/limited, the project team

would have had more time for monitoring the quality of all project activities, including the training

activities.

Reporting According to the project document a TPR meeting is held once a year and the project team has to

produce the documentation for this review (a progress report and workplan). The document also refers

to annual technical reviews to review the workplan; however, the team had to produce a report and

updated workplan for this meeting too. The ET considers that this frequency of reviews was not

necessary and that a once-year formal meeting plus a more informal meeting to review only the

workplan would have been sufficient to track the progress of the project.

Cooperation with international agencies

Although the project team was open to cooperate with other donors in various “macro” (e.g. CPRGS)

and “project” level (e.g.UNDP ONA project, MARD project) processes, the ET is of the opinion that

the presence of an international adviser helped to catalyse such cooperation. This may have been

partly due to the fact that the project team was heavily involved in organising the many training

activities and related tools and considered that this was the priority of the project.

At this juncture it is worthwhile to mention the role of the Gender Action Partnership (GAP). GAP

was created in late 2002 from the “Gender donor lunch group” to support and influence gender

equality in government and donor-supported policies and programmes. It has an all-inclusive

membership consisting of government, non-government, bilateral and multilateral agencies. NCFAW,

as the secretariat of GAP, has a unique opportunity to be involved and influence donor coordination

and resource mobilisation. The GAP meets about 4 times a year to share experiences in gender

equality/gender mainstreaming and to discuss how the group can advocate gender-sensitive policy

change.

In 2003 the RNE facilitated a working group under the GAP to oversee a team of 3 Vietnamese

consultants to carry out a gender equality analysis of the CPRGS and the findings were presented in a

24

dissemination workshop, funded by RNE. This is an excellent example of how the GAP can work in a

strategic way to promote gender equality.

Due to its all-inclusive nature, in recent years the group has become too large and diluted to be able to

work on concrete issues. Therefore a smaller group of agencies from GAP are currently discussing

how to proceed further with the GAP.

4. IMPACT AND SUSTAINABILITY

Impact The ET is of the view that the project has produced extremely useful and

innovative individual output indicators which are clearly being put to use by at

both national and local levels. The obvious examples are the gender

mainstreaming guidelines and the workshop facilitators manual. As mentioned

in section 3, many trainers and persons responsible for promoting gender

equality concerns are either using the manuals in their own work or are taking

selected information and methods from the manuals and adapting them for use

in their own work situations.

Through the development of such outcomes and through its training activities

the project has raised significant awareness on gender/gender equality/gender

mainstreaming among a wide audience of Party, government, NA/Peoples

Council, mass organisations and academic institution representatives.

Through implementing the various activities, the capacity of the

national machinery for the advancement of women and the project

itself for gender awareness raising and gender mainstreaming has been

noticeably enhanced.

Although not specifically stated in the project document there was also an

expectation from the donor agencies that through capacity building and training,

women would be empowered towards gender equality. The true empowerment

of women involves other social, economic and political aspects which are

beyond the scope of this project .However, if one looks at “empowerment” in a

more limited way, the team found that the most positive result came from the

training of NA deputies-to-be and members-to-be of the Peoples Councils,

many of whom said that the training had given them more self-confidence to

express their views and present their plans in public. The acquisition of new

expertise and training skills by the trainers and advisers could also be

considered as “empowering” in their spheres of work.

Sustainability The ET has examined the prospects for sustainability from the institutional, technical and

financial angles.

Institutional

The ET is of the opinion that the prospects for institutional sustainability of the various output

indicators and processes are mixed. By this, the team means that the prospects do exist but that

there would have to be certain follow-up actions by NCFAW to ensure that they materialise.

In order to understand this comment the team needs to describe the current institutional

structure (refer to the organisational diagram of NCFAW machinery in Annex 6).

NCFAW is headed by the President of the VWU and its work is coordinated by a secretariat

consisting of the following 2 sections:

25

- Planning and Administration Division (formerly called internal)- has 6 staff

- External Division-has 5 staff and is responsible for contact with donors

Its mandate is described in the Prime Ministers Directive 27 of July 2004. This Directive

strengthens NCFAW and its national machinery by instructing that a vice-leader of a ministry

should be the head of the CFAW in that ministry. It also instructs that the head of the personnel

department is to be the permanent vice-head of the CFAW and that the director of DPI is the

permanent vice-head of the provincial CFAW (previously it was the chairperson VWU)

Looking at the general picture, the ET is fairly convinced from the interviews that

individuals (especially if they are women) who have been exposed to training in gender

equality and gender mainstreaming, are trying to mainstream gender into their daily

work as their work allows. A good example is that of the lecturers in the HCMPA and NAPA

who, even though they could not change the teaching curriculum, did

change their lesson plans to incorporate the gender topic.

However, in order to institutionalise the process of gender mainstreaming into policy

formulation and implementation (as outcome 1 states) there will need to be an official

directive from the highest government level followed by an accountability mechanism

for its implementation that not only mandates this process but places sanctions on those

agencies/individuals that do not. The ET considers that the planned Gender Equality Law may

provide the opportunity for such an administrative mechanism to be developed but at the same

time is also aware that there are many laws in Vietnam that experience the same problem

of enforcing implementation.

Regarding the sustainability of gender training activities, the ET is of the opinion that

the prospects are good especially in those cases where the persons trained are actual

trainers themselves or are the persons responsible for the advancement of women in

their respective ministries. These trainers and the gender advisers constitute a very

valuable source of gender expertise which should be used regularly for gender analysis

work, gender advisory services and gender training. The point has correctly been made by the

trainers that their skills will diminish if they do not have the opportunity to

train regularly.

Regarding the sustainability of individual output indicators such as the two research

studies and the gender statistics book, the ET is of the view that these will simply “lie

on a shelf” unless NCFAW is able to secure further government or donor support to

pursue the process further. The planned dissemination workshops are only the first step in using

the results for policy change.

Technical

As mentioned earlier the training for awareness raising and capacity building has

produced a substantial and widespread knowledge on gender equality/gender

mainstreaming. Regarding the project team’s technical capacities, the beneficiaries

interviewed very much appreciated the technical advice of the STA and some of the

gender advisers and gender trainers. The organisational and facilitation skills of the

project staff were also appreciated and as they gained knowledge of gender aspects, so

were their technical comments on gender mainstreaming.

Regarding the transfer of know-how in facilitating gender training and monitoring of the POA2

from the project to the NCFAW secretariat, the ET considers that this has been taking place

especially over the past 18 months of the project’s implementation. All staff of the two units has

attended a 3 and a half day training in gender mainstreaming and 3 have attended the 7-day

TOT and most are using these skills in certain aspects of their work.

26

However, given the overall country situation, the ET wishes to note that the total

technical capacity for gender awareness raising and gender mainstreaming is still very

limited and in essence, the project has created “pockets” of gender sensitive

people. Secondly, the ET is concerned about the “depth” of gender expertise and

gender training expertise that has been created by attending courses that range from 3

to 7 days only. Even if one attends such a course twice, expertise in a particular field is

usually built on a related academic background and is enhanced through years of

application on-the-job of that expertise and through reiterative learning processes.

Financial

Based on discussions with interviewees and project reports, the ET is of the view that

this project is still seen as a donor-supported “external project” and not really part of

NCFAW’s regular work. The ET notes that some efforts were made by the project to

support important internal processes such as the mid-term review of POA2 and the

formulation of the CPRGS. But in general, the ET is concerned that NCFAW does not

have sufficient financial and human resources and capacity to continue the processes

started by the project and to lobby for funds in a systematic way.

During the course of its work the ET has identified two possible sources of funding

that could be accessed by the NCFAW machinery. Following Directive no.27 on

strengthening the NCFAW national machinery, the Ministry of Finance issued a

circular in January 2005 which gives instructions on how CFAWs can obtain funding

for activities related to gender equality and the advancement of women. On the basis of

an annual workplan they can apply for funding of relevant activities and even though

the level of funding may be limited, it is a starting point. Secondly, there are

opportunities to obtain donor funding through the GAP mechanism.

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5 LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the evaluation of all aspects of the project as described in the previous sections, the ET

has arrived at the following conclusions/lessons learned and recommendations for follow-up

actions. It should be noted that most of these are based on common trends of opinions that the team

extracted from the interviews. These have been combined with the team’s independent evaluation

of the project, based on its own expertise, its knowledge of similar types of development projects

and its knowledge of Vietnam.

Lessons Learned

Contextual factors influence the design and results of a project. In this case the concept of

gender equality and the methodology of gender mainstreaming are still relatively new and

sensitive in Vietnam. As in many other developing countries, these concepts have been

“externally introduced” and the awareness-raising process has largely been supported by donor

agencies. In addition, the Vietnamese Constitution has always respected the equal rights of

men and women. Therefore Vietnam needs more time to fully understand how the concept of

gender equality is necessary to promote socio-economic development and eliminate poverty. In

this context, the lesson learned is that capacity building and the production of manuals, studies

etc. are insufficient for attitudinal and behavioural change; they are only the first step in a

longer term process.

This project has built on the results of the earlier project by using the foundation it had laid

(through awareness raising in gender) to introduce the methodology of gender mainstreaming

into the planning and policy-making process.

The design of a project should ideally be based on a capacity assessment of the implementing

agencies. Two of the three outcomes in this project were formulated in an overly ambitious

way and therefore have not been fully achieved. It is the ETs opinion that the undertaking of a

capacity assessment looking at executing capacity, human and financial resources, the

institutional and governance framework and finally socio-cultural factors would help to design

a project with more realistic and focussed outcomes.

The new project design accompanied by an annual workplan is a very appropriate way of

delivering technical assistance since it allows for flexibility during implementation and the

adjustment of the project if priorities change, if contextual factors change etc. However, there

is a risk that it creates different expectations about how to achieve the projects outcomes and

results in differing priorities for actual activities.

Design constraints do not necessarily result in an unsuccessful project. This project has made

several significant and remarkable achievements in terms of: raising awareness about

gender/gender equality/gender mainstreaming: sensitising decision-and policy-makers about

the need for gender mainstreaming not only as an equity issue but also from an economic point

of view: building capacity in NCFAW’s national machinery to promote the concept of

gender/gender equality/gender mainstreaming: and advocating for these processes.

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There are a whole set of critical factors-institutional, resources, contextual- that influence the

effectiveness of an executing agency, in this case NCFAW. These are:

NCFAW is seen as a “side agency” of the VWU since the head of both organisations is

the same person. Since the VWU focusses on the advancement of women, many

consider that NCFAW has the same purpose

NCFAW does not seem to have a strong coordinating authority nor strong influence on

policy issues. Part of the reason is that it has limited human and financial resources and

therefore capacity; additionally, its visibility is partly overshadowed by the VWU.

So far there is no official directive and accountability mechansim mandating gender

mainstreaming into policies and programmes

However, the ET considers that NCFAW is the most appropriate body to coordinate,

advocate, facilitate and provide advisory support to the mainstreaming of gender into the

policies, programmes and training activities of other government agencies.

The training activities of the project have been an excellent means of raising

gender awareness and of capacity building. The two-pronged strategy of the

project to target decision-makers at senior and mid-levels and at the same time, build

up a core group of gender trainers and advisers was an extremely appropriate one.

The supportive tools developed-the gender mainstreaming guidelines and

workshop facilitators manual- were also very appropriate.

Good quality training by enthusiastic trainers who know their content, theory supported by

practical examples/case studies and training carried out in a participatory manner has had the

most effective result.

It is very appropriate to combine national level activities with provincial piloting as was done

in Tra Vinh. In Vietnams case provinces are responsible for developing their own socio-

economic and poverty reduction plans and therefore it is important to expose them to the

concept of gender equality and the methodology of gender mainstreaming. This also provided a

practical example of gender mainstreaming into the local planning process.

Regarding project management and implementation, a difference in understanding of the NEX

modality among the three project partners led to some miscommunications and delays.

Additionally most staff was new and they needed time to understand the NEX and UNDP

office procedures In order to minimise these, it needs time and regular interaction among the

project parties to reach a common understanding and it would be helpful to organise this in a

more formal way.

Recommendations

At the Macro Level:

Prior to project formulation, the ET recommends that the funding agency(cies) carries out a

capacity assessment of the institutions which are to undertake the project. Such an assessment

need not be overly complicated and does not necessarily question the need for the project. Its

main purposes would be to better target capacity building interventions and identify actions

that could be taken during project implementation that would increase the possibility for

sustainability e.g. the need for an official administrative mechanism,* the need to identify

sources of alternative funding, the need to involve MPI more actively in this case.

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* This was in fact identified in the evaluation of the first project but there was no follow-up action

This might in turn improve the project design by concentrating on 1-2 outcomes. In this case,

the ET is of the opinion that the gender database and research component should not have been

a part of this project. It would have been sufficient to integrate the need for sex-disaggregated

data and gender analysis in the training courses (which is already the case).

It is recommended that NCFAW should continue to facilitate and provide advisory support to

raising awareness on gender equality and gender mainstreaming. With the transition of

Vietnam into the global economy, the ET recommends that the NCFAW leadership take on a

more proactive, innovative and strategic approach within its broad mandate. It needs to do this

in the following ways:

To advocate gender mainstreaming more actively with the key ministries of Planning

and Investment and Finance, the Communist Party organs and the National Assembly

organs. This should include advocating on the implementation of the CEDAW.

To actively support the development of the Gender Equality Law and its

implementation mechanism by bringing its knowledge about gender mainstreaming

into the future debates regarding the law.

To actively pursue gender mainstreaming into the Poverty Reduction Support Credit

and the Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2006-2010 (with the support of the

GAP)

To gather evidence (such as the two research studies in this project) on key problems

facing men and women in key development sectors and use these to influence policy

and decision-makers. One example would be to examine the positive and negative

impacts on men and women in certain types of jobs/occupations as a result of joining

the World Trade Organisation.

Continue to use and work with the 4 training institutions where a good level of

knowledge about gender equality and gender mainstreaming has been established as all

future leaders pass through these institutions. Two of the training institutions are

planning to set up gender training and development centres and could therefore

become the main training centres for gender mainstreaming.

Take a more dynamic and proactive role in the GAP to keep donors informed of major

policy developments and to seek their support to influence policy change and mobilise

funding resources. In addition, NCFAW should bring the GAP and the GAN together

as they are natural counterparts.

Prepare a “position paper” and action plan to convince the Government to “detach” its

identity from that of the VWU by enhancing its institutional position and authority and

its human and financial resources.

Regarding funding for such tasks, the ET would like to stress that most of the above

recommended actions are part of NCFAWs regular work and should be funded from the

government’s budget. In terms of assisting NCFAW to come up with such a position paper and

plan to increase its resources and institutional authority, the ET believes that there are donor

agencies that would be willing and interested to assist NCFAW in this task.

Recognising that gender equality is a relatively new concept in Vietnam and that it is a cross-

cutting theme, the ET recommends that the donor agencies in Vietnam need to give more

priority to mainstreaming gender concerns systematically into their development

programmes/projects and even into their own offices. As the ET sees it, the current situation is

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that if an organisation has a gender adviser/expert and a gender fund allocation, this person is

active in raising gender awareness and gender mainstreaming; if there is no such person, there

is superficial attention given to gender often limited to a general paragraph in a country

strategy, programme or project document.

In promoting this approach of gender mainstreaming into existing country strategies/projects

the ET wishes to stress two points. Firstly, such an approach should not “pay lip service” to

gender mainstreaming as has occurred in the past. It should have a truly capacity building

approach and therefore a gender specialist should be recruited in the formulation team.

Secondly, since NCFAW has built up gender training expertise and has established a network

of trainers and advisers, the ET recommends that NCFAW be used as a facilitator to

implement gender-related activities such as training, gender analysis and so on. In this way, the

capacities of NCFAW would continue to be strengthened and sustained.

At the Micro Level:

Regarding the training activities, the ET has several simple recommendations to improve their

targetting and quality. These are based on feedback from the beneficiaries of the training.

Firstly, future training courses on gender mainstreaming should target more men, and in

particular male leaders and decision-makers.

Secondly, training courses for leaders and decision-makers should be short (1 day) and

should focus on the basic concepts of gender and gender mainstreaming.

Thirdly, training courses for mid-level officials and gender advisers could be longer and

should reflect sectoral specialisation and include practical case studies.

Regarding the core trainers, NCFAW should continue to coordinate the activities of this

core team to ensure that they continue to be actively used. They should also seek

government budget funding for short refresher courses for both the trainers and

advisers.

Regarding the 4 training institutions, NCFAW is recommended to develop a post-

monitoring plan to ensure the continuity of gender mainstreaming in the

curriculum/lesson plans of these institutions. This would require some form of practical

agreement between NCFAW and the institutions.

Regarding the gender mainstreaming manual, the ET recommends that more detailed

examples of actual gender mainstreaming exercises be included. The workshop

facilitation manual is already prepared in a form that allows it to be adjusted to different

target groups.

It is recommended that further donor and government support be given to the replication of the

Tra Vinh experience in other provinces in conjunction with the roll-out of the CPRGS

It is recommended that all the studies and publications produced by the project be

electronically archived in NCFAWs resource centre as these are valuable resource materials for

future gender mainstreaming work. These materials should also be published on NCFAWs

website.

It is recommended that at the start-up of a project, the project partners meet to clarify a) the

expectations under the different outcomes and b) roles and responsibilities under NEX. Every

time a new key staff comes on board, such a meeting should be repeated (in most cases these

can be combined with the quarterly technical reviews).

31

It is also recommended that the UNDP office organise an orientation training on NEX (as used

to be done in the past) for the project executing agency staff. This can be done at fairly low

cost with staff from the different UNDP operations units explaining procedures; in addition,

staff who has already been trained in NEX procedures could be teamed up with new project

staff to give practical examples. An important off-shoot of such interaction is that project and

office staff meet face-to-face and get a better understanding of each others work rather than

meet only when there is a problem.

Final General Recommendation:

The ET strongly recommends that UNDP and RNE follow-up with the Government of Vietnam on the

recommendations in this evaluation report. Using the executive summary as a basis for discussion, the

ET proposes that UNDP and RNE identify with NCFAW those priority actions (some of which are at

no cost) with which they would be willing to assist NCFAW. In each agency one person should be

identified for monitoring follow-up.

The ET is fully aware that all parties have a heavy workload and that once funding to a project is

completed the project also ends, but it would be a partial waste of resources and capacity built if

follow-up is not pursued. Secondly, the term “monitoring follow-up” involves perhaps 2 informal

meetings a year and is not as time-consuming as it may imply. The donor agencies may also wish to

consider cost-sharing the services of a national consultant (such as the one used on the evaluation

team) to follow-up specific actions on their behalf and report back at joint meetings.

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ANNEX 1

TERMS OF REFERENCE OF FINAL EVALUATION

Support to the National Machinery for the Advancement of Women to Mainstream Gender in National Public Policy and Planning VIE/01/015 Position: One International Consultant and one National Consultant

Duration: Four working weeks for each consultant, starting December 2004

Duty station: Hanoi

Project title: VIE/01/015- Support to the National Machinery for the Advancement of

Women to Mainstream Gender in National Public Policy and Planning

Implementing agency: National Committee for the Advancement of Women (NCFAW)

1. Background

Project VIE/01/015, supported by UNDP and the Royal Netherlands Embassy (RNE), is nationally

executed by the National Committee for the Advancement of Women (NCFAW) in Hanoi. This three-

year project began in February 2002 and is scheduled to terminate in February 2005. The overall

objective of the project is to support the Government of Vietnam in implementing its National Plan of

Action for the Advancement of Women to 2005 (POA2). The specific contribution of this project is to

strengthen NCFAW’s capacity to provide strategic policy advice to elected bodies (from central to

local levels), key line ministries and other main policy-making bodies, so that they can effectively

promote gender equality in on-going national planning, programming and policy-making processes.

The project aims to assist NCFAW to develop and put in place a more effective mechanism for

mainstreaming gender in national policies and plans, as well as monitoring the implementation of

these policies and plans.

The project has three main target outcomes:

1. Increase gender-sensitive policy formulation and its effective implementation based on

the contributing role of the national machinery for the advancement of women (NCFAW,

CFAWs, Vietnam Women's Union) through capacity building, advice, advocacy, facilitation,

monitoring and review on mainstreaming POA2 and gender in national plans and

programmes;

2. Strengthened gender database, qualitative and quantitative research and analysis to

inform national policy formulation, implementation and monitoring;

3. Increased gender awareness among specific target groups by addressing respective

perceptions and motivations for achieving gender equality.

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Note: The project formulation based on new mode that only annual work plan for the 1st year was

identified and work plans for the successive years would be based on actual situation. In addition,

quarter work-plans should be in line with agreement made in technical quarterly meetings.

2. Objective

The overall objective for the final evaluation is to assess the project's overall performance and

identify lesions and recommendations for future work in gender mainstreaming and gender

equality in Vietnam.

The specific objectives of this independent final evaluation are to:

a) assess the project’s overall performance

b) provide an analytical assessment of the impact the project has brought about

c) evaluate the project’s management efficiency

d) provide lessons learned and recommendations for all stakeholders and other parties

involved in the project so that these can be incorporated into future projects

The final evaluation will involve the project stakeholders, key implementers, policymakers and

targeted audiences in order to assess the project performance, activities and strategy; draw lessons

learned; and recommend future strategies and direction.

3. Expected Outputs

The evaluation team is expected to produce:

a) A draft evaluation report providing in-depth analytical assessment of project progress and

performance and efficiency, covering all aspects mentioned in the objectives above, and

presenting the findings conclusions, and recommendations of the independent evaluation

mission, by the end of November 2004;

b) A presentation of the draft evaluation report to key project stakeholders (including

representatives of NCFAW and the project team, the Royal Netherlands Embassy, MPI, and

UNDP) to obtain comments and feedback; the draft report to be sent to stakeholders at least 5

working days in advance of the presentation.

c) A draft final evaluation report (five copies in both English and Vietnamese), with an executive

summary, to be prepared in light of the comments made at the above presentation meeting,

submitted a week after receiving the comments. The report should also contain a table of

contents, and an annex containing a list of reports consulted and people interviewed (as

appropriate).

d) A copy of Project Review Information Sheet (PEIS).

Note: All drafts and final reports with applicable annexes and attachments will be submitted in both

hard copy as well as in a diskette or email attachment in Microsoft Word 98 or 2000 format and shall

be in both English and Vietnamese.

4. Concrete Tasks of the Evaluation Team

34

a) assess the project’s overall performance including the modes and efficiency of co-operation

among the key stakeholders in strengthening capacity of the key implementers, project

management modality and its efficiency.

b) provide an analytical assessment of the impact the project has brought about, assessing the

extent to which the project has acted as a catalyst for policy and/or institutional change in

gender mainstreaming; and identify some of the major constraints to having greater impact

(e.g. in terms national, institutional, local, social contexts as well as the project context).

c) provide lessons learned and recommendations for all stakeholders and other parties

involved in the project .This entails: i) Identifying what has worked, what has not worked and

why; ii) identifying concrete areas for improvement (eg, stakeholder participation in project

management or implementation, sustainability and capacity strengthening issues); iii) outlining

potential areas of future gender equality work in Vietnam, based on the existing national/local

capacities and the evaluation's assessment of progress in gender mainstreaming/ gender

equality efforts made so far; and iv) making recommendations on issues related to any

variances in the project environment, including work by other government and non-

government agencies.

5. Proposed Methodology

The Final Evaluation should be conducted in a results-based and participatory manner involving all

project stakeholders. The active participation of project stakeholders will be critical for strengthening

ownership of the findings, recommendations and follow up action.

1. The final evaluation will be based on a desk review of project documents and other reports,

such as work plans, assessments, correspondence, minutes of meetings, and data from other

organisations.

2. Interviews and focus group discussions/ meetings will be held with the members of the

project management team, stakeholders at all levels of project implementation, such as male

and female policy-makers and implementers from central ministries and from provinces,

officials from national training institutes and research institutions, a sample of groups targeted

for awareness raising, a selected number of other project beneficiaries, as well as with

NCFAW, UNDP and RNE representatives.

3. Detailed notes with English language summaries should be kept for each interview. Where

appropriate, evaluators should protect stakeholders’ right to provide confidential opinions. A

list of suggested agencies and/or individuals to be interviewed will be developed by the

national executing agency and the evaluation team.

4. The Final Evaluation team will work with relevant officials within the executing agencies as

well as with project staff. The National Project Director (NPD), Deputy National Project

Director (DNPD), Senior Technical Advisor (TA),and National Project Manager (NPM) will be

those mainly responsible for meeting and briefing the evaluation team with regard to their

respective execution responsibilities. In addition, the evaluation team may request meetings

with and briefings by other officials or staff related to the project.

35

5. In preparation for the arrival and work of the evaluation team, the project management is

required to provide an up-to-date status report of the project in terms of outputs, inputs and

activities implemented.

6. The NPD will provide administrative and other support as required, including assistance with

travel and accommodation.

Note: Although evaluation team members should feel free to discuss all matters relevant to their assignment with concerned authorities, they are not authorised to make any commitments on behalf of UNDP. 6. Evaluation Team Composition

The evaluation team will consist of one International Consultant and one National Consultant. As

this is an independent evaluation, neither consultant selected may have had any involvement with the

design, and/or implementation of the project. The International Consultant will be facilitated in her/his

task by a national consultant. The national consultant may also be called up to act as interpreter

during meetings and translator of documents as necessary.

7. Timing and Duration

The final evaluation will take place over a period of four working weeks starting December 2004. The

evaluation team will first receive a briefing from UNDP and the national executing agency. The first

week will be allocated to developing an evaluation work plan, conducting a desk review of project

documents, and gathering necessary data and information. The second and third weeks will involve

interviews with key project stakeholders, key implementers including representatives of UNDP and

RNE. The forth week will be allocated to produce a first draft of the evaluation report; make a

presentation on the draft report to key stakeholders, including NCFAW, UNDP, RNE; and revise the

report based on feedback from the presentation.

8. Qualifications

Independent International Consultant

A post-graduate degree in social sciences or related field, strong analytical and critical

thinking skills

At least five years’ experience in the development field, preferably with significant experience

in gender analysis and gender mainstreaming work, as well as capacity strengthening

Experience in evaluating project management and impact and excellent analytical skills, an

asset

Knowledge about gender equality issues and challenges in Viet Nam, governmental

administrative structures, donor-funded/capacity strengthening projects, and NEX

management is preferred

Excellent communication and English language skills, and relevant computer skills

The international consultant must be independent with no connection to design, formulation or

implementation of the project or project outcomes

Independent National Consultant

A graduate degree in social sciences or related field, strong analytical and critical thinking

skills;

At least five years’ experience in the development field, preferably with significant experience

in gender analysis and gender mainstreaming work, as well as capacity strengthening;

36

Experience in evaluating project management and impact, with excellent analytical skills an

asset

Knowledge about gender equality issues and challenges in Viet Nam, governmental

administrative structures, donor-funded/capacity strengthening projects, and NEX

management is preferred

Excellent communication and Vietnamese language skills (both for report writing and for

interpretation), and relevant computer skills

The national consultant must be independent with no connection to design, formulation or

implementation of the project or project outcomes.

9. Application procedures

Applicants are invited to access the project document on the Internet web site of UNDP Viet Nam: www.undp.org.vn

Interested candidates should submit Interested candidates are invited to submit application letter, and

detailed/updated CV in English, copy of degree/ certificate, indicating "Application for Final Evaluation

- Project VIE/01/015” to:

Ms. Nguyen Thuy Mai

UNDP-Viet Nam

25-29 Phan Boi Chau street

Hanoi, Viet Nam

Fax: +84-4-942 2267

Email: registry@undp.org.vn

Applications must reach the above address no later than 17 November 2004. Please note due to the volume of applications normally received we do not contact candidates that are not short-listed.

We especially encourage women to apply and value geographical diversity

in our workforce