Production of a Booklet on Empowerment Issues in the Chia Se Rural Development Programme

The Programme principles of transparency and accountability at all levels of public decision-making gives villagers better insight into public affairs and reduces the risks of corruption. In 2006, a study was commissioned to find out to what extent villagers feel that the Chia Se Programme has empowered them or given them a feeling that they have more control over both economic and social resources and improved local governance. The study was carried out by the Institute of Sociology, which conducted a total of 335 interviews, questionnaires and group discussions with district and commune project staff and villagers in 8 villages (6 Chia Se and 2 non-Chia Se) in the 6 project districts. Interviews were both structured and semi-structured. The evaluation study examined to what extent the institutional environment and the project inputs have created preconditions for rural governance. It further examined the extent to which it allows local communities and individuals to take an active part in planning, implementation and management of resources. The study returned with positive responses from local communities and leaders involved in Chia Se in all the five aspects researched, namely voice, training and skills, control over public resources, living standards and institutional capacity.
ORGUT provided consultants to produce a publication based on in this study entitled “Chia Se: Voices from the Field” for distribution among stakeholders, ministry officials and the international donor community in Vietnamese and English.