The Asia Foundation

Support for the development of "Community-based Clean Water Solutions," by selecting a section of a river and designing a future pilot project in the area with community-based clean water solutions and participation through multi-stakeholder consultations.

Technical assistance to the Rural Development Center (RUDEC) for the development of a composite rural public service index; Training course on quantitative research (methods, techniques, and applied statistics) to enhance the capacity of the RUDEC research team; Multi-purpose data and research resource center for an extensive user community—including researchers, students, lecturers, social workers, and policymakers in Vietnam—to facilitate evidence-based analysis for research, policymaking, and social development programs.

Strengthening the private sector in rural Bangladesh by enhancing the capacity of business associations (samities) to represent member interests and more effectively engage with public agencies and officials; Improving the demand and supply sides of the local-level public sector service market for promotion of rural Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (SMEs) at the sub-district level; Enhancing the sustainability and stakeholder ownership of subnational business reforms by providing technical support to facilitate dialogue among the different business stakeholders at the district level.

Preparing case studies, publishing articles, and hosting television talk shows about local governance and economic growth in three provinces.

Establishing small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) associations in Aceh; Training SME associations in policy advocacy to ensure private sector concerns are heard during local policymaking processes.

BITRA Foundation Indonesia; Center for Public Policy Analysis (Akademika); Citizen Advocacy Institute (PIAR); Community Advocacy Institute of Cendana Wangi (Lakmas Cendana Wangi); Rural Technological Development Institute (LPTP); Research Center of the University of Nusa Cendana (Lemlit Undana).

Establishing and improving One Stop Shop (OSS) business licensing centers to expedite, and reduce the costs of business permits in East Nusa Tenggara and Aceh; Assisting provincial governments of Aceh, Bali, East Nusa Tenggara, and North Sulawesi to strengthen their role in monitoring and supporting district-level OSS; Working with the Ministry of Home Affairs to revise national OSS guidelines and to develop an OSS curriculum and a monitoring and evaluation framework.

Mapping business associations in Cambodia and updating the 2009 Business Association Directory.      

Supporting the Buy Cambodian Products trade fair—aimed at improving the marketing of products and services of Cambodian firms, displaying new products, sharing information, and establishing long-term business relationships between Cambodian and international businesses.

Disseminating results of the PBES to more than 200 participants from Koh Kong, Kampong Cham, Kratie, and Stueng Treng provinces—including business owners, representatives of local business associations, and government officials—to raise awareness of the importance of improved business environments for local micro-, small-, and medium-enterprises.

Establishing local level public-private dialogues as platforms of discussion where CBO members (mostly farmers and fishermen) can identify business constraints and take some collective steps to find workable solutions for an improved business environment through engagement with subnational and national government.

Supporting effective implementation of 2009 Public-Private Partnership legislation that allows government and private sector collaboration to speed project implementation on development priorities such as energy generation and transportation infrastructure.

Pilot project, in collaboration with Monash University Sunway Campus Malaysia, to adapt the Business Environment Index (BEI) methodology and survey instruments to the Malaysian context. 

Conducting Local Economic Governance surveys in 25 municipalities and districts in Aceh and Nias and in 267 districts and municipalities in the provinces of Bengkulu, Jambi, West Sumatra, Lampung, Bangka Belitung, Banten, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South East Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi, West Sulawesi, Maluku, North Maluku, Papua and West Papua.

Pro-poor economic research in six provinces of the Mekong Delta region focusing on women and marginalized groups; Recommendations on regional strategies and practical local solutions to generate income and employment opportunities for the target groups; Regional workshop to disseminate findings and a position paper on new patterns of poverty to policymakers; Final report to be published and disseminated to the public; Study to develop a comprehensive rural public service index in Vietnam; In-depth research to map out a comprehensive picture of current rural public services; Developing a set of indicators and measurement methods for public service quality assessment; Constructing a comprehensive rural public service index.

Scoping study for an index at the district level that focuses on governance issues affecting farmers.

Strengthen the capacity of the Parliament in economic policy reform by introducing Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) methodology to core officials/staff of the Senate Research Department and concerned commissions, as well as to some key research staff of the National Assembly. The RIA approach and methodology will help the Senate trainees to better evaluate and analyze the potential impact of regulations on private sector development, with a special focus on regulations affecting business environments at the subnational level.

Holding the Balochistan Economic Development Forum to provide stakeholders a common platform to analyze provincial economic issues and opportunities in order to contribute to planning for economic development of the province.

Partnership with the German Technical Assistance (GTZ)-Private Sector Promotion program to support the publication of the 2009 Business Association Directory and map of Cambodian business associations in order to improve visibility of business associations and increase the networking capacity of micro, small, and medium enterprises.

Establishing and improving One Stop Shop (OSS) business licensing centers to simplify, expedite, and reduce the costs of the business permit application processes in four districts in East Nusa Tenggara Province and five districts in Aceh Province, and at the provincial level in two provinces; Assisting the Bali and North Sulawesi Provincial Governments to strengthen their roles in monitoring and supporting the district-level OSS; Working with Ministry of Home Affairs and partner's to revise national OSS guidelines and to develop national OSS curriculum and a monitoring and evaluation framework at the national level; Simplifying procedures to increase formalization rates, thereby contributing to employment and enterprise creation.

Increasing access to information on laws, regulations, and policy changes relating to business operations and licensing; Engaging with the public sector in promoting transparency and accountability in services provided to micro, small, and medium enterprises at the provincial level; Organizing inauguration ceremonies of licensing registration boards in Seam Reap, Sihanoukville, Svay Rieng, Kandal, Battambang, and Phnom Penh.

Technical assistance to the Rural Development Center (RUDEC) in the development of a composite rural public service index; Training course on quantitative research (methods, techniques, and applied statistics) to enhance capacity of the RUDEC research team.

Survey of business perceptions on the local regulatory and policy environments in Cambodia's 24 provinces. The "2009 Provincial Business Environment Scorecard" (PBES) included a separate panel group analysis of respondents within the 10 provinces surveyed in the previous PBES (2006) to assess changes in these areas.

Conducting public-private dialogues on the local business climates in Kaski, Morang, Banke, and Rupendehi Districts.

Establishing small and medium sized enterprise (SME) associations and providing technical assistance in five districts in Aceh Province; Policy advocacy trainings for the newly established SME associations to be able to effectively engage in local policymaking processes and to voice private sector concerns.

Workshop series on "The Role of Cambodian Parliament in Economic Policy Reform for an Improved Business Environment" to strengthen the capacity of the Cambodian Parliament in the policy-making process, to help members of Parliament work more effectively with the Executive branch in shaping economic policy reforms, and to provide an opportunity to learn from the experiences of neighboring countries.

Designing and implementing stakeholder analysis and budget review studies, particularly those related to maternal, new born, and child health issues in the Districts of Malang and Pasuruan in East Java. Study results provide a basis for budget advocacy activities in the two districts.

Implementing the Local Economic Governance survey in 23 municipalities/districts in Aceh Province with more than 1,000 business operators interviewed. The survey aims to promote competition among local governments to create a more favorable investment climate, eradicate corruption, and improve public services.

Pro-poor economic research in six provinces of the Mekong Delta region with a focus on women and marginalized groups; Formulating recommendations on regional strategies and practical local solutions to generate income and employment opportunities for the target groups; Regional workshop to disseminate findings and a position paper on new patterns of poverty to the policymakers; Publishing and disseminating the final report to the public. Study to develop a comprehensive rural public service index in Vietnam involving: in-depth research to map out a comprehensive picture of current rural public services, developing a set of indicators/indices and measurement methods for public service quality assessment and constructing a comprehensive rural public service index based on developed indicators and indices and pilot test in 3-4 provinces.

Assistance for the provincial government of West Java, the City of Cimahi, and the City of Surabaya to establish procurement centers. The centers consolidate the procurement processes and authority as well as reduce the meeting points between government procurement officers and procurement participants.

Implementation of an independent qualitative evaluation on the Foundation’s One Stop Shop for business licensing program, which can be used as a tool to inform future programming.

Development of IT applications to expedite business license application processing and ease tracking by applicants, leading to increased transparency and efficiency in business licensing in the City of Banda Aceh (Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam) and the District of Serdang Bedagai (North Sumatera).

Association for the Advancement of Small Business (PUPUK) Surabaya; Bandung Trust Advisory Group (B-trust); BITRA Foundation Indonesia; Center for Public Policy Analysis (Akademika); Center for Regional Micro and Small Enterprise Dynamic (CEMSED); Center for Regional Studies and Information (PATTIRO) Malang; Center for Regional Studies and Information (PATTIRO) Pekalongan; Center for Socio-Cultural and Economic Studies (PKSBE); Daya Prosumen Mandiri (DPM); Faculty of Law - University of Syiah Kuala (UNSYIAH); Gorontalo Development Analysis Institute (LP2G); Just and Prosperous Foundation (YAS); Rural Technological Development Institute (LPTP); Strategic Study for Social and Political Sciences, University of Malikussaleh (KKSiP Unimal).

Establishment and improvement of One Stop Shop (OSS) business licensing centers in 21 districts, six cities and at the provincial government in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, West Java and North Sulawesi. OSS licensing centers simplify, expedite, and reduce the costs of the business permit application process. Indonesia ranks lowest in the region in terms of the number of days and procedures required to start a business. Simplified procedures are expected to increase formalization rates, and contribute to employment and enterprise creation.

Vocational training assessment in An Giang province to make recommendations for policy and implementation changes to offer better vocational training assistance and work opportunities for young people in An Giang province.

Budget process analysis of Butwal Municipality and reform recommendations.

Media campaign for the Foundation’s business licensing reform programs, Regulatory Impact Assessment initiatives, Local Economic Governance in Indonesia survey, procurement reform, and the Cost of Moving Goods study dissemination. Various TV shows were used for the campaign such as short advertorial, interactive talk shows, and an investigative journalism show in Metro TV.

Implementation of an independent quantitative evaluation on the Foundation’s One Stop Shops for business licensing in 14 districts.

Scoping exercise to assess viability of undertaking an Economic Governance Index (EGI) for Malaysia.

Implementation of Local Economic Governance survey, with a new methodology, in 243 cities and districts in Indonesia. More than 12,000 businesses were interviewed, making it one of the largest in the world. In addition, the survey was replicated in 23 cities and districts in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam Province. Launched in July 2008, the survey promotes competition among local governments to create a more favorable investment climate, eradicate corruption, and improve public services.

Pro-poor economic research in six provinces of the Mekong delta region with a focus on women and marginalized groups; Formulate recommendations on regional strategies and practical local solutions to generate income and employment opportunities for the target groups; Regional workshop to disseminate findings and a position paper on new patterns of poverty to the policymakers; Final report to be published and disseminated to the public; Study to develop a comprehensive rural public service index in Vietnam; In-depth research to map out a comprehensive picture of current rural public services; Set of indices and measurement methods for public service quality assessment; Comprehensive rural public service index based on developed indicators and indices and pilot test in three to four provinces.

Fourth annual development of Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) which measures provincial performance in economic governance; Provincial diagnostics to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the province in question, in order to improve its PCI ranking; Development of two additional Infrastructure and ICT sub-indices.

KATALYST local economic governance program to strengthen the private sector in rural Bangladesh by enhancing the capacity of business associations (samities) to represent member interests and to more effectively engage with public agencies and officials.

Participation in a study tour of private/public partnerships in the Philippines.

Small business recapitalization program to provide grants to small business owners to
strengthen their businesses.

Research, policy studies, and public discussions on the electric power sector.

Research, policy studies, and public discussions on property rights.

Assistance to the Ministry of Home Affairs in drafting the Ministerial Decree on One Stop Shops (OSS) and drafting OSS guidelines for local governments. Technical assistance at the national level has provided guidelines that all districts and cities can use, enhancing the replication of OSS in districts and cities that have not received technical assistance from donor organizations. Completion of a study on government procurement processes. This study provides insights into the role of corruption in procurement and how this problem is currently being tackled by local governments in Indonesia, while also examining the role the Foundation can play in procurement reform.

Small business recapitalization program to provide grants to small business owners to
strengthen their businesses; Participation in a study tour of private/public partnerships in
the Philippines.

Participation in a study tour of private/public partnerships in the Philippines.

Organization of the Provincial Round Table series, aimed at providing a policy dialogue
forum for district/city governments, provincial governments, and local businesses. The
objective of the dialogue series is to facilitate communication between provincial and
district/city governments on investment climate issues.

Support for “Strengthening the capacity of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in
Advocacy,” an analysis of the demand for business environment information and development of information boards.

Dissemination of the results of the Provincial Business Environment Scorecard to policy
makers; Series of four workshops to be held in 2008 on "The Role of the Cambodian Parliament in Economic Reforms for an Improved Business Environment."

Development of a baseline survey for the One Stop Shop (OSS) program; Methodology for
mapping local business regulations for the OSS and Regulatory Impact Assessment programs. The baseline data allows the Foundation to measure progress and outputs resulting from technical assistance in various sites in Indonesia.

Technical and logistical support for activities within the Maritime and Infrastructure components.

Research, policy studies, and public discussions on air transport; Support to conduct interviews of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) organizations based in Hongkong.

Support for the participation in the Air and Space Law Workshop and Contemporary Issues in Air and Space Law Conference in Macau.

Support for participation in the Low Cost Carrier Congress conference in Singapore; Support  for participation in the Asia Pacific Aviation Summit in Australia; Support for participation in the Air and Space Law Workshop and Contemporary Issues in Air and Space Law Conference in Macau.

Development of a tourism plan for Kurunegala District; Preparation of maps of physical and
social assets for improved local government planning.

Support for a community participation pilot project--implemented in cooperation with the
Nanhai Environmental Protection Bureau, selected electroplating enterprises, and community leaders in Nanhai--with the goal of reducing the quantity of copper, nickel, chrome and other heavy metals discharged to the Pearl River; study tour to the Philippines to observe community participation in environmental protection programs; study tour of electroplating enterprises in Guangdong to observe best practices in clean production.

Support to enhance economic and social opportunities for migrant workers in Beijing by
developing a new migrant workers asset-building education model with a focus on establishing and developing small businesses through a “Social Innovation Fund.”

Assessment report on information technology (IT) opportunities for One Stop Shops (OSS) in Yogyakarta; Development and installation of an IT system for an OSS in Bantul, Yogyakarta. The IT system will further expedite business license application processing and ease
tracking by applicants, leading to increased transparency and efficiency in business
licensing in Indonesia.

Participation in a study tour of private/public partnerships in the Philippines.

Participation in a study tour of private/public partnerships in the Philippines.

Participation of Hambantota Chamber President in the World Chamber Congress in Istanbul,
Turkey.

Implementation of a survey on domestic transportation in Indonesia which tracks
infrastructure cost components, the regulatory environment, and the cost of road charges for
the trucking industry in Indonesia.  This study will inform the Foundation’s future
programming in the areas of regulatory reform and anti-corruption initiatives.

Support for development of national policy for enterprise development.

Conduct in-depth research of the economic capacity and potential of the Mekong delta region; Formulate recommendations on regional strategies as well as practical local solutions to generate income and employment opportunities for disadvantaged groups in the region;
Disseminate findings to policy makers and the wider public via the Internet and media
outlets. 

Conduct series of demand-driven provincial reform activities in Tay Ninh and Hai Duong
provinces to improve provincial economic governance (i.e. development of a business portal, compilation of tax registration and declaration manuals for SMEs); Capacity building for provincial Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Centers and organization of policy dialogues with provincial leaderships to develop a broader reform agenda.

Research project to determine the impact of the National Competitiveness Council’s Action Agenda on the Philippine ranking in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index.

Support for development of national policy for enterprise development.

Seminar series and talk shows to encourage women in Sulawesi to register their businesses;
Improvement of the organizational and advocacy capacity of SME associations, including the
women’s small business association in Sulawesi. Increased formalization allows women’s
businesses to access credit and markets.

Research on the impact of the security environment on business activity in the Eastern
Province.

Conduct a study on policies and incentives of the decentralization process in Vietnam with a
focus on investment law; Research and analysis of the provincial budget structure aimed at
improving understanding of the leadership incentives to undertake reform programs.

Develop Transformation in Governance and Economic Reform (TIGER) program;
Formulate a technical working group consisting of national experts in several areas (e.g.,
general governance, law, land management, public finance, planning, etc.); Develop TIGER diagnostic tools for implementation in pilot provinces taking into account international best practices.

Participation in a study tour of private/public partnerships in the Philippines.

Participation in a study tour of private/public partnerships in the Philippines.

Development of a new investment climate survey methodology, with assistance from AC Nielsen, focusing on economic governance; Implementation of this survey in half of all districts in Indonesia.  The 2007 survey will poll 12,000 businesses in 243 cities and regencies, making it one of the largest in the world. The aim of the survey is to promote competition among local governments to create a more favorable investment climate, eradicate corruption and improve public services.

Workshop series to strengthen the parliament’s engagement in domestic economy policy-making.

Support provincial multi-sector business associations and help them to build a collective
position on issues affecting rural micro, small, and medium enterprises.

Research on “Building Partnership with the Public Sector;” and workshop entitled, “WTO
Three Years Later: An Assessment of Progress Made in Terms of Policy Reforms.”

Data collection for the 2007 Economic Governance Index, a measure of the business
environment in municipalities and urban areas of Sri Lanka.

Small business recapitalization program to provide grants to small business owners to
strengthen their businesses; Participation in a study tour of local government in the Philiippines.

Continued development of the Third Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI), which
measures provincial performance in economic governance; Conduct provincial diagnostics to
analyze the strengths and weaknesses of provinces in order to improve PCI rankings.

Supported the development of the Vietnamese prviate sector to accelerate the country's transition to a market-based economy. The Foundation provided technical and managerial leadership for the Provincial Policy Reform Portfolio, under which the pioneering Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) was implemented.