The Asia Foundation

In July 2011, Mongolia assumed the Presidency of the Community of Democracies (CoD) from Lithuania. Mongolia's priorities for its two-year term include education for democracy, strengthening regional cooperation, exchange of experiences,...

In July 2011, Mongolia assumed the Presidency of the Community of Democracies (CoD) from Lithuania. Mongolia's priorities for its two-year term include education for democracy, strengthening regional cooperation, exchange of experiences, collaboration with civil society, advancing women's empowerment and countering corruption. The Asia Foundation is supporting Mongolia in its efforts to make the CoD a more operational and action-oriented body.

As Mongolia moves into a new phase of its development, driven predominantly by rapid economic growth in the extractive industries, it faces a number of significant challenges. Rapid rates of urbanization are leading to an increasingly...

As Mongolia moves into a new phase of its development, driven predominantly by rapid economic growth in the extractive industries, it faces a number of significant challenges. Rapid rates of urbanization are leading to an increasingly overwhelming concentration of the population in urban centers, especially Ulaanbaatar.  As a result of this rapid population growth, more than half the area of Ulaanbaatar today consists of unplanned settlements called ger districts, which house more than half of the city's residents and nearly 25 percent of Mongolia's total population. The Asia Foundation has been working to support improvements in the ger districts for a number of years.

Mongolia is experiencing unprecedented growth and change, fueled by revenues from mining. Although the country's transition to democracy has been relatively smooth, citizen satisfaction is low. The concentration of economic opportunity in the...

Mongolia is experiencing unprecedented growth and change, fueled by revenues from mining. Although the country's transition to democracy has been relatively smooth, citizen satisfaction is low. The concentration of economic opportunity in the capital, Ulaanbaatar, has created a huge urban migration, with nearly 50 percent of Mongolians now living in the capital. Meeting the needs of recent arrivals in Ulaanbaatar and creating economic opportunities in other regional cities will be important if Mongolia is to deliver sustainable, broad-based improvements in the welfare of its population. The government of Mongolia is committed to fostering more responsive and capable local governments to improve citizen satisfaction, recognizing that decentralization often contributes to better development outcomes. Policymakers, led by the office of the president, are therefore pursuing an ambitious agenda to revive Mongolia's decentralization process.

As mining grows in importance to Mongolia's economy, local communities and the environment will increasingly feel the impact. Effective government institutions and citizen participation in local resource decisions will be imperative. Since...

As mining grows in importance to Mongolia's economy, local communities and the environment will increasingly feel the impact. Effective government institutions and citizen participation in local resource decisions will be imperative. Since 2006, The Asia Foundation has promoted responsible mining in Mongolia by supporting collaboration between industry, government and civil society.

The 2007 PCI survey - the third annual edition - is the largest and most comprehensive assessment and ranking of the performance of provincial governments based on the views expressed by over 6,700 entrepreneurs and managers of small and...

The 2007 PCI survey - the third annual edition - is the largest and most comprehensive assessment and ranking of the performance of provincial governments based on the views expressed by over 6,700 entrepreneurs and managers of small and medium (SME) enterprises across Vietnam's 64 provinces.

The Aceh Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Appraisal (ARRA) program is aimed at giving an up-to-date picture of the current status of the reconstruction and rehabilitation process in Aceh. The views gathered in the ARRA process were collected...

The Aceh Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Appraisal (ARRA) program is aimed at giving an up-to-date picture of the current status of the reconstruction and rehabilitation process in Aceh. The views gathered in the ARRA process were collected from victims and from service providers, both from the government and from national and international non-governmental organizations.

The Asia Foundation provided a grant to the Mongolian Women Farmers’ Association (MWFA) which now trains 500 poor households every year to raise vegetables and poultry, and thereby generate income. This effort is intended to reduce...

The Asia Foundation provided a grant to the Mongolian Women Farmers’ Association (MWFA) which now trains 500 poor households every year to raise vegetables and poultry, and thereby generate income. This effort is intended to reduce poverty, inspire micro-entrepreneurship, build stronger communities and neighbourhoods, and discourage social ills such as alcoholism, and domestic violence against women and children.

Mongolian version

The Asia Foundation provided a grant to the Mongolian Women Farmers’ Association (MWFA) which now trains 500 poor households every year to raise vegetables and poultry, and thereby generate income. This effort...

Mongolian version

The Asia Foundation provided a grant to the Mongolian Women Farmers’ Association (MWFA) which now trains 500 poor households every year to raise vegetables and poultry, and thereby generate income. This effort is intended to reduce poverty, inspire micro-entrepreneurship, build stronger communities and neighbourhoods, and discourage social ills such as alcoholism, and domestic violence against women and children.

This Strategic Conflict Assessment (SCA) follows and builds upon a previous assessment conducted for the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) in 2000 (Goodhand, 2001). Like the previous study, it aims to do three things: First,...

This Strategic Conflict Assessment (SCA) follows and builds upon a previous assessment conducted for the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) in 2000 (Goodhand, 2001). Like the previous study, it aims to do three things: First, to provide an analysis of the structures and dynamics of conflict and peace in Sri Lanka since 2000. Second, to examine how international engagement has interacted with conflict and peace dynamics, with a particular focus on aid donors during this time period. Third, to identify how the strategies and approaches of international donors can best engage with and help strengthen domestic peacebuilding efforts.

This report is part of a broader study entitled "Aid, Conflict and Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka" (Goodhand and Klem 2005). Its focus is exclusively the North-East1 of Sri Lanka since the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) between the...

This report is part of a broader study entitled "Aid, Conflict and Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka" (Goodhand and Klem 2005). Its focus is exclusively the North-East1 of Sri Lanka since the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement (CFA) between the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in February 2002. The report explores changing issues, relationships, and trends at a micro level and provides a critique of the macro-level analysis that has informed the peace process in Sri Lanka to date.

This Sinhala and Tamil press review, conducted under the aegis of the second Strategic Conflict Assessment (SCA2), "Aid, Conflict and Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka" (Goodhand and Klem, 2005), sought to capture local perspectives on the island's...

This Sinhala and Tamil press review, conducted under the aegis of the second Strategic Conflict Assessment (SCA2), "Aid, Conflict and Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka" (Goodhand and Klem, 2005), sought to capture local perspectives on the island's protracted conflict and Norwegian-brokered peace process as reflected in the vernacular press. While many local actors have been subject to closer scrutiny in relation to Sri Lanka's politics and peace process, there has been insufficient focus on the role of the vernacular media.

A study, supported by The Asia Foundation, which analyzes economic development in Pakistan in the context of power and institutions in the country. It examines the causes of continuing development challenges, and it identifies seven strategic...

A study, supported by The Asia Foundation, which analyzes economic development in Pakistan in the context of power and institutions in the country. It examines the causes of continuing development challenges, and it identifies seven strategic "Drivers of Change" that could address these root causes for a major impact on development in Pakistan.

The Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) was developed by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and USAIDfunded Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative (VNCI) in 2005, to assess and rank 42 provincial governments by their...

The Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) was developed by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and USAIDfunded Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative (VNCI) in 2005, to assess and rank 42 provincial governments by their regulatory environments for private sector development, while controlling for differences in their initial endowments. The index attracted considerable attention from various stakeholders, including the business community, media, donor community, and the provinces themselves. Most impressive has been the positive actions undertaken by a number of provincial authorities to use the PCI to better identify and understand the problems confronting the private sector, and to improve their treatment of such businesses.

In 2005 the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) was developed by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the USAID-fund- ed Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative (VNCI) to assess and rank 42 provincial governments by their...

In 2005 the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) was developed by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the USAID-fund- ed Vietnam Competitiveness Initiative (VNCI) to assess and rank 42 provincial governments by their regulatory environments for private sector develop- ment, controlling for differences in initial endow- ments. The index attracted considerable attention from various stakeholders including the business community, the media, the donor community and of course the provinces themselves. Most impressive has been the positive actions undertaken by a num- ber of provincial authorities to use the PCI to under- stand the problems confronting the private sector and to improve their treatment of business.