ANNUAL REPORT 2020/2021
Independence Quality Impact Independent Research Institute of Mongolia (IRIM)
1503, Building (Pro ONE), Nogoon nuur street, 11th Khoroo, Sukhbaatar District, Ulanbaatar, Mongolia
46A/265 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
www.irim.mn
IRIMongolia
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ISBN 978-9919-24-538-2 CONTENTS
1 Services we provide...... 3
2 Message from the President and Executive Director...... 4
3 About us...... 5
4 IRIM in numbers...... 6
5 IRIM highlights; 2020...... 7
6 Highlights of 2020...... 9
7 IRIM initiated projects...... 11 1. Digital transparency index for government organizations 2020...... 11 2. The Social Well-being Survey of Mongolia 2020: Social Well-being of Elderly People...... 15 3. Food Assistance Project to Vulnerable Families Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic...... 17
8 Implemented projects...... 20 4. Endline study for the ‘Mainstreaming Social Accountability in Mongolia’ project...... 20 5. ‘Designing Results-Based Monitoring System for the Supporting Protected Areas for the Conservation of Ecosystem Services Project (SPACES)...... 23 6. Youth survey of key issues for 2020; A nationwide public opinion poll survey...... 26 7. Evaluation on implementation of the ‘right to breathe’ project...... 28 8. Implementation of COVID-19 Follow-Up Survey in Mongolia; First and Second Round..... 32 9. The Action Plan Development for the Implementation of the State Policy on Health Project...... 34 10. Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Seven District Ger village vulnerable group (Women/Child) COVID-19 Crisis Response and Resiliency Enhancement Project...... 37 11. Evaluation on Implementation of the “Child Protection Law in Mongolia” project...... 41 12. Evaluation on the State Policy on Population Development and its Action Plan of 2016-2025...... 43 13. Baseline study on Youth Sustainability Corps...... 46 14. Assessment of the ‘Legal and Policy Framework’ and ‘Illicit Financial Flows’ in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining in Mongolia...... 49 15. Evaluation of ‘Promoting Inclusive Education in every Last Child in Mongolia’...... 51 16. “The virtual marathon” project...... 56 17. Gobi framework for sustainable infrastructure partnerships: scaling up praxis from Mongolia to Central Asia...... 60 18. Baseline Survey of Mongolian Vegetable Project - 2020...... 63 19. Leveraging Science and Tradition in DRR in Mongolia III, Final Evaluation...... 67 20. External review of the governance and operation of the Mongolia - Australia Society “Mozzies”...... 69 9 Projects in progress...... 71
21. The Pilot Project of the National Comprehensive Development Plan: ‘Establishing Linkage Between Industry аnd Academia’...... 71 22. Steppe-up: Community-led Recovery of Mongolia’s Iconic Species and Forest-steppe Ecosystem...... 73 23. Strengthening Integrated Early Warning System in Mongolia Project...... 76 24. Survey of grain producers in Mongolia...... 79 25. Socio-economic Analysis and Baseline Study Associated with Livelihood Components of the SPACES project...... 81 26. Pre-KAP Survey (Knowledge-Attitude-Practice Survey) associated with the Environmental Communication Component of the SPACES Project...... 83 27. “Research on Assessing the Impacts of Restrictions on Internal Migration to Ulaanbaatar”...... 85 28. National poll survey in Mongolia...... 88 28. Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Survey on Violence Among Local Citizens in Khoroos Near Magic World-2 Community Center...... 90
10 Other projects...... 92
2 IRIM’S MISSION QUALITY POLICY STATEMENT To be the leading center IRIM is committed to providing independent of knowledge in Mongolia research products and services with the on development-related highest possible level of quality; that meets issues and to provide world- international standards and customer class independent research satisfaction at all times and using continually outcomes. improving processes.
SERVICES WE PROVIDE EXPERIENCE
RESEARCH- IRIM has research experience in a wide range of sectors, where professional and scientific approaches are applied. IRIM’s staff are experienced in designing and facilitating innovative and inter-disciplinary research projects, drawing 122 on both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Data quality assurance is conducted at every stage in research projects, and the latest versions of statistical analysis software projects are employed.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION- Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) projects make up around one third of IRIM’s portfolio. With an emphasis on evidence, and employing internationally accepted methodologies and methods, IRIM conducts independent analysis of the implementation of the government and the international organisations’ 84 projects and programmes. IRIM initiated the Mongolian Evaluation Network; making a commitment to integrate evaluation standards in Mongolia in collaboration with other projects members of the Network.
TRAINING AND WORKSHOPS- IRIM’s training packages cover current research theories and methods and are enriched by the application of extensive experience in the field. IRIM provides training on various subjects, including: transparent budgeting, civic engagement, organisational capacity-building, and horizontal learning 20 methods. IRIM employs participatory and interactive methodologies in workshops. IRIM ensures success of the workshop (from beginning to end), developing training materials, conducting participants’ needs assessment, documenting all procedures projects of the workshops and conducting satisfaction surveys. This provides for continuous improvement of performance of workshops’ organization and facilitation.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT- IRIM does more than research alone; implementing a wide range of consultancies and advocacy projects (to influence policy-makers) which include: • Conducting analysis of development policy documents and providing 28 recommendations • Conducting internal and external, environment analyses and developing projects capacity-building and strategic planing activities.
3 MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Executive Director IRIM President Tselmegsaikhan Lkhagva Bekhbat Khasbazar
Though 2020 was a very challenging year, IRIM’s During the year, IRIM deployed innovative digital operations continued uninterrupted; pursuing the solutions throughout the Institute’s operations, in vision and upholding the professional standards order to: enhance productivity for more effective that define what IRIM is all about. A large number and efficient collaboration, facilitate coaching for a of important research projects were completed, and better work-life balance, reorient the organization development projects were initiated, contributing to the ‘New normal’ state, and overcome the to more effective and inclusive decisions based on challenges and constraints related to the lockdown independent and reliable research and consultancy. prompted by COVID-19. In these unprecedented times, IRIM devoted After such a challenging year, we are pleased attention to contributing to positive changes. to present IRIM’s Annual Report, to those who Among the Institute’s long-term research are interested in Mongolia’s development issues. projects, the 9th consecutive report of the ‘Digital We hope it provides some useful insights into the Transparency Index’ - assessing the government’s Institute’s work, and some interesting key findings information transparency - was released. The from operations undertaken in 2020. report was especially relevant given the impacts We would like to thank our clients, researchers, of the pandemic, and related government policies consultants, volunteers, partners, and respondents; and procedures. Similarly, the second report of for their sincere belief in IRIM’s vision and the ‘Social Wellbeing Survey of Mongolia’ was professional capacity. completed, and is ready to be released. The survey We wish you and your families a safe and focused on social cohesion and the subjective well- healthy 2021. being of elderly people. As part of IRIM’s social responsibility, in partnership with an international nonprofit Give2Asia, a humanitarian project was implemented to provide food assistance to low-income families most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Ulaanbaatar and selected provinces. IRIM also cooperated with Lantuun Dokhio NGO, to provide consulting services on a baseline assessment of the ‘Id Shidiin Oron-2’ Community Development Center.
4 ABOUT US
The Independent Research Institute of Mongolia (IRIM) was established in 2008, with a staff of four people. Since then, it has expanded its operations and now has more than 24 fulltime staff, and over 300 associated (national and international) experts and researchers. IRIM delivers research, monitoring and evaluation, and training services; working mainly with public sector clients, international organizations and donors. Through its work, IRIM strives to achieve real outcomes in solving some of the most pressing development issues. Since its establishment, IRIM has always been committed to providing results-based and client-centred project management solutions. Additionally, IRIM has always been guided by the principles of providing evidence-based and high-quality information, maintaining an independent and impartial perspective, and striving for improved impacts within society. IRIM’s current research and consultancy covers an increasing range of issues within governance, education, labour markets and mining; among others. IRIM expanded its scope into the field of marketing and innovation research, and subsequently established the Marketing and Innovation Research Institute of Mongolia (MIRIM) in 2013.
5 IRIM IN NUMBERS
2008 APRIL 2021 APRIL TOTAL 241 PROJECTS 103 36 30 14 58 Governance Education Mining and Labor & Other Environment Employment
18 99 24 International Organisations 181,268 Clients Goverment 37 137 NGO
Respondents 155 Others Partners
PROJECTS IMPLEMENTED AREAS IRIM membership
In 2010, IRIM became an Executive Committee member of the ‘Partnership for Social Accountability, Mongolia’ and a member of the Affiliated Network for Social Accountability in East Asia and the Pacific (ANSA-EAP).
As a member of the International Sociological Association (ISA), IRIM affirms its commitment to the ‘Code of Ethics’, approved by the ISA’s Executive Committee.
IRIM became a member of the African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) in August 2016. Since 2017, IRIM has started working as an AfrEA board member
IRIM initiated the Mongolian Evaluation Network; that Arkhangai 36 Dornogobi 39 Selenge 41 integrates government and non-government organizations’ Bayan-Ulgii 31 Dundgovi 33 Tuv 34 representatives, international experts and consultants. In Bayankhongor 42 Zavkhan 35 Khovd 58 collaboration with other members, IRIM is committed to Bulgan 23 Orkhon 32 Khuvsgul 43 practicing international evaluation standards in Mongolia. Gobi-Altai 39 Umnugobi 48 Khentii 37 Gobisumber 25 Uvurkhangai 41 Ulaanbaatar 162 In 2016, IRIM initiated the ‘Subjective well-being study’ for Darkhan-Uul 43 Uvs 39 Erliyan city in China 1 the first time in Mongolia. In October 2017, IRIM became Dornod 38 Sukhbaatar 32 Total 952 a member of ‘East and East Asian Social Well-being Research Consortium’.
Partner organisations IRIM became a freelance member of the National Committee on Gender Equality, in 2017. Representing CSOs and the private sector, IRIM is making efforts to ensure gender equality in social science sectors and БОЛОВСРОЛ, ХӨДӨЛМӨР СОЁЛ, ШИНЖЛЭХ УХААН, ЖЕНДЭРИЙН НИЙГМИЙН ХАМГААЛЛЫН ЯАМ СПОРТЫН ЯАМ ҮНДЭСНИЙ ХОРОО mainstream gender equality in government policies..
IRIM became a member of the Central Asian Countries’ The Innovation for Change Initiative in 2017. Since September 2018, IRIM has been working as a board member of the network.
In 2019, IRIM became a member of the Give2Asia international donation network. The network is a USA- centered, non-profit organization, running operations in 23 Asian countries. Give2Asia raises funds to support community projects and programs, aimed at addressing issues facing developing countries in Asia. Within this network, IRIM is initiating and implementing projects to protect the rights - and increase the engagement - of people with disabilities in Mongolia.
IRIM became a member of the Asian Democracy Research Network (ADRN). ADRN was launched in November 2013 to conduct research related to democratic governance and human rights promotion in Asia. Internationally recognized for its Asian Barometer research, the network includes 21 major think tanks (policy research institutes) from 14 member countries. 6 IRIM HIGHLIGHTS; 2020
Dolgion A., Board Member of IRIM, participated in the conference held on 1 31 January, 2020 within the framework of the International Reagen-Fascell Democracy Fellowship program. She made a presentation on the topic ‘Thirty years after Mongolia’s democratic revolution: has democracy delivered for all?’.
Batsugar Ts., IRIM consultant, participated in the Asian Social Well-Being Consortium Meeting held in Tokyo, Japan on 1 February, 2 2020. He made a presentation on the process of qualitative data collection, and preliminary results. The COVID-19 pandemic has spread around the world and obliged all of us to prepare for a state of public readiness, to deal with the occurrence of domestic cases. IRIM employees have been fully prepared to 3 proceed with their work digitally, since late February; and switched to remote working (partially or fully) from March until the end of the year.
Tselmegsaikhan.L, IRIM Executive Director, participated in the Business Urug talk 4 show to share her opinions on “How will businesses change after COVID-19?”.
IRIM organizes an internship and volunteer program every year. In 2020, five senior 5 sociology students from the National University of Mongolia and two 12th grade students (participants of the ‘Junior Internship’ program, jointly organized IRIM’s executive director Tselmegsaikhan L. by the Zorig Foundation NGO and the mentored the team in the online hackathon Mongolian Education Initiative NGO) competition ‘Youth Policy and Solutions successfully completed internships with Hackathon 2020’ organized by the National IRIM. Center for Comprehensive Development NGO (with the support of The Asia Foundation). Also, Azbileg T. (Innovation and Technology Manager) and Elberel T. 6 (Senior Researcher) participated in the hackathon, and developed an innovative solution to increase digital access to higher education.
7 IRIM conducted an ‘Assessment of Effectiveness of Distance Education (television lessons) in Response to Climate- 7 Change Related Emergencies’ in five provinces and Ulaanbaatar; an activity commissioned by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The quarantine Summer training is one of IRIM’s main imposed by the Government of Mongolia annual internal, organizational events. In and the State Emergency Commission - 2020, a full-day’s training was provided in response to the COVID-19 pandemic - on ‘Social Innovation Skills: Human- posed a new challenge to the education Centered Design & Design Thinking’. The sector. The assessment: presenter - Bulgan L. – is a graduate of Kennedy School of Government at Harvard 8 University, and an IRIM consultant at IRIM. During the training, participants discussed the impacts of IRIM’s social well-being IRIM conducted extensive field data survey in Mongolian, and brainstormed collection surveys commissioned by the specific solutions. International Republican Institute (IRI). The purpose was to identify youth perceptions on the state of democratic institutions 9 and their activities, and the impact of government activities (accountability and outreach) in Mongolia. Survey results are available on the IRI website. IRIM signed a memorandum of understanding with Lantuun Dokhio NGO on consultancy service for the Magic Mongolia-2 child protection and development center. Within 10 the framework of the memorandum, IRIM will provide research and consulting services related to social responsibility. The results will be used to identify the situations and needs of the targeted group of children (within IRIM received - Give2Asia - a $10,000 grant the Magic Mongolia-2 child protection and to implement a food and nutrition assistance development center) and develop appropriate project; for vulnerable families affected by strategies and plans. social distancing and the lockdown related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Within the grant activity, food and nutrition assistance 11 were provided to 220 vulnerable households in three provinces, and two ger districts of Ulaanbaatar. IRIM, in partnership with the Innovation for Change Central Asia (I4C CA) initiated and implemented the Virtual Marathon project. Within the framework of the project, six 12 teams from five Central Asian countries, initiated and implemented projects with transparency, accountability, and anti- corruption initiatives. In Mongolia, IRIM selected projects, provided assistance for their implementation, and supported their completion. 8 HIGHLIGHTS OF 2020
‘DIGITAL TRANSPARENCY OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES’ – 2020; REPORT RELEASED
IRIM conducted its ‘Digital Transparency of Government Agencies’ monitoring research - within the its sphere of social responsibility - for the ninth consecutive year. The purpose of the research was to monitor the content of the information disclosed on the government websites, in accordance with government resolutions ‘Law on Right to Information and Transparency’ and ‘Approval of Transparency Indicators of Central and Local Government Organizations’ and other relevant regulations. Based on the monitoring results, the research aimed to develop recommendations for improvements in the transparency of government agencies. According to the monitoring results, the digital transparency of government agencies nationwide was rated at 0.537; that is ‘low’. For example, 85% of all agencies did not provide sufficient information (as required by the relevant law) and only 15% did provide sufficient information. An interview with Bayarmaa Kh. (IRIM’s senior researcher) on this research was published, and can be read via the following link. Х.БАЯРМАА: Төрийн байгууллагуудын цахим хуудасны ил тод байдал сул гэж үнэлэгдсэн – Өнөөдөр (unuudur.mn)
SOCIAL WELL-BEING SURVEY OF MONGOLIA 2020; REPORT RELEASED
One of IRIM’s regular research activities, is the Social Well-Being Survey of Mongolia, undertaken continuously since 2017. The highlight of the 2020 survey was the collaborative qualitative study to investigate the features (and diversity of the drivers) of happiness in Mongolia. Along with similar studies in seven other Asian countries (Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam) the results provide for comparisons internationally. The survey used the life history qualitative research method, and was conducted among 363 people aged 49-69 years from rural areas. A report, based on the results of this study will be published in May 2021, and disseminated to the public.
IRIM SIGNED A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH LANTUUN DOHIO NGO
IRIM donated it’s 10th anniversary competition prize fund to the Magic World-1 child protection and development center. This was the first major project of Lantuun Dohio NGO - working against child protection and human trafficking organizations - during the previous eight years. In July 2020, the two signatories exchanged proposals for cooperation, and as a result, a memorandum of understanding was signed on 3 October. Under the Memorandum, IRIM identified the needs of the Lantuun Dohio NGO’s Magic World-2 Child Protection and Development Center, and launched a long-term partnership to provide consulting services to develop the center’s future strategies and policies. Within the cooperation, IRIM developed a ‘Monitoring and Evaluation Logframe’ for the center’s activities in 2020. Based on the logframe, the next step project will be the ‘Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Survey on Violence Among Local Citizens in Khoroos Near Magic World-2 Child Protection and Development Center’. Due to social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, field data collection has been delayed, and remains pending.
9 GIVE2ASIA – FOOD AND NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROJECT HAS BEEN COMPLETED
As part of the organization’s social responsibility, IRIM implemented a food and nutrition assistance project for low-income, disabled, and female-headed households - those most vulnerable to the effects of the quarantine regime - with financial support from Give2Asia. Food assistance was provided to 220 households in the above- mentioned groups – in three provinces, and two ger districts of Ulaanbaatar - to generate a small amount of inspiration and assistance in a difficult situation.
INNOVATION FOR CHANGE – VIRTUAL MARATHON PROJECT HAS BEEN COMPLETED
IRIM is a member of the Innovation for Change network in Central Asia. Through this network, IRIM has supported innovative solutions that contribute to the expansion of Virtual Marathon transparency, accountability, and anti-corruption initiatives within the Virtual Marathon project. As part of the project, IRIM received initiatives from seven Central Asian countries, and ultimately selected six teams of civil society organizations and social activists (from five countries). These were supported to complete successful implementation of projects that have introduced innovative solutions to transparency and anti-corruption in their countries. IRIM was responsible for organizing these teams, liaising with mentors, and organizing workshops on project implementation.
BATSUGAR TS. (IRIM CONSULTANT) ELECTED MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, ASIA-PACIFIC ASSESSMENT ASSOCIATION (APEA)
Batsugar Ts. is a researcher on governance, citizen participation, civil society and development policy. He was previously executive director of IRIM, a former member of the National Committee on Gender Equality, and one of the founding members of the Mongolian Evaluation Network. The Asia-Pacific Evaluation Association is an organization focused on promoting results-based evaluation, transparency and accountability in the region. IRIM has been a member of APEA since 2016, and Batsugar Ts. was elected as a board member in 2020. This gives IRIM a stronger voice in the Asia-Pacific Evaluation Association, and an opportunity to apply a variety of practices in Mongolia.
IRIM BECAME A MEMBER OF THE ASIA DEMOCRACY RESEARCH NETWORK
Founded in 2013, the Asia Democracy Research Network conducts research and analysis on strengthening democratic governance and human rights in Asia. The network has members from 21 think tanks in 14 countries and is well-known for its Asian Barometer Survey (ABS). IRIM became a member of the network in October 2020. In recent years, IRIM has been actively conducting research and advocacy in the field of democracy. In 2018, the Institute successfully organized an international conference on ‘Democracy in the 21st Century: Challenges and Ways Forward’ to study 10 democracy and improve democratic institutions. IRIM INITIATED PROJECTS
DIGITAL TRANSPARENCY INDEX FOR GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATIONS 2020
CLIENT • Independent Research Institute of Mongolia
OBJECTIVES The Digital Transparency Index (DTI) is used to assess the openness and transparency of government digital platforms, to provide metrics, and to contribute to further improvement. DTI measures the scope of information disclosed digitally. The focus will be on the content of the information disclosed on the government websites in accordance with government resolutions ‘Law on Right to Information and Transparency’ and ‘Approval of Transparency Indicators of Central and Local Government Organizations’ and other relevant regulations.
11 2020 December 2021 January GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
A total of 86 organizations were indexed, by accessing the official websites of • 13 ministries, • 9 districts, and • 22 implememting agencies, • 9 parlamentary agencies. • 12 regulatory agencies, • 21 provincial administrations,
BACKGROUND Therefore, IRIM has been evaluating the transparency of government websites since 2010, The concept of the state is aimed at bringing in order to contribute to the implementation of the interests of citizens to the ‘centre’ in modern laws and regulations. times; bringing government activities closer to people, and improving the relationship between the state and citizens. All of which is developing DESIGN in conjunction with technological advances. The DTI’s composite score runs from 0 to 1. Higher Electronic technology has the advantage of values correspond to good digital transparency, allowing the government to be more transparent while lower values correspond to poorer results. and accessible to the information, while at the The ‘digital disclosure domain’ consists of 45 same time allowing citizens to access information questions, of which: six are in the technology and services regardless of time, distance and sub-domain, 36 in the content of disclosed location. information, and three are in the participation According to the ‘Law on Transparency Criteria’ and engagement sub-domain. (2009) and the ‘Law on Information Transparency Technology – Measures the ease of use and and Right to Information’ (2011) - adopted access to the website; e.g. the search engine and to increase the openness and transparency language selection. of information - all public administration organizations are required to provide information. Content of disclosed information – Includes: ‘Transparency’ reports are published, but they are copy of the organizational structure, contact difficult to measure and compare, according to information, human resources, budget, finance any standards. and procurement (all required by law). It also,
12 includes the availability of statistics and other 0.537; indicating that the digital transparency open data. of government organizations was ‘moderate’. Participation and engagement – Criteria This result appears to reveal a slight increase are included to determine whether access to (improvement) compared to previous year communication is possible in different ways. (0.518), but the difference was not significant. The figure below shows the structure of the indicators and weighted calculations of the Digital disclosure domain
Figure 2. Organizations levels of transparency.
Of the 86 government organizations within the study, only 13 (15%) were evaluated as Figure 1. Structure and weighting of the Digital ‘satisfactory’, while just two were ‘good’. Almost disclosure domain. half (42) of all organizations were evaluated as ‘moderate’. Twenty-four of the remaining organizations were ‘unsatisfactory’ and seven FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP were rated ‘poor’. In this study, the results of evaluating the digital It is evident that the digital transparency transparency of 86 government organizations of government organizations needs further (and local administrations) were calculated. The improvement. consolidated score of ‘digital transparency’ of The table below shows the results of each all organizations - at the national level - was indicator compared to the previous year.
Table 1. Digital transparency results of 2019 and 2020
13 Half (4 of 8) of the indicators had decreased it difficult to find the information people needed (deteriorated) compared to the previous year, on the website. one remained the same, and three had increased The content component was also generally (improved). Of these, only two indicators ‘weak’. Posting of information on activities had (technology compatibility, and public budget) decreased since the previous year. This was due were ‘satisfactory’, while the remaining indicators to the fact that the new government was formed were rated ‘unsatisfactory’ or ‘poor’. However, in 2020, and no information had been provided rating of the technology effectiveness indicator on the structure by relevant officials. was the least inadequate. However, the increase in budget and financial information had reached a ‘sufficient’ level due CONCLUSIONS to the fact that the performance monitoring system of this indicator was better than that for At 0.537, the transparency of the websites other indicators. Other indicators of transparency remains ‘weak’. If we look at the average of remained ‘insufficient’. previous years, it is 50% without any significant The community accessibility component changes in the last 5 years, which shows that there (at 0.591) had increased slightly from the is an opportunity to increase the transparency of previous year’s value (0.523), but remains the website in the future. ‘insufficient’. Citizens had little access to: online The technology compatibility component of comments, requests, complaints, and direct the websites was generally ‘sufficient’. This online chats. Although there was a need to move allowed access by users - searching directly online in all sectors (due to the pandemic in 2020) from any browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, or government agencies were weak in implementing Chrome) - as well as providing for connection such innovations and developments in their directly to the Mongolian government website websites. (www.zasag.mn) via a link to the page. This Among the various organization, the made it access easy and convenient. However, the Governor’s Offices of the provinces had effectiveness of the technology is ‘insufficient’. the highest ratings; which is attributed to This was because some organizations did not them being the most stable administrative unit. have a website structure, did not have an internal However, overall, the low average rating in search engine, or did not have information among all of the provinces (0.576) indicates that available in foreign languages. All of which made further improvement is needed. The regulator’s average rating (0.444) has been ‘inadequate’ for the past two years.
14 THE SOCIAL WELL-BEING SURVEY OF MONGOLIA 2020: SOCIAL WELL-BEING OF ELDERLY PEOPLE
CLIENTS • Independent Research Institute of Mongolia, • International Consortium for Social Well-being Studies
OBJECTIVES Given the lack of general social studies in Mongolia - that examine society as a whole - this project is initiated and implemented each year. The aim is to continue general social surveys - periodically - on large samples, to enable comparisons across different nations, and over time. In 2020, a collaborative qualitative study was organized; to investigate the features and diversity of the drivers of happiness in Mongolia, along with seven other Asian countries (Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
15 2020 June 2021 May
GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Dundgobi, Khentii, Selenge and Tuv provinces.
BACKGROUND
IRIM became member of the International survey among 363 people aged 49-69 years. The Consortium for Social Well-being Studies in 2016, people had participated previously data collection and has been cooperating with the consortium for the Social Well-being Survey of Mongolia, members’ researchers and social scientists. and other projects that had been implemented Their work included: social research, organizing during 2017-2020. The main selection criteria academic works, and participating in major were: gender, happiness level, marital status, and international conferences once or twice a year. number of children. Due to the impacts of the In 2020, IRIM continued qualitative research - pandemic, the screening survey was organized conducted under an international joint project – and executed through phone-calls. Due also to with researchers of seven other Asian countries. restrictions related to COVID-19, THE qualitative They collected comparable data, across different data collection in rural areas was delayed, and nations, that will provide support to developing ultimately completed in November 2021. social policies that promote individual happiness in Asian countries. FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP
DESIGN This work is currently under completion and an independent report - with the main findings - In 2020, data was collected from a total of 12 will be published and publicized in May 2021. participants in rural areas, using a qualitative Accordingly, it is not possible to provide findings method of life story research. To select the at this stage. respondents, the IRIM team organized a screening
16 FOOD ASSISTANCE PROJECT TO VULNERABLE FAMILIES AFFECTED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
CLIENT: • Give2Asia
OBJECTIVES The main aim of the project was to distribute food, and nutritional diet support packages, to 200 poor and vulnerable households; those which faced income shortage due to consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
17 2020 August 2021 October
GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Vulnerable families, especially those with people (including children) with disabilities, and with members in permanent long-term care. In ger districts of Selenge, Sukhbaatar and Uvs provincial centres; and the Nalaikh and Songinokhairkhan districts of Ulaanbaatar.
BACKGROUND DESIGN
Due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic The project undertook the following: around the world, quarantines were imposed in • conducted a rapid needs assessment of the February 2020, by decision of the Government of situation (of families with a member with a Mongolia and the State Emergency Commission. disability in selected regions, Recent research clearly shows that long-term and • prepared a food and nutrition assistance package short-term lockdowns – during the course of the (containing products identified as most needed) past year - have had many negative social and and distribute it to targeted households, and economic consequences; including direct impacts on people’s livelihoods. Because the impacts • created a video that calls for help, and shows are particularly strong on vulnerable groups – the need for support in difficult situations (and those on low-incomes, people with disables, and made the video public, through websites and single-parent households - IRIM has launched a social media pages). food and nutrition assistance project. This was to The selected households were identified target particular households, and help them cope in collaboration with the provinces’ and with the pandemic. The project was successfully districts’ Family, Child and Youth Development implemented with the help of a grant; by Departments; and was based on the presence of donation from the Give2Asia network. a member with a disability.
18 FINDINGS
The rapid assessment survey results showed that The following link connects to the video households needed basic food products such as presentation; on the food and nutrition assistance flour, rice, and meat. project and the opinions of the beneficiaries.
https://www.facebook.com/ watch/?v=491852935141501 IRIM, would like to thank the Give2Asia Philanthropy Network, its donors, and all those who contributed to the successful implementation of this project; which is part of our social responsibility project. IRIM always values the voice, and acknowledges the needs of target groups in research and evaluation. IRIM will continue to focus on contributing to a more humane and responsible society. We may not be able to help everyone, but everyone can help someone!
Based on this result of the assessment, the project team prepared a food package.
19 IMPLEMENTED PROJECTS
ENDLINE STUDY OF THE ‘MAINSTREAMING SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN MONGOLIA’ PROJECT
CLIENTS • World Bank • the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
OBJECTIVES The main objective of the Endline study was to evaluate the ‘Mainstreaming Social Accountability in Mongolia’ (MASAM) project’s implementation. IRIM had conducted the Baseline study of the project in 2016, and aimed to keep Endline methodology consistent with the previous work.
20 2019 November 2020 April
GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Dornod, Gobisumber, Khentii, Khovd, Khuvsgul, Selenge, Uvurkhangai, and Uvs provinces, and Ulaanbaatar BACKGROUND DESIGN
The MASAM project was jointly funded by the The Endline study used quantitative and qualitative SDC and the WB, and has been implemented in methodologies in the eight targeted provinces (and 10 provinces - and three districts of Ulaanbaatar three districts of Ulaanbaatar). The evaluation data - during 2015-2019. The project sought to was collected by the following methods: mainstream social accountability - for more • questionnaire; for over 1,000 households transparent, accountable, and effective public (and representatives of non-governmental resource management at national and local levels - organizations (NGOs) operating in the country, through social accountability. Within this, people in • interviews; of representatives of NGOs, policy poor localities would have increased access to public institutes, government organisation and the decision-making processes, and quality services. media, The following were the expected outcomes of the • focus group discussions (FGDs); for project MASAM project: stakeholders and representatives of civil society • capacity building of stakeholders, notably civil organisations (CSO)s, and society and communities; enabling them to scale • desk review; of relevant documents (such as up tools and methodologies, and secure resources reports and handbooks). for the mainstreaming of social accountability, and The study findings were based on evaluations of the Endline study results, and were compared findings • institutionalization of mechanisms - at national from the earlier Baseline study. and local levels - that lead to effective, formalized and sustained social accountability engagements; including: disclosure, citizens’ participation, and feedback mechanisms. 21 FINDINGS
The MASAM project initiated and supported Three quarters (75%) of CSOs had implemented advances in government policies that encouraged social accountability projects within the previous people’s participation; and helped to ensure that three years. The project was expected to result in capacity-building of people (and civil society greater CSO technical and organizational capacity, actors) contributed to sustained engagement in to undertake social accountability projects. Most public decision-making activities. Through social (83%) of CSOs in the Endline study noted that their accountability, people in impoverished areas, can technical and organizational capacity to implement gain greater access to public decision-making social accountability projects had improved. processes and high-quality services. More information on the project and the study, are Outcome 1 of the project was to scale-up social available on MASAM’s official website at www. accountability among CSOs. Compared to the irgen-tur.mn. Baseline, in the Endline study results, four out of the five key indicators had been wholly accomplished within the project; while one had been partially accomplished. Outcome 2 of the project was to institutionalize social accountability. Both of the project’s outcome indicators were achieved, when the Endline results were compared with the baseline.
22 DESIGNING RESULTS-BASED MONITORING SYSTEM FOR THE ‘SUPPORTING PROTECTED AREAS FOR THE CONSERVATION OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES PROJECT (SPACES)’
CLIENT • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
OBJECTIVES The ‘Supporting Protected Areas for the Conservation of Ecosystem Services (SPACES) project was being implemented by GIZ Mongolia and Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET) - as part of the German Cooperation - during March 2019 to February 2022. The project was implemented at the national and local level; in two protected area clusters in Khovd province. The purpose of the assignment was to support the project to improve its results-based monitoring (RBM) system and to design monitoring tools to measure project progress (in an efficient and effective manner). The assignment also aimed to strengthen the project team’s familiarity with, and use of, the RBM system; through experience and capacity-building.
23 2020 March 2020 May GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Ulaanbaatar
BACKGROUND
Mongolia’s diverse landscapes provide habitats for areas’ management lack specialist and technical a large number of plant and animal species. This skills, as well as human resources. Therefore, in biodiversity forms the basis of Mongolia’s economy, order to support the sustainable development of culture and development. To conserve biodiversity, protected areas, a series of components of the the government has established national and local SPACES project were implemented. protected areas, across almost 30% of the country. IRIM provided three types of consultancy services However, climate change and the exploitation of within the implementation of the SPACES project. natural resources are threatening the biodiversity and ecosystems of the extensive system of protected areas. DESIGN A large section of the rural population lives in buffer Services were provided in the form of a document zones surroundings protected areas. If these zones review, and consultation with the SPACES project are damaged, rural livelihoods are also affected. implementation team (and relevant experts from The system of protected areas themselves have the MET). In doing so, the existing SPACES project so far been unable to fully prevent environmental performance evaluation criteria were refined, and damage, because they do not have sufficient funds. project performance and progress monitoring In addition, the authorities responsible for protected indicators developed, along with relevant tools.
24 The consultancy involved two areas, and types of work, as depicted in the figure below.
1. EXISTING RESULTS FRAMEWORK 2. PROJECT PROGRESS MONITORING
To propose a methodology to measure To develop a monitoring plan and tools the existing outcome and output (using MS Excel) to assist the project indicators in the Results Framework, management team in measuring progress without altering the indicators’ and achievements. definitions.
FINDINGS CONCLUSIONS, AND FOLLOW-UP
As a result of the consultancy services, a results- The deliverables developed under the assignment based matrix - consisting of a total of 38 indicators were introduced to the SPACES project team was developed - to be used for monitoring the through capacity building trainings and discussions. progress and implementation; and evaluating the It is hoped that the RBM system and tools developed results and impact of the SPACES project. Six of the by the IRIM team will support daily operation of indicators were to be used to assess gender equality, SPACES team members and implementation of the and stakeholder participation and engagement in SPACES project. the project. Additionally, detailed descriptions, baseline and target values, data collection methods/sources, evaluation methodology, responsible personnel, stakeholders, evaluation frequency, and data disaggregation were defined (for each of the 38 indicators). Eleven types of tools were developed, and presented to the client.
25 YOUTH SURVEY OF KEY ISSUES FOR 2020; A NATIONWIDE PUBLIC OPINION POLL SURVEY
CLIENT • International Republican Institute
OBJECTIVES The survey was to gather data related to, • young people’s opinions on the state of and functioning of democratic institutions in Mongolia, • where and how young people were getting their information in Mongolia, and • how youths perceived the performance of the government (in terms of its responsiveness and inclusiveness).
26 2020 April 2020 July
GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Bayan-Ulgii, Darkhan-Uul, Dornod Khovd, Khuvsgul, Orkhon, Tuv, Umnogobi, Uvurkhangai, and Sukhbaatar provinces, and Ulaanbaatar.
DESIGN
This survey used a descriptive, cross-sectional The primary sampling unit in the survey were design to provide for the analysis of data (on public khoroos; in Ulaanbaatar and the soums in targeted opinions of current demographic institutions and provinces. The sample size was set in accordance the political situation) from a representative subset with statistics of the National Statistics Office. of the population. Data was collected using a A random sampling method was used to select stratified, multistage probability sampling method; participants from households, and household through in-person, in-home interviews of people members. between the ages of 18 and 40 years. FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP
IRIM provided advisory support at the data collection stage, but was not involved in the results and report development phase. A summary of the survey, and news reports, are available via the following link. https://www.iri.org/sites/default/files/ mongolia_ned_youth_poll_2020_-_public.pdf https://www.iri.org/resource/poll-young- mongolians-shows-enthusiasm-political- inclusion-concerns-over-unemployment
27 EVALUATION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ‘RIGHT TO BREATHE’ PROJECT
CLIENT • People in Need NGO
OBJECTIVES The ’Right to Breathe’ project sought to introduce adequate information systems, and enhance transparency and accountability on air pollution data and actions in Arkhangai province and Ulaanbaatar. It was also to provide lessons and recommendations that would help on improve quality, and enhancing the impact of, future interventions. IRIM was required to conduct an evaluation on the project’s implementation.
28 2020 January 2020 June
GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Five districts of Ulaanbaatar, and Tsetserleg district of Arkhangai province
BACKGROUND
Ulaanbaatar has been recognized as one of the mortality, miscarriages and foetal malformations. most severely polluted cities in the world. During In this regard, the ‘Right to Breathe’ project was winter, its air quality index is 50 times worse initiated by the PIN NGO and implemented in than the recommended level of the World Health collaboration with the European Union and the US Organization. Even in province and district centres, Embassy, during January 2018 to December 2019. air pollution issues are becoming more and more The project was organized in accordance to the acute each year. Air pollution is impacting negatively following key components: on public health; by increasing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, pulmonary cancers, infant
Figure 1. Core components of the ‘Right to Breathe’ project
Contribution to increasing Contribution to capacity community engagement in ger building of CSOs to speak out districts, andamong the general on air pollution and increasing public regarding air pollution community participation issues
Contribution to Contribution to introducing awareness-raising independent air pollution on air pollution, and monitoring systems, and adaptation of good Right to enabling accessible air quality practices Breathe information project
29 IRIM conducted an evaluation of the ‘Right to on the self-protection practices of the people Breathe’ project; to determine whether the goals of involved. For instance, during the training the project had been achieved, to assess the long- for parents with children under five years of term impacts, determine levels of attribution and age, a majority of the parents answered that they participation, identify any intended or unintended ‘Sometimes’ wore masks and let their children wear effects (positive or negative), and to evaluate masks (as shown in Figure 2). the implementation of activities related to the Parents, and other training participants, were asked aforementioned components. about how many days per week they wore masks during winter. Results showed that respondents DESIGN wore masks for almost five days of the week during winter time, when air pollution was at its Evaluation designs and key indicators were peak. Assuming these people stay home during developed, in accordance with the five criteria the weekends, it means that people wear masks of the Development Assistance Committee of whenever they are outside and exposed to outdoor the International Organization for Economic air pollution. This indicates increases in adaptation Cooperation and Development; aligned with the of best practices for protection against air pollution. logical framework of the ‘Right to Breathe’ project.
Figure 2. OECD, DAC evaluation criteria Figure 3. Usage of masks post-evaluation period (March 2020)
Parents: Relevance Effectiveness 4.6 days per week Sustainability Efficiency
Citizens: Children: Impact 4 days per 4.8 days per week week
A mixed methodology - comprised of quantitative and qualitative methods (including survey, key informant interview, semi-structured interviews and a document review) - was adopted for the Figure 4. Usage of protective masks in evaluation. pre-evaluation period (January 2019)
FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP How often do you and your children wear masks?
Overall, the majority of indicators used to measure Children the ‘Right to Breathe’ project’s performance showed positive results. Eleven, of a total of 20 indicators, Parents were evaluated as ‘achieved’, eight indicators were evaluated as ‘achieved, but need improvement’, and one indicator was ‘cannot be evaluated’. The Never Always/Regularly implementation of the project had a positive effect Sometimes
30 As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the frequncy of The number of households using air purifiers at children catching colds decreased by more than home during winter did not increase signficantly. ten perrcentage points, and the percentage of However, as shown in Table 1, before training and hospitalizations attributed to colds, and other community engagement activities, people were respiratory diseases, decreased by about seven unaware of the effectiveness of air purifiers (did percentage points . Habits such as parents letting not know how to use them, nor where to buy their children wear protective masks, and carrying them). Post-training assessments show that these children under the age of five years, when air indicators have declined by about 21 percentage pollution was high, may have indirectly contributed points. to this positive change . Table 1. Reasons limiting use of air purifier for Figure 5. Percentage of children catching cold or households respiratory diseases in winter Pre- Post evaluation evaluation On monthly average, how many times did your Reason (Jan 2019) (Mar 2020) child catch cold or respiratory diseases in winter? % % Not affordable 31.4 81.3 Post Evaluation Not know how to 17.1 3.1 (March 2020) use Not know where to 18.6 3.1 buy Pre-Evaluation Not know its 27.1 6.3 (January 2019) effectiveness Other 5.7 6.3 1 time 2 time More than 3 times Many people cannot afford to buy air purifiers for their homes; due to their expense. Instead, they Figure 6. Percentage of children getting protect their health from air pollution by: using pot- hospitalized due to catching cold or respiratory plants and flowers, wet cleaning, opening windows diseases during less polluted times (for ventilation) and consuming highly nutritious food to support their Did your child get hospitalized due to catching cold immune systems. or respiratory diseases? Based on the above results, the IRIM evaluation team developed recommendations to increase the participation of governmental and non- governmental organizations and to increase public participation in order to ensure the sustainability of the Right to Breath project, expand its activities and increase its effectiveness. We hope that the recommendations developed based on the results Pre-Evaluation Post Evaluation of the evaluation will make a positive difference in (February 2019) (March 2020) the future operation and expansion of the ‘Right to Breathe’ project. Yes No
31 IMPLEMENTATION OF COVID-19 FOLLOW-UP SURVEY IN MONGOLIA; FIRST AND SECOND ROUND
CLIENT • World Bank Group
OBJECTIVES The objectives of the survey were to: • conduct telephone (or online) interviews with previously surveyed businesses, to understand the impact of the outbreak COVID-19 on their operations, and • assess how many establishments had ceased operations since they were surveyed previously.
32 ROUND 1 ROUND 2
2020 June 2020 August 2021 January 2021 February
GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Mongolia
BACKGROUND by the WB were employed in the survey. CATI and CAWI data collection methods were carried out. The The COVID-19 Follow-up Survey in Mongolia Round research team mainly used the CATI methodology 1 and Round 2 are the World Bank Group’s follow- during the field work. The CAWI methodology was up surveys, of 360 interviews with private sector applied when the establishments were unable to establishments in Mongolia conducted in 2019 (part complete the survey over the telephone. of a joint EBRD, EIB and WB project). The survey The survey involved three stages, as shown in the was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the private following figure. In the inception phase, IRIM sector. The follow-up survey used the COVID-19 developed a detailed activity plan, translated the follow-up questionnaire; previously developed by questionnaire into Mongolian, and completed all the WB and implemented in countries across the the preparations for the field data collection. During world where baseline surveys had been completed. data collection, data quality checks were performed simultaneously. In the final phase, the Technical DESIGN Report and the dataset were submitted as final The robust methodology and questionnaire provided deliverables.
Figure 1: Survey stages Inception phase Data collection Final phase • Preparation of work plan • Conduct data collection • Create and check the • Translation of relevant • Conducted data quality database materials control • Develope dataset and • Preparation for data • Submit daily reports technical report collection • Submit final product
FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP
Related to the first objective, the research team For the second objective, of the total organizations, completed interviews with: 28% were permanently closed while 16.7% were • 284 establishments in Round 1, and temporarily closed. In terms of the sector, among the organizations that were temporarily or permanently • 323 establishments in Round 2 closed, one in two were providing other services. This was from among a total of 360 enterprises the participated in the EBRD, EIB and WB project originally. 33 THE ACTION PLAN DEVELOPMENT FOR ЭРҮҮЛ THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STATE МЭНДИЙН ЯАМ POLICY ON HEALTH PROJECT
CLIENTS • The Ministry of Health • Asian Development Bank
OBJECTIVES The aim of the consultancy was to develop an Action Plan for the State Policy on Health along with five supporting documents, including: Essential Services Package, Medium- term Expenditure Framework, Medium-term Investment Plan with Recommended Procurement Processes, Service Planning Framework, and Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.
34 2018 April 2020 October
GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
BACKGROUND DESIGN
Along with the Government of Mongolia request As a part of the development of the Action Plan for funding of technical assistance, the Asian for the project, and its five supporting documents, Development Bank (ADB) funded development different methodologies were employed. Learning- of Health Sector Master Plan (in the form of the by-doing, and competence-based task analysis Action Plan for the Implementation of the State approaches were used, in the areas of: health care Policy on Health; 2019-2026). planning, financial planning, impact assessment of ADB obtained financial support from the Japan health interventions, health technology assessment; Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR) to respond to health needs assessment, investment and capital this request. The proposed technical assistance, by planning, monitoring and evaluation of health means of the development of a strategic framework programs, and development partner and aid to 2026, sought to contribute to (and strengthen) coordination (in the sector). the institutional and human resource capacity of the MoH. This would enable the MoH to pursue its FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP long-term development policy on health; consistent with Mongolia’s commitments to the health-related The main purpose of the assignment was to develop targets (under Mongolia’s long-term sustainable a policy Implementation strategy, and associated development goals). Policy Implementation Plans (PIPs). These were to provide a roadmap for the implementation of the
35 State Policy on Health of Mongolia for the period international donor organizations, UN organizations of 2019-2026. Consequently, the Action Plan for and JICA. The project was completed when Implementing the State Policy on Health (APISPH) thematic capacity building trainings were conducted follows eight policy areas/directions within the – during September and October 2020 - as part State Policy on Health. The APISPH is presented in of the dissemination the above-mentioned policy two parts: document (after approval by the Minister of • the first section presents the Policy Health). Implementation Strategies, and • the second presents the Policy Implementation Plan. In the assignment, the consultant team (in collaboration with PIU and MoH) organized over 40 consultative meetings. These included two regional meetings, three national meetings and thematic meetings; with more than 700 participants in total. These included directors and managers in charge of policy and planning, representatives of: the MoH departments and divisions (in the provinces and Ulaanbaatar), health departments and health centres, special and specialized hospitals, private hospitals, professional associations, relevant ministries, embassies (Embassy of Japan,
36 MONGOLIA ULAANBAATAR SEVEN DISTRICT GER VILLAGE VULNERABLE GROUP (WOMEN/CHILD) COVID-19 CRISIS RESPONSE AND RESILIENCY ENHANCEMENT PROJECT
CLIENT • Good Neighbours Mongolia
OBJECTIVES The study of the ‘Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Seven District Ger village vulnerable group (women/ child) COVID-19 Crisis Response and Resiliency Enhancement’ project was to determine baseline indicators, and objectives. The evaluation and project monitoring were required to provide information required to reveal the real situation of the target groups (and evaluate the final outcome). More particularly, the objectives included: • accumulating basic information from within the framework of the project monitoring and evaluation, • identifying potential risks that might arise during the project implementation, • determining scope to achieve specified goals and objectives (in the framework of the project’s Monitoring and Evaluation, and • Identifying additional sources of information which might be used to estimate the achievement of indicators. IRIM was also required to prepare a report based on the results of the data collection; including attention to: • current situation of target households and stakeholders, • stability of the project and potential challenges for further attention, and • preparation of recommendations for overcoming challenges and risks that may arise during the course of the project.
37 2020 August 2021 February GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Seven districts of Ulaanbaatar, including: Baganuurt, Bayanzvrkh, Chingeltei, Khan-Uul, Nalaikh, Songinohairhan, and Sukhbaatar. BACKGROUND
The primary object of the baseline review was to 3,500 households, sinks distributed to 2,100 improve vulnerable people’s ability to respond to households, laundry services provided to 1,000 the COVID-19 pandemic, and to overcome risky households, temporary jobs for 49 women, and situations. The following objectives were addressed 8,600 protective kits delivered support medical in the Project: staff. • Promoting the rights of vulnerable groups (children, women, etc.) and improving their DESIGN potential to respond. • Increasing food guarantees for the poorest In line with the proposed evaluation design, the vulnerable groups (children, women, etc.) and baseline study consisted of quantitative and boosting their subsistence (within female- qualitative methods. The qualitative method included headed households) key informant interviews, while questionnaires were used to provide quantitative information. • Improving the ability of local organizations and the poorest vulnerable groups (children and Data were collected from a total of 543 households, women) to counter hygiene issues within a sample of 7,000 households (in the 143 khoroos in seven districts of Ulaanbaatar) that were Within the framework of these objectives, numerous covered by the project. activities were to be organized, such as: food and hygiene products provided to 7,000 beneficiaries, family development programs implemented in
38 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS Within women’s livelihood support activities: It was very important to provide short-term IRIM commissioned the Good Neighbours temporary jobs to the target group of women who International Non-Governmental Organization lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic; jobs (NGO) to implement the ‘Mongolia Ulaanbaatar would increase income and improve understanding Seven District Ger village vulnerable group (Women/ of cooperation. Forty-nine women were provided Child) COVID-19 Crisis Response and Resiliency with weekly jobs. Prior to employment, households Enhancement Project’ from 26 August, 2020, to whose income remained or increased in the baseline 29 January, 2021. The project was implemented survey during the COVID-19 pandemic accounted for to support targeted groups in the ger districts of 65.3% of the total. After temporary employment, Ulaanbaatar to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. this figure it increased to 87.2%. Women involved Based on the baseline and outcome assessments, in the project were satisfied with the work they the following concluded were identified. did, with their employers and companions. Women expressed their desire to be involved in this kind of Within the family development program: project again in the future. Among the five project In terms of the family development program, IRIM activities, this activity was identified as the most performed four types of content to the public needed and most satisfying. as implementing activities. More than 90% of households surveyed were satisfied with the family Within providing health package support to development program and more than 90% were public hospitals and target group households: able to increase their knowledge by viewing four Protective equipment had been distributed to types of content. The content was made available the Ulaanbaatar City Health Department and the to the public with the participation of well-known Ministry of Health; to support the safety of medical experts in the field, which made it more interesting. workers who provide services to isolated people, The content was dedicated to all aged people and and work in risky situations. The distribution of had a significant impact on reaching the public. protective equipment - just a few days before the Understanding of children’s and women’s rights and quarantine was imposed - was been very timely. The the ability to respond (only 32.6% in the baseline prevailing situation was critical in health facilities survey) had increased to 86.2% as a result of the due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. family development program. That is, demand The distribution revealed facilities had limited (need) for this kind of work is high. resources of protective equipment. The Ulaanbaatar City Health Department and the Ministry of Health’s Within food support activities: reserves were increased by 20%. This activity was to increase the food supply by Hygiene products were provided (to households providing food packages to the target groups with deficiencies) to improve their ability to take of households with nutritional deficiencies. The personal hygiene measures. During the COVID-19 percentage of households able to get the nutrients pandemic, the number of households implementing from their daily diet had increased from 47.5% in the five most common types of measures increased baseline to 84.3% in the endline survey; which can from 61.2% in baseline survey to 90.8%. With be seen as real support. According to the baseline the support of the hygiene package, households survey, flour and bakery products were the most improved their ability to take hygiene measures, consumed products in households and the inclusion and increased their knowledge about the usage of of flour in the food package had great impact. By masks. They also saved MNT11,710 per month; in receiving food supports, targeted households saved those households with three to five peoples. MNT60,504 per month on the cost of flour and bakery products.
39 Within household laundry services and sink support activities: In order to increase the potential of the project’s beneficiaries to improve the hygienic environment and overcome infectious diseases, a special sink was distributed to households and included in the laundry service. The average percentage of households with dedicated sinks (and who chose seven cases of hand washing), increased from 49.3% in the baseline to 84.6% in endline. There was also an increase in people’s awareness of washing their hands and cleaning teeth properly. In line with the baseline survey, there were many problems using a hand-made sink, such as high-water consumption, and insufficient of hot water. Washing of hands is considered one of the most important measures to be taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. Laundry services performed in households to improve women’s hygiene practices, as well as to facilitate women’s housework. The percentage of households that had cleaned large household items within the previous three months increased from only 9.3% in the baseline survey to 84.6% in the endline. In addition, more than 90% of respondents indicated they would use the laundry services if their large items become dirtied.
40 EVALUATION ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ‘CHILD PROTECTION LAW IN MONGOLIA’ PROJECT
CLIENT • CORAM International
OBJECTIVES The evaluation was to assess the progress made in achieving the overall goal of the Child Protection Law implemented since September 2016. The work was also to support the Mongolian Government on decision-making, making amendments to legislation and policies related to the law, and to recommend stakeholders steps to strengthen the child protection system. Particular activities included: • investigate the contribution of Child Protection Law to the effective allocation of stakeholder responsibilities and the effective coordination of prevention and response activities. • assess the level of attention paid to child protection needs in all environments specified in the Child Protection Law, taking into account both prevention and response, • assess the leadership and capacity of the GOM to implement the Child Protection Law at the national and local levels, and • investigate the integration of child protection services with other relevant services such as education, health, information, communication and technology.
41 2020 September 2020 November GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Bayan-Ulgii, Khuvsgul and Umnugobi province, and two districts of Ulaanbaatar.
DESIGN FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP Implementation of the Child Protection Law was The results will be released by the client as soon as assessed by a qualitative method, which included they are available. semi-structured and in-depth interviews, and document analysis.
Figure 2. Participants
Key Professionals informants
Children Parents
Social members
42 EVALUATION ON THE STATE POLICY ON ХӨДӨЛМӨР, НИЙГМИЙН ХАМГААЛЛЫН ЯАМ POPULATION DEVELOPMENT AND ITS ACTION PLAN OF 2016-2025
CLIENTS • Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, • United Nations Population Fund, • United Nations Development Programme, and • International Organization for Migration
OBJECTIVES This assignment was to systematically assess implementation of the activities undertaken under the State Policy on Population Development (hereinafter referred to as ‘the State Policy’) and its accompanying Action Plan. In this regard, the assignment has three objectives: • evaluate relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability of the implementation of the State Policy and its Action Plan for the period of 2018 to 2020, • summarize lessons learnt, and produce policy recommendations for further effective implementation, and • review the State Policy ensuring its alignment to: Vision 2050, the newly passed Law on Development Policy, Planning and Management (LDPPM), and government’s socio-economic measurements against post COVID-19; and develop a draft of the State Policy and its action plan based on the evaluation results.
43 2020 December 2021 April GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Gobisumber and Khuvsgul provinces, and the Nalaikh and Songinokhairkhan districts of Ulaanbaatar
BACKGROUND
On 13 May, 2020, the Parliament of Mongolia accordance with this newly approved law. approved the ‘Vision 2050’ long-term policy Accordingly, the project was implemented in document, as a basis for development policies the context of the need to conduct an external and programs in all sectors; to contribute to the evaluation of the implementation of the State Policy joint commitments of sustainable development on Population Development (SPPD) and to revise the and improved national policy. At the same time, SPPD in accordance with the Law on Development Parliament also approved a revised version of the Law Policy Planning and Management based on the on Development Policy, Planning and Management findings and recommendations provided within the on 7 May, 2020 and reflected mechanisms for external evaluation. effective implementation and monitoring of the policy. In doing so, the Government of Mongolia aimed to ensure the sustainability and continuity of DESIGN short, medium and long-term development policies The evaluation design was developed based on and planning within the framework of a unified the OECD-DAC1 evaluation criteria related to policy general principle. The term ‘policy document’ intervention’s relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, was to be developed in accordance with this impact, sustainability, and established partnerships law and submitted to the Parliament. Parliament and coordination. Resolution No. 45 of 2020 ‘Measures to ensure the Data were collected using a combination of implementation of the law’ stipulates that medium- term and long-term policy documents in force in 1 OECD-DAC is the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee. Mongolia shall be developed and/or revised in Evaluation Criteria - OECD
44 quantitative and qualitative methods for evaluation. 360 representatives from families (with children Within the framework of the quantitative method, under the age of five years), people with disabilities four types of questionnaires were developed, and and their guardians, the elderly and herders, Khuvsgul province along with Songinokhairkhan participated the telephone survey. The table below district of Ulaanbaatar (with the largest populations), summarizes the sample size of the quantitative Govisumber province with the smallest population, survey. and the remote Nalaikh district of Ulaanbaatar, were selected for data collection.
Table 1. Quantitative survey sample size and composition Province/District Target groups Total Govisumber Khuvsgul Nalaikh Songinokhairkhan Young families 30 30 15 15 90 People with disabilities and their 30 30 30 30 120 guardians Elderly people 30 30 30 30 120 Herders - - 15 15 30 Total respondents 360
Figure 1. Qualitative data collection composition
International and national NGOs, experts Policy implementers (11 interviews) (municipal, district and khoroo level specialists) (17 interviews) Policy makers (Ministries and government agencies) (13 interviews) Policy implementers (province and soum level specialists) (20 interviews)
As shown in the figure below, a total of 61 FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP key informant interviews were conducted with policy makers, international organizations, and The project results report has been completed, but it representatives of the policy implementers. is currently not possible to disseminate the results to the public due to the ongoing process of receiving feedback from the clients and finalization.
45 BASELINE STUDY ON YOUTH SUSTAINABILITY CORPS MONGOLIA ECOLOGY CENTER
CLIENT • Mongol Ecology Center
OBJECTIVES The baseline study of the program was started by IRIM in November 2020. The study was to identify the base level of each of the YSC’s sub-objectives, and identify training needs for students of targeted schools.
46 2020 November 2021 April
GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Khovd (public schools in Mankhan and Munkh khairkhan districts) Umnugobi (public schools in Dalanzadgad and Gurvantes, districts) Ulaanbaatar (119th school of Nalaikh district, and 12th school of Songinorkhaikhan district)
BACKGROUND
In December 2019 the Mongol Ecology Center monitor, collaborate, and advocate for the use of (MEC) started implementation of the ‘Youth best practices to ensure the effective stewardship Sustainability Corps’ (YSC) program, funded by of Mongolia’s natural and cultural resources. The European Union. The aim was to empower young YSC program was implemented by way of the people (15-22 years old) by educating them about following sub-programs: their rights as citizens, and developing their skills to
Common ‘Leadership’ Career space summer After school Community International counselling/ training training activities projects exchange practicums classroom camp
The project targeted 2,105 students in six secondary schools, located near the national park in Khovd, Umnugobi and Ulaanbaatar.
47 DESIGN FINDINGS
The study participants included public school In order to educate children about the environment students, teachers and administration staff in and sustainable development, the YSC program Khovd, Umnugobi and Ulaanbaatar; the main target planned to develop educational content and areas, and local specialists working in the state modules based on the following five main topics. protected areas. The data analysis was carried out • environment, and sustainability, after the information from 60 interviews and 373 • personal development and leadership, questionnaires had been put together. • technology and innovation, When gathering information, the team intended to capture the opinions of students in vulnerable • finance, business, and project development, and situations whose voices were not often heard. As a • health result, 20% of all study participants were children The following results emerged after information in herder families living far from settled areas, and was gathered regarding the targeted children’s 4% were children from families living under the attitudes and behaviour. About one third (37.6%) of poverty line all students were knowledgeable about the topics, . and 60.5% had positive impressions of them; and 41.5% had demonstrated good behaviour.
Figure 1. Children’s knowledge, attitudes and habits, n=324
Environment, Leadership, personal Technology, Business, Health SDGs development Innovation Finance
% of children with knowledge % of children with attitude % of children with good behaviour
With respect to children’s knowledge, attitudes, that could help implement the project in target behaviour towards sustainable development, areas, efficiently. differences were observed depending on age, As the baseline report was still being developed location, and gender. Therefore, the study team by IRIM (and is expected to be completed in April is working to develop the list of recommendations 2021) the detailed report is currently unavailable.
48 ASSESSMENT OF THE ‘LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK’ AND ‘ILLICIT FINANCIAL FLOWS’ IN ARTISANAL AND SMALL-SCALE GOLD MINING IN MONGOLIA
CLIENT • Planet GOLD project
OBJECTIVES The study sought to assess the legal environment of artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) and illegal financial flows of gold trade in the ASGM sector in Mongolia. Based on the study findings, policy recommendations were to be developed to improve the operations and coordination of the sector. The study consisted of two main components and a number of related issues. First, issues in the current situation of the legal environment of ASGM, including: • law, regulation implementation and impact, • land tenure and use of permits, • rights on formalization, • mining rights and operations, and • gold processing regulations. Secondly, issues with the illegal financial flows in the ASGM sector, including: • gold trade rights, • impact of the One Stop Service centres, • gold trade requirements, processes and taxes, • gold supply chain, and • international practices.
49 2020 April 2021 March GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Bayankhongor, Darkhan-Uul and Tuv provinces, and Ulaanbaatar.
BACKGROUND DESIGN
To contribute to the elimination of mercury’s The study collected qualitative data from different use in the ASGM sector in Mongolia, the Global stakeholders of the ASGM sector in the targeted Opportunities for the Long-term Development provinces (and Ulaanbaatar). The study included: (Planet-GOLD) project was implemented by the • desk review to analyse relevant legal documents, Artisanal Gold Council; in collaboration with the reports, and handbooks, Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), and • semi-structured interviews (SSIs) with relevant with the support of the Global Environmental stakeholders, and Facility. The main components of the Planet-GOLD project were: formalization, finance, market access, • key-informant interviews (KIIs) with relevant technology transfer, and knowledge management. stakeholders. In collaboration with the Government of Mongolia, Data was collected throughout the implementation the Planet-GOLD team and AGC experts worked of the study in 2020. In addition, over 21 legal to support formalizing the artisanal mining documents, eight research reports and other environment; for the development of local relevant documents were reviewed. communities. In particular, mercury-free; using clean and efficient technologies. FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP
The report of the study is under completion, so it is not possible to provide further information at this stage.
50 EVALUATION OF ‘PROMOTING INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN EVERY LAST CHILD IN MONGOLIA’
CLIENT • Save the Children Japan in Mongolia
OBJECTIVES Between October 2020 to March 2021, IRIM has conducted an evaluation for the project to comprehensively evaluate the outcomes of project interventions and impacts in education sector development. Objectives were to evaluate: • Improvements in the inclusive education system and practices at targeted public schools. This includes the improvement of teacher and staff capacity in working with CwSN; • Improvements in the capacity of Life-Long Education Center (LLEC)’s in supporting children with various needs and outreach to out-of-school children; • Improvements in the awareness and engagement of parents in addressing inclusive education, health and well-being; • Improvements made to the policy on inclusive education during the project; • To define key lessons learned and best practices within the project; and • To provide recommendations for relevant stakeholders.
51 2020 October 2021 March GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
• Uvurkhangai province, (public school and LLEC from Arvaikheer, Uyanga soum) • Khovd province (public school and LLEC from Buyant soum) • Ulaanbaatar city (public schools and LLECs from Bayanzurkh, Chingeltei, Songinokhairkhan district)
BACKGROUND To ensure the right of education for all children, and Development's Development Assistance inclusive education is a crucial principle that needs Committee (OECD-DAC) criteria related to project to be considered. As a global trend, a shift from a interventions in terms of relevance, effectiveness, separate education (CwSN should learn in schools efficiency, sustainability and short-term impact with special support) to an inclusive education in relation to beneficiaries and stakeholders. In has been proposed. Currently, the Government this regard, the aim was to answer the following of Mongolia (GoM) is developing regulations questions: towards creating an inclusive education system. • Relevance - How is the project relevant to the To support government efforts and initiatives, country context, and did the project adapt to Save the Children Japan in Mongolia implemented meet the different needs of target areas? the project Promoting Inclusive Education for • Effectiveness - Has the project achieved its Every Last Child in Mongolia. The project funded intended results to promote inclusive education by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan runs in target areas? over the course of 2018-2021 and took place in • Efficiency - To what extent have project three districts of the city of Ulaanbaatar and components been coordinated, and two provinces. This project aimed to promote stakeholders’ partnership within the project inclusive education in target areas through been efficient? the capacity-building of teachers, establishing inclusive education systems and improving school • Sustainability - To what extent did the environments in public schools and LLEC. project build inclusive education systems and institutionalize a model of inclusion through policy advocacy? EVALUATION DESIGN • Impact - To what extent did the project The evaluation framework was developed based generate effects on the establishment of an on the Organization for Economic Cooperation inclusive education system?
52 EVALUATION METHOD The evaluation covered 21 public schools (16 Compared to control school teachers, the self- targeted and 5 control) and six LLECs from the assessment of target school teachers show a Bayanzurkh, Chingeltei and Songinokhairkhan 4-5 times higher result in all assessment areas districts of Ulaanbaatar City, and Uvurkhangai such as knowledge on inclusive education, and Khovd provinces. In accordance with project CwSN, Individualized Education Plans (IEP), and target groups, the evaluation was conducted the role of different stakeholders during an based on the total data collected of 653 inclusive education process. In addition, teachers’ questionnaires and 63 key-informant interviews understanding and use of IEP increased from including children, parents, teachers, school/LLEC 43.3% to 71%. directors, managers, district/province education Outcome 2: Strengthening the capacity of LLECs department officers and other stakeholders in inclusive education and outreach to out-of- including decision-making officials. school children: Project efforts to strengthen the capacity of LLECs to support CwSN, enroll out-of-school children into mainstream FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP school, and accept and train CwSN showed 1. Relevance - Prior to the start of the project, effective results. For example, there has been the Needs Assessment Survey was conducted in significant progress in the teachers’ activities 2018 among the target schools and the LLECs, as (1) improving the ability of LLEC teachers and the results of the survey were included to identify CwSN, (2) communicating with in the project plan. In addition, the project them, (3) organizing multi-grade teaching, (4) has planned its activities on an annual basis, teaching CwSN using appropriate methods, (5) reflecting the suggestions of stakeholders during organizing extracurricular activities involving the implementation process and working flexibly, LLECs and children from public schools, and (6) which has been an important step in adapting the collaborating with parents. project to the real needs of stakeholders. From Within the scope of the project, owing to the the evaluation, 98% of all surveyed participants identification and detection survey of out-of- expressed that the project activities were fully school children in the targeted LLEC areas, a total relevant to their needs. of 729 children were identified. About 50% of the children identified in the survey were assisted 2. Effectiveness - The project has achieved in accessing educational services through public the following results within its four planned schools, LLECs and special schools, while the rest objectives: have been enrolled in Home-based Teaching. Outcome 1: Establishing inclusive education Outcome 3: Enhancing awareness and engagement systems at public schools. The project fully of parents/caretakers and community members achieved its expected outcomes to strengthen in addressing inclusive education. The main capacity-building of target schools and LLECs and activity in this area concerned professional increase teacher knowledge and understanding training to raise awareness on inclusive education on inclusive education and CwSN. The project for parents. Parents have been involved in a fully achieved its expected outcomes to wide range of training in encouraging numbers. strengthen capacity-building of target schools Nearly 90% of parents were involved in one and LLECs and increase teacher knowledge or more training sessions. The evaluation data and understanding on Inclusive education and revealed that the knowledge and understanding CwSN. For instance, according to teachers, the of parents of target schools and LLECs on the majority (90.7%) found the training practical and importance of inclusion increased substantially useful. By and large, teachers found professional (93.6%), when compared with the data of the training materials informative and appropriate to Needs Assessment Survey (6.9%). the project objectives as well as very supportive.
53 Outcome 4: Policy advocacy: The project has Inclusive Education Coordination Mechanism, made a substantial contribution to policy Technical Assistance Group and Project Working development and improvement in the following Group. Project liaison extended to the Ministry regulatory documents: of Education Policy Division, Institute for • The development process of the “Regulation Teachers’ Professional Development, National on Providing Inclusion of CwD in Mainstream Center for Life-long Education, and local khoroo Schools” (MEC order A/292, 2019) and the education and culture departments. Project Local project’s inputs were reflected in regulating Committees were also involved. This umbrella teacher education, incorporating lesson costs of stakeholders testifies to robust community in the school budget, establishing a system for engagement as part of the policy advocacy the school support team to discuss issues of process. Comparatively speaking, this was a CwSN in public schools and providing them with small project that secured significant social additional support. outreach and engagement amongst important stakeholders. • The development and revision of the ”Coordination procedures of activities of the Child Development Rooms in public schools”, (MECS 4. Sustainability - The effects/results of the order A/249, 2020). Project input included project's target schools and LLECs were to some issues related to sharing and disseminating Child extent sustainable. For example, provisions and Friendly Space (CFS) practice and experiences regulations related to CwSN support are reflected of the project at the national level. Suggestions in planning documents of the schools, internal from SCJ concerned how to provide financial and regulations of the LLECs, staff performance human resource support for the CFS with further agreements and annual work plans, which have reflection in the school budget and providing created a policy environment to support EI at the additional support in coordinating and promoting primary school. Improving the understanding and CFS at the school level. Through this document, knowledge of teachers about CwSN within the the roles of the schools, school principals, project has had a positive impact on the school's school managers, social workers and teachers collaboration initiatives and collaborative capacity in charge of the Child-friendly Space have to support the target school and LLEC . In been clarified in relation to organizing learning addition, the adoption of policy-level documents and other support activities for CwSN. The SCJ supporting these changes will have a positive project team was involved in the development impact on the sustainability of the project's process by emphasizing practical issues related results. to implementation of the guidelines fitting into the context of target schools. 5. Impact - Within the project implementation, • The project has provided inputs into the improved joint-planning across various levels and Regulation on the provision of adequate between numerous agencies. Taking account of learning environments and materials for CwD this, stakeholder communication (both vertically in educational institutions at all levels (А/184, and horizontally) was enhanced by the various 2020). communication and information tools put in place through the project. 3. Effeciency - The evaluation has shown that In addition, electronic and printed teaching aids, the project was well coordinated with ample methodology materials, textbooks and EMIS examples of joint planning. Numerous instruments database development were key products with were drawn upon to improve coordination both a solid impact. These resources are, and will vertically and horizontally. This included signing continue to be, highly valued for their relevance, a memorandum of understanding between the professional insights and practicality for bringing Ministry of Education and Save the Children attitudinal and behavioral changes to those who Japan, with core project groups including the were involved in the project.
54 CONCLUSION AND FURTHER RECOMMENDATIONS Top-down policy support is essential to mitigate these risks and to sustain and improve the results of the project. Taking account of the Ministry of Education and Science's inclusive education policy, the positive changes at the primary school and LLECs created under the project are sustainable and supportive. In particular, the implementation of the project over 2020 coincided with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which reduced the quality and accessibility of general education in a context where distance-learning became operational at the national level. Therefore, there is a need for the Ministry of Education and Science to pay additional attention to the education of children with disabilities and CwSN over the 2022-2023 school year to compensate for lost time. This may have a positive impact on the continuation and support of project results. Finally, the project was implemented over a short period of time. The involvement of multi- stakeholders, especially with representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science, helped to provide information on how to disseminate the achievements, successes and best practices. It also involved practices on the use of them in future activities.
55 “THE VIRTUAL MARATHON” PROJECT
CLIENTS • Innovation for Change Central Asia, • ARGO Civil Society Development Association, and • Tides
OBJECTIVES The Independent Research Institute of Mongolia (IRIM) and Innovation for Change Central Asia (I4CCA) implemented the ‘Virtual Marathon’ project. This project supported the concept development of innovative solutions to contribute to the increased transparency, accountability and anti-corruption initiatives, and prototyping and testing their solution for effectiveness and impact with the potential for a further scale-up and sustainable operation. The Virtual Marathon project has three main objectives: (I) mobilize creative and innovative social movements and/ or campaigns; (II) build the capacity of practitioners in the area of accountability and transparency and help to enlarge their networks; (III) to provide information and expand knowledge of citizens through transparency and anti-corruption initiatives.
56 2020 November 2021 March GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Tajikistan PROJECT MAIN ACTIVITIES
During the project implementation the following activities have been implemented: Facebook pages and Telegrams, and people who 1. Preparation and situation analysis were interested in submitting their project proposals were registered and included in this training. Also, The project team examined all the country-specific the professional experts gave speeches on the issues related to human development, political, following topics during the training: social and economic issues, human rights, and communication and media situations under the • Training 1: Accountability and citizens’ situation analysis report. In addition, most of the engagement – by Amarbaysgalan.D (Consultant, social media used in the project target countries Governance and Digital Development Global were studied and prepared for dissemination of the Practices at the World Bank of Mongolia) project information. • Training 2: Transparency and anti-corruption initiatives’ best practices in Mongolia – by Batbayar.O (Chief Executive Officer at 2. Training “Promoting Transparency and Transparency International Mongolia) Accountability in Central Asia” • Training 3: Global and regional trends and The project conducted two days of online training disruptive innovations – by Batsugar.Ts for 32 participants from Mongolia, Afghanistan, (Consultant at IRIM) Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Tajikistan prior to receiving project proposals from project teams. • Training 4: Guide to create influential social The training was spread on relevant websites, media campaigns – by Ninjmaa.B (Creative Director at Viral Partners LLC)
57 3. Call for proposal and Selection process IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS The project developed a call for a proposal based on 1. Afghanistan – Integrity watch Afghanistan an updated project framework and situation analysis to receive project proposals from interested teams Integrity Watch Afghanistan implemented the of the target countries. A Call for Proposal was project called “Public Procurement Transparency”. announced through popular platforms as suggested The aim of this project was to increase accountability on the situation analysis, such as Facebook, in the procurement system of Afghanistan through Telegram, Odnoklassniki and other websites. The the engagement of citizens in the different phases IRIM team received 15 different proposals and of the public procurement process by implementing evaluated all of the project proposals. The review training and focusing group discussions. committee developed an evaluation tool and summarized the results; after that, all-committee 2. Tajikistan – Nuri Irfon members performed the evaluation individually. As Nuri Irfon implemented the project called “We will a result of the evaluation, six teams were selected. not tolerate corruption”. The aims of the project were improving legal literacy of the students, calling 4. Project Implementation on them to gain knowledge and avoid negative The six selected teams completed their proposed occurrences in corruption acts by doing flashmobs, projects in their home countries for a total of 5 weeks. open discussion among students and forming a During this time, IRIM provided the necessary sector functioning club in Khujand University for the consultants to mentor each team. Consultants/ students’ availability. mentors actively communicated with the team through different communication platforms during 3. Kyrgyzstan – Content media the project implementation process. The teams had Content media implemented the project called reported to their consultants/mentors on a weekly “SynergyKG-21”. The main purpose of this project basis and had constant contact/ communication was to improve citizens’ participation in providing a when they had challenges or unexpected problems. transparent communication service by LSG’s to the local population. This team was primarily focused on 5. Final Wrap-Up workshop and Best communication, social media platforms, feedback implementers mechanisms and public awareness activities. A total of 21 participants participated in the final workshop. Each project team shared their experience, 4. Kazakhstan – Center for Strategic Research impact and results, with other participants able to “GUMOL” learn from each other. Each project team had 20-25 This team implemented the project called “How minutes in the final workshop, with 10-15 minutes much does design and construction work cost”. for pitching and the remainder for the discussion The purpose of this project was to facilitate the and Q&A session. The selection committee increased transparency and accountability of developed selection criteria, then reviewed both the government bodies through monitoring and the Project Proposals and Final Reports simultaneously, public procurement portal. The main objectives of carefully analyzing whether the team had fulfilled all the project were: of its proposed activities and measurable indicators. Based on the selection committee members’ final Objective 1. Monitoring of the public procurement integrated score, the following Best Implementers portal were selected: Objective 2. Raising interested parties’ awareness 1. Tajikistan – Branch of the NGO “Office of Civil Liberties” 2. Kyrgyzstan – Content Media NGO 3. Tajikistan – Nuri Irfon NGO
58 5. Mongolia – Bagachuud Khugjil 6. Tajikistan – Office of Civil Liberties The name of the project was “Medicine or Poison”. The name of the project was “Corruption”. The The objectives of the project were: objective of the project was to raise the legal • Collecting information on the use and quality of awareness of young people (schoolchildren and medicines from the participants students) on combating corruption in the field of education and prevent corruption cases in their • Medicine Procurement - Inform them about the environment. Their target community was young tender selection people and their team tried to educate them to • Creating incentives to increase the participation despise and fight corruption. of citizens and civil society organizations in drug quality and procurement. The project was based on the principle of avoiding misunderstandings between citizens and drug suppliers.
59 GOBI FRAMEWORK FOR SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS: SCALING UP PRAXIS FROM MONGOLIA TO CENTRAL ASIA
CLIENTS • University of Oxford, • Funded by UK’s Economic and Social Research Council and Global Challenges Research Fund
PROJECT OBJECTIVES The main objective is to develop a framework for sustainable infrastructure development in order to promote inclusive economic development and social welfare in the context of Chinese mega- infrastructure initiatives in Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan. The aims of this research are: • To develop an innovative mediation framework for sustainable infrastructure development that builds on expertise and praxis from Mongolia’s mining sector and is scalable and replicable across Chinese ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ infrastructure projects in Central Asia and beyond. • To address the challenge of building relationships of trust, cooperation, and transparency between key stakeholders in infrastructure development projects; ensuring that socio- economically marginalized communities and local governance institutions are included as partners in the instigation and implementation of large-scale, foreign-backed infrastructure projects which directly affect their livelihoods, environments and access to land and resources. • To enhance the capacity of communities and government to maximize economic advantages and minimize the negative impacts of major infrastructure projects through robust institutional frameworks for mediation
60 2018 September 2021 August GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan
BACKGROUND DESIGN
While large-scale infrastructure projects represent The project explores ways to develop responsive, a key mechanism of economic growth and transparent and effective governance institutions at development, they also bring unintended and a range of scales, whereby different stakeholders negative consequences to local populations and can mediate disputes and ensure that development environments. Common challenges include: is sustainable and inclusive. The Mongolia team • Lack of engagement with local communities and undertook research within a multi-stakeholder local government; engagement framework - within Umnugovi’s Khan Bogd soum - to understand how disputes were • Breakdown in social cohesion due to competition resolved in this case. This research is informing the for resources; development of the Gobi Framework for Sustainable • Inequitable economic growth; Infrastructure Partnerships. This framework will • Pressures on weak governance structures and then be trialled in sites in Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan. institutional capacity; and In addition to academic publications, the project will • Detrimental impacts on environmental develop a website and mobile phone app which can sustainability. be utilized by a range of stakeholders in Mongolia • Conflicts between stakeholders which can lead and Kyrgyzstan. to sub-optimal economic growth outcomes. These generic challenges can be compounded by FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW UP specific regional and geographical factors. This project examines these challenges in the context of The team has undertaken original research at six Chinese-backed infrastructure mega-projects across mining field sites: three in Mongolia (in Khanbogd, Asia. Sukhbaatar and Gurvantes soums) and three in
61 Kyrgyzstan (in Ala-Buka, Naryn and Chatkal). A significant achievement of the project to date In total, 190 interviews and 8 focus groups were has been increasing research capacity. The Oxford conducted in Mongolia, and 304 people participated team has run 9 training sessions in Mongolia and in the research in Kyrgyzstan (173 interviews and 2 in Kyrgyzstan. Participants at these training 33 focus groups with 131 participants). In addition, sessions have been from Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and the project has, along with the Mongolian NGO Afghanistan and have included university students, ‘Steppes without Borders’, established the first academics at a range of career stages, independent working group on the Social Impact Assessment researchers, NGO officials and civil servants. The (SIA) of mining in Mongolia. Our joint team has training sessions have covered qualitative research undertaken extensive research and consultation in methods, academic writing, coding and analysing Ulaanbaatar and rural mining sites and has drafted qualitative data, research ethics and writing research the first Mongolian SIA guidelines which have been grants. presented to the Government of Mongolia. A series of knowledge exchange events have This field research has generated significant new also been held in Mongolia, bringing together knowledge about conflict management, corporate representatives of mining companies, government social responsibility, social and environmental ministries, law firms and NGOs to discuss impacts of mining, knowledge production and the challenges and opportunities in the mining sector nature of information sharing on the nature of and establishing evidence-based best practices. mining development, corruption, and the impact of mining on livelihoods. We are working to make PUBLICATIONS this knowledge and experience accessible to rural communities through designing an app focused Lezak S, Ahearn A, McConnell F, Sternberg T. (2019). on information sharing about mining activities and Frameworks for conflict mediation in international processes. The SIA-focused research has led to a infrastructure development: A comparative overview more nuanced understanding of local decision- and critical appraisal. Journal of Cleaner Production, making processes, revealed instances of forced doi: 10.1016/j. jclepro.2019.118099 resettlement and intimidation of herders and Sternberg T, Ahearn A, McConnell F. (2019). From provided an in-depth picture into the nature of conflict to a Community Development Agreement: resettlement and compensation practices of mining a South Gobi solution. Community Development companies with regard to local households. There Journal, doi: 10.1093/cdj/bsz018 has been interest in these research findings both from the Mongolian Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry and the Kyrgyz Office of the President and State Committee for Industry, Energy and Subsoil Use.
62 BASELINE SURVEY OF MONGOLIAN VEGETABLE PROJECT - 2020
CLIENTS • The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, • Mongolian Farmers’ Association for Rural Development, and • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
OBJECTIVES The purpose of the study was to examine in detail the existing situation, technical conditions/requirements of vegetables growing among enterprises, individuals and households, and the changes that have taken place in recent years. As part of the study, the project’s four outcomes were evaluated; namely: Outcome 1: Livelihood of rural and peri-urban small holder farmers and women- headed households is improved through increased vegetable production to fulfill domestic consumption. Outcome 2: The marketing of domestic vegetables (including those from small- scale farmers and women-headed households) is well organized, in-line with market trends and consumers’ preferences, and profitable, with primary and secondary cooperatives playing a key role. Outcome 3: The organizational development, governance structure and financial management of farmer organizations (including VSSUs) is strengthened. Outcome 4: Sustainable and inclusive growth of the vegetable sector is fostered by improved policy/legal and institutional framework.
63 2020 September 2020 October GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
The survey QSN covered 360 households in: • Bornuur and Jargalant soum of Tuv aimag; • Orkhon soum of Darkhan-Uul aimag; • Jargalant soum of Orkhon aimag; • Ulaangom soum of Uvs aimag; • Zuunburen, Mandal and Shaamar soums of Selenge aimag • Songinokharikhan district of Ulaanbaatar.
DESIGN
The general design of the Baseline Study was the ‘repeated cross section’ model, as illustrated in the following figure.
Figure 5. Study design 2020 Baseline study of Mongolian Vegetable project 2023 Endline study of Mongolian Vegetable project Changes
Stakeholders A1 A2 A2 - A1 = X1
A1 = 2020 Results of the Baseline Study of the Mongolian Vegetable project A2 = 2023 Results of the Endline Study of Mongolian Vegetable project X1 = changes
64 The Baseline Study was designed to collect The Baseline Study consisted of three stages: information for the project and focuses on the • preparation and development of the research; principle that information is measurable and • data collection; comparable over time. It is not important to make comparisons between locations and respondents, as • writing the final report based on the results of the survey data collection was targeted at groups. the Study. The following figure summarizes the overall scope of the study.
BASELINE STUDY OF MONGOLIAN VEGETABLE PROGRAM
Quantitative research: Qualitative research:
Documents QSN KII
Desk review of the Research method: Research method: Face-to-face interview Project documents Face-to-face interview according to the QSN according to the QSN Participants: Agricultural specialist of the Participants: 360 Aimag GO households in Statistical overview of Relevant agricultural specialist of the soum GO Songinokhairkhan the vegetable sector Vegetable start-up company district of Ulaanbaatar, Bornuur and Jargalant Vegetable market sellers soums of Tuv aimag, Vegetable seed producers and importers Orkhon soum of MFARD Darkhan-Uul aimag, Jargalant soum MWFA of Orkhon aimag, FAO Ulaangom soum of Uvs aimag, Zuunburen, Mandal and Shaamar soums of Selenge Case study of the schools and kindergarten aimag
BASELINE RESEARCH GENERAL DATABASE
FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP
As a result of this study, the following conclusions • A majority of respondents used more than and findings were made: 70% of their land, cellars and greenhouses. • For vegetable producers, income from The reasons for not using these more were that agriculture, where the production of vegetables 23.4% of respondents said the technology was is not the main source of income, is insufficient; insufficient, while 39.5% said it was financially women over 40 years of age (with secondary impossible. More than a third (38.5%) of the education) are less likely to be involved in group respondents said they left the unused arable land organization. fallow, 5.1% said it was leased, 28.2% used the land for non-agricultural activities and 28.2% chose ‘other’ as an answer.
65 • Nearly one third (29.8%) of vegetable growers 35.1% knew about the VSSU and 61.8% received used their own seeds, 25.3% bought them from the benefit more than once. the VSSU, 20.1% bought them from aimag and • During the previous two years, 53.8% of local markets and 13.2% bought them from respondents had participated in training institutes for spring sowing. Factors such as related to agriculture (presented by the local reliability, yield, variety (local and promising government), 6.9-11.0% had introduced new varieties in Mongolia) and reproduction (elite technologies in agro-technology, 58.4% used and high-yield seeds) were important factors locally-available fertilizers, 52.5% did not use in seed selection. Most (81.0%) of respondents pesticides/herbicides and 38.3% used pesticides, were interested in introducing certified, reliable 24.2% used herbicides and 4.7% used other and standard vegetable seeds from the VSSU. substances.
Figure1. Environmental analysis of vegetable production in Mongolia
Advantages: Risks: Mongolian vegetables production, consumption The share of household production among and demand are small. vegetable growers is high. There is a lack of mechanization, automation, In terms of production environment and intensification and introduction of technology, there is high potential for the technological advances in the vegetable sector. production of healthy products, involving low Seed supply and production are completely use of fertilizers and pesticides. dependent on imports. The professional skills and practices of producers are weak.
Environmental analysis of vegetable production in Mongolia Dangers: Opportunities: There is a high risk that the It is possible to increase the resource skills of sector will be disrupted if the the personnel involved in the production of the activities of the business networks interested sector. in importing vegetables intensify. Due to the high involvement of changes in It is also possible to increase the policy to product sales, the distribution of profits is support interest in, and consumption of, unbalanced and is a major risk factor for the healthy food. sustainable development of the sector.
66 LEVERAGING SCIENCE AND TRADITION IN DRR IN MONGOLIA III, FINAL EVALUATION
CLIENT • Mercy Corps Mongolia
OBJECTIVES The main purpose of this assignment was to conduct the final evaluation on the Leveraging Science and Tradition in DRR in Mongolia III (LTS3) project implemented by Mercy Corps Mongolia. In this regard, the IRIM team set the following objectives: • The “Outcome Harvesting” approach, which is widely used in international quality research, was developed in accordance with the specifics of the project and Mongolian context and was selected as the main evaluation methodology; • Data collection plans were developed in the target areas, stakeholders were contacted in advance, and the field preparation was ensured; • Successfully conducted the fieldwork in the target areas; • The data quality check on the collected data was conducted, compiled and included in the data processing program; • The analyzed data was prepared according to the “Outcome Harvesting” approach and submitted to the client; and • The data was analyzed and the relevant results were prepared according to the “Outcome Harvesting” approach and submitted to the client.
67 2020 October 2020 November GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Ulaanbaatar, Khentii aimag (Chinggis, Bayanmunkh, Darkhan soum), Bayan-Ulgii aimag (Ulgii, Altai soum), Khovd aimag (Khovd city, Erdeneburen soum)
BACKGROUND DESIGN Mercy Corps Mongolia has implemented the LTS3 The key informant interviews (KII) and focus group project, funded by the USAID/OFDA in three discussions (FGDs) were conducted among the phases over the past six-year period since 2013 with government officials and herders in Ulaanbaatar the collaboration of Mongolia’s National Emergency and project target areas, using the “Outcome Management Agency, General Authority for Harvesting” methodology. Veterinary Services, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, and target-area government FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP institutions and herders. The main goal of the project was to reduce the vulnerability of herder The IRIM Research Institute provided consulting households by improving disaster risk preparedness services only during the data collection phase and pasture management. and did not participate in the results and report The IRIM Research Institute has conducted a final preparation phase. The final evaluation report was evaluation of the project between October and performed by an International Lead Evaluator and November 2020. The project was implemented in submitted to the MCM. Bayan-Ulgii, Uvs, Khovd, Khentii, and Sukhbaatar aimags, taking into account the risk of natural disasters such as droughts and dzuds, the high risk of large livestock losses due to extreme weather conditions, the risk of animal diseases, overgrazing and pastureland capacity. Six soums from three aimags (Khentii, Bayan-Ulgii, and Khovd) were selected.
68 EXTERNAL REVIEW OF THE GOVERNANCE AND OPERATION OF THE MONGOLIA - AUSTRALIA SOCIETY “MOZZIES”
CLIENT • The ‘Mozzies Rebranding’ project team of the 2020 Women Leadership Program
OBJECTIVES The main objective was to identify issues facing the governance and operations of the Mongolia – Australia Society “Mozzies” and to develop recommendations for further capacity-building. Within the framework of this goal, the following sub-objectives were targeted: 1. Assessing governance and structure of the association 2. Evaluating the activities of the association 3. Further needs and recommendations for its activity and governance
69 2020 March 2020 June GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Ulaanbaatar
BACKGROUND
Initiated by the Australian Government and the proposals for changes related to the structure Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and organization; secondly, it assessed the the Australian Scholarship Program in Mongolia overall assessment of the association’s activities, implements the Women’s Leadership Program (WLP) the expectations of the members’ association, in partnership with the Zorig Foundation. The WLP the needs and requirements of the members, is part of the Australian Government’s assistance to and their participation in future activities. Mongolia’s development and has been implemented 2. The document review analysed publicly available since 2014 for Master’s and Doctoral graduates in documents (operational and management team Australian education. Project participants (2020) reports, accompanied documents with the submitted the Terms of References and request charters, and its charters, decisions and meeting to conduct the assessment. While conducting minutes of the board and members’ meeting, the external assessment, we included different and financial reporting documents). stakeholders such as representatives from the board 3. The qualitative research first assessed issues, and executives of the association, members, partner reasons and suggestions for improvement in organizations and alumni associations with similar the governance and organization of the society; activities. secondly,it assessed good practices of similar alumni organizations. DESIGN During the data collection, 18 key informant interviews and 56 questionnaires were collected As any external evaluation has not been conducted and analyzed, and the final report and related before, there was no baseline data for analysis recommendations were submitted to the client. and comparison for Mongolia Australia Society governance and operation system. Therefore, Mozzies’s charter was used as the main document FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP in the assessment. The following research methods In this summary, it is not appropriate to include were used in the data collection and analyses stage details related to the internal activities of the and its mixed methodology: organization and, in fact, there is a lack of results 1. The quantitative research first assessed the for the public. knowledge of members about the governance and organization of the association, the performance of the management team, its evaluation and
70 PROJECTS IN PROGRESS
THE PILOT PROJECT OF THE NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT PLAN: ‘ESTABLISHING LINKAGE BETWEEN INDUSTRY АND ACADEMIA’
CLIENT • Japan International Cooperation Agency
OBJECTIVES The primary aim of the pilot project is to establish a linkage between the industry sector and academia. The objectives are: 1. To study pressing issues for collaboration between private entities and academic institutions; 2. To determine the gap between supply and the demand on graduates’ skills in the target sectors; 3. To define the collaboration opportunities between stakeholders; 4. To facilitate the universities in addressing the needs identified by industries for human resource development and research by helping to create a forum of regular dialogue; and 5. To establish regular consultation meetings between industry representatives and representatives of academic institutions to exchange information and expand cooperation.
71 2020 October 2021 April GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Ulaanbaatar
BACKGROUND DESIGN
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sciences and The assignment will be carried out in three main Sports (MECSS) has set a goal to create equal access phases, including (I) Preparation Phase, (ii) to higher education for students in the framework Research and Concept Formulation Phase, and (iii) of the Higher Education Admission Reform Policy. Stakeholder Engagement, Advocacy, and Reporting In this document, it is stated that “to expand labor Phase. market supply and demand research and improve As a result of the Preparation and Research and the coordination between employers and academic Concept Formulation phases, IRIM conducted a institutions”. comprehensive analysis by mostly focusing on Every year in Mongolia, over 25,000 graduates the context of cooperation between industry and graduate from universities and colleges. The most academia. In doing so, qualitative research methods, common problems for new graduates in finding a including desk review, key informant interview, and job are a lack of work experience and not being focus group discussion, are used. A total of 70 able to find a suitable job. Employers, on the KIIs and 6 FGDs are conducted. Within the scope other hand, face challenges with employees such of the Stakeholder Engagement, Advocacy, and as unwillingness to work, lack of experience, Reporting Phase, the project team is organizing and an inability to cope with workload. In 2019, a series of consultative meetings with relevant there was a shortage of 17.700 workers due to stakeholders including industry representatives the lack of skilled personnel. Although some and representatives of academic institutions in the universities attempt to develop a curriculum to ICT sector to exchange information and expand meet the industry’s demand, their staff do not cooperation. have the required skills or underlying knowledge to undertake this task successfully. For those leading FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP state-owned universities that have already initiated cooperation with private companies, they often This project was being implemented during the find their current research capacity and research writing of the IRIM Research Institute’s Annual facilities can hardly meet the marketing demand. Report, and will be finalized in May 2021. Therefore, This causes a low employment rate of graduates in it is not possible to provide further information in Mongolia. This evidence proves there is a demand this section. for industry-academia collaboration in Mongolia.
72 STEPPE-UP: COMMUNITY-LED RECOVERY OF MONGOLIA’S ICONIC SPECIES AND FOREST-STEPPE ECOSYSTEM
CLIENT • Zoological Society of London
OBJECTIVES The study aims to evaluate the outcomes of the ZSL-funded project with objectives of establishing standard management of local protected areas through conserving, using and restoring natural resources with the participation of a local community-led network in Khoid Mogoin Gol-Teel Local Protected Area (LPA) of Bulgan soum, Arkhangai aimag. To evaluate this result, data were collected according to the following objectives: • Assess the socio-economic situation of the residents along Teel LPA • The implementation and effectiveness of each project activity was evaluated • The project beneficiaries’ opinions and attitudes toward conserving natural resources with the participation of the local network were collected
73 2021 January 2021 April
GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Bulgan soum of Arkhangai province
BACKGROUND beginning of the project in 2018 as well as the livelihoods at national, regional and local levels. The Zoological Society of London-funded project This objective was more in line with the SDGs, “Conserving the Forest Steppe Ecosystems and ending poverty and hunger and creating economic Endangered Species through a Community-led growth through gender equality and the promotion Network” took place between July 2018 and March of decent work. The same methodologies were 2021. Bulgan soum, Arkhangai, is located close to employed in the Baseline Study and Endline Study the aimag center, Erdenebulgan soum, Arkhangai. to ensure the comparability of the findings. As an area that is located in the the same Forrest In contrast to the Baseline Study, in the Endline Steppe Ecosystem, Bulgan soum is affected by the Study, a Multiple Regression Analysis was performed illegal hunting or poaching and illegal tree felling; to determine the factors influencing the MPI. This hence, it became one of the areas that is affected way, it made it possible to determine whether by pasture degradation. Therefore, we chose the socio-economic situations of the households Bulgan soum as our project target area. And when are dependent on the education, age and head- the project started, the IRIM was doing the baseline membership of the household. study. The main goal of the project was to study the impact of this three-year project, compare the final In addition, a fact-finding study was conducted in evaluation with the baseline study and determine this section to compare the situation of the project the results. beneficiaries with those of other local communities. The research team reviewed the project documents and related materials and evaluated the project DESIGN activities related to 5 objectives with 21 indicators, The project studied the socio-economic situations in which both quantitative and qualitative data of the residents along Teel LPA and compared the research methodologies were employed to evaluate findings with the Baseline Study conducted at the the implementation and effectiveness of each
74 project activity against the target outcome set out QUANTITATIVE AND SECONDARY DATA in the Project Log-frame. Apart from the quantitative and qualitative primary data, desk review was conducted on the following PRIMARY DATA documents to evaluate the final results of the project. They include: Primary data were collected from 150 households out of 881 households in Bulgan soum, Arkhangai • Annual and semi-annual reports on project aimag. Of the 150 households surveyed, 134 activities were community members and the rest were non- • Khoid Mogoin Gol - Teel LPA Management Plan, community members. 2018-2023 • Baseline Socio-economic Study of the residents PRIMARY QUALITATIVE DATA along the LPA, 2018 • The Project Log-frame for Evaluating and To collect primary and secondary qualitative data, Monitoring Project Performance semi-structured interviews were carried out with the • Socio-economic statistics of Mongolia and key stakeholders. They included the beneficiaries, relevant reports partnership members, local authorities and nature reservationists, with a total of 18 interviews being conducted. FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP
The project is being prepared by the IRIM Research Institute and is expected to be finalized in April 2021.
75 STRENGTHENING INTEGRATED EARLY WARNING SYSTEM IN MONGOLIA PROJECT
CLIENT • Asian Development Bank
OBJECTIVES This project has as its aims the strengthening of Early Warning Systems (EWS) for disasters in Mongolia and runs from September 2020 to June 2021 and the development of a pandemic surveillance system that will be piloted from June to September 2021. It will develop the technical details and proposal, as well as the financial and procurement arrangements for the later implementation of the EWS. The executing agency is Mongolia’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA). The contract for this project has been awarded to Conseil Sante, based in France, partnering with SOFRECO, also based in France and the Independent Research Institute of Mongolia (IRIM) based in Ulaanbaatar.
76 2020 September 2021 June GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Mongolia (Ulaanbaatar, 21 provinces) BACKGROUND
There are needs to design an integrated Multi- technical, economic, financial, governance, Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) that safeguards and poverty and social, and project addresses all major and foreseeable hazards in risk and mitigation measures ; Mongolia and which coordinates data collection, data sharing, data analysis, warning dissemination (iii) Provide training to the executing agency, and follow up preparedness and response actions at implementing agency, their project national, sub-national and local levels. implementing units, local design institutes, and other relevant stakeholders, to increase institutional capacity on effective project PROJECT ACTIVITIES development and implementation; The objectives of the Technical Assistance are to: (iv) Coordinate the project activity at all levels; (v) Maintain high quality of project design and (i) Design the project, ensuring the design is reporting; suitable for ADB financing through identifying (vi) Maintain firmly the schedule and project the most appropriate project components processing milestones; and and providing innovative ideas, concepts, (vii) Prepare inputs to project documents, including management approaches, and technology feasibility study reports. including pilot testing to enhance project impacts; (ii) Review proposed project components based on a detailed due diligence assessment of
77 THE FOLLOWING TASKS WILL BE ACHIEVED:
1. Technical design developed and feasibility 6. Know-how from the project design documented. assessments conducted. This output will provide This output will support the review of the overall technical support to design the project and project design and disseminate the know-how to conduct project feasibility and technical design the broader audience and clients. assessments to ensure that the project activities integrate inclusive and best practices for forest FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP sector development. 2. Technical and project management capacity of the This project was being implemented during the executing and implementing agencies improved. writing of the IRIM Research Institute’s Annual Report, and will be finalized in September 2021. This output will strengthen the capacity of Therefore, it is not possible to provide further executing and implementing agencies to improve information in this section. project readiness and project implementation. 3. Assessment and planning on social, gender and safeguards completed. This output will THE FOLLOWING RESULTS WILL BE support the assessment and planning for the ACHIEVED: project-related social and safeguards (social and • Quarter 1, 2021 - specifications for an EWS will environment) due diligence requirements. be delivered; 4. Implementation arrangements, investment • Quarter 2, 2021, - funding and procurement plan and procurement packages prepared. This arrangements will be fully articulated; output will support the review and preparation of economic and financial and governance due • Quarter 3, 2021 - the piloting of the Pandemic diligence requirements for project preparation. Surveillance System will have been piloted and a final report delivered. 5. COVID-19 (pandemic) surveillance system piloted. This output will help pilot an appropriate surveillance system as part of the early warning system for pandemics in close coordination between the National Emergency Management Agency and the Ministry of Health.
78 SURVEY OF GRAIN PRODUCERS IN MONGOLIA
CLIENT • Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies
OBJECTIVES IAMO, a German food and agricultural analysis firm, is conducting an insurance- related survey of more than 700 indexed and non-indexed wheat growers in Mongolia. Our organization is implementing the data collection work.
79 2020 November 2021 August GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Ulaanbaatar and Arkhangai, Zavkhan, Uvs, Tuv, Selenge, Darkhan-Uul, Orkhon. Bulgan and Dornod aimags
DESIGN FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP
In terms of research methodology, quantitative This project was being implemented during the research methods will be used and data will be writing of the IRIM Research Institute’s Annual collected through the Survey Solution platform. Report, and will be finalized in June 2021. Therefore, it is not possible to provide further information in this section.
Figure 1. Participants
Insured Non-insured farmers farmers
80 SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS AND BASELINE STUDY ASSOCIATED WITH LIVELIHOOD COMPONENTS OF THE SPACES PROJECT
CLIENT • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
OBJECTIVES GIZ is implementing the SPACES project with the aim to improve the framework for the sustainable development of selected protected areas in Western Mongolia. The purpose of the baseline assessment is to identify the current level of local livelihoods, their diversity, the main income sources of local people and people’s key challenges at the soum and household level.
81 2020 November 2021 August GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Bayan-Ulgii, Zavkhan, Khovd and Uvs aimags’ target 23 soums
BACKGROUND
In 2020, the IRIM Research Institute provided qualitative research will be analyzed using statistical ‘Design and Elaboration of Result-Based Monitoring analysis methods such as frequency and cross tabs, System for SPACES project’ consulting services to be regression, correlation and distribution. used to assess the implementation of the ‘SPACES’ About the research methodology, Household project. This baseline study is associated with the Economy Analysis (HEA), jointly developed by Save Livelihood components of the SPACES project. the Children and FEG Consulting, will be used to determine the social and economic status of locals’ DESIGN within 5 capitals: social, financial, human, physical and natural. The socio-economic study is to determine the conditions and opportunities to support the protected areas for the conservation of ecosystem FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP services. Fieldwork will be conducted among the This project was being implemented during the sampled 1660 households, 46 government officials, writing of the IRIM Research Institute’s Annual 23 members of the livelihood support councils, and Report, and will be finalized in June 2021. Therefore, 12 representatives of the CBOs from the 3 aimags it is not possible to provide further information in of the western region of Mongolia. The mixed- this section. method (quantitative and qualitative) approach will be used in the baseline assessment which includes questionnaires, key informant interviews, focus group discussions, document reviews and face-to- face interviews. The results of the quantitative and
82 PRE-KAP SURVEY (KNOWLEDGE- ATTITUDE-PRACTICE SURVEY) ASSOCIATED WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNICATION COMPONENT OF THE SPACES PROJECT
CLIENT • Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit
OBJECTIVES The SPACES project aims to improve framework conditions for the long-term development of Protected Areas in Mongolia. Within this objective, the Project aims to improve knowledge - correct information about the PAs’ features, and correct information concerning a Code of Conduct (CoC) – among the PA’s staff and domestic tourists (in particular PAs) through environmental communication measures.
83 2020 September 2021 October GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
The Gorkhi-Terelj National Park The Khan-Khentii Strictly Protected Area The Orkhon Valley National Park
BACKGROUND DESIGN
GIZ Mongolia and the MET are implementing the The pre-KAP survey was conducted using Computer- SPACES project from March 2019 to February 2022. Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) technology The Project’s overall objective is that ‘the framework to contact the selected visitors, and interviews conditions for the sustainable development of PAs were implemented with a prepared, structured are improved,’ and it is being implemented at questionnaire. This survey covered 936 domestic both national and local levels. This survey supports tourists and 30 protected area staff members, and the implementation and evaluation of the fourth assessed current levels of knowledge, attitude and output of the SPACES project, that is, to contribute practices of domestic tourists and PA staff. Project to improving the PAs’ staff’s knowledge and that data collection was organized using two approaches of domestic tourists of PAs (through environmental as agreed with GIZ. At the beginning of the data communication measures). The main objectives of collection, IRIM enumerators visited on-site in 3 the KAP survey were to: target areas and surveyed a total of 418 domestic • conceptualize and plan pre- and post-KAP travellers, followed by a telephone survey of a total surveys in target PAs; of 524 domestic travellers who visited these areas during the three months of summer 2020. • conduct location-specific and statistically significant KAP studies through individual interviews in the target PAs; and FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP • conduct a pre-KAP survey and develop baseline This project was being implemented during the data about the PAs’ features and information writing of the IRIM’s Annual Report, and will concerning a CoC. be finalized in October 2021. Therefore, it is not possible to provide further information in this section. 84 “RESEARCH ON ASSESSING THE IMPACTS OF RESTRICTIONS ON INTERNAL MIGRATION TO ULAANBAATAR”
CLIENT • International Organization for Migration
OBJECTIVES The main purpose of this project was to study the vulnerability of the migrant household population in Ulaanbaatar and the well-being of the non-migrant household population in detail and to assess the impact of the Migration Restriction measures taken by the Municipality of Ulaanbaatar (UB) between 2017-2020. In addition, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the livelihoods of migrant and non-migrant households were further studied.
85 2020 January 2021 May GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
Central 5 districts of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
BACKGROUND
Internal migration, more specifically rural to urban research project was thus implemented in order migration, in Mongolia has been influenced by to address the need to assess the implementation many factors, including the democratic revolution, of the policy document and evaluate its effects on multiple occurrences of dzuds (harsh cold winter), migrants’ vulnerabilities and on the flow of internal climate change, availability (or lack thereof) of migration in Mongolia. basic social services in rural areas, assurance of living and economic factors. Starting in 2005, the DESIGN number of Ulaanbaatar in-migrants has increased steadily. From 2005 until 2017, an average of The research was conducted using both quantitative 30,000 people per year migrated to and began to and qualitative methods. Within the quantitative reside in the capital city. method, a survey was organized covering a total A majority of the migrants from rural areas reside in of 2505 migrant and non-migrant people from 6 the outskirt areas of the most populous districts such central districts of UB. As for the qualitative research as Songinokhairkhan and Bayanzurkh. Ulaanbaatar method, focus group discussions were organized residents are now facing negative consequences among 32 migrant and non-migrants, and key due to the increasing number of migrants, such as informant interviews were conducted with a total lack of access and reduced quality of basic social of 15 staff members including family health care services in the district or subdistrict, as well as center doctors, police, welfare social workers, public increased environmental pollution. school managers and state registrars, who provided In January 2017, the head of MUB approved a policy basic social services in three selected khoroos (a document titled “Measures to be Taken to Ensure khoroo with apartments only, a khoroo with ger the Right of Citizens to Live in a Healthy and Safe districts only and a khoroo with mix of apartments Environment”. According to the policy document, and ger districts). In addition, a desktop review was migration from rural areas to the capital city and conducted on national survey data, international the subsequent obtainment of permanent residency documents and research papers related to internal was temporarily banned until January 2020. This migration restrictions.
86 General composition of the research sample:
1022 Authorized migrant households: 486 (migrated between 2014-2016) 536 (migrated between 2017-2020) 1562 Migrant households 540 Unauthorized migrant households: Total 2505 133 (migrated between 2014-2016) households 407 (migrated between 2017-2020) 943 Non-migrant households
The main findings of the study were used to to reduce the vulnerability of migrants. The study formulate policy recommendations that support the aimed to answer the following four key questions: regulation of future trends in internal migration and
2. Has the 4. What kind of migration 3. Has the 1. What was policy changes and restriction caused Migration the real flow options should an increased Restriction of migration be adopted to vulnerability of contributed to its in Ulaanbaatar effectively respond migrants who ultimate goal of between the to managing the migrated between bettering the living Migration migration flow and the Migration environment for Restriction period? reduce migrants’ Restriction period UB residents? vulnerability? into UB?
FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP
Although the project final report has been report will be published in English and Mongolian completed, it is not yet possible to disseminate the in May 2021. results to the public as it is in of validation and preparation for publication. The project results
87 NATIONAL POLL IN MONGOLIA
CLIENT • International Republican Institute
OBJECTIVES Public opinion data shall be obtained through a survey of Mongolia that is designed to obtain the most accurate possible information about: (a) Citizen satisfaction with the government, (b) Accountability of elected officials (c) Political inclusivity of women, youth and people with disabilities, and (d) General performance of the government, etc. In this regard, the project team set the following objectives: • The IRIM team has conducted the pre-test on the proposed methodology and questionnaire by the client and improved questionnaire. • Developed the field plan. • Data collection plans were developed in the target areas and a telephone survey database was compiled from an internal database. • Currently, field data collection is conducted using a Call center from the sampled 2,500 households in 21 aimags and 9 districts of Ulaanbaatar. • The collected data was entered into the data processing program and submitted to the client. • Analyze the data and prepare an Analytical Report based on the results. • Prepared presentation (PPT) with a chart for every survey question to be provided to the client. 88 2020 December 2021 June GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
21 aimags of Mongolia and 9 district of Ulaanbaatar
DESIGN
The survey uses a descriptive cross-sectional design • Since the data will be collected by telephone as it helps to analyze data on (a) public opinion survey, the sampling point is eliminated. However, on government policy and activities, and (b) the as indicated in the proposal, the proportion of current political situation from a population, or a the survey participants’ (Urban-69%, Rural-31%) representative subset. will be maintained as previously. Due to the quarantine situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not possible to conduct FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP data collection using the face-to-face method. Therefore, the research team planned to make the This project was being implemented during the following changes in the sampling design: writing of the IRIM Research Institute’s Annual • Conduct the data collection by telephone survey. Report, and will be finalized in June 2021. Therefore, it is not possible to provide further information in • The survey participants’ contact information list this section. will be compiled based on the IRIM’s internal data base. • The sampling frame increased based on the scope and resources of the data base, and it covers the 9 districts of Ulaanbaatar and all 21 aimags of four regions in the survey sample.
89 KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE SURVEY ON VIOLENCE AMONG LOCAL CITIZENS IN KHOROOS NEAR MAGIC WORLD-2 CHILD PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER
CLIENT • Lantuun Dohio NGO
OBJECTIVES The purpose of the study is to determine the knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) on violence among local citizens in khoroos near the Magic World-2 child protection and development center. The results of the survey will be used to identify the needs of the Magic World-2 child protection and development center and to plan further activities.
90 2021 March 2021 December GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE
10th, 23rd, 28th khoroos of Bayanzurkh district, Ulaanbaatar
BACKGROUND
The Magic World-2 child protection and development The data collection will be organized with the center is a child protection and development center participation of 81 students and young people that opened in the 23rd khoroo of Bayanzurkh selected for the joint “New Wind” program. The district to prevent, protect and influence vulnerable purpose of this program is to provide the new and children from becoming victims of violence and young generation with personal knowledge, skills exploitation on November 23, 2019. Due to the and practical experience in child protection and large population and a large number of low- research, and to organize personal participation income households in the area where the center is in research and prevention activities in the target located, the violations of children’s rights continue. committees of Magic World-2. As a result of the Therefore, the study of KAP of community violence program, in addition to gaining knowledge and skills will help to effectively guide and support the in the above fields, Lantuun Dohio NGO provides activities. In this regard, the IRIM has signed the opportunities to join the NGO as a volunteer memorandum in cooperation with Magic World-2 member and to have a joint reference from the two child protection and development center on October organizations. This program aims to improve the 3, 2020. Within the framework of our cooperation, new and young generation’s knowledge, skills and IRIM aims to implement this project as part of our practices of research and child protection through social responsibility. personally participating in the survey and organizing the prevention activities in public. As a result of the program, in addition to gaining knowledge and DESIGN skills in the above fields, there is the opportunity to The survey will be conducted by a joint research become a volunteer member of the Lantuun Dohoi team representing the two organizations. As part of NGO and to have a joint certificate from the two the project, a “Monitoring and Evaluation Logframe” organizations. has been developed to assess the activities of the Magic World-2 child protection and development FINDINGS, AND FOLLOW-UP center. Based on this logframe, KAP survey will be conducted among beneficiaries of the center and Due to the spread of the COVID 19 pandemic, the citizens in the vicinity khoroos of the center. It will data collection activity has been delayed. When the also examine the need for and recognition of the spread situation stabilizes, field data collection is center services, and provide consulting services to planned to be carried out in 3 khoroos near Magic develop further plans, policies and strategies. World-2 child protection and development center.
91 OTHER PROJECTS
№ Projects Client Duration
Choir-Sainshand Transmission Line Atkins and 1 Environmental and Social Impact Sustainability East Asia April 2020 Assessment (ESIA LLC
Ministry of Justice and Qualitative Research on Domestic Violence Home Affairs Julyаас 2020 to 2 among People with Disabilities Asian Development January 2020 Bank
‘Assessment of effectiveness of distance April 2020 to 3 education (TV lesson) in response to UNICEF September 2020 climate-change related emergencies’
Local Development Fund Annual Third sustainable July 2020 to 4 Performance Assessment LOT3- 2020 livelihoods project September 2020
Baseline assessment into the causes, International 5 dynamics, vulnerability, and resilience levels Organization for April 2020 to trafficking in Mongolia Migration
International April 2020 to 6 Analytical support for NGO Law Republican Institute July 2020
Survey on Socio-Economic Situations and National Human August 2020 to 7 Human Rights Implementation of Assistant Rights Commission of February 2021 Herders Mongolia
92