Up-grading of rural village infrastructure in South-East Myanmar
Apart from the reconstruction project in the delta, SDC-HA concentrates its activities to the eastern part of Myanmar, in particular Northern Shan State (Kokang), Kayah and Mon States. For the Southeast, UNHCR recently requested to SDC-HA the secondment of an expert covering both, technical expertise and protection issues. UNHCR’s assessment and NATALA’s request indicate an enormous need for sustaniable and good quality rural infrastructure in the region. Schools and water supplies are the two key demands mentioned by everyone acquainted on the ground. SDC-HA and NRC decided to support UNHCR’s work and started in order to initiate activities on the ground by early 2011.
Country:
Mon, Kayan and Shan states in Myanmar
Project Period:
2009 – 2012
Name of Staff involved and functions performed:
Name of Client(s):
Description of the Project:
The main aim of this consultancy is to assist SDC-HA in the preparatory and start-up phase of SDC-HA’s village infrastructure in Mon and Kayin States of South-eastern Myanmar. This includes a clear definition of the roles of SDC-HA and its partners concerning the field of intervention, definition required resources and actual activities, timely planning, implementation, reporting, and financing of the project. The support aims to economise resources in the start-up and defers the option of increasing SDC-HA’s expatriate staff in Myanmar until such need is evident.
For this purpose, Skat, Swiss Resource Center and Consultancies for Development, St. Gallen has been contacted, seeking their support and technical assistance. The assignment supported the SDC-HA Office in Bangkok/Yangon in the preparatory phase of the project to ensure an efficient and effective project planning in a timely and professional manner. The consultant supported and advised the SDC-HA programme team in planning the required project set-up, the selection of objects of preference coordinated with UNHCR’s work plan and the formulation of the required credit proposal. The mandate further resulted in strengthening the national programme staff in developing core competence based on the fact of a continued engagement and visibility in Myanmar.
The assignment included the following two parts:
Part 1: Fieldwork
Field based appraisal and retrieval of relevant information in collaboration with the local SDC-HA programme team, the UNHCR project team and other agencies and organisations involved in improving village infrastructure in the target area. The mandate included a clear definition of the roles of SDC-HA and its partners concerning the field of intervention, definition of activities, work plan, planning, implementation and financial implications for compilation of a concise project budget.
Part 2: Deskwork
Provision of technical assistance to SDC-HA and NRC in defining the required upgrading, new construction or rehabilitation of village infrastructures and prepareation of a Project Document serving as a basis for the SDC-HA credit proposal, including necessary additional documentation (preliminary designs, descriptions, staffing needs, logistical requirements, cost estimates, etc.).
