Greater Mekong Subregion

Driving Change

A breakthrough initiative in human resource development is creating a core of highly skilled GMS middle- and senior-level managers committed to economic and social development in the subregion

By Pamela Asis, (pasis@adb.org)
Phnom Penh Plan Program Officer

A participant shares his thoughts on human resource challenges

An overwhelming spirit of camaraderie envelops alumni of the Phnom Penh Plan for Development Management (PPP) every time they gather.

As they recall their life-changing experiences in the learning program, the PPP alumni reflect time and again on “new perspectives, different versions of leadership, a renewed spirit to work for development, and a deeper commitment to regional cooperation.”

Although the PPP alumni come from the six countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), they call themselves “GMS citizens,” an apt reference to the growing community of Mekong leaders and managers who make up the critical mass of change agents that the PPP has established, and will continue to do so in the next 3 years.

The PPP is a breakthrough initiative in human resource development that aims to create a core of GMS champions who will drive economic and social development in the subregion.

The need to develop the subregion’s most valuable resource—its people—was given impetus at the first GMS Summit of Leaders in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in November 2002. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved funding for the PPP in 2002, initially at $800,000 for two years (2003– 2004). ADB recently extended the program’s implementation, expanded its scope, and provided an additional $800,000 to fund the program for another two years (2005–2006). The New Zealand Agency for International Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of France also support the program.

The program is targeted at middle- to seniorlevel officials in GMS governments and aims to build capacities in public policy and development management. The PPP has delivered 20 demandbased learning programs since its inception in July 2003. These customized learning programs run from 1–3 weeks and cover a range of subjects such as strategic leadership, regional cooperation, governance, participatory development, environment and natural resource planning and management, rural leadership, poverty reduction, health care financing, project feasibility and design, education management, social protection systems, trade policy development, and electronic governance.

The PPP’s learning programs—which are of the highest quality and in high demand among GMS public servants—deliberately focus on a critical set of development-related issues. About 400 middleand senior-level officials from Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), Myanmar, Thailand, and Viet Nam have participated in the programs. Of these, more than half were at levels equivalent to director and above.

A PPP fellowship program that sends promising alumni to programs of higher learning at reputable international institutions was launched in 2004.

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GMS ministers and senior officials exchange ideas with John Thomas, Harvard professor and public policy expert, on the need for leadership in regional cooperation

Sustained Ownership and Political Commitment

The PPP is strongly supported by GMS governments, which have acknowledged its catalytic role in improving the subregion’s human resources.

Senior GMS officials who are members of the PPP Steering Committee ensure the relevance and responsiveness of the PPP to their needs. Further, GMS ministers and senior officials form part of the distinguished roster of PPP alumni.

In December 2004, new perspectives and paradigms on development issues in Asia, particularly in the GMS, were introduced to GMS ministers and senior officials, together with the PPP fellows and selected ADB staff, in a cutting-edge and short high-impact course entitled Top Development Management Program (TDMP).

The TDMP was held on 16 December 2004 at the 13th GMS Ministerial Conference in Vientiane, Lao PDR. Topics covered in the course were the changing role of governments in the 21st century, need for partnerships, role of leadership in GMS development, and governance in GMS cooperation.

Resource persons were Robert Klitgaard, a governance and regional cooperation academic and Dean of the Pardee-RAND Graduate School in Santa Monica, California; and John Thomas, Harvard professor and public policy expert.

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Key Instrument to Promote Regional Cooperation

“If subregional cooperation is our common endeavor, then there is no better breeding ground for friendships and camaraderie among civil servants of the six GMS countries than the PPP,” said ADB Vice- President (Operations 1) Liqun Jin, at the inauguration of the PPP in December 2003 in Phnom Penh.

Envisaged as a key instrument to promote regional cooperation, the PPP has implemented activities that are regional in scope and character. It has contributed to an enhanced awareness of the GMS and, specifically, the GMS Economic Cooperation Program. Its alumni represent various organizations and agencies in the GMS governments. Their coming together to participate in shared learning has fostered friendships and bonds and a shared vision for the GMS.

Although a seemingly intangible benefit, the growth of a cooperative spirit in the GMS is a powerful tool in the subregion’s development, to which the PPP learning programs contribute.

The PPP alumni, after being exposed to new paradigms and cutting-edge management tools and concepts, are expected to initiate reforms in their respective institutions. Through the alumni network, the PPP intends to create a multiplier effect in fostering capacity building in the GMS. Feedback from participants indicates a high level of motivation to share knowledge and adapt skills acquired or strengthened through participation in PPP learning courses.

Central to the PPP’s philosophy is a commitment to design learning programs in collaboration with the best talent, and to research these programs thoroughly for content and for the target groups they aim to reach. The educational content of the learning programs is a carefully designed blend of cutting-edge knowledge and GMS situations. Most programs are customized and provide a learning experience not usually available in traditional academic environments.

In the spirit of partnership, the PPP has created a supportive institutional network. It collaborates with leading organizations, think tanks, and networks to secure the highest-quality learning programs. The current PPP network includes Asian Institute of Technology; Economics and Finance Institute, Cambodia; Kunming University of Science and Technology; Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University; National University of Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Mekong Institute; Hanoi School of Business, Viet Nam; the Administrative Staff College of India; and National University of Singapore. The PPP is also working with the GMS Academic and Research Network to develop a GMS development research framework, and to participate in the research effort.

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Teaching organic farming at the Kyusei Nature Farming and Environment Center in Saraburi Province, Thailand

Beyond a Traditional Approach

Going beyond the traditional approach to building capacity, the PPP allows participants to discuss key development issues. A learning resource center in Phnom Penh will enhance that dialogue and provide the public with “all-that-you-need-to-know-information” about the GMS.

The PPP already has a dedicated website (www.adb.org/GMS/Phnom-penh-plan) and will develop a portal to enable PPP alumni to maintain lifelong contacts. Apart from a newsletter, the PPP launched the GMS Journal of Development Studies to provide a platform for sharing research, reviewing development literature, and fostering debate.

The GMS Distinguished Speaker Series will offer the subregion the opportunity to share experience and insights from the world’s leading figures in development, research, and governance. The GMS Development Management Dialogue, videoconference sessions will provide opportunities for the exchange of ideas on pressing issues that call for collective action and regional cooperation. Likely subjects will be finance, health, education, HIV/ AIDS, environment, corruption, infrastructure, trade, private sector, and civil society.

The PPP seeks to instill in managers a perpetual curiosity about the people and issues that they are charged to lead and to foster a thirst for knowledge. At the end of each learning program, participants are inducted as PPP alumni and commit to uphold the PPP ideals as part of their lifelong learning experience. They are imbued with a spirit for putting the GMS on the path to high growth with equity.

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