First project meetings in Cambodia and Laos
What’s a project without in-person meetings to clarify goals and build the team? This month, Dr. Isaac Lyne (WSU) and myself headed to Phnom Penh and Vientiane along with Dr. Todd Sanderson (ACIAR) to meet with our in-country project teams.
First we stopped in Singapore to talk with Grow Asia, whose work focuses on cultivating more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable food systems. Grow Asia have a strong network with international organisations and policy makers in the region. Over the next few years they will help us ensure our research gets into the hands of stakeholders who can use it productively and wisely to craft policies, programs and products for farming households.
Next we touched down in Phnom Penh, where we met with our in-country project team at the Royal University of Phnom Penh. The Cambodia research will be led by Mr. San Vibol, Dr. Spoann Vin, and Dr. Thath Rido, all of whom work in the Faculty of Development Studies. The Cambodian team have extensive experience in environmental economics, behavioural economics and social science research generally. They will be working closely with Dr. Lyne, Dr. Alexandra Peralta, and Dr. Rida Azkar to implement both the qualitative and quantitative fieldwork in Cambodia.
DiFF meeting at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, July 2022.
Finally we spent a few days in Vientiane where we got to know our Laos in-country team, consisting of Ms. Salika Onsy from the Faculty of Social Sciences and Dr. Daovy Kongmanila, both from the National University of Laos. Ms. Onsy is an enthusiastic and passionate researcher who excels at connecting with people. She will be invaluable for the qualitative research. Dr. Kongmanila is an agricultural economist who is an expert in Theory of Change (ToC). Given that one of our first tasks will be a systematic literature review that examines ToCs, we are very pleased to have such an expert on board. The Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Professor Dexanourath Sengeduangdeth (NUoL), kindly gave us a presentation on the university’s profile and research program.
DiFF meeting at the National University of Laos, July 2022.
This was just the first of many meetings to come. We look forward to working closely with our in-country researchers over the next few years, including creating knowledge, sharing stories, and of course enjoying the local cuisine!
