Summary of Evaluation Report
1. Outline of the project
Target country: Lao P. D. R.

Name of the project: Capacity Development of
Business Persons through Laos-Japan Human Resource
Development InstituteArea: Other

Scheme: Technical cooperation

Division in charge:

Cooperation amount: ¥399,021,000 (at the time ofPrivate Sector Development Division 2 ，evaluation)

Private Sector Development Group, Industrial
Development and Public Policy Department
Duration of cooperation:

Counterpart organizations: Ministry of Education and(R/D) 2010/09/01~2014/08/31

Sports, National University of Laos

(EN) (Grant aid) January 12, 2000

Japan’s cooperation organization: Japan Foundation

1-1 Background and overview of the project
Since the introduction of "the Labop Mai" (New Economic Mechanism) in 1986, Laos has madeprogress towards becoming a market economy. The country's economy has grown steadily, and while it
was subject to the impact of the 1997 Asian economic crisis, it began to recover in 1999. Laos is
working towards economic integration to ASEAN in 2015, and is concentrating on adjusting
environments in order to promote foreign direct investment, through measures such as the abolition ofcustoms duties. At the same time, alongside the reductions in regional customs duties, Laos has beeninundated with cheap products from neighboring countries, leading to fears that its trade deficit will
increase further. As a result, there is an urgent need for strengthening within the private sector, in order
to meet the demands of ASEAN integration. The Lao-Japan Human Resource Cooperation Center, thepreceding organization of LJI, was opened in 2000 in the National University of Laos. In 2010, after a
10-year fruitful bilateral cooperation project between the National University of Laos and Japan
International Cooperation Agency, status of the center was raised to an institute, which is equivalent to a
department of the University. Since then, LJI has been seeking to establish itself as an institute ofexcellence in building friendly relationships and cooperation between Lao PDR and Japan in developing
human resources in business management area for use in socio-economic development in Lao PDR. The
ASEAN economic integration is scheduled to take place in 2015, and creation of high quality businesshuman resource which would be able to make significant contributions to overcome variety ofchallenges associated with the economic integration is an urgent issue. In order for LJI to play a keyrole self-reliantly in this sphere, further enhancement of institutional capacity was necessary.
Based on the achievements

and lessons from the Laos-Japan Center Project (Phase 1 and 2), andconsidering the requirement of the latest economic situations of the country, the both countries agreed tocommence the current project.
1-2 Content of the cooperation(1) Goalsix

a.

Business persons who can deal with the ASEAN integration are continuously educated through
LJI.

(2) Project objectivesa.

The role and the functions of LJI as the center of developing highly qualified business persons
are strengthened.

(3) Outputsa.

LJI staff members are able to conduct field surveys and consultations independently.

b. LJI staff members are able to manage business courses that can provide practical businessknowledge and know-how.
c.

LJI becomes a hub of the business network.

d. LJI staff are able to manage the Institute on their own.
(4) Inputs (at the time of evaluation)a.

Japan side
Long-term experts – 3 persons (10 in aggregate); Short-term experts – 89 persons: Training inJapan – 30 persons: Training in a third-country – 5 persons (Thailand): Provision of equipment– 58 million yen:
Expenditure for strengthening overseas projects – 47 million yen

b. Lao side
Assignment of counterparts –31 persons: Staff employed by LJI –32 persons:
Provision of land and facilities (LJC site and parking lot): Operating costs (utilities,
communication expenses, and base pays for Lao staff)
2. Outline of the evaluation team
Leader: Akihisa Tanaka, Director, Private Sector Development Division 2, Private Sector
Development Group, Industrial Development and Public Policy Department, JICA
Evaluation and analysis: Tsuyoshi Ito, Senior Consultant, IC Net Limited.
Cooperation planning: Koichi Toya, Assistant Director, Private Sector Development Division 2,
Private Sector Development Group, Industrial Development and Public Policy Department, JICA
Duration of the study: Mar. 23 ~ Apr. 5, 2014

Type of study: Terminal evaluation

Apr. 20 ~ Apr. 30, 2014
3. Overview of evaluation
3-1 Confirmation of performance(1) Confirmation of inputs
Assignment of Lao C/P for the Research section has been delayed. Number of Lao C/P at the time ofthe evaluation was 16. As such, the Lao side has been carrying out its responsibilities in its inputs into
this project properly under its strong ownership and commitment. The Japan side also has been injecting
its inputs as planned.
As indicated by the abovementioned typical example, it is judged that the civil servants in charge ofboth sides have been contributing to smooth progress of the Project.

x(2) Confirmation of a degree of achieving the outputs(a) LJI staff members are able to conduct field surveys and consultations independently.
The Team confirmed that the indictors set for the Output 1, the development, utilization of casestudies and publishing of the case studies in LJI Journal have been achieved. However, due to the delayof assignment of necessary personnel to the Research Section of LJI, technical capability of LJI for
research has to be further improved.
(b) LJI staff members are able to manage business courses that can provide practical businessknowledge and know-how.
During the project period, LJI conducted MBA program, Business courses and 9 Tailor-made courses
sufficient number of times according to the target set by the indicators for the Output 2. Also,satisfactory level of participants reached higher than 80%. Substantial improvement in technicalcapability of Lao lecturers and in program management have been realized, which lead to theconclusion that the Output 2 has been fully achieved.
(c) LJI becomes a hub of the business network.
The database of the MBA graduates has been developed and updated, and LJI has been using it for
information dissemination from LJI. Five Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) have been signed.
Five Business forums were held. These achievements have contributed to establish a base of network
for LJI.
(d) LJI staff are able to manage the Institute on their own.
Division-wise annual activity plans are prepared and the division-wise annual budget plans areprepared accordingly. Also, monthly monitoring meeting has been introduced and monitoring andcontrolling are done through the monthly meeting. The 5-year mid-term plan is still under preparation
by Lao counterpart. It is expected to be completed by the end of the Project.
(3) Confirmation of a degree of achieving the project purpose
There are five indicators set for the project purpose, namely, 1) Preparation of a mid-term 5 year plan
and annual activity plan, 2) Over 80% of coverage by Lao side for the project expenditure, 3) Over 80%
of satisfaction level of MBA graduates and their employers, 4) Over 1000 Business course participants,
and 5) Networking with relevant stakeholders in and out of Laos. With regard to the indicator 1, theMid-term 5-year plan is expected to be completed by the end of the Project. Annual activity plans havebeen prepared and implemented, although they are not in accordance with the 5 year-plan. With regard
to the indicator 2, the coverage is 76.6% and next to achieve target of 80%. With regard to the indicator
3, satisfaction level of the MBA graduates is over 80%, although satisfaction level of their employers is
unknown due to lack of information collection by the Project. With regard to the indicator 4, total
number of participants is 1132, which is over 1000. With regard to the indicator 5, five MOU have beensigned. As a conclusion, the project purse is fairly expected to be achieved by the end of the Project.

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3-2 Summary of the evaluation result(1) RelevanceWith the reasons below, the relevance of the Project is judged to be high.
The 7th National Socio-economic Development Plan (2011-2015) of GOL states that the imbalanceof supply-demand in the labor market is one of the critical hindrances to the socio-economic growth ofthe country. The human resource development is listed as one of five measures to be taken fordevelopment of industry and commerce of the country. On top of these, development of business humanresources is an urgent issue to prepare the country for the ASEAN economic integration in 2015.
According to GOJ’s Rolling Plan for Lao P.D.R., there are four priority areas. Priority 3 focuses on
Improvement of Educational Environment and Human Resource Development. Within Priority 3, there
is a sub objective, which is expansion of higher and technical education that is instrumental instrengthening the private sector and the transition to a market economy. Also, among the six priority
areas of Japanese Country Assistance Program for Lao P.D.R., 5th is “Institutional building and humanresources development for enhancing the private sector,” with which the Project is particularly inaccordance. Additionally, the GOJ has been shifting its ODA policy from the recipient benefit oriented
support to the strengthening of social and economic relationship for development of both of therecipient country and Japan. Since the original concept of this project is the exchanges of businessdevelopment experiences based on human resource development between the two countries, LJI hassignificant potentials to contribute to the latest direction of Japanese ODA policy.
Looked into the labor situations in Laos, the labor gaps in Laos exist with the biggest volume in theworkers / operators level, however, demands for capable human resources for middle management also
apparent. In the long run, middle management staff should be staffed by Lao nationals, and thecontribution of the Project to produce capable business human resources with knowledge and skills of
business management has significance in this sense. One concern is the fact that the majority of SME in
Laos can be regarded as “family business,” which most owners are yet to be serious about business
management improvement, despite that the potential needs exists. Therefore, educational approaches
would be necessary as well.
(2) EffectivenessBased on the findings below, effectiveness of the Project is concluded as relatively high.
Two of the five indicators for the project purpose, i.e.: number of graduates from the Business Courseand establishment of linkage with important stakeholders, have been already achieved. Anotherindicator of satisfactory level of the MBA program by the graduates was achieved for the graduate side,
but satisfaction level of their employers was not confirmed due to lack of information. The data will becollected by the end of the Project. Expenditure coverage by LJI is 76.6% next to achieve target of 80%.
Only the remaining one is preparation of the 5-year plan. However, this is expected to be completed by
the project termination.
With regard to the Output 1 (Research capacity of LJI, the delay of the assignment of personnel to the
Research section was the major hindrance, and further capacity development is still an important
challenge.

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With regard to the Output 2 (Ability of management of program and courses), most of the Laolecturers are capable of conducting the lectures which show the increase of technical capability of the
Lao lecturers and contributed to the achievement of the project purpose. MBA program and theBusiness courses of LJI have comparative advantage that the contents include aspects of the Japanesemanagement method and style and presence of the Japanese lecturers, and this is also enhanced theeffectiveness of the Project. There is one concern on the understanding level of some of the students
mainly due to their English ability.
With regard to the Output 3 (Networking), LJI has acquired important social capital of
human/organizational connections. It is expected that LJI will make maximum use of this social capitalfor their advertisement, case study development and other business information sharing activities.
With regard to the Output 4 (Management capability of LJI), despite that the preparation of 5-yearplan has been delayed, actual management system and procedures have been significantly improved and
Lao C/Ps are generally capable of running ordinal activities of LJI.
(3) Efficiency
Efficiency of the Project is assessed as relatively high with a certain concern.
The inputs from Japanese have been implemented with proper quality, quantity and timing asplanned. There were some difficulties in communications between the Lao side and the Japanese sidewhich led to delay of production of operation manuals for the MBA program and the Business course.
The inputs from Lao side have been provided as planned except for the human resources for the
Research section, which affected to the Output 1. The official slots of 3 people for the Research section
was not the original personnel arrangement of LJI and needed proper protocol to request the additional
allocation of human resource to LJI. The authorization process took time.
(4) Impact
As explained below, considering the situation observed by the evaluation study, it is reasonable tomention that the likelihood of realization of the impact is high, despite that the indicator set for theoverall goal may not be so much appropriate.
The indicator of overall goal is “Total 115 students graduate or complete the MBA program and/or
the general business courses every year after the project completion.” LJI has been already achieved thetarget 115 since 2011. Based on this fact, the overall goal has been already achieved, However,considering the guideline that an overall goal should mention a future development goal of 3 to 5 year
after the completion of the project, the indicator for the overall goal of this Project considered to berelatively low. It may not be good enough to evaluate impact of the Project only with this indicator.
One aspect to see the impact of the Project can be the magnitude of contribution of LJI in the humanresource development for the private sector in the country. The total number of MBA graduates and theparticipants of the Business courses since 2001 can sum up to 133 and 4123 respectively. LJI produced
more than 4,000 business human resource in 14 year. The 7th Socio-economic Development Plan of thecountry mentions that during the period of 2011-2015, necessary number of human resource forindustrialization and modernization of the economy are 15,000 in manufacturing sector and 52,000 inxiii

service sector. Total number is 67,000, and given this figure, 4,000 may not be small.
Another aspect can be actual effect of LJI’s program and courses to the graduates and participants.
The evaluation team had interviews to three MBA graduates / Business course participants and two
companies which requested the Tailor-made course. It was confirmed that actual effects by the MBA
program, the Business courses and the Tailor-made courses were appreared on the improvements of realbusiness of participants. Although these are very limited observation, it is safe to mention that the
program and contents and lecturers of LJI are effective enough to improve the business of Lao
companies in general.
Apart from the above, another noteworthy contribution of the Project is its support to Japanesecompanies which are interested in investing in Laos. In these years, more and more observation tours
are visiting Laos to find its potential for the investment, and LJI has been supporting these tours with
providing information and venues for meetings.
(5) Sustainability
Based on the situations mentioned below, sustainability of LJI is reasonably high. There areimportant challenges for LJI to establish more vigorous self-reliance.
One of the indicators for the project purpose “80% of LJI expenditure is covered by the Lao side,
including LJI revenue” has been almost achieved, however, most of the overtime allowances and someof the expenditures for consumables necessary to conduct LJI’s core activities have not been covered
yet. Given the situation that LJI will be continuously a Laos-Japan cooperation project for some more
years, necessary budget for further strengthening of LJI should be additionally sourced, this deficit is
not an immediate issue. Rather, efforts for improvement in income generation and profitability of eachbusiness area (MBA program, Business course, Tailor-made course, Japanese course and so on) should
be made as a middle and long term plan. At the same time, profitability of different business areas
should be carefully considered according to their characteristics.
Organizational structure of LJI and responsibility allocation among the LJI staff members has been
well organized and well understood by the staff. Monthly meeting has been introduced and thesemonitoring systems have been effectively functioning to manage the activities of LJI. Lecturers fromFEBM are also participating to the monthly meeting and the partnership between LJI and FEBM for theMBA program management is in a good condition. The 5-year plan, which is a part of indicators for the
project purpose, has not been completed yet, however, the annual activity plans are prepared by thedivisions and the annual budget plans are also prepared accordingly. Based on the above management
activities, Lao counterparts are now capable of conducting the MBA program, the Business courses, aswell as the business forums and the tailor-made courses. An important challenge for further
establishment of sustainability is marketing and advertisement. Enhancement of client (customer)
relationship management (CRM) can be one of the necessary measures to be taken.
Most of the Lao lectures are ready for taking over their respective lectures from the Japanesecounterparts. Lao lecturers have already started some improvement of lecture contents and the teachingmaterials. On top of these, three new subjects have been developed and introduced to the Businesscourse by a Lao lecturer. One of the remaining issues is improvement in technical capacity in researchxivand development activities, which was not fully achieved by the Project due to the delay of personnel
assignment by Lao side. Case study development is the challenge to identify suitable application of the“Japanese business management” to this country, and findings from the researches should be reflectedin the further improvement and development of lectures and teaching materials. Another challenge isstrengthening of planning capability of the Tailor-made course, so that each course will be able toaddress effectively to the issues and problems of particular company. For this purpose, a systematic
process of investigation, diagnosis and planning of training course should be developed and necessary
technical skills should be improved. Lastly, in order to maintain the comparative advantage of LJI that
only one institute at which “Japanese business management” is taught, rationally selected subject should
be continuously taught by Japanese lecturers.
3-3 Contributing factors to the progress(1) Introduction of a variety of management tools
Project activity monitoring and financial management and other management systems have been
gradually improved. Additionally, the introduction of general monthly meetings and daily morning
meetings in the Administrative division had good effect on improvement of communication between
the divisions and among the staff members. These changes contributed to the efficiency of
preparation and coordination of planned project activities.
(2) Increase in the sense of ownership among the Lao lecturers
Significant increase in the sense of ownership among the Lao lecturers especially in the latter halfof the project period have been confirmed. New initiatives by Lao side have been started including
creation of three new subjects. Client identification and preparation of Tailor-made course havebeen conducted solely by the Lao lecturers, and planning and preparation of Business Forum havebeen also carried out with initiatives of Lao side. This increase in the sense of ownership has abooster for the Project implementation.
(3) Successful promotion of the Tailor-made courses
Tailor-made course was developed after sometime of the commencement of the Project, and it
addressed the untouched target beneficiaries (medium to large scale companies). Satisfaction levelsof the clients are good, and it has been successful so far. The development of the Tailor-made course
has significantly contributed to successful achievement of the Output 2.
3-4 Hindering factors in the Project(1) Delay in assignment of necessary personnel for the Research section
The delay of the assignment caused the delay of capacity development of Lao lecturers for casestudies and for practical application of business management method taught in the program andcourses. As the result, capacity development in this area is still at individual level. The assignmentof additional personnel to the Research section was not in the original personnel plan of LJI,
therefore, higher level authorization for approval of the allocation of new slots was necessary, and it

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took more time than expected.
(2) Necessity on strengthening capacity of marketing, promotion and advertisement
Overall marketing strategy and strengthening of public relations and advertisement were necessary
for LJI. However, these were not covered by the scope of the Project, and have not been sufficiently
addressed yet. Improvement of current courses to meet the needs of the participants, development of
new subjects which are more attractive to potential students and clients, enhancement of follow-up
marketing to the ex-participants and client companies etc... should be addressed.
3-5 Conclusion
Some of the project purposes have been almost achieved already, and others are expected to beachieved by the end of the Project. The Project enhanced of LJI’s capacity significantly, and contributed
to the improvement in technical, managerial and financial aspect of LJI functions.
These achievements have brought favorable conditions for LJI and Japanese government to consider
the formulation of new project at LJI.
Meanwhile, further technical capacity development, especially in the research section, optimizationof profit profile through enhancement of strategic marketing and improvement of financial management
are the important challenges ahead. Also, appropriate role demarcation between Laos and Japan forproper maintenance of LJI’s advantage as a Japan center is necessary. Above all, LJI is expected tocontinuously contribute to the realization of mutual benefits of Laos and Japan.
3-6 Recommendation
Based on the discussion with the Lao authorities and the Japanese Evaluation Team, both sideconcluded that the Project has been satisfactorily progressed towards its objectives. It was also
confirmed that substantial efforts have been made by the Project to address the issues raised by the
Mid-term evaluation team and that considerable progress had been cleared on each recommendation.
Considering the accumulated achievements since the commencement of the Project for Lao-Japan
Center in 2000 and the official request from the Government of Lao P.D.R., it is agreed to start theformulation of new project for strengthening of industrial human resources in Lao P.D.R. based on thefoundation established at LJI. For facilitating the new project smoothly, there are some challenges
remained in order to ensure the capacity of LJI staff and extend their abilities into the new operation.
3-7 Recommendations(1) Smooth assignment of appropriate persons to the Research section should be completed by the endof the Project.
(2) Purpose of activities by Research section should be clarified and understood by LJI staff
members.
(3) Prompt actions for early completions of outstanding outputs are necessary.
(4) Data collection for monitoring the level of satisfaction on employer and company side
is necessary.
(5) Identification of lecture subjects which Japanese lecturers is necessary.

xvi(6) Introduction of activity based or business area based profit managemet is recommended.
(7) Target segmentation for the Tailor-made training would enhance effectiveness of the training.
(8) Appropriate supplemental measures for the MBA program students who have low English ability
should be considered.
(9) Enhancement of marketing and advertisement for increase of income generation is critical for futuresustainability of LJI.
(10) Effective utilization of the networks for promoting business opportunities should beconsidered.
3-8 Lessons learnt(1) “Japanese management method” is a comparative advantage of a Japan Center.
“Japanese business management” is still a strong advantage in MBA programs and business training
courses of LJI. In order to make Japan center activities successful, it is important to maintain someJapanese presence, while an international cooperation normally expects total handover of a project to arecipient country in the long run.
(2) Active application of “Japanese methods” to the recipient country is necessary.
In case that “Japanese business management” is still new to the recipient country, it is generally difficult
for lecturers and participants to have clear understanding on how actually the Japanese methods work intheir situations. In such case, aftercare and follow up of the participants for supporting their applicationof anything they learnt from the training is critical. Examples of actual use of Japanese businessmethods will be good materials for case studies. And good case studies help lecturers to design better
lectures for the participants. This positive cycle should be established.
(3) Reconsideration on the operation of the Project management based on the recommendations of
Mid-term review and strengthening of monitoring for enhancing progress of project activities is criticalfor success of a project.
In order to promote the effective management of the Project for achieving the initial purpose of the
Project, Mid-term evaluation mission suggested 9 sorts of measures to be implemented until the end of
the Project. After sharing the recommendation among the stakeholders, progress of some activities wereaccelerated through working intensively on issues raised by the review. Furthermore, Project conducted
monitoring much more consciously to figure out the stage of the progress and included the development
into the periodical report to JICA. It can be safely said that these efforts are very significant to assure
the successful completion of the Project.
(4) Synergistic effects of collaborations between business management courses, Japanese course andexchange activities of the Japan center should be recognized.
Through collaborative implementation by 3 divisions, synergistic effects were gained for some activitiesof the Project. For example, preparation and actual operation of Study-in Japan Fair was held underauspices by the Business division, Exchange activity division and Japanese language division. Sincexviioverall management of the event was mainly organized by Business division, Exchange activity division
was playing a role of conducting public advertisement. On the other hand, Japanese language division
provided necessary interpretation services for the event. Through close communication and information
sharing during the preparation of the event under the initiative of the Business division, it was
successfully implemented without any trouble.
Since most of Japan centers have the same three functions, the same synergistic effects can be expectednaturally, and this positive effect has to be intentionally used to improve effectiveness, efficiency andimpact of a project of similar type.
End

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