Strengthening Portfolio Management at Ministry of Planning and Investment Brief Description  In line with its ambition to improve ODA portfolio performance, MPI has requested the World Bank to provide much needed skills training.  The demonstrated strong will of the new IFI Division Chief to address issues raised by the banks, as well as the recent high-level drive for ODA implementation improvements, provides a window of opportunity to stimulate the adoption of essential changes in procedures and management practices.  The timing of the IDF Grant proposal is thus important. The emphasis of the IDF Grant is proposed to be on streamlining and general organizational strengthening.  The target group for the intervention will primarily be the junior and mid-career staff of the Foreign Economic Relations Department and other Government ODA coordinating bodies.  The proposed grant consists of three components: Component 1: Procedural Streamlining An internal review will be undertaken to identify ways of streamlining ODA project approval processes.  This component will involve the development of Operational Manuals providing the MPI staff with hands-on information and guidelines on ODA project preparation and implementation.  The Manual will make use of the achievements of the on-going harmonization efforts on operation policies, strategies and procedures of various bilateral and multilateral donor agencies.  Under this component, methodological support will be provided to help MPI, Ministry of Finance (MOF) and line ministries to better plan and monitor procurement and disbursement and in this way enhancing the framework for counterpart funds.  Standard formats for disbursement and procurement plans will be developed, as well as guidelines for repeater projects.  Other suggestions for procedural streamlining and improvements will be summarized in a Methodology Paper.  In this connection, relevant staff will be given the opportunity to gain exposure to ODA management systems in other countries.  This is seen as an effective means to encourage procedural innovation, not least important in a conservative bureaucratic culture such as the Vietnamese. Component 2: Strengthening Better Portfolio Management To improve the overall portfolio management, it is crucial to strengthen the information management system.  A portfolio database with the status of each individual program will therefore be established ensuring a timely identification by MPI of implementation problems and a systematic follow-up.  Procedures for maintaining the database will be developed and relevant personnel in MPI will receive training on how to efficiently collect and process data.  To support the development and use of effective portfolio management tools, limited IT hardware will be procured. The monitoring capacity of the central and local management levels will be the target of training. This component will be closely co-ordinated with the work undertaken by the AusAID funded VAMESP program which is focusing on developing monitoring tools for PMUs and developing a common PMU reporting format.  The VAMESP program and the IDF grant will be managed by the same staff at MPI, ensuring that information collected under the VAMESP will be fully utilized in the database set up under this grant and vice versa.  Linkages will also be established with the Client Connection that has recently been launched by the World Bank to enable client to get updated information on project performance of bank-financed projects.  Training on project preparation and implementation procedures will be conducted, supported by the procurement of relevant project management software to be installed at the PMUs. To provide hands-on training and examples of problem solving, the proposed grant will also cover the assistance from consultancy teams, working closely with the Government and PMU staff in settling specific issues in projects experiencing implementation difficulties. Component 3: Strengthening ODA Co-ordination To resolve systemic issues inhibiting project preparation and implementation, MPIs capacity to co-ordinate line ministries and PMUs need to be strengthened and regular meetings with relevant parties have to be organized.  An action plan outlining the steps to be taken to improve inter-ministerial aid co-ordination will be established and all meeting documentation, including minutes will be circulated to all participating agencies.  An informal forum for systematic sharing of implementation experiences and problem-solving approaches between PMUs will be established.  The forum will not only consist of gatherings of PMU staff, but of information sharing through e-mail discussion groups, best practices newsletter etc.  It is expected that after the end of the grant, the Government will continue to support the forum and a mechanism for PMUs to self-finance activities will be established. When developing a test module on project management training in connection with the Comprehensive Capacity Building Program, the feedback from the participating PMUs indicated that the examples from real projects in the Vietnamese context had been most valuable.  The forum is an attempt to more systematically make use of the experiences gained in the country and thereby enhance aid effectiveness.  Workshops for sharing implementation experience with other donors and stakeholders will also be held. To assist the Recipient in improving its currently weak Official Development Assistance (ODA) implementation performance by enhancing the Government's ODA portfolio management capacity.