The International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada) joined forces with FSPPM to conduct the project “Capacity Building and Applied Research for Inclusive Public Finance in Myanmar.” The project is designed for assembly members, government officials, and researchers from universities and institutions in Myanmar – who are in charge of designing, developing, analyzing and evaluating public finance policies.

The project attempts to improve the public finance in Myanmar by providing participants with skills and experiences in public policy research through combining Vietnam research expertise in public finance and Myanmar’s leading think-tank – Renaissance Institute Myanmar (RI).

The project has been ongoing for 3 years from 2018 to 2020 with 3 annual workshops. The first (2018) and second (2019) in Myanmar focused on 5 general themes: fiscal decentralization, political reform, local revenue system and intergovernmental revenue transfer. The third workshop in 2020 is scheduled to take place in June 2020 at Fulbright University Vietnam.

Besides in class training, participants are arranged to attend meetings with the Vietnam Ministry of Finance and the Finance and Budget Committee of National Assembly and field trips to local governments to explore fiscal decentralization. The program is jointly delivered by FSPPM faculty members, U.S. Harvard University professors, and senior officials from Vietnam and the Myanmar Ministry of Finance and Planning, national assembly members and researchers from the Myanmar Economic Institute.

The first two workshops have been successful in addressing knowledge gap in public finance and fiscal decentralization in Myanmar. Upon completion of the training, participants must complete a research project and a policy memo. The concluding sessions for each workshop are organized for learners to present their research findings to stakeholders, e.g. policy makers, government officials, researchers from other institutions and the media.

The program is appreciated by the participants, senior officials from the Ministry of Planning and Finance, state and local officials and national assembly for its quality and effectiveness in developing a curriculum enhancing learners’ knowledge in decentralization reforms and public finance management in Myanmar. The program has successfully built its reputation and close affiliation with the Myanmar Ministry of Planning and Finance, helped RI to receive support from this Ministry. Particularly, the Ministry of Planning and Finance acknowledge and commended FSPPM and RI’s efforts and invited for further collaboration to establish the first Public Finance Institute in Myanmar.