Background

The Analyzing Development Issues Centre (ADIC) was registered with the Ministry of Interior of Cambodia since April 2011. Our mission is “to become a leading research and learning agency working with vulnerable communities and key development actors to analyze current development issues and co-create innovative and long lasting responses to social change”. ADIC has been involved in community organization work, participatory action research (PAR) and policy-type of applied research across several internationally funded projects. It previously managed a needs-driven research and policy advocacy project in five Tonle Sap’s provinces in collaboration with the WorldFish and Mahidol University, Thailand. The track record of ADIC team’s experiences in the Northeast Provinces and Tonle Sap provinces including Kampong Thom Province dates back to 2011, when ADIC first teamed with the WorldFish and other NGO partners to promote community engagement and support under the “Strengthening Aquatic Resources Governance (STARGO) 2011-2013” project and the “Aquatic Agricultural System (AAS) Program”. This initiative which used Collaborating for Resilience (CoRe) and Participatory Action Research (PAR) approaches, covered five Tonle Sap Provinces. ADIC teamed up with Mahidol University for regional research and action project covering four countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand on promoting safe migration. ADIC has also collaborated with the University of Utah, USA, for collaborative research and host of internship. Moreover, ADIC has conducted joint research on migration and child labor with Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK.

Main Activities

The current thematic priorities are 1) Natural Resource Governance; 2) Livelihood & Market Development; and 3) Responses to Social Change. In our approach to provide capacity building support to community leaders and NGO practitioners, research studies for policy level influence, and participatory action research (PAR) are what drives out current and future work. Below are selected main projects:

  • We are implementing one-year long capacity building support to a local NGO PNKS in Stung Treng in Participatory Action Research (PAR) and develops the strategic framework for the next three to five years for working with the communities.
  • We are implementing a four-year project funded Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) through the World Bank focusing promoting horticultural development and market linkage in Ratanakiri and Modulkiri Provinces.
  • We are implementing capacity building project for community leaders and their members in organic rice production and soil quality improvement under the project Blockchain for Livelihoods from Organic Cambodian Rice (BlocRice) II. The project is jointly being implemented in Preah Vihear with Amru Rice company, Oxfam, and Schuttelaar & Partners B.V. The average net farm income of agricultural cooperative (AC) members has increased thereby narrowing their living income gap.
  • We are implementing the research project on impact of the Pandemic on migration and child labor covering Battambang, Pursat and Banteay Meanchey, in close collaboration with Institute of Development Studies (IDS) of the University of Sussex, UK.
  • We are implementing a research project on Land Tenure Needs Assessment in four provinces of Ratanakiri, Preah Vihear, Kampong Thom and Koh Kong, being supported by Landesa (Rural Develipment Institute), USA.
  • We are implementing the project on mobilizing Indigenous Peoples, especially Women and Youth, in Bangkern Phal Village in Preah Vihear, to Protected the Indigenous Community Land and Forest Resources. This is funded by the Samdhana Institute, based in The Philippines.

Partnership with Ponlok Chomnes

Funded by DFAT through The Asia Foundation, ADIC is implementing participatory research study on “Exploring the social-wellbeing of migration and families on the Cambodian-Thai border in period of Covid-19 Pandemic” covering four communities in three provinces of Pursat, Battambang and Banteay Meanchey. The prolonged nature of the Covid-19 crisis in South East Asia and ongoing challenging conditions in rural Cambodia is now forcing many to attempt the perilous journey back to Thailand, in spite of the risk of infection and less opportunities for decent work. Informal recruiters or brokers are becoming more active and are taking advantage of this pattern of precarious migration in both directions creating an increased risk of human trafficking.

Overarching research question: How has Covid-19 impacted on the patterns of migration of Cambodian migrant workers and what, if any, are the implications on patterns of family within this vulnerable population with focusing on social-welling? This research builds on the previous studies in 2015 and 2018, especially in Pursat and Battambang. The significance of this research is that primarily ADIC will learn new approaches as well as methods that will inform new initiatives of ADIC in the areas, and it is expected that the local policy makers will be fully informed in the awareness raising event, and other agencies in the areas may draw on key findings and lessons for contribution to their future program development.

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