Research Center for Initiatives in Community Development – RIC is the only Vietnamese non-governmental organization in Hoa Binh province , established under Decision No.1160/QĐ-LHH on August 28th, 2009 by Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Association ( VUSTA ), with license No.857 on September 11th, 2009 by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Vision: RIC expects to become a professional and creative organization contributing to promotion, application and dissemination of initiatives in sustainable community development, especially in poor/disadvantaged communities and for their benefits.
Mission: RIC connects and promotes initiatives aiming at improving quality of life of ethnic minorities in the Northwest of Vietnam with emphasis on the use of indigeneous knowledge.
Strategic objective(s): RIC’s objective for the 2012-2014 strategy is to elevate the organization’s overall capacity and strengthen its contribution to community empowerment by ways of implementation and dissemination of development initiatives.
Specific objective(s):
- Improve effectiveness and efficiency of the programs geared towards empowering communities.
- Contribute as an active member in joint programs/activities of Vietnam CSO network.
Key approaches/strategies:
- Rights based Approach: support capacity building and confidence of the right holders (local citizens) to enable them claim their rights, to roll out community organisation and community self-management; support the duty bearers (local authorities) to become better accountable and transparent in fulfilling their obligations.
- Community based approach: empower community to make decision; facilitate community participation in development project, including needs assessment, prioritising community needs, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
The core competencies of RIC :
- Be the only Vietnamese NGO locating in Hoa Binh province: this is the best condition to closely cooperate to local government , relevant local agencies and local communities to implement activities conveniently, effectively and efficiently;
- Have a Hanoi-based office: this is place for gathering full-time specialists and collaborators to develop and implement programs and projects towards ethnic minorities of the Northwest Vietnam. This facilitation also creates favorable opportunities for close contact and cooperation with donors, experts, colleagues and partners;
- Work directly with ethnic minority communities: This is an important factor contributing to effectiveness and efficiency of projects. During working directly with communities, RIC’s project staffs will support, provide regular and direct supervision on communities, ensuring effectiveness of projects. Moreover, this is also contributing factors to reduce management and administrative costs during implementation of activities;
- Focus on issues of ethnic minorities: RIC’s target groups are ethnic minorities who draw much more attention from donors and government supporting programs. This is a good opportunity by which RIC can mobilize more funds to implement projects related to RIC’s field of activities;
- Have highly qualified staffs in management and implementation of projects, understanding local knowledge, being dedication. This explains for close and friendly working of RIC with local communities, who subsequently present their love, support and commitment to RIC’s efforts;
- Be creative and innovative: Research , gather and share initiatives for community development is an important factors that RIC always look forwards to;
- Commit to transparency and accountability: Communities, governments at all levels and partners highly appreciate projects that RIC has implemented for its effectiveness , efficiency and transparency.
