The CCG Lao PDR team and the National University of Laos (NUOL) delivered the fourth Lao PDR CCG Annual Workshop at the Crowne Plaza Vientiane on 13 February.
The event was opened by Mr Louis Mulvaney, the Mekong Development Counsellor for the British Embassy in Vientiane, and the President of NUOL, Prof. Dr Dexanourath Seneduangdeth. Both speakers expressed their appreciation and support for the work that the Lao PDR CCG Network has delivered so far.
In the first session, Asst Prof Dr Sounthisack Phommachanh – a member of the CCG Lao PDR team – provided an overview of the Network’s achievements to date. He also announced that the Faculty of Engineering would be establishing the ‘Clean Energy and Green Growth Laboratory’ which will have three key aims: (i) to enhance the research-policy interface in Laos, (ii) to enhance the capacity of Lao analysts to apply models to policy-facing research, and (iii) to bridge the gap between national planning documents and finance strategies.
The Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Assoc Prof Dr Khampaseuth Thepvongsa, shared the faculty’s strategy, highlighting the ways in which the new lab will support its delivery.
This was followed by updates from several policy-facing projects, including a talk by Dr Santisouk Phimphachanh from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce on ‘Policy Innovation for Clean Energy Transition in the Lao PDR: the Role of Regional Cooperation’. Dr Bouneua Khamphilavanh from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment also presented on the Lao PDR NDC 3.0 update.
Later in the day, researchers and analysts from NUOL and international research institutions gave a series of talks on the CCG-funded research they are doing. The Lao Social Policy Research team presented their project ‘Fair, Inclusive and Sustainable Energy Transition in Lao PDR’. Dr Avakat Phasouyaingam from NUOL gave a talk on applying the Climate-Land-Energy-Water Systems (CLEWs) model to analyse resource trade-offs within the context of climate change.
The event concluded with a panel discussion between the speakers, receiving questions from the audience and discussing the intersection between policy-making processes and academic research in Laos.
Overall the event was a great example of support for evidence-based decision-making in Laos which will be the focus of the new Clean Energy and Green Growth Laboratory at NUOL.
Thanks to the Vientiane Times for providing the information on which this article is based and some of the photographs.
