Presentation at the Mekong Environmental Symposium 2013 in Hanoi of lessons learned from piloting PSROI, a participatory community-based prioritization and costing framework for adaptation interventions, in Vietnam and Lao PDR.

1. Participatory Community Based Prioritization and
Costing of Adaptation Interventions
Lao PDR and Viet Nam
Cu Thi Le Thuy and Caitlin Corner-Dolloff
International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
Mekong Environment Symposium – Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, March 6, 2013

2. Presentation Outline
1. Context
2. Partnership in SE Asia
3. PSROI Framework
4. Lessons from implementation
5. Future directions
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3. Prioritizing and costing adaptation
options - integral to planning and policy
Decision makers need tools that:
1.select adaptation options and guide distribution of
funds effectively, efficiently, and equitably
2.prioritize interventions from scientific and social
perspectives
3.scale up processes, not prescriptions
4.take into account local context
5.measure impact reflective of on the ground realities
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4. Project Objective
Main What information from what levels,
especially communities, is needed to
Research accurately prioritize and cost adaptation
Question interventions?
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5. Participatory Social Return on Investment
(PSROI)
Community-Based Climate Change Adaptation
Prioritization, Planning, and Costing
PSROI is a novel framework
Environmental
that combines innovative
participatory methods and
the SROI costing framework
Systemic approach
Stakeholder Centric
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6. Partnership, Research, and Capacity
Building to Inform Policy
Goals in Greater Mekong Sub-Region
1.Test transferability to
– New region (from Africa to Asia)
2011: Kenya(2), Senegal(1)
2012: Yên Bái, Viet Nam(2),
Savannakhet, Lao PDR(2)
– Government partners
• Training and implementation
2. Develop Framework
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7. P(SROI) Framework
Adds specific Participation framework to
Social Return on Investment
Track 1: Adaptation Prioritization and
Planning Workshop - “P” in PSROI
Track 2: Economics of Adaptation
Priorities – P(SROI)
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8. TRACK 1- Community Workshop
Adaptation Planning via
Visioning & Backcasting
Workshop is
a capacity
development
tool in itself
(Helfgott, 2012); Workshop methods outlined in CCAFS working
paper 16 (Sova et al., 2012)
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9. TRACK 2 – Economics of Adaptation
(P)SROI RATIO = NPV Benefits : Investments
e.g. Net benefits of $1.5 for each $1 invested (50% return)
National Baseline vs. Community Insights
(Chaudbury, A. 2012) Science to Cultivate Change

10. Uses of PSROI
• In this study assess climate change
adaptation actions
• can be general planning tool for
development
• Forecasting studies done here
• Could use for long term monitoring and
evaluation tool
• Can evaluate ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ interventions
• Community level assessments
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11. Case Studies
Yen Bai, Viet Nam
Ban Long, Van Chan Dai Thang, Van Yen
Intervention: Community Intervention: Develop 50ha of
owned semi-intensive pig private intercropped cinnamon
raising and cassava
Key Type of intervention can be a determining factor
in level of local information needed for
Lesson appropriate design and accurate costing.
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12. Case Studies
Savannakhet, Lao PDR
Lam Thane, Champhone Koud Khae, Outhomphone
Intervention: Community Intervention: Private fish ponds
watergate and canal for dry for livelihood development
season irrigation
Key 1.Similar challenges can lead to different priorities
based on local values and realities
Lesson 2. Cross level assessment needed for costing
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13. Outreach to Inform Research and Policy
Cross-level partnerships in both countries:
village, commune, district, province, and national
• Involved local government in
community workshops and costing
• Ran multi-level results and
feedback meetings so
practitioners, researchers, and
policy makers could learn lessons
for policy and evaluate PSROI
Findings: Need to work across
sectors to conduct PSROI,
need a simplified tool and
further testing
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14. Future Development
1 2 3 3 4 4 3 4 5
1. Introduce ‘menus’ of climate smart adaptation options
to assist with community prioritization
2. Experiment with when and at what levels to
incorporate technical information on climate
change and interventions - do more with community
3. Community exchanges to understanding outcomes
4. Incorporate scenarios into costing
5. Cost interactions between interventions
6. Generally PSROI ‘LITE’ & training for gov’t staff
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15. Conclusions
• PSROI has immediate value for
• getting at the heart of what communities desire
for their future and what is needed for them to
get there
• planning adaptation interventions to utilize
allocated funding
• evaluating impact over time of interventions
• its transferability to different regions, partners,
and governance structures
• local level assessments
• empowering communities through the process
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16. Conclusions
• Bottom-up vs. Top-down costing
• Include local communities as much as
possible in costing, but don’t always need to
conduct entire costing at the local level
• Research needed to finalize a protocol describing
when local information is essential for costing
• Community level planning and costing must
be integrated with cross level and cross
sector planning
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