Agriculture and Rural Development

Currently in the framework of FWC BENEFICIARIES 2009 LOT 1: Rural Development EuropeAid/127054/C/SER/multi, Mid-term Evaluation of Kenya Arid and Semiarid Lands Research Programme (KASAL) VGM Partners’ Expert is assisting the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) to:

• Reduce food insecurity and poverty in the ASAL
• Ensure sustainable improvement of agricultural productivity (crops and livestock) and improve natural resource management (NRM)
• Improve access to innovative development, validated agricultural and livestock knowledge and technologies for rural populations in the arid and semi arid zones in Kenya
• Carry out a review and evaluation of  efficiency and effectiveness of  KASAL Program
• Formulate recommendations for the remaining period to ensure optimum achievement Programme results.
• Assess the impact and sustainability of the programme in terms of institutional impact within KARI and in terms of development impact for beneficiaries and development actors in the ASAL
• Verify and assess the integration and impact of cross-cutting issues in the project (e.g. gender, climate change and environmental concerns, good governance among others).

Enlisting the best specialists in the field VGM Partners continuously works to assists to the Agricultural Sector Development in transition economies. In the framework of Europe Aid/ Support to Ministry of Agriculture in Armenia project VGM Partners’ experts assisted Armenian Veterinary Services and Food Safety enforcement agencies to:

• Raise animal health and food safety standards;
• Design and establish of an integrated food safety control system;
• Carry out a review and needs-assessment of the Marzes’ and central laboratories’ existing equipment, prepare technical specifications;
• Conduct trainings on laboratory organization and techniques and new equipment applying;
• Elaborate new hygiene package in food chain implementation;
• Conduct trainings on HACCP system and veterinary requirements for milk and dairy products;
• Provide the regional, municipal veterinary inspectors with the manuals and guidelines containing HACCP concepts, Good Hygiene and Manufacturing Practices required for food safety.

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Financial sector

VGM Partners experts continuously assist to the development of financial markets.
Our team consists of strong specialists in Banking Supervision, Insurance Market Development, Corporate Governance and Financial Markets, who participate in the USAID Armenia Financial Sector Deepening Project.
Our work is intended to improvement of performance of financial institutions starting with banks, stock exchanges and insurers to non-bank lending and pension funds; assistance to the Central Bank of Armenia for more efficient accomplishment of its new role of combined regulator with authority over all financial industries, increase trust and confidence by the general public.

For realizing these improvements and meeting all the challenges VGM Partners specialists afford expertise in the mentioned fields and carry out the following activities:

• Comprehensive technical leadership for research efforts, maximizing effective use of all available sources of data and information;
• Overall organization and analysis of data;
• Design surveys and polls and lead reams in their execution;
• Create drafts of project policy recommendations.

Our specialists participated in Armenian Financial Sector Assessment ordered by USAID. Within the project team with international experts implemented deep analysis of Armenian financial sector and formulation of shortages. Analysis covered rather wide area: data research on banking sector, insurance and pension system as well as different assessments of the financial deepness. Very detailed policy recommendations were done for the development of almost all the sectors of the Armenian Financial system.
The document served as a base for the USAID policy formulation and direction of upcoming programs in Armenia for the mid - term period.

Our work example toward the institutional analysis can be Cross Country Analysis and Armenian Financial Sector benchmarking assignment when our specialists hired by EU/Tacis AEPLAC project to implement analysis. During analysis different conceptual approaches were elaborated as well as extensive econometric apparatus was used in close cooperation with the AEPLAC economic team. We have targeted different financial intermediation development scenarios as well have proposed institutional reforms needed for the reaching up set benchmarks.   

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Public Administration and Finance

Our financial disclosure and accounting reforms practice includes implementation of the project financed by Asian Development Bank in three South Caucasian countries providing expertise in:

• Developing specific implementation and interpretation guidelines for ISA standards;
• Determining the relevant IFRSs, ISA guidelines, and other material for translation into regional language;
• Researching and analyzing domestic audit firms’ capacity to audit publicly listed companies and recommending selection criteria for them and quality control of audits;
• Recommending minimum qualifications and requirements for entry into and continued practice in the accounting and auditing professions in the three countries;
• Providing training to regulators in the three countries on updated IFRS and ISA standards.
• Preparing methodologies for reconciling income and asset values computed according to IFRSs and to domestic tax laws.

We are contributing to the poverty reduction trough the provision of fiscal management and funds control, such as budgeting, financial management, establishment and maintenance of an automated accounting system, transfer of knowledge and skills on the financial management systems used by Fiscal Agent, control and accounting of funds, disbursements and cash reporting to insure the proper and transparent use of the funds to be provided under the Program. Within Millennium Challenge Account Armenia/ Support to the Fiscal Agent initiative VGM Partners with its IT and accounting Experts provides support and advice to the project. Adoption and maintenance of MCA-Armenia’s Audit Plan, as well as adoption or revise of MCA-Armenia’s Fiscal Accountability plan are intended to carry out within the frames of the Project.

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Urban and Infrastructure Development 

Urban analysis is aiming to assess the urban sector at the country level, to identify key drivers, to collect and interpret data, to confirm trends and strategic shifts, to review models, and put forward recommendations. During the ADB Developing Strategic Urban Assessments for Selected Central and West Asia DMC’s we have intended to:

• Determine the country’s key interventions and priority projects relating effective markets and instruments to encourage economic development;
• Provide indicative estimates of the overall investment requirements in the country that are necessary to achieve the established goals and vision, assess the likely availability of these resources and broadly identify the financing gap;
• Conduct a review and assessment of urban service delivery companies operating in urban areas, their mandates, approaches, corporate structure, and relative efficiency and effectiveness.
• Design and compile the country’s key indicators pertaining to shelter to facilitate assessment and provide benchmarks for comparison of towns and cities of various sizes;
• Map the changing spatial distribution of urban settlements, and the extent of urban expansion; 
• Determine the key interventions and priority projects that encourage environmental improvements and facilitate improved sociopolitical context.

The goal of the UNDP Social Housing Project was to analyze general social housing development processes in Armenia during recent years, as well as foreign countries’ experience study and on the basis of these studies to elaborate recommendations aimed at realized policy and socially needy families housing needs’ aspects definition, their housing possible ways and financial mechanisms identification. In this context VGM Partners specialists were deeply engaged in

• Analysis of Armenian social housing current situation;
• Corresponding legal framework elaboration;
• Development of key constituents of the market which included insurance, real estate purchase and sale transactions’ cadastral registration mechanisms’ simplification, financial intermediation development or mortgage lending new institutions creation and etc.;
• Social housing further development mechanisms elaboration.

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Transport Sector

VGM Partners provides technical assistance to further improvement of transport sector performance in order to make a sustainable contribution to the economic development and poverty reduction in transition economies.
 
As an example of our expertise could be the contribution to the MoTC of Armenia by developing new transport sector strategy and a new vision and road map, which will be the Government’s key document guiding the policies and investment in the transport sector including transport facilitation for 2009-2019.

Our work resulted in:

• Development of a reform action plan;
• Development of a management information system (MIS) for MoTC;
• Definition of a long-term transport sector investment plan;
• Support to international transport facilitation and logistic sector development;
• Provision of a capacity building development plan in all aspects of the transport sector;
• Mobilization of systematic resources for transport sector investments by introducing enhanced use of the website etc.
• Encouraging better public transport and protecting the environment.

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Social, Pensions and Labor Relations

VGM Partners assists Armenia’s social protection systems to provide efficient, well-targeted social programs and enforce norms to protect workers and to ensure sustainable economic growth and job creation. For this purpose during 2006-2009 VGM Partners participated in the USAID Armenia Social Protection System Strengthening Program assisting the GOAM, Employment Services Agency, Labor Inspectorate, Ministry of Labor and Social Issues to:

• Finalize a pension reform strategy focusing on identification of strategies for efficient and low-cost collection and administrative systems;
• Design and implement administrative and IT systems;
• Advise on reforms of other social insurance issues, including upgrading actuarial education, and the National Statistical Service household survey;
• Efficiently set of employment services in both public and private sector, improve capability to identify the labor skills supply and demand;
• Improve laws and regulations; develop the framework and implement workplace safety programs based on international occupational safety standards and norms.
  

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SME and Regional Development

Our SME and Regional Development experience were taken trough different activities and projects. We used either regional or cluster or joint approaches during our work. As an example can serve UNDP and Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Development National Center (SME DNC) “Successful start up” project.
For prevention of the start-up entrepreneurs’ fail due to inadequate understanding of the market, poor business planning, particularly financial planning, lack of business skills and information, limited access to finance and consulting services VGM Partners’ consultants’ support to the start-ups in the very beginning of launching entrepreneurial activity.
VGM Partners’ consultants implementing activities which suppose:

• Seminar conduction during which business basics, business planning, tax legislation, marketing and management basics are introduced to the entrepreneurs; assistance in elaboration of their own business plans;
• Brain Pools for entrepreneurs to exchange the experience, evaluate needs and discuss arising problems.
• Support to the implementation of the business ideas and plans.

As a result during year 2007 we have trained more than 80 start ups all over the Armenia out of which about 20 get financial support from the private banks trough the Governments start ups guarantees program.

During the SME DNC Support to the Introduction of Innovations, New Technologies and Products in SME’s Project we have allocated innovative projects in different sector, geographical location as well as maturity stage all over the Armenia. During the project about 60 ideas and projects have been analyzed out of which about 15 passed to the stage of strategic planning and implementation.  Within completely raw ideas we have elaborated projects which were result of the research and development of existing SME’s operations.

The main goal of the Techno Park Development Project was marketing research for “Andron Techno-park” CJSC and its participant’s SMEs products internal and external markets and supporting of these products promotion in the market. Tasks are included:

• Researches of techno Park and its participant’s SMEs activity sphere and production for drawing a detailed plan of accomplishing VGM Partners tasks in product promotion.
• On basis of collected information accomplishing marketing research of product internal and external markets and supposed potential partners and sales channels revelation.

Another example of our public policy development work is the assignment ordered by USAID Medi Project and Ministry of Trade and Economic Development of RA which was Preparation of Access to Finance of Armenian SME’s Policy Paper. We have researched, analyzed, and made recommendations for improving access to financial resources for small and medium enterprises of Armenia that the Ministry, along with other information, needed to evaluate the effectiveness of SME development policy and strategy in Armenia. Along with the research of primary sources and best practices focus grouping methodology used to implement of SWOT analysis of SME’s access to finance practices. Consequently, policy development strategies where formulated which served as a part of the national SME development strategy.

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Development Expertise
- agricultural sector
- financial sector
- public administration and finance
- urban and infrastructure development
- transport sector
- social, pensions and labor relations
- SME and regional development

Private Sector Expertise
- successful private sector assignments