In the field of Research and Development, Center for Marine life conservation and Community development (MCD) focuses on building, development functions, and implementation of strategies and workplan for research, evaluation, gender mainstreaming activities. These activities aim to ensure the scientific methods are applied and gender considerations are mainstreaming in MCD’s activities.

The main concepts of Research and Development of MCD include:

Promoting to apply advance approach in Research and Assessment

• Coordinate research related to MCD’s work, apply science and technology to support project activities in collaboration with other departments including: technical assessment/survey of coastal resources conservation and management; assessments to develop relevant profiles; analysis of sustainable livelihoods; gender issues; document of case studies, publish scientific articles, etc.
• Synthesize and develop technical documents, manuals, and guides for management and techniques in marine conservation and community development. These documents will be references for MCD staff and used in community training courses;
• Mobilize expert resources (internal and external) including scientists, experts, students and volunteers in MCD’s research;
• Lead mainstreaming of gender equality in MCD’s organisation and activities including technical inputs on gender mainstreaming in MCD’s activities for partners and stakeholders.

Project missions

• Lead the Research and Assessment component in every project. Take part in building projects, implement and document projects’ activities which have Research and Assessment component to ensure supplying scientific base for MCD’s intervention projects in local. Facilitate to approach scientific method (e.g. ERA, PCVA, VA, ESPA, P-SIE, SOCMON, MPA, sustainable livelihood analysis, value chain analysis, etc.) in MCD’s project activities.
• Collecting, updating, monitoring data base for research and evaluation (communities, resources, socio-economic, climate change, disaster risk, gender analysis, and researchers’ documents), priority for MCD’s project areas.
• Lead the dissemination of knowledge, research capacity building, and gender mainstreaming for MCD staffs, local partners, and communities involved in projects.
• Lead the documentation and evaluation the results of projects, provide scientific recommendations for practice improvements and policy implications.
• Building research network between researchers and related individuals, organizations, volunteers aims to mobilize supporting for research, assessment and gender mainstreaming.
• Representative for MCD to take part in national and international workshops, develop scientific network, communication and advocacy supporting.
• Sharing research results in MCD throughout groups discussing, technical groups working

Strengthen and development capacity for MCD staff in research and gender mainstreaming.

• Participate and/or co-ordinate MCD joining in national and international trainings on the contents related to research and gender mainstreaming areas.
• Monitoring and evaluating research capacity of MCD’s staffs, evaluating on gender equality, making recommendation and proposed taking charge of capacity building for MCD’s staff on these contents with the priority on training of method, technical, research, report, knowledge and skills in gender mainstreaming.

The remarkable achievement and main results

Conducting research and studies including fields and themes:

• Sustainable livelihood development
• Coastal resources management
• Response to climate change and gender integration

Achieved results:

• Enhancing ability of MCD staves and partners to foster knowledge and experience, adopting scientific assessment methods (Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, Ecological Risk Assessment – ERA, Assessment of Social and Environmental Standards Ability in Aquaculture)
• Establishing and enhancing scientific research network in Vietnam (academics and universities) and international (WorldFish Center, East Angelia (England), Stockholm University (Sweden))