One of the objectives of the  Vietnam - EU MUTRAP III Project is to improve the capacity of Vietnamese association in trade policy advocacy. To this objective, a sub-project on strengthening capacity of Vietnamese business associations were designed as part of the MUTRAP III.

The sub-project is coordinated by the European Chamber of Commerce (Eurocham) in Vietnam. Economica Vietnam has been entrusted to carry out capacity building activities, especially through training, for Vietnamese business associations under the project. Under the project, an assessment of the training needs of business associations is carried out, training manuals on different topics designed and six training courses are delivered. Training of trainers is also an areas of the sub-project.

The first two training courses on Policy Advocacy and Member Consultation which were held in Ho Chi Minh City on 20 and 21 April and then repeated in Hanoi on 13 and 14 May, 2010 are in a series of 4 four training modules to be delivered until mid 2011. The two training courses targeted leaders and key staff of VCCI Ho Chi Minh, Ho Chi Minh Young Businesspeople Association (YBA), Ho Chi Minh Association of Handraft and Wood (HAWA), Lefaso, VASEP, HASMEA – the eight official partners of Eurocham under the MUTRAP project. Other business associations which also benefited from the courses included the Vietnam Retailer Business Association, Vinacraft, Vinacafe, etc.

The courses were delivered by the trainers of Economica Vietnam and experienced and well known experts in the field of business association development, policy advocacy, e.g. Md. Pham Chi Lan, Mr. Tran Huu Huynh (Vice Secretary General of VCCI), Dr. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Cung (Vice President of CIEM), Ms. Vu Kim Hanh (Director of Business Support Centre in Ho Chi Minh City). Experienced practitioners e.g. Mr. Diep Thanh Kiet (Vice President of Lefaso), Mr. Dau Anh Tuan (VCCI), Mr. Phan Duc Hieu (CIEM), Mr. Pham Chi Cuong (Vietnam Steel Association) etc. also shared their experience and expertise in policy advocacy and in consultation with the business community with participants of the courses.

The course offered both the conceptual knowledge on policy advocacy, and practical knowledge and experience of persons who have been working for long in the field. Organized in an interactive manner, the discussions between participants, the trainers and the speakers were particularly appreciated by participants.

In addition to the training courses, a manual on policy advocacy and member consultation is being developed by Economica Vietnam. Eurocham also expects that the manual which is also published will be an important tool for business associations or other stakeholders to replicate the training or to use it as a reference document in their policy advocacy work.

The next module to be organized under this initiative is on strategy development and management of business associations.