Sustainable Mekong Research Network

Major roads and other infrastructure projects were being planned and built; bilateral and multilateral economic and trade agreements were being made, and there was a vigorous debate going on about the future of the Mekong Region.

Many development agencies expressed concerns and called for an integrated approach that would incorporate a greater diversity of views and perspectives into regional planning and policy.

[3] SUMERNET was established to help meet that need by supporting and promoting the use of scientific evidence in policy-making, with the overarching goal of contributing to sustainable development in the Mekong Region.

SUMERNET also emphasizes collaboration, networking and knowledge-sharing, connecting partners in different countries through our projects and events, and works to strengthen research capacity across the region.

Phase I established SUMERNET as a genuinely independent regionally owned platform and has a "voice" in a way that other comparable networks do not, which are often seen to be activist and essentially foreign-driven and discounted in influence as a result.

Sumernet Phase I also had positive impacts for its partners (both individuals and their institutions) in terms of capacity-building through both training and conduct of research and also through the promotion of cross-border linkages.

Besides the mentoring, SUMERNET supported several workshops to enhance their capacity to generate outputs specifically intended for the academic and specific-interest audience, such as journal articles and book chapters, and working papers.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, SUMERNET could continue to implement its work programme, which is a credit to its dedicated regional constituents and all network members and supporters.