The Consultative Institute for Socio-Economic Development of Rural and Mountainous Areas (CISDOMA) is a Science and Technology organization supporting sustainable development in rural and mountainous areas, established under Decision No. 25/QD-TW dated May 22, 2000, by the President of the Scientific Research Association of Southeast Asia – Vietnam (SEARAV). Through consulting and cooperation in implementing sustainable development projects across various sectors, CISDOMA’s activities are aimed at:

• Enhancing capacity, increasing income, and improving the quality of life for disadvantaged groups, especially ethnic minorities, women and girls, poor farmers, and other vulnerable groups;

• Strengthening the capacity of local organizations in planning and implementing poverty reduction programs, especially in rural and mountainous areas of Vietnam;

• Providing grassroots information and feedback to contribute to the process of formulating and deploying sustainable socio-economic development policies and strategies.

Since its establishment, CISDOMA has implemented numerous grassroots intervention projects, as well as research and surveys on topics related to women’s rights, grassroots democracy, sustainable agriculture, climate change and adaptive livelihoods, value chains, and capacity building for ethnic minority communities. CISDOMA is a founding member of the Civil Society Network for Food Security and Poverty Reduction (CIFPEN), and an active member of several networks at both regional and national levels, including the ASEAN Ecological Agriculture Alliance (ALiSEA), the Land Alliance (LANDA), the Land and Forest Alliance, the Agriculture Alliance… The Institute has also actively participated in various policy forums related to rural development issues.

Currently, CISDOMA is providing consulting services, research, evaluation, and implementation of development projects on the following topics:

• Climate change and climate change adaptation solutions;

• Sustainable livelihoods and market access for small farmers;

• Sustainable natural resource governance and land governance;

• Rights-based approach, women’s rights, and participatory approaches in development;

• Project proposal development, Project cycle management, and Evaluation of development projects and programs.