History of RTCCD

RTCCD was established in May 1996. The strategic idea for the development of the organization first came from Dr. Tran Tuan and was then supported by four social scientists. They were Dr. Nguyen Trong Bao (director of the Center for Support of Social Development Programs-SUSODEP and director of RTCCD 1996-98), Mr. Le Quoc Hung (currently the chairman of the Community Development Group and vice director of RTCCD 1996-present), Dr. Vu The Long (former senior researcher of the Institute of Archaeology and vice director of RTCCD 1996-98) and Mr. Hoang Quang Viet (currently vice general director of the Hoa Phat enterprise and vice director of RTCCD 1996-2004). During the first two years after establishment, RTCCD operated under the legal guardianship of SUSODEP. In September 1998, RTCCD was officially recognized as an independent research institution for community development in Vietnam, following the issuing of Decision No. 677/TC-LHH on 25 September 1998 by the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations and of Decision No. A340 on 25 January 1999 by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment Vietnam.

On 05 April 2007, RTCCD’s proposal for the opening the RTCCD regional office in Hue was approved by VUSTA (Decision No.484/QD-LHH, 05/04/2007). Dr Huong Thi Minh Tran, RTCCD vice director was nominated to be responsible for running the RTCCD regional office.

From May 2007, RTCCD has two offices and one clinic:

1. Main office: Research and Training Centre for Community Development
No 39 - Lane 255 - Vong Street - Dong Tam - Hai Ba Trung - Ha Noi
2. TUNA Clinic
No 26 - Lane 259/5 - Vong Street - Dong Tam - Hai Ba Trung - Ha Noi
3. RTCCD regional office
No 184/14 Phan Chu Trinh Street, Hue city

In the comming years, RTCCD plans to open more offices in Ho Chi Minh city and possibly in Laos or Cambodia.

Mission of RTCCD

The mission of RTCCD focuses on community-oriented development through training and research. Our organization considers the goal of community development to be the improvement over time in the conditions or situation of a community - including the social, material, spiritual and environmental domains. We see the community development process as one that should engage the whole community to identify its needs and participate in a range of processes which lead to improvements that are recognizable and desirable to the community at large. It should be a sustainable, open and accountable process that helps the community achieve a more satisfactory, stable and prosperous situation.

Implementation Strategy

To achieve the mission, we ensure that our staff have a good understanding and comprehension of community research methodology, that they collaborate with local people in communities in accurately assessing the situation and recognizing the true needs for community development, they identify and promote the local resources and strengths, suggest feasible solutions and assist the community to build up their own action plan in response to their identified needs and expectations. RTCCD gives priority to poor and vulnerable communities and to areas that have been disadvantaged by the aftermath of war, geographical location, material wealth or lack of human resources.

We are convinced that in the process of development, every local person needs a chance to voice their ideas and concerns in each local plan and they need to be offered opportunities to participate in such a plan in accordance with their skills and capacities. Therefore, our intervention projects are designed as models of intervention research. Aside from the expectation of maximizing benefits to villagers, we always uphold a responsibility to scientifically analyze lessons learned from projects and draw from this evidence that can be used for policy advocacy towards equity, democracy and environmental sustainability.

Organisation Development Indicators

Our long term goal is that RTCCD become a leading institution for high quality research, training and community intervention projects in Vietnam. To assess the progress of the organization’s development toward this aim a number of key indicators have been identified including 1) the number of papers published in international peer-reviewed journals, 2) the number of papers published in national journals and newspapers, 3) the number of attendances and presentations at workshops or conferences, and 4) the number of international collaborators working toward poverty reduction, social equity, democracy and environmental sustainability.

RTCCD logo

The overall design of our logo is a globe formed from the letters “C” and “D” resting on an up-side-down trapezium containing the letters “RTCCD” - Research and Training Centre for Community Development. The colours are blue, expressing peace, and red, representing both development itself and our enthusiasm for community development. “CD” stands for Community Development. The globe-shaped symbol represents completeness – the ultimate realization of strong overall development. The globe also expresses the international network for development and its unified goals. The upside-down trapezium with the letters RTCCD inside reminds us of a boat which overcomes great waves on the ocean of time to achieve its goals for community development.