.a_wrap {font-size:14px; font-family:Nanum Gothic, Sans-serif, Arial; line-height:20px;} Abstract Public libraries improve the quality of life in communities and are centers that offer financial and social benefits for community development. This study aims to describe how people perceive public libraries and how the characteristics of libraries and the people in a community influence library use. Data is collected from purposive samples of thirteen librarians, eighteen users and twenty-seven non-users in Mandalay through in-depth interviews and participant observation at libraries. The information that different types of users need is determined by their respective personal profiles. The majority of non-users rely on the Internet, newspapers, radio and TV to fulfill their information needs. These resources provide fast and easy access to rich data sources. Whereas library users seek information from both libraries and the resources listed above, they seek information from printed books more frequently than the Internet or social media because data from printed books is more reliable than data online sources. However, there is a group of non-users who are unwilling to seek information from any of these sources. The study finds that those users and non-users who are elderly, female, married and middle-aged workers have the greatest difficult in accessing libraries compared to others. In addition, people have difficulty accessing libraries because they struggle to make a living and do not read as a hobby. The study also finds that library use correlates with the location of the library and how well-known it is. Library activities and the presence of Wi-Fi attract more people. Moreover, technology and entertainment have a high impact on the use of libraries. Finally, users perceive they gain social, financial, physical, mental and cognitive benefits by using libraries at the individual , community and country levels.  Key words: Public library, Information needs, Use of library, Impacts, Mandalay, Library use   Author Yone Kyi Yar was founded by university students and active youth in Mandalay on 22nd July, 2011. At first, its main activities were weekly book clubs, group discussion and topic presentations. At the end of 2013, members of Yone Kyi Yar decided to take another step forward. Then, Yone Kyi Yar rent a building and founded a free public library and training center in Mandalay to serve the community better. Then it also expanded new activities such as intellectual talks and capacity building trainings.    

.a_wrap {font-size:14px; font-family:Nanum Gothic, Sans-serif, Arial; line-height:20px;} Introduction With the National League for Democracy’s (NLD) landslide victory in the 2015 general election, the expectations of the people have increased greatly. It is obvious that, in comparison with other regional countries, the overall political and living conditions of the Burmese people were explicitly left behind for over 60 years due to the rule of the military-backed dictatorship. Since the country’s 2010 transition to democracy, the desire and passion of the citizens to develop and catch up to international trends has only grown, reaching a peak around time of the NLD’s election triumph in 2015.    The strong will of the people to achieve higher national development and make progress in raising the country’s socioeconomic status was observed in the case of the reform of the Public Transportation System initiated by the Yangon Regional government in early 2016. People were largely dissatisfied with the performance of the old system (Ma Hta Tha), and their desperation for something better allowed them to be swept away by the spreading news of the impending Yangon Bus System at that time.    However, since its introduction, the newly established (YBS) system has revealed some of innate structural weaknesses, especially in terms of the bus schedules and route maps. In spite of that, people were quite willing to endure these initial hardships as they remembered the struggles of the previous system held out hope that the reform had the potential to improve the situation. Yangon School of Political Science (YSPS) conducted a public opinion poll on the recently established Yangon Bus System. And we were able to come with the optimism of its users and willingness to contributing to proceeding further reform measures such as national development and cities development by the users and the people.   Author The Yangon School of Political Science(YSPS) is an academic institution which will be delivering knowledge to transform Burma into Free, Just and Tolerant society with informed, liberated and empowered citizenry. YSPS is a leading front in liberal philosophical movement and research, as part of the global movement towards the same end.    

.a_wrap {font-size:14px; font-family:Nanum Gothic, Sans-serif, Arial; line-height:20px;} Introduction Myanmar is now in democratic transition. Historically, women's participation in politics is weak in Myanmar. Since independence, a limited number of women have taken decision-making and leading roles. Military dominance in politics explains why Myanmar's politics are so heavily dominated by men. Gender stereotypes are culturally deeply embedded. The majority of the population, including women themselves, accepts these culturally dictated gender roles. According to the 2014 Myanmar census, women are over 51% of the population in Myanmar and over 52% of people who can work are women. However, about 50% of women in that group are unemployed. As a training and research institute, Sandhi Governance Institute aims to understand the realities of women in the community, such as the current economic and social situations of young women, the relationships between education levels and social standards as well as economic opportunities in different areas of the country. In other words, Sandhi is exploring issues and opportunities for the empowerment of young women (between the ages of 18 to 35) who are potential leaders both in the political and the development sectors of the country. Thus, research on issues and opportunities for young women's empowerment was conducted by the training participants of Sandhi's women's leadership training for young women (from 18 to 35 years old) program. These participants come from political parties and civil society organizations and through this research they sought to understand how things are going with young women in their places of origin. In assessing the current situation, participants also looked for ways the young women in these communities can be empowered effectively, either by themselves or by local and international organizations as well as the government. This empowerment will contribute to the economic development of Myanmar in the country's transition to democracy. It is expected that this report, which reviews the findings on the current situations of young women in Myanmar and offers recommendations for how to empower them, can be instrumental for policy makers as well as international and local organizations that are interested in providing effective and substantive support to empower young women in Myanmar.   Author Sandhi Governance Institute was founded by two public policy graduates in 2007 and it was registered as private consultancy firm in 2008. Since that time, it has been conducting various development, governance, public policy and political trainings. In addition, it also carries out research on youth and employment opportunities, political parties and civil society.    

.a_wrap {font-size:14px; font-family:Nanum Gothic, Sans-serif, Arial; line-height:20px;} Introduction Over the past eight years, three shifts in Myanmar’s democratic transition have taken place: (1) from unitary to federal (2) from centralization to decentralization and (3) from centralized local governance to decentralized local governance in extant. After 2010, Myanmar became a guided democracy with a quasi-civilian government that combines military and elected persons at every level of administration accordance with the Constitution. The presidential decree made in 2012 can also be recognized as the initial step of local democracy, governance and services. In other words, it can be claimed that local elections and weak decentralization created few spaces for citizens in local level governance. As a consequence, some local governance bodies give some spaces to allow citizen participation in local democracy and services.  However, local democracy in a federal democracy context remains to be clearly articulated because the government, ethnic armed organizations, and the military do not have a general consensus in the building of the state. Federalism and democracy are becoming a serious concern of the people of Myanmar in the ongoing transition process. The new thinking in local governance in federal system emphasizes the division of power between federal and state governments. A proposition to recognize the Federal government and full competence of State governments is expected to be forthcoming in the future. The study of local government in federal systems (third layer government) will be essential to the study as a part of state building. This article primarily intends to understand the nature of true self-local government. In addition, it offers a comparison of local governments and examines how local self-governance has been practiced in federal states through case studies. For those who are willing to pursue the transformation to democracy and a federal system, this paper aims to contribute knowledge of the concept of local self-government in a federal system, what kind of functions and power local governments have, how they emerged the need to maintain intergovernmental relations between states, and how they lead to long lasting democracy across the world. In addition, considering local self-governance in a federal context will certainly be helpful to the future of the country.   Table of Contents This paper is organized in four parts as follows: 1. Understanding Local Self-government 2. Local Governments in Federal Systems 3. Analyzing the Structure of the Current Administration System 4. The Local Government Model Envisioned by Myanmar’s Ethnic Minority Groups   Author The Salween Institute blends objective analysis and hands-on community empowerment programs to frame policy debate and help shape public policy in Burma/Myanmar based on social justice, environmental responsibilities and ethnic right to self-determination.    

Introduction   Over the last two years EAI has been working with civil society organizations in Myanmar as a part of the “Strengthening Civil Society in Myanmar” program, which builds off of the previous “Building Civil Society Capacity in Myanmar through Budget Monitoring” project. As part of this program, seven Myanmar partner organizations, Sandhi Governance Institute, the Open Myanmar Initiative, the Yangon School of Political Science, Yone Kyi Yar Knowledge Propagation Society, Salween Institute for Public Policy, Another Development, and Naushawng Development Institute, conducted research on current policy issues in Myanmar. Each organization focused on a different aspect of government policy and investigated the current status and potential changes that could be made to improve the nation’s governance.   Sandhi Governance Institute researched the changes in budget execution in the Myanmar national legislature before and after the new administration. The Open Myanmar Initiative focused on the role of committees in the assessment of the government budget. The Yangon School of Political Science explored the policy and administration of constituent development funds in the Yangon region. Yone Kyi Yar looked at the tender process for construction projects in Mandalay. Salween Institute for Public Policy examined the implementation and impact of the Yangon City Development Committee’s new policy on street vending. Another Development assessed the impact of community-based tourism initiatives in the areas of Myaing and Thandaunggyi, and Naushawng Development Institute studied national education policy regarding Kachin students who live in areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Organization. All of these reports are valuable as they represent one of the first steps in revealing the current state of governance in Myanmar and will assist civil society and other stakeholders in improving governance and creating good policy.   Quotes from the Paper   “Nevertheless, compared to Myanmar’s previous governments, budget execution has improved greatly… According to the township officers, people are using social media sites such as Facebook to reveal corruption among government officials and staff. Naturally, this habit helps to reduce corrupt behavior. The township officers interviewed also feel that accountability and transparency are important to improving the credibility of the government.”- Sandhi Governance Institute   “Regarding the committee system, OMI finds that a link between the budget assessment teams and the existing house committees, which run throughout the entire year, is lacking. As a result, there seems to be a lack of scrutiny regarding the government’s implementation of the budget by different ministries. This lack of scrutiny or oversight places the role of the existing committee system into question.” – Open Myanmar Initiative   “Although Myanmar’s CDF Law and Procedure tries to shield against corruption and the misuse of the CDF by MPs and Committee Members, it should also include more detailed provisions for forming committees and outlining the responsibilities of those committees and of committee members.” – Yangon School of Political Science   “…certain private firms are prohibited access to information about procurement, many civil servants are unqualified or lack knowledge about the process, public offices lack computers, payment systems are burdensome and outdated, and so on. At the same time, there is a rising demand from the public for the government to deliver effective healthcare, education and infrastructure services. Public sector reform has become crucial for the NLD. However, Myanmar lacks systemic knowledge or research that can guide effective reform.” – Yone Kyi Yar   “A majority of street vendors surveyed stated that the YCDC also needs to review its relocation plan because some street vendors are getting more space by giving bribes to the authorities. As a result, there is a lack of equality among street vendors who are working in the new places and sometimes it leads to quarrelling and arguing among street vendors.” – Salween Institute for Public Policy   “The CBT initiatives of Myaing and Thandaunggyi are seen to be in line with almost all of the CBT principles set by ASEAN, but neither of the initiatives seems to be paying much attention to linking their existing CBT developments to the local and regional economic growth. The degree to which national and local governments work together to create an ideal niche for Myanmar in supporting the growth of tourism and in particular its value chain could be strengthened.”- Another Development   “Despite their importance, health and education issues have not been part of the discussion during the peace process. More progress has to be made regarding education and health in order to raise these issues in the peace process and political dialogue…. Otherwise, many Kachin students, especially those from KIO-controlled areas, will continue to face difficulties joining schools in government-controlled areas, losing their dreams as they are left behind.” –Naushawng Development Institute         Authors Various personnel from Sandhi Governance Institute, the Open Myanmar Initiative, the Yangon School of Political Science, Yone Kyi Yar Knowledge Propagation Society, Salween Institute for Public Policy, Another Development, and Naushawng Development Institute contributed to the research and writing of each report. Professor Jae Hyeok Shin (Korea University), Dr. Kaustuv Kanti Bandyopadhyay of Participatory Research in Asia (India), Dr. Thawilwadee Bureekul of King Prajadhipok’s Institute (Thailand), Dr. Tobias Basuki of Center for Strategic and International Studies (Indonesia), Ms. Maxine Tanya Hamada of INCITEgov (Philippines), Mr. Ryan Evangelista of the Center for International Private Enterprise (Philippines), and Dr. Alexander Dukalskis of University College Dublin all provided input and feedback on the reports. EAI provided support in the form of typesetting and proofreading for the production of the reports.      

EAI Special Report_ The First Step towardParticipatory Budgeting in Myanmar    Introduction   Over the last two years EAI has been working with civil society organizations in Myanmar as a part of the “Building Civil Society Capacity in Myanmar Through Budget Monitoring” program. As part of this program, four Myanmar partner organizations, the Open Myanmar Initiative, Renaissance Institute, Sandhi Governance Institute, and the Yangon School of Political Science, conducted research on the budget process in Myanmar. Each organization focused on a different stage of the budget cycle and looked at different levels of government. The Open Myanmar Initiative investigated the budget approval process in the Myanmar national legislature. The Renaissance Institute focused on the budget planning process at the national level to see how budget proposals make their way to the legislature. Sandhi Governance Institute studied how budgets were implemented at the local government level. And the Yangon School of Political Science researched how the budget process in the Education Ministry worked in the course of building new schools. All of these reports are valuable as they represent one of the first steps in revealing how budgeting is being done by the Myanmar government and will assist civil society in illuminating this process to encourage good governance in the country.   Quotes from the Report   "Although revenue has been increasing in recent years, at the same time, expenditures are also increasing. The problems causing low budget credibility is the lack of transparency in tax collection and allocation and spending of expenditures. And then the government is also very tightly controlling the budget which means that the general public doesn’t know anything about the budget." - Renaissance Institute   "The NLD government should make the allocated budget of all states and regional divisions accessible to all. If possible, the allocated budget format should be comprehensive and easy to understand." -Sandhi Governance Institute   "The parliament should open up the committee hearings to the public and set up the committee system that requires each select committee to hear the relevant ministry’s assessment of budget proposals. Holding public hearings would increase the transparency of the parliament and strengthen its role in government oversight." -Open Myanmar Initiative   "All of the projects were initiated by government departments. There were no discussion with citizens to propose a project and no room for them." -Yangon School of Political Science         Authors Various personnel from the Open Myanmar Initiative, Renaissance Institute, Sandhi Governance Institute, and the Yangon School of Political Science contributed to the research and writing of each report. Professor Jae Hyeok Shin (Korea University) served as the head of the research team and reviewed all the reports to offer his suggestions on ways to improve the methodology and writing. EAI provided support in the form of typesetting and proofreading for the production of the reports.  

.a_wrap {font-size:14px; font-family:Nanum Gothic, Sans-serif, Arial; line-height:20px;} Introduction Over the past eight years, three shifts in Myanmar’s democratic transition have taken place: (1) from unitary to federal (2) from centralization to decentralization and (3) from centralized local governance to decentralized local governance in extant. After 2010, Myanmar became a guided democracy with a quasi-civilian government that combines military and elected persons at every level of administration accordance with the Constitution. The presidential decree made in 2012 can also be recognized as the initial step of local democracy, governance and services. In other words, it can be claimed that local elections and weak decentralization created few spaces for citizens in local level governance. As a consequence, some local governance bodies give some spaces to allow citizen participation in local democracy and services.  However, local democracy in a federal democracy context remains to be clearly articulated because the government, ethnic armed organizations, and the military do not have a general consensus in the building of the state. Federalism and democracy are becoming a serious concern of the people of Myanmar in the ongoing transition process. The new thinking in local governance in federal system emphasizes the division of power between federal and state governments. A proposition to recognize the Federal government and full competence of State governments is expected to be forthcoming in the future. The study of local government in federal systems (third layer government) will be essential to the study as a part of state building. This article primarily intends to understand the nature of true self-local government. In addition, it offers a comparison of local governments and examines how local self-governance has been practiced in federal states through case studies. For those who are willing to pursue the transformation to democracy and a federal system, this paper aims to contribute knowledge of the concept of local self-government in a federal system, what kind of functions and power local governments have, how they emerged the need to maintain intergovernmental relations between states, and how they lead to long lasting democracy across the world. In addition, considering local self-governance in a federal context will certainly be helpful to the future of the country.   Table of Contents This paper is organized in four parts as follows: 1. Understanding Local Self-government 2. Local Governments in Federal Systems 3. Analyzing the Structure of the Current Administration System 4. The Local Government Model Envisioned by Myanmar’s Ethnic Minority Groups   Author The Salween Institute blends objective analysis and hands-on community empowerment programs to frame policy debate and help shape public policy in Burma/Myanmar based on social justice, environmental responsibilities and ethnic right to self-determination.    

.a_wrap {font-size:14px; font-family:Nanum Gothic, Sans-serif, Arial; line-height:20px;} Introduction Myanmar is now in democratic transition. Historically, women's participation in politics is weak in Myanmar. Since independence, a limited number of women have taken decision-making and leading roles. Military dominance in politics explains why Myanmar's politics are so heavily dominated by men. Gender stereotypes are culturally deeply embedded. The majority of the population, including women themselves, accepts these culturally dictated gender roles. According to the 2014 Myanmar census, women are over 51% of the population in Myanmar and over 52% of people who can work are women. However, about 50% of women in that group are unemployed. As a training and research institute, Sandhi Governance Institute aims to understand the realities of women in the community, such as the current economic and social situations of young women, the relationships between education levels and social standards as well as economic opportunities in different areas of the country. In other words, Sandhi is exploring issues and opportunities for the empowerment of young women (between the ages of 18 to 35) who are potential leaders both in the political and the development sectors of the country. Thus, research on issues and opportunities for young women's empowerment was conducted by the training participants of Sandhi's women's leadership training for young women (from 18 to 35 years old) program. These participants come from political parties and civil society organizations and through this research they sought to understand how things are going with young women in their places of origin. In assessing the current situation, participants also looked for ways the young women in these communities can be empowered effectively, either by themselves or by local and international organizations as well as the government. This empowerment will contribute to the economic development of Myanmar in the country's transition to democracy. It is expected that this report, which reviews the findings on the current situations of young women in Myanmar and offers recommendations for how to empower them, can be instrumental for policy makers as well as international and local organizations that are interested in providing effective and substantive support to empower young women in Myanmar.   Author Sandhi Governance Institute was founded by two public policy graduates in 2007 and it was registered as private consultancy firm in 2008. Since that time, it has been conducting various development, governance, public policy and political trainings. In addition, it also carries out research on youth and employment opportunities, political parties and civil society.