Mid-Term Review of Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business 2015

The Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business was set up in July 2013 as a joint initiative of the Institute for Human Rights and Business and DIHR.

Over the past two years, the The Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business, with the financial support of a multi-country donor group, has established itself as an authoritative centre of expertise in Myanmar on the wider field of responsible business, working across a range of commercial sectors, and establishing a network of contacts across business, government and civil society.

The objectives of the review were to:

• Assess whether the MCRB’s strategic objectives and thematic areas continue to be relevant in the current context;
• Assess the results and achievements of the MCRB’s work so far in order to establish what progress it has made towards the stated objectives of the programme;
• Identify lessons learned and recommendations to strengthen the MCRB’s future strategy, operation and pursuit of intended impact over the remainder of the programme cycle and its programme extension;
• Provide recommendations on strengthening the MCRB’s local ownership and long-term sustainability.

The report begins with a summary of the MCRB’s mandate, theory of change and resources. It then examines the Myanmar political and social context, both in order to explain the environment within which the Centre works, and in order to assess the extent to which its original mandate is still valid. The final two sections review the Centre’s core activities and its impact on key stakeholders, concluding with a set of recommendations on future challenges.