.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;} 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;} Executive Summary This research focuses on the use of unregistered cars in Myitkyina, Kachin State. From 2001, the military government artificially supported the domestic car industry. However, this did not last long, and the monopoly on vehicle import licenses led to a boom in the black market. Short supply and high demand meant that the secondhand car market in Myanmar was one of the most expensive in the world. This paper will explore the situation and the reasons for the increased use of unregistered private cars. Significantly, the import trend started in 2011 with the liberalization of car import procedures. Although the use of private cars in Kachin State has increased enormously, the amount of tax revenue remains stagnant because of an increase in unregistered vehicles . This rise led to the State Parliament agreeing to a proposal in 2016 to offer registration to unregistered car owners, but this could not be implemented because of the limited legislative power at the state level. A registered car costs five times more than an unregistered one, and at least four unregistered cars are driven to Myitkyina every day. The number of people who bought an unregistered car in 2017 is the highest of any year so far, and the briefly imposed travel restrictions on unregistered vehicles are no longer being implemented. The unreasonable cost of registering a vehicle is forcing people to choose affordability over the risk that the car could be taken away, but the huge number of illegally imported cars deprive the Union of vital tax revenue. According to the 2015 Motor Vehicle Law, the term “motor vehicle” refers to a vehicle with wheels using mechanical or electrical power or any other energy to move. Thus, it includes all kinds of vehicles such as motor cycles, motor cars and other vehicles. This research, however, will only focus on cars: using an unregistered car is against the relatively recent Motor Vehicle Law that was passed in 2015.   Author Naushawng Development Institute (NDI) is an independent, non-profit education and development organization founded on April 9th2009 by Kachin scholars committed to strengthening democracy and community development in northern Myanmar. NDI contributes to democratic transition, peace building and sustainable development in Myanmar through training; education; advocacy; research and policy development analysis, as well as networking.    

.a_wrap {font-size:14px; font-family:Nanum Gothic, Sans-serif, Arial; line-height:20px;} Introduction Members of Parliament (MPs) have three major responsibilities, including the responsibility to represent their constituencies. This means MPs are responsible for helping and protecting the people who voted for them in accordance with the existing law and their authority. As representatives, MPs have to present the people’s needs and difficulties to the government. This task can be effectively carried out through actions such as approving laws required for the country and monitoring the government instead of the people. Therefore, MPs need to strengthen their activities on their representative duty. MPs also need support and assistance to be effective representatives. Moreover, there is also need to upgrade the capacities of MPs as well as their support staff. In order for MPs to be effective representatives, it is necessary for them to improve their level of knowledge on topics such as understanding the existing political situation through the voters, the role of Parliament and representatives, and citizen rights and responsibilities. By increasing their own awareness on these topics, citizens can also collaborate with MPs, evaluate and criticize the performance of Members of Parliament and the government, monitor the government through MPs and participate and contribute to the legislation process. Only if those needs, between members of Parliaments, can be fulfilled, transparency, accountability, responsibility and collaboration can be strengthened. Only if those representative duties are carried out effectively, regional development can be progressed more and more.   Author The Open Myanmar Initiative (OMI) is a nonprofit organization promoting the right to information and education. The OMI is the first ever independent political think-tank in Myanmar. OMI tries to play an important role to formulate policy studies and recommendations on various political issues and provide them to policy makers, political parties, civil society organizations and general population through various delivery systems, including publishing, using social media networks, providing trainings and public talks, organizing seminars and conferences, as well as direct engagement with Members of Parliament and the Government Ministers.    

.a_wrap {font-size:14px; font-family:Nanum Gothic, Sans-serif, Arial; line-height:20px;} Executive Summary The provision of safe and reliable water supply is important to all urban dwellers. Actually, urban water supply systems aim to be a safe and reliable water supply for all urban residents. But the municipal water supply with improved public hygiene is still inadequate even in the major cities of Yangon and Mandalay. This research aims to explore the challenges facing the current water supply in Yangon, particularly at the township level. It will also identify the factors that hinder the sustainable supply of water at the township level.   Quotes from the Paper Background of the Study Access to clean and safe water remains a pressing issue since Yangon is undergoing rapid economic growth which is likely to result in fast-paced urbanization. These two factors combined are expected to further stress the water supply system and its alternatives. The same could also exasperate differences in services among areas in the same townships. Yangon City comprises 33 townships. Insein, one of the townships, was selected for this study partly because of its relatively higher urban population compared to other townships. Statement of the Research Problem Access to clean and safe water is an urgent issue in Yangon. Little research has been done on the subject, especially at the township level. This study aims to provide in-depth information on the case of Insein Township with the hope of coming up with actions and strategies that can be implemented to provide sustainable access and/or supply for residents in this area as well as Yangon City in general. Research Questions This study aims to answer the following questions.       a)   What are the current water supply challenges in Insein Township?       b)   What are the factors that hinder the sustainable supply of water in the township?       c)   What are some of the strategies and actions that can be implemented in both the short and long-term to improve access to clean and safe water in Insein Township and Yangon City in general?   Author Another Development (AD) is a local Myanmar think-tank and a non-profit organization. The motto of the organization is “DIGNITY, PROSPERITY and COOPERATION” and the programs we anticipate rolling out in the coming five years reflect these principles. There are five themes that AD is focusing on: Human Rights, Multiculturalism, Decentralization and Federalism, Rural Economic Development and Social Enterprises, and E-government and E-citizen. AD was set up to be part of the solution to the problems and conflicts prevailing in Myanmar by advocating effective public policy change.    

.a_wrap {font-size:14px; font-family:Nanum Gothic, Sans-serif, Arial; line-height:20px;} Editor's Note The EAI has provided ongoing research and institutional assistance to the strengthening of Myanmar civil society organizations since 2015 with the support of National Endowment for Democracy (NED). In 2019, Myanmar partner organizations established Myanmar Democracy Research Network (MDRN) and conducted a joint public opinion survey on Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC)’s public services. This series of reports is compiled as a part of the “Strengthening Civil Society Organizations in Myanmar Year Three” program. As the first paper of the series, EAI and Hankook Research published “Overview of the 2019 MDRN Survey: Citizen Perceptions of YCDC Public Services”. When a society moves towards democracy, one of the most important areas that the government tries to improve is the role of local governance and the quality of public services. Myanmar, through democratic transitions, also witnesses the rise of interest in public policy and of new civil society organizations that aim to provide innovative policies to address various social problems. In order to assess the satisfaction of Yangon’s citizens with the services provided by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC), Myanmar Democracy Research Network (MDRN) conducted a joint public opinion survey in April 2019. This paper introduces the background of the 2019 MDRN Survey and how it was designed.     Introduction Myanmar is moving towards democracy. Starting with the adoption of a new Constitution in 2008 that allowed a transition from military to civilian rule, a long-awaited general election was held in 2015, resulting in the National League for Democracy (NLD), the pro-democratic party, coming to power. Throughout this transition, Myanmar has witnessed the rise of new civil society organizations. Democratization efforts are supported by independent think tanks with researchers who are committed to providing innovative policies to address various social problems. With the support of the East Asia Institute (EAI), the Myanmar Democracy Research Network (MDRN) was launched to conduct joint research related to democratic governance and public policy. The network consists of seven civil society organizations in Myanmar, including Sandhi Governance Institute, the Yangon School of Political Science, the Open Myanmar Initiative, Yone Kyi Yar Knowledge Propagation Society, the Naushawng Development Institute, the Salween Institute for Public Policy, and Another Development. As the first joint research project, in April 2019, the MDRN conducted a joint public opinion survey of Yangon citizens to ask how they perceive the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC)’s public services. Among the fourteen duties and responsibilities of YCDC, MDRN chose to focus on seven topics: taxes, the waste management system, the water distribution system and water usage, stray dogs, access to public parks, streets and street lights, and markets. Through this research, the MDRN assessed the satisfaction of Yangon’s citizens with the services provided by the YCDC and provided policy suggestions based on the results of their survey. This introduction explains the background of this research and how it was designed.   Table of Contents This paper is organized in five parts as follows: 1. Introduction 2. The Importance of the role of Local Governance and Quality of Public Services 3. YCDC and Public Opinion Surveys 4. The Duties and Responsibilities of the YCDC 5. The 2019 MDRN Survey and its Research Design   Author Hanwool Jeong is a Senior Research Fellow and Research Designer at Hankook Research in South Korea. He received his Ph.D in political science from Korea University, and was the executive director at the Center for Public Opinion Research at EAI. His recent publications include “The Corruption Scandal and Vote Switching in South Korea’s 19th Presidential Election” (2019) and “Generation as Group Identity and its Political Effect” (2018). Chun Seok Kim worked for 20 years in the Public Opinion Research Department at Hankook Research Company in South Korea. He has particularly focused his studies on Deliberative Polling (DP) in Korea. Currently, he is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Central Public Opinion Review Committee and Director of the Korean Research Association. He completed B.A. and M.A. in Journalism at Korea University and Public Administration at Sungkyunkwan University. Younghyun Lee is a research associate and project manager at EAI. She is currently managing the program “Strengthening Civil Society Organizations in Myanmar.” She received her B.A. in French Literature and International Studies and M.A. in Political Science from Korea University.  

.a_wrap {font-size:14px; font-family:Nanum Gothic, Sans-serif, Arial; line-height:20px;} Editor's Note The EAI has provided ongoing research and institutional assistance to the strengthening of Myanmar civil society organizations since 2015 with the support of National Endowment for Democracy (NED). In 2019, Myanmar partner organizations established Myanmar Democracy Research Network (MDRN) and conducted a joint public opinion survey on Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC)’s public services. This series of reports is compiled as a part of the “Strengthening Civil Society Organizations in Myanmar Year Three” program. As the second paper of the series, Naushawng Development Institute (NDI) published “Municipal Solid Waste Management”. As more people live in urban areas and the income level increases, higher amounts of daily waste leads waste management as one of the biggest challenges for Yangon City. NDI, by using the result of the 2019 MDRN Survey, assesses public awareness of municipal solid waste management and examines public perspectives on the quality and performance of municipal solid waste services. The authors argue that there is ample room for YCDC to improve its waste management system and give six policy recommendations.     Introduction Solid waste may be defined as “useless, unused, unwanted, or discarded material available in solid form.” Semisolid food wastes and municipal sludge may also be included in municipal solid waste. However, in Myanmar waste management means the management of waste from all human and animals activities which is normally useless or unwanted (MDRN, 2015). Today, solid waste is a major problem facing many societies (Singh, Gupta, and Chaudhary, 2014). In Yangon city, normally, residents produce 1,690 tons by day (TPD) of municipal waste is generated from the households, commercial centres, institutions, and industries, with a rate of 0.396kg per capita per day. Since the municipality does not collect this waste separately, but instead carries all waste from households, institutions, and industry together on the same truck, the waste has not been separated. Although some households, institutions, and commercial enterprises separate their waste, all waste is finally mixed on the collection trucks, and disposed together in final dumping sites. (MDRN, 2015).  Yangon City is situated in the Yangon Region and is the largest city in Myanmar. There are forty-six townships in the Yangon Region and thirty-three townships in Yangon City proper. The population of Yangon City totals 5.2 million (5,209,541), representing 70.8% of the entire population in the Yangon Region. According to the 2014 Myanmar population and housing census, the population density of the Yangon Region was 716 people per square kilometer. The population density of the Yangon Region increased from 310 persons per square kilometer in 1973 to 387 persons per square kilometer in 1983, and again to 716 persons per square kilometer in 2014 (UNFPA, 2015). As urban population growth and increased income levels have generated higher amounts of daily waste, waste management is becoming one of the biggest challenges for Yangon City. According to the World Population Review, the population of Yangon went from half a million in 1941 to over one million less than ten years later, an increase of 160%. It is expected to reach 5.3 million in 2020 and 5.9 million in 2025 with an annual population growth rate of 22.3% (World Population Review, 2019). In 2016, a study done by UN Habitat and the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC) showed that the total waste generation was 2,069 metric tons per day and is expected to increase further. Estimates predict that the daily waste generation in Yangon will reach 3,906 metric tons per day in 2026 and 7,444 metric tons in 2036 (YCDC, 2018). Thus, the YCDC Department of Pollution Control and Cleansing plays a crucial role in planning and managing suitable waste collection and disposal systems in its taxed townships and wards. The aims of this public opinion research survey are: To assess public awareness of municipal solid waste management To understand public perspectives on the quality and performance of municipal solid waste services To explore public expectations of the YCDC with regard to solid waste management system To recommend strategies and identify areas for improvement   Table of Contents This paper is organized in nine parts as follows: 1. Introduction 2.  Overall Assessment of Yangon City’s Cleanliness 3. Public Practices on and Awareness of Waste Disposal 4. Waste Disposal in Public Areas 5. Quality and Performance of YCDC’s Solid Waste Management 6. Common Problems in Daily Waste Disposal 7. Public Expectations of YCDC Services 8. Public Suggestions on Improving YCDC Services 9. Conclusion and Recommendations   Author Naushawng Development Institute (NDI) is an independent, non-profit education and development organization founded on April 9th2009 by Kachin scholars committed to strengthening democracy and community development in northern Myanmar. NDI contributes to democratic transition, peace building and sustainable development in Myanmar through training; education; advocacy; research and policy development analysis, as well as networking.  

.a_wrap {font-size:14px; font-family:Nanum Gothic, Sans-serif, Arial; line-height:20px;} Editor's Note The EAI has provided ongoing research and institutional assistance to the strengthening of Myanmar civil society organizations since 2015 with the support of National Endowment for Democracy (NED). In 2019, Myanmar partner organizations established Myanmar Democracy Research Network (MDRN) and conducted a joint public opinion survey on Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC)’s public services. This series of reports is compiled as a part of the “Strengthening Civil Society Organizations in Myanmar Year Three” program. As the third paper of the series, Another Development (AD) published “Parks in Yangon: Accessible Public Parks for All”. AD, by using the result of the 2019 MDRN Survey, assesses accessibility of public parks in Yangon and provide policy suggestions to ensure that parks are accessible to everyone. The authors stress that an overarching strategy should be developed to increase parklands.     Introduction Public parks play a key role in the quality of urban communities, with benefits affecting climate impact regulation, branding, economic development, tourism, and the character and culture of a city. Not only do parks improve a city, they also are associated with an individual’s wellbeing— physically, socially, emotionally, and mentally. The prevalence of public parks has been growing in cities all around the world. In Yangon City, public parks were included in city planning during the colonial era; however, as the city’s population and industry grew, public parks were disregarded. Yangon’s public parks have become targets for a number of economic activities, with land converted for infrastructure and commercial purposes. The area allocated for parks in Yangon City has been reduced, and the parks have become more difficult to access due to economic challenges.  In this paper, the term “parks” is used to refer to public parks in Yangon City under the administration of the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). The paper aims to analyze the accessibility of public parks based on the data available. Through a literature review, we found that a number of papers used network or spatial analysis to examine park accessibility. However, this paper uses a subjective approach on time and GIS technology limitation. The term “accessibility” refers to the distribution of public parks and how they are accessible to urban residents.    Table of Contents This paper is organized in nine parts as follows: 1. Introduction 2. Context 3. Perceptions of the Conditions and Management of Parks 4. Resident Use of Parks 5. Conclusion 6. Policy Implications   Author Another Development (AD) is a local Myanmar think-tank and a non-profit organization. The motto of the organization is “DIGNITY, PROSPERITY and COOPERATION” and the programs we anticipate rolling out in the coming five years reflect these principles. There are five themes that AD is focusing on: Human Rights, Multiculturalism, Decentralization and Federalism, Rural Economic Development and Social Enterprises, and E-government and E-citizen. AD was set up to be part of the solution to the problems and conflicts prevailing in Myanmar by advocating effective public policy change.