Close coordination with governments, the private sector, other international donors and development agencies saves time and money, avoids costly duplication and unsuccessful approaches, minimizes transaction costs for partner countries and is critical to the success of MCC compacts. Highlights of coordination during the Mongolia Compact are:
- In a demonstration of ownership over the compact activities, the Government of Mongolia committed to funding the recurrent costs of the NCDI program and screening and disease management activities for low-income people. The government also contributed additional funding to the Energy and Environment Project subsidy program.
- The Ministry of Economic Development and the Cabinet Secretariat committed to replicating MCA-Mongolia’s project management strategies—program logic based on economic rates of return, projects that uphold international environmental and social standards, and diligent monitoring and evaluation.
- MCC’s Environmental and Social Assessment unit worked closely with the government to develop and implement Hazardous Materials and Waste Management Guidelines, which resulted in the proper handling, transportation, storage, and disposal of asbestos, lead-based paint and other hazardous wastes during the rehabilitation of project sites. Due in large part to the exposure MCA-Mongolia gave to the issue, in 2010 the government banned the use of asbestos in construction materials.
- In the North-South Road Project, MCC and MCA-Mongolia used the Asian Development Bank’s designs and environmental management plans for the 176-kilometer Choir-Sainshand Road, which enabled MCA-Mongolia to pick up an ambitious construction project with a limited timeframe remaining in the compact.
- The World Health Organization helped MCA-Mongolia produce technical guidelines for the Health Project and assisted with the technical training of staff involved in the project’s screening activity. In the Health Project, Merck and Axios International were key private sector partners in the delivery of human papillomavirus vaccines. Merck covered the cost of the donated vaccines for the program in Mongolia, while all operational costs of implementation of the pilot program were covered by the project.
- The Property Rights Project made use of the results of the Asian Development Bank’s Cadastral Survey and Land Registration Project and built upon previous efforts by the United Nations Development Program and the World Bank.
- In 2010 and 2011, MCC signed an interagency agreement with the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for technical support for stove testing and selection—as well as monitoring and evaluation—for the Energy and Environment Project. At the end of 2012, the Government of Mongolia officially became a partner in the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, an initiative that was launched by the State Department in 2010.