Stefanie: Zolzaya, you’ve worked for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Office (SDC) in Mongolia for many years. Why did you decide to join us? 

Zolzaya: Before joining SDC, I worked for the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) as a project manager for development programmes that supported decentralisation, strengthening local self-governance, and civil service reform in Mongolia for more than 15 years.

I joined SDC because, at that time, SDC had just started planning its decentralisation and governance programme and planned to start projects for greater decentralisation and democratisation to create a more equitable use of public resources and better public services for all. Based on my experience in managing SIDA projects on local governance and improving service delivery through one-stop shops, SDC was well-placed to support more comprehensive decentralisation efforts, as requested by the Mongolian authorities.

In addition, Switzerland was and still is considered to be a development partner with a clear profile and a strong bilateral portfolio in sectors of great relevance to Mongolia. Swiss cooperation was recognised for its strong field presence and explicit poverty focus, geographically and thematically. Moreover, SDC was respected as a bilateral lead donor with a hands-on approach in important sectors in Mongolia, such as livestock, artisanal mining, and potato farming.

Stefanie: Thank you very much for your positive feedback about SDC. Indeed, in particular, the strong field presence is like SDC’s “brand”, which you can see in nearly every country where SDC is present. May I ask you to share which areas or aspects of your work are the most inspiring?

Zolzaya: Since I joined SDC, designing new development projects, empowering government partners, and attracting other development partners to joint efforts to support Mongolia have been the most inspiring part of my work. For example, I was proud to be part of facilitation of the start of cooperation with GIZ and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to improve energy efficiency in Mongolia’s public buildings, such as schools, dormitories, kindergartes and hospitals. As a result of successful cooperation, the BMZ has committed to continue and upscale the work we’ve started.

In recent years, in addition to managing development interventions in the area of governance and decentralisation, building a platform for dialogue between the institutions of Switzerland and Mongolia is the most inspiring. At SDC, we are proud to see the fruitful cooperation between the Parliamentary Secretariats of Mongolia and Switzerland and cooperation between the Parliament of Mongolia and the International Parliamentary Union. These are just a few examples of many successful partnerships established between Mongolia and other Swiss and international organisations.

Stefanie: Today, you are a real expert in decentralisation and good governance. We are very happy you’re part of our team, bringing in your expertise every day. After all these years of working in the development arena, what do you think are the most important factors for successful development cooperation?

Zolzaya: First, I would like to emphasise the importance of strong government commitment and ownership. Over the past decades, co-funding by the Government of Mongolia was a clear indication of its commitment and ownership. In addition, the support should be focused on supporting systemic issues of greater relevance for Mongolia. We mobilised top international technical assistance for most of the governance projects to ensure successful cooperation. Ensuring close cooperation with external partners, bilateral and multilateral agencies, and the private sector, where possible, was key in our cooperation with the government. At SDC, we also prioritised capacity building, which compliments policy and implementation support.

Stefanie: And where do you see the challenges?

Zolzaya: I appreciate the challenges, which are given in the monitoring of a governance portfolio which at some point consisted of more than 10 projects implemented by multinational, bilateral, government, and non-government partners. The capacity to ensure results-based reporting should not exclude adopting effective and efficient monitoring and evaluation practices, which is important for transparency and mutual accountability.

I’m also responsible for the quality assurance of SDC’s programme implementation and work to ensure overall project cycle management and results from implementing partners. Among other tasks, I follow up on project planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting in close coordination with SDC management.

I also find it challenging to ensure the quality of the capacity-building programs. If not all, then most governance projects have had capacity-building activities. I believe only a healthy organisation can be a learning organisation, but we all know how much effort it takes for an institution or organisation to become a learning organisation.

Stefanie: All thanks go to you! It was very inspiring to have this interview with you!