The “NGO Center” Civil Society Development NGO (NGOC) received funding from the United Nation’s Development Programme to provide Operational Support to Civil Society Anti-Corruption Group in the city of Abovyan, Kotaik marz.
The NGOC, as a local partner organization within UNDP’s “Provision of Operational Support to Civil Society Anti-Corruption Groups” Programme will:

• Organize training on Anti-corruption Participatory Monitoring Methodology (APMM) in education sectors for the established Civil Society Anti-corruption community groups:

• Hold regular meetings of the CSA group;

• Arrange meetings of the CSA group with local self-governance bodies and the marzpetaran officials.

The NGOC, as outlined in the TOR, will facilitate the process of collecting the monitoring tools for submission to APMM Task Force and will provide necessary logistical support to the CSA group as required and on an as needed basis.

Given that promoting civil society participation in combating corruption is one of the NGOC’s strategic objectives, this particular endeavor is an excellent opportunity to further strengthen NGOC staff’s expertise in the subject matter to be more effective in the forthcoming initiatives to be undertaken to fight corruption.

Research/Publication Project

Private For-Profit Sector Involvement in Institutionalization of Social Partnership in Armenia

The goal of the  project is to promote philanthropy as a critical factor to prosperity of civil society in Armenia. 
The objectives are:

1. To study the practice of philanthropy within the private for-profit sector in Armenia

2. To advocate for social partnership mechanisms within the private for-profit sector in Armenia

The proposed strategies to meet the objectives are:

• Individual meetings with selected for-profit sector representatives

• Research through interviews

• Analysis of the collected information; publication of summary results

• Dissemination of results and findings among stakeholders

Expected Outcomes

The anticipated direct outcomes of the proposed intervention are:

• Objective information on practice of philanthropy within the private for-profit sector is revealed, analyzed and  disseminated.

• Social partnership mechanisms are introduced to local businesses as a mechanism for philanthropy

The following are the project impact areas:

1. Access to information on practice of philanthropy in the business sector of Armenia;

2. Comprehension of social partnership as a mechanism for philanthropy in Armenia;

3. Progress in institutionalization of social partnership between NGO, government and the business sector in Armenia.

Intended Audience

The direct intended audience of the proposed project is:

• Business organizations;

• Professional associations, i.e. merchants unions, associations of producers, association of banks, other service providing businesses.

The project is also directed towards:

• Relevant government structures (ministries, local self-governing bodies, tax authorities, etc.);

• NGOs, especially those involved in charity, social and healthcare service delivery.

Media is also considered as an intended audience for the proposed project as is an important vehicle for education.

Mechanisms for Dissemination

The results and findings of the research will be widely disseminated among the above-mentioned intended audience as well as public at large.

• To all the participants of the research;
• ll relevant government structures;
• Local self-governing bodies;
• nternational, foreign organizations.

E-mail circulation will be another mechanism to disseminate the information produced by the completion of the project. The NGOC’s mailing list has over 1000 subscribers.

The information will be posted on Internet for general access. A multi-sectoral event with media participation will be organized to disseminate the information through print and broadcast media.

The research results will hold no name of participant organizations and individuals.

Summary

ollaboration Through this research proposal, the NGO Center expresses its genuine interest to study:

• The institutional comprehension of philanthropy among for-profits;
• Charity goals;
• Accepted mechanisms of charity practiced by them;
• Main recipients of their gifts and other associated issues.

The proposed effort will reveal answers to the following questions:

• What philanthropists in the business sector give?

• Why?

• How?

The proposed effort will reveal answers to the following questions:

 

Empowerment For Partnership and Results is a capacity building training program aimed at strengthening project and financial management skills of 18 local NGOs involved in NGOC’s Social Partnership and Community Empowerment grants programs as well as their partners: representatives of local self-governance structures, local businesses, other NGOs. About 90 participants benefited from the program.
The training module includes the following topics:
Social Partnership (SP): SP as a means of betterment of public life and resource mobilization; The role of NGOs in civil society; The role of self-governance in civil society; SP as a vehicle in addressing needs of diverse social groups and resource mobilization on a local level.
Project Management: Phases of project management; Systems of project management; Logical Framework.
Financial Management: The primary regulations governing grant financial management; Record keeping required for grant financial management; The submitted reports and their contents; The NGO’s risk if grant financial administration procedures are not followed.
Training incorporates lectures, discussions, practicum on logical framework and action plan development, oral presentations, trainer and peer feedback, training course evaluation. Participants get handouts per delivered topic.
The program is supported by the Academy for Educational Development with funds provided by USAID.

 

This is a joint program implemented by UNFPA, UNDP, UNAIDS, UNICEF, ROA Ministry of Health, Armenian National AIDS Foundation and Armenian Assembly of America’s NGO Training and Resource Center.

The programme will strengthen the capacity of the government at all, and especially at the regional and local levels:

• To ensure coordination of the HIV/AIDS related programmes and activities by the respective governmental institutions;
• To enhance the effectiveness of institutional response to HIV/AIDS epidemic;
• To ensure respect for and protection of human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and their integration into their communities without discrimination and stigmatization;
• To improve operational capacity of the Country Coordination of Commission of HIV/AIDS Prevention in the ROA through provision of technical and secretarial support;
• To build the capacity of NGOs to mainstream HIV/AIDS into their projects and activities, particularly among poor and socially disadvantaged groups of population.

The programme will target urban and rural communities in those regions which are economically depressed and have high rates of poverty, unemployment, migration and therefore face greater risk of HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Expected outcomes are improved capacity of the Government and civil society to design and implement effective, participatory, and well-coordinated HIV/AIDS polices and programmes at the national, regional, and community levels.

 

Expected outputs are:

1. Improved knowledge and skills of officials and technical staff of the line ministries, district community authorities in Yerevan, 10 governor offices and 100 communities in the regions of Armenia to integrate HIV/AIDS activities into community development plans and to implement the activities that are rights-based, participatory, and promote access to HIV/AIDS information and services;
   
   

2. Improved knowledge and skills of selected NGOs working in the areas of community development, human rights, gender, education, health, and social services to mainstream HIV/AIDS into their projects and to participate in design and implementation of community-based HIV/AIDS activities;
   
   

3. Improved capacity of the Country Coordination Commission on HIV/AIDS  Prevention in the Republic of Armenia to effectively coordinate and oversee the implementation of the National Programme on HIV/AIDS Prevention in Armenia.

 

 

Since summer 2000, the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) has initiated the Caucasus Network Initiative Program, the goal of which is to enhance peace and stability in the Caucasus.

The following program components have been elaborated and implemented:

Information Exchange and Awareness Raising (Multifunctional Info-Terminal) serving as a link for Caucasus NGOs and ensuring dissemination of information about the activities of the third sector. One of the most important constituents of the Info-Terminal is the www.cringo.net website for long distance information exchange and learning among Caucasian NGOs.

Early Warning, Early Response System (EWERS) assisting Caucasus region civil society in a coordinated exchange of information and early detection of destructive tendencies in the region, which would provide the opportunity for early recognition of tension and conflict factors, thus making it possible to early respond to them;

International conference entitled The Role of NGOs from Refuge to Durable Solutions in the Caucasus, held in March 2001 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The goal of the conference was to create grounds for successful integration and development of the NGO Network in the Caucasus. The conference brought together representatives of international organizations, governments of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Russian Federation and local NGOs. The main themes presented at the conference were: Conflicts Prevention and Settlement; Humanitarian Aid; NGOs and the State: Dialogue and Interrelations; Code of Conduct of National NGOs; Information Strategy; DRC Project on Development of Caucasus NGO Network;

Small grants program, both at national and regional levels, directed at qualitative     enhancement of cooperation between Caucasus NGOs, increasing of information flow about refugee/IDP conditions in the region The Small grants program priorities were: Refugees’ and IDPs’ Direct Problem Solution; Awareness Raising; Training; Peacebuilding; Research; Self-Reliance; Confidence Building. To see details on funded and ongoing projects, click here.

Caucasus NGO Network on Refugees and IDPs (CRINGO Network), created in December 2001 to further strengthen cooperation and collaboration between regional NGOs through establishment of a regional network uniting NGOs from the Northern Caucasus and Transcaucasus. Uniting over 60 refugee and IDP assisting NGOs from South and North Caucasus, CRINGO aims at supporting displaced population and promote peace and stability in the Caucasus.
CRINGO strives to assist displaced populations of Caucasus in the best way.

CRINGO aims to:

Provide assistance in legal and social issues to refugees, IDPs and persons with an equated status and to elaborate durable solutions for these people;


Secure early warning and early response to emergency situations in the region
Improve the quality of cooperation between Caucasian NGOs on their work with refugees, IDPs and persons with an equated status;


Build the capacity of Caucasian NGOs on their work with refugees, IDPs and persons with an equated status;


Ensure transparent information exchange between Caucasian NGOs on their work with refugees, IDPs and persons with an equated status.

CRINGO does...

Direct assistance - Cross-border joint projects:


All CRINGO Network members are committed to implement a broad number of projects, which directly address specific needs of the displaced population in the Caucasus region.


Members have organised summer camps for Georgian and Ossetian children, training of trainers in working in tent school in Ingushetia, roundtables for border police and IDPs in the border areas of Dagestan and Chechnya – just to mention a few projects.


Advocacy and Public Awareness – Project Actions or Joint Network Actions


All CRINGO Network members seek to organize roundtables, campaigns, situation analyses, seminars etc. to influence decision-makers at local and national levels to pay attention to the issues of the displaced populations.


Members conduct a Joint Network Action once a year on the World Refugee Day. Information exchange - Resource sharing and building.

All CRINGO Network members are committed to learning from each other and recognize that partnership can be fruitful only if the best practices are brought to the community.

The Caucasus NGO Networking Initiative Program is primarily funded by the Neighbor Assistance Bureau - NAB (former FRESTA - Peace and Stability Secretariat of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and partially by the European Council Humanitarian Office (ECHO).

The NGOC is the Armenia focal point for the DRC program.

 

 

In September 2000, the Armenian Assembly of America’s NGO Training and Resource Center (NGOC), through USAID Cooperative Agreement, started the implementation of the “Armenia NGO Development Program In Support of USAID’s Social Transition Reform and Earthquake Zone Programs.” The program focuses on the needs of domestic Armenian NGOs working in the areas of social and primary healthcare service and information provision, as well as on supporting community initiatives in the regions affected by the 1988 earthquake. 

Given the goal of the program – to achieve increased citizen participation in the alleviation of the adverse social impact of transition throughout Armenia – the AAA NGOC has been striving not only to develop and strengthen the capacity of social service NGOs, but also advance civic participation in decision-making through support of social-policy oriented initiatives by NGOs, encourage cooperation among NGOs, between NGOs and other stakeholders, improve the legal/regulatory environment for social service delivery by NGOs and community empowerment.

Thus the AAA NGOC strives to:

• Strengthen and increase the organizational and institutional capacity of Yerevan and region-based NGOs towards quality service provision and more effective implementation of their missions;

• Further promote the profile of NGOs among Armenian Government, media, for-profit sector, foreign, international, and intergovernmental organizations, the Diaspora and public at large;

• Promote the establishment of social partnership among NGOs and other stakeholders on local and national levels, for more effective resource mobilization to meet the needs of Armenian communities.