Crisis Response and Recovery in Communities of Armenia. SMALL GRANTS SCHEME
Since beginning of 2020 the global community faces the spread of coronavirus, which affected almost all countries resulting in global pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic actualized for Armenia in March, with growing number of affected people. The country announced emergency situation in March 2020 and announced a lockdown, which was lifted in July. Slowing down during summer months, in autumn the pandemic rose again with the second wave, bringing the daily record of new cases up to more than 2000, with the total number of affected cases reaching 121,979.
In parallel, since September 27, 2020, in the context of military hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, the country faces another emergency – spontaneous arrival of around 90,000 people[1] from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. Altogether, the double crises create complexities for the Armenian communities and bring urgent need for strengthening the safety, stability and resilience in the affected communities.
To tackle this massive need for support to communities and local governments, UNDP is initiating Small Grants initiative inseveral thematic areas, which will enable civil society organizations, women and youth activists and civic groups to contribute to the community measures towards crisis response and recovery. It invites applications for small-scale community initiatives, which will support the local governments and community residents in time of crises. Innovative ideas and solutions are especially welcomed.
THEMATIC DIRECTIONS
Applications are invited in response to the following thematic directions:
- Raising public awareness at local level (within the community) on COVID-19 aspects
The COVID-19 situation so far points to the fact that the efforts of the local self-government in the communities are not enough in terms of the information dissemination and clear instructions on preventive measures, preventive and prohibited actions, proper isolation of infected people and persons in direct communication with them, etc. The applications in this area shall propose new, creative, and practical information dissemination mechanisms and tools, or those successfully tested and applied in other communities. It can include new approaches on the prevention of coronavirus spread, how to behave when symptoms are revealed, the movement and communication during the pandemics, the safety rules at work, rapid dissemination of reliable information in the community, etc. The involvement of the narrow specialists in the teams - such as doctors, junior medical staff, lawyers, communication and other specialists - is an asset.
Social responsibility, mobilization of possible human, technical and intellectual resources in the communities become of paramount especially in times of emergency. Within this topic, it is encouraged to promote a comprehensive community thinking and solutions, workable in critical times, with engagement of different sectors (local government, business companies, civic activists, media). Applications may (among other) consider the necessary steps, initiatives and solutions that: are workable in the given community and will stimulate social norms based on respect towards and responsibility for health and wellbeing of other people; innovative and behavioural approaches for ensuring safety and care, responsibility and mutual support.
- Formation of rapid response including self-help groups in the communities
It can be explored how local human, technical and other resources can effectively be mobilized or organized, and fundraising campaigns initiated (e.g. crowdfunding, etc.) Application can also target at: mapping of the vulnerable groups in the communities; distributing the provided and planned support; planning and monitoring of relating processes; smart engagement of volunteer force in the communities.
- Increasing community sustainability in response to the pandemics and disasters
Application can dwell on the necessary steps to prevent the further spread of coronavirus or other pandemics, which can be co-designed between the residents and the local self-governments; how the communities can become more sustainable and ready to fight against pandemics and natural disasters with the support of initiative groups and considering the so far lessons learnt from the pandemic; what adaptable mechanisms can be employed to help the local self-governments and the communities respond rapidly to the similar situations with the minimum loss of resources.
- Providing livelihood opportunities for local communities
- The concept of livelihood strategy is regarded as one of the central aspects of the
- development policies, practices and programs, not only in India, but in other countries of the
- world as well. Adequate and secure livelihoods are regarded as a concern to the well-being of
- rural individuals (Chapter 3, n.d.). Livelihood is a set of economic activities, involving self-
- employment and or wage employment by making use of one’s endowments, which can be
- human and material. The use of human and material resources is primarily made use of to
- generate adequate resources, which can be either cash or non-cash. These resources are made
- use of by the rural individuals to sustain their livelihoods in an enhanced manner.
- Government of India has rendered a significant contribution in promoting livelihoods
- opportunities among rural individuals.
- The concept of livelihood strategy is regarded as one of the central aspects of the
- development policies, practices and programs, not only in India, but in other countries of the
- world as well. Adequate and secure livelihoods are regarded as a concern to the well-being of
- rural individuals (Chapter 3, n.d.). Livelihood is a set of economic activities, involving self-
- employment and or wage employment by making use of one’s endowments, which can be
- human and material. The use of human and material resources is primarily made use of to
- generate adequate resources, which can be either cash or non-cash
Livelihood opportunities refer to the concern of community members’ well-being. Livelihood is a set of socio-economic activities involving (among other) training and re-training for better employability; self-employment and entrepreneurship promotion. The use of human and material resources is primarily aimed at generation of adequate resources, which can be either cash or non-cash. These resources are made use by community members to sustain their livelihoods in an enhanced manner. Exemplary end results of a livelihood grant may include but not limited to: (i) new jobs created (temporary employment for spontaneous arrivals)[2], (ii) business expansion/production increase by N%; (iii) improved collective/group effort yielding into reduced costs of production/processing, input supplies, storage, as well as improved marketing and increased sales.
6. Strengthening community social cohesion
The concept of livelihood strategy is regarded as one of the central aspects of the
development policies, practices and programs, not only in India, but in other countries of the
world as well. Adequate and secure livelihoods are regarded as a concern to the well-being of
rural individuals (Chapter 3, n.d.). Livelihood is a set of economic activities, involving self-
employment and or wage employment by making use of one’s endowments, which can be
human and material. The use of human and material resources is primarily made use of to
generate adequate resources, which can be either cash or non-cash
The intervention aims at mitigating collusion of interests of various groups through enabling community schemes for constructive dialogues among interest groups, specifically emphasizing on transforming community behaviours with spontaneous arrival of people from Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh. This may relate to expectations of spontaneously arrived people on conditions of their hosting and community acceptance, which not necessarily can be objectively and fully met by the host communities. The social change sought by the intervention may include increased constructive dialogue among different (age, gender, professional profile, etc.) groups of spontaneously arrived people and locals, developing a shared vision (temporary) for their hosting period. Modalities may include but not limited to joint actions to target local needs, advocacy and thematic events, forum theatre, debate clubs, public and “open space” discussions, etc.
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Within all the suggested thematic areas:
- The cooperation with the local self-governments is a pre-condition.
- Development and application of innovative, optimal and fast-track approaches and tools are encouraged, in line with the situation and local community context.
- Consideration of local specifics, age and gender differences of the beneficiary communities and groups would be an asset.
- Combination of any above thematic topics can also be considered.
The following report from recent assessments can serves as source for ideas and solutions:
EXPECTED RESULTS and SUSTAINABILITY
The present Small Grants Scheme aims at results which will ensure support and mobilization sustainable models in the communities, ready solutions for increased resilience in the communities and their preparedness to quickly address emergency and crises.
ELIGIBILITY
- Non-Governmental Organizations
- Civic groups, community-based organizations, youth and women initiative groups
- Individuals from the communities of Armenia; women and youth are encouraged to apply
DURATION and BUDGET
Planned duration of the project: up to 3 months
The project budget should not exceed:
- 5 000 000 AMD for registered organizations
- 750,000 AMD for individuals and non-registered civic/initiative/community-based groups
HOW TO APPLY
The applications shall be submitted online. Please, complete the respective form via the following link shorturl.at/hvHWZ
The Project Budget and Gantt chart templates can be downloaded here shorturl.at/invO2
APPLICATION DEADLINE: 29 November 2020
The pre-selected project submitters will be notified by 3 December 2020.
UNDP may request additional documentation or clarifying information for final decision.
The start and the end dates will be mentioned in the grant agreement according to each project peculiarities.
For questions please contact the UNDP Armenia team at [email protected].
[2] The grant may contribute up to 500,000 AMD for each newly created job, max 2 jobs