CALL FOR PARTICIPATION

If you are:

• a Syunik-based civil society organization, providing social services – a set of social services provided to families for the purpose of overcoming or mitigating vital difficulties of persons who appeared in hard life situations, satisfactions of their basic needs, integration into society, and also the prevention of difficult life situations (e.g. health care, shelter, livelihood, and employment assistance, initiatives for the welfare and protection of children, women, elderly, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups, humanitarian assistance, etc.), or
• an informal initiative group, private sector representatives, or social movement, interested in providing social services to vulnerable groups in Syunik marz, or
• nation-wide CSO, operating in Syunik marz on the delivery of social services.

and if you are interested in:

• investing your time and energy in the development of social services that serve the needs of vulnerable populations in Syunik marz,
• organizational management and technical capacity development, finding sustainable business models to deliver high-quality, responsive community-based social services;
• accessing funding opportunities to upgrade/improve the existent and/or establish new social services in Syunik communities;
• learning more about opportunities and if further desired, getting support for state accreditation to be qualified for the delivery of community-based social services in line with priorities of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and municipalities;
• taking part in participatory social services planning at the community level (becoming a member of a community-based Council);
• advocating for improved social services provision availability, accessibility, quality, etc., and proposing solutions on both community and national levels.

We are looking for you!

Who are we?

The European Union funded the “Partnerships for Syunik – Enhanced Community-Based Social Services” project, which is implemented by "People in Need" NGO, in partnership with "WINNET Goris" development foundation and "Armenian Caritas" NGO, contributes to the development of a more resilient system of social protection in all 7 communities of Syunik region, supports sustainable financing of community-based social services that better serve the needs of the country’s most vulnerable population, contributing to reducing poverty, inequality, and vulnerability.

Within the framework of the project, aimed at sectoral reforms, we closely cooperate with the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, all 7 municipal governments of the Syunik region, as well as local civil society organizations (CSOs) and active groups. We also work together with consortium partners in several directions, contributing to the provision of quality community-based social services, combining the needs-based capacity development of local CSOs, technical support, and piloting new funding models.

As a result, CSOs and Local Self-Government Bodies will jointly develop sustainable mechanisms for participatory planning and delivery of community-based social services, according to the strategic directions of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

People in Need (PIN)’s strives to strengthen people’s abilities to improve their lives and the communities they live in. It believes that people in need can play an active role in making global development more inclusive and sustainable and our world can be a better place for people suffering from poverty, injustice, or inequality. PIN’s mission is to support people in such efforts and nourish an environment that enables these changes to happen, through empowering people, saving lives and protecting dignity, ensuring equal opportunities, and supporting sustainable living.

"WINNET Goris" development foundation's mission is to support the economic and political empowerment of women in Armenia by establishing and developing women’s resource centers at four levels: community, federal, national, and regional. Its vision is to build a secure, prosperous, and democratic society with equal opportunities for all.

“Armenian Caritas” focuses on social protection and care, community-based development programs to improve living and educational conditions, the public health of the most vulnerable social groups, migration and integration to implement sustainable reintegration measures for returnees and humanitarian and development activities. Since the beginning of its work, “Armenian Caritas” has provided direct assistance to thousands of people in 125 communities of Armenia.

More about whom we are looking for

We aim to select up to 20 social service-providing Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), either Syunik-based or operational in Syunik or Civil Society Actors (CSAs), interested, motivated, and capable of developing quality social services.

The target CSOs will have an opportunity to gain and enhance critical skills that will translate into better-managed organizations that engage with their constituents, can effectively assess local social service needs and resources, engage in policy dialogue and conduct evidence-based advocacy actions. The action will also focus on technical social service delivery, with the “Armenian Caritas” sharing its extensive experience and supporting interested CSOs to receive government accreditation. Such technical skills will have a longer-term impact on CSOs’ ability to be effective voices of citizens, deliver services and contribute to policy development.

Empowering CSOs to be a more effective voice for Syunik’s most vulnerable population and enhancing social services to reduce vulnerability is the core of the action and where the social impact will be the greatest.

The selection of project target organizations would be competitive, and the applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Criteria Score (%)

Commitment to improving the care and quality of delivered social services in the Syunik marz qualifying criterion - yes/no

Understanding of thematic area, local social context, and underlying causes of problems 25

Examples of previous social services provisions or community actions (state, donor, private, public-funded, etc.) 10

Interest and potential in mobilizing community resources (government, USS, municipalities, private sectors, partner CSOs, etc.) to achieve concrete changes and results in social services provision 20

Ability to assess own areas of weakness, analyze the needs, map resources, plan and deliver social services, and motivation to improve and develop their capacities on both organizational and technical levels 20

Readiness to invest time and energy in the development of social services that serve the needs of vulnerable populations in Syunik marz over the next 2-5 years 25

Basic Timeline

• Application due date: 17:00 of May 29, 2023, via e-mail: grantsarmenia@peopleinneed.net

• Information Session: 14:00 of May 10, 2023 via ZOOM:

Topic։ People in Need Armenia_Partnership for Syunik_Call for Participation_Information Session

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83460906404?pwd=dDZHd2t3VSsxelBWVkl6ejBwdGh0dz09

Meeting ID: 834 6090 6404

Passcode: 299264

Offline information sessions will be held in Kapan, Goris, and Sisian communities during May 15-19, 2023. Interested organizations/initiatives/active groups are encouraged to register at: https://shorturl.at/nGHK9

All questions about the call should be addressed in writing to the following address: grantsarmenia@peopleinneed.net by 17:00 on May 26, 2023

• Interviews with preselected candidates: will take place on a rolling basis,

• Announcement of results: six weeks after the deadline,

The selection process would be as followed:

• Kick-off workshop for selected participants,

• Organizational capacity assessment,

• Tailored capacity development workshops,

• Technical capacity development interventions,

• Opportunity to get state accreditation,

• Funding opportunities linked to the project needs (participation in capacity building will be considered as an advantage)

If you want to participate, please fill in the below Application Form!