Call for Participation: Partnerships for Syunik – Enhanced Community-Based Social Services (Armenia)

Deadline: 29-May-23

People in Need is selecting 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 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, they 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. They 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.

Whom they are looking for?

• 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.

Eligibility Criteria

• 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.
• They are looking for you!

Selection Process

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)

For more information, visit People in Need.