Armenia Civil Society in Action

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SUBJECT:                            Request for Information and Sources Sought Notification DOCUMENT NUMBER:     72011121RFI00003, Armenia Civil Society in Action ISSUANCE DATE:              June 23, 2021 CLOSING DATE:                July 13, 2021 CLOSING TIME:                 17:00pm, Yerevan Time Armenia Civil Society in Action - Sources Sought Notification The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) and Sources Sought Notification (SSN) is to conduct market research for USAID/Armenia and collect written information about the capabilities of local organizations currently working in Armenia. USAID/Armenia is performing this market survey to determine if an adequate number of local organizations are interested in and capable of implementing a planned civil society capacity building activity. All interested parties are invited to submit a capability statement that describes the organization’s competency and expertise in working with Armenian civil society organizations, especially in advocacy, capacity building and policy input, and subgranting. The capability statement should be no more than three (3) pages and shall be written in English. Local Entity means an individual, a corporation, a nonprofit organization, or another body of persons that - (1) is legally organized under the laws of Armenia; (2) has as its principal place of business or operations in Armenia; (3) is majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Armenian; and (4) managed by a governing body the majority of who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Armenia receiving assistance from USAID. For purposes of this section, “majority-owned’ and “-managed by” include, without limitation, beneficiary interests and the power, either directly or indirectly, whether exercised or exercisable, to control the election, appointment, or tenure of the organization's managers or a majority of the organization's governing body by any means. Problem Statement and major Issues Armenia’s civil society has the second-best sustainability score in Eurasia according to the Civil Society Organization (CSO) Sustainability Index and is considered to be consolidated and fairly well-developed. Nevertheless, the sector significantly lags in financial sustainability, jeopardizing its achievements in all other dimensions of sustainability. For the last few years, USAID/Armenia has supported CSOs to strengthen their organizational, advocacy, and policy input capacity with the aim of assisting them in building a more engaged, prosperous and well-governed Armenian society. As a result, CSOs improved their organizational capacity, honed advocacy skills, proactively engaged in constructive dialogue with the government and contributed to an improved legislative environment for the sector. Continuing this support will promote the financial viability of the civil society sector and help CSOs reduce their reliance on foreign donor funding for their operations. According to the CSO Sustainability Index, Armenian CSOs’ organizational capacities have improved in recent years. For example, CSOs have improved their internal management and strategic planning, have put in place internal rules and regulations, and now better recognize their development needs. Regardless of steady progress, there is still a need and demand for organizational development, particularly in the areas of establishing organizational structures with reliable and strong systems and communications. The low level of communications capacity remains one of the critical gaps in CSO capacity, as it limits closer linkages with their constituents, and hinders their ability to proactively increase their visibility and raise public awareness of their activities, which can prevent and counter smear information campaigns. Civil society organizations’ participation in the policy process also needs to expand, as the new political environment brings both opportunities and challenges. There is a continuing need for CSOs to strengthen their advocacy skills for effective participation in the policy process through formal channels. In recent years, some organizations have established successful cooperation with the government through constructive dialogue and engagement into policy work; however, there is a further need to increase civil society organizations’ capacity to translate identified needs into well-formulated and data-driven actionable policy recommendations. In the current context, CSOs have a unique opportunity not only to demonstrate more responsibility, proactiveness, ownership, and active engagement in the process of bringing a positive change in this challenging time for Armenia, but also to engage in constructive and evidence-based dialogue with the government and contribute to policy development and implementation in the country. The COVID-19 pandemic and the post-conflict situation in the country call for more engagement, including in reconciliation and consensus building. To harness the strength of Armenia’s CSOs and continue to strengthen the sector’s sustainability, the new Civil Society in Action activity will focus on building the sector’s financial viability, organizational capacity, and ability to engage in a more effective public policy dialogue with the government. The activity will enhance the resiliency of CSOs, making them less vulnerable to restrictions in their operating environment. Theory of Change: IF financial sustainability of the CSOs is improved, organizational capacity is enhanced, and constructive/evidence-based dialogue on public policy is enhanced, THEN civil society’s sustainability will be enhanced. The activity goal and objectives: The activity goal will be achieved through the following three objectives and expected results. Objective 1: Financial viability improved: ER1.1: Legal-regulatory reform/improvements for financial sustainability pursued. ER 1.2: Capacity to fundraise and diversify funding sources enhanced. ER:1.3: Financial management systems strengthened. Objective 2: Organizational capacity enhanced (with a focus on community-based organizations) ER 2.1: Governance and management systems and practices strengthened. ER 2.2: Constituent linkages/engagement strengthened. ER 2.3: Communication with all stakeholders improved. Objective 3: Dialogue on public policy enhanced. ER 3.1: Formal mechanisms for advocacy and policy dialogue with stakeholders strengthened and institutionalized. ER 3.2: Ability to engage in unbiased and evidence-based (with no hidden agenda, evidence based) policy discourse improved. Funding level The available funding for this new Armenia Civil Society in Action activity is in the range of $4-$6 million. Submission Information Submit written capability statement information to this Source Sought via e-mail to: nsarkisian@usaid.gov and yerevanaidaao@usaid.gov no later than July 13, 2021, 17:00pm, Yerevan Time.

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