Azerbaijan - SEDA

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The Socio Economic Development Activity (SEDA, which means voice or echo in Azerbaijani) is designed to increase citizen participation in governance to address regional socio-economic development needs. SEDA addresses the dual challenge of lagging development in regions outside of Baku and lack of opportunity for citizens to engage with their government on issues that affect their lives. The project will establish participatory mechanisms through which key stakeholders can identify and prioritize their social and economic needs at the regional and community levels. It will also help to address those needs through SEDA-funded small infrastructure and citizen participation projects. SEDA will further encourage the GOAJ to institutionalize these participatory mechanisms in the process by which Government of Azerbaijani allocates National budget for regional infrastructure needs. SEDA builds on the experience of USAID/Azerbaijan�s Community Development Activity (CDA, 2005-2009) and Civil Society Project (2005 -2010).SEDA activities will be carried out in three components. Under component 1, SEDA will establish new or revitalize existing Community Development Committees (CDCs). The CDCs will be responsible for identifying community revitalization activities to be funded by SEDA�s small grants component, prioritizing the activities, overseeing implementation and ensuring that ongoing maintenance and operation is effectively undertaken. Component 2 focuses on building the capacity of civil society organizations engaged in socio-economic development activities. SEDA will engage with local and regional Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to create district-level platforms for dialogue between civil society and government officials to discuss the regional socio-economic needs and opportunities. SEDA will also support advocacy campaigns that promote socio-economic issues/concerns identified as priorities by CDCs, cluster committees, and regional-level dialogue platforms operating in the regions. Component 3 will strengthen the capacity of the GOAJ to engage with stakeholders on key socio-economic development issues. The primary goal of component 3 is to encourage the government to institutionalize participatory mechanisms for citizen feedback into governmental planning.

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