Social Investment & Employment Promotion Project (SIEP)

closed

Overall, the Social Investment and Employment Promotion Project, aims at improving the living conditions of people locked in "pockets" of poverty, persisting in Bulgaria, concentrated regionally, among the long-term unemployed, and specific ethnic minorities. Supported by the policy, and regulatory framework, the project components will: 1) finance basic infrastructure, and service delivery, via two financing windows: a) direct financing of communities, providing the opportunity for community participation in the identification, preparation, and implementation of their own development, in collaboration with government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector. Although communities retain ownership of the process, accountable management is ensured by the Social Investment Fund (SIF); and, b) financing of municipalities, through the pilot Regional Initiatives Fund (RIF), which provides a capable institutional framework, and technical assistance, for financing subprojects, and building the capacity of municipalities, able to work in close collaboration with the Regional Employment Councils; 2) support the Bulgarian Active Labor Market Initiative, by increasing productivity, and providing assistance to the unemployed, and economically disadvantaged individuals, extending the use of their human capital, but responsive to changing economic, and labor market conditions. A series of qualitative surveys will replicate labor market information, and active labor market services will provide business assistance, employment services, and local development planning to the unemployed in poor communities; and, 3) provide project management, to support administrative, procurement, and operating costs, as well as administer training and technical assistance.