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On January 27, 2022 “Agri-Tourism Investment Forum” was held in Baku within the framework of the “AgriVision” project jointly implemented by Eurasia Partnership Foundation and “Constitution” Research Foundation with the financial support of the European Union. The strategic goal of the “AgriVision” project is to support rural development by promoting market-driven solutions for creation of additional employment and income. More specifically, the project aims to create and test a sustainable replicable agri / eco-tourism development mechanism that would help rural households in southern regions of Azerbaijan increase their revenue by combining agriculture and tourism into new products and services while intensifying the connection between urban and rural population in Azerbaijan. The project goal is in line with the development goals of the Government of Azerbaijan as regards expanding the non-oil sector and closing the income gap between urban and rural areas. The project is implemented as part of the European Union’s 2015 Annual Action Programme “Integrated Regional Development of Azerbaijan” (IRDA).   Main purpose of the investment forum was to offer a platform for farmers and service providers from the Lankaran-Astara economic region to present to potential investors their individual tourism destination development strategies and business plans generated with assistance of “AgriVison” project. It should be noted that within the project the winners of the "Business Plan Competition" which was held among the farmers and service providers who participated in capacity building activities, also received small grant awards (upto 2000 euro) for the implementation of their business plans. The forum was also an opportunity for public institutions to present the current policy framework and measures that exist in support of agri-tourism related development in Azerbaijan and hear from participants including through panel discussions how such policies and measures could be further enhanced. Stressing that the European Union is continuously supporting Azerbaijan to move to a new economic structure driven by a diversified, efficient and modernised non-oil sector, in his opening speech European Union Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mr. Peter Michalko said “Sustainable agriculture and rural development with a focus on resilience is a priority area of European Union cooperation with Azerbaijan. Agri-tourism linked to local food and agriculture heritage has developed into an important sector of the EU’s rural economy, providing for much needed income diversification to farms and we are happy to share our policies and best practices in this domaine with our partners. I see considerable potential for expanding Agri-Tourism in Azerbaijan with its diverse landscape, rich agro biodiversity and farming traditions. My best wishes for business success go to those farmers who are presenting their investment ideas today”. As development of agri tourism is one of the main priority areas of the Ministry of Agriculture and its structural body of Agrarian Credit and Development Agency (ACDA), Deputy Chairman of ACDA Leyla Mammadova mentioned that numerous projects are implemented on the improvement of agri tourism with cooperation between local and international organizations: "One of these projects is the “Strengthening the capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture to improve effectiveness and efficiency of the state support to agriculture” - Twinning project, which is carried out jointly and with the support of European Union. Within the project, guidelines for the agro-tourism sector were developed, including an Action Plan outlining the necessary steps for the launch of a national agrotourism system in Azerbaijan in the context of rural development policy." Rauf Taghiyev, Deputy Director of the SME Friend Department, in his speech highlighted the "AgriVision" project, for its involvement of close cooperation and gave detailed information about the work done by the agency in the relevant field over the past year: “The Small and Medium Business Development Agency in 2021 alone  conducted 15 surveys among more than 2,000 respondents on 12 topics to support SMEs, including businesses operating in the field of tourism, to study and discuss solutions to their problems; held meetings with the participation of relevant government agencies, as well as employees of the State Tourism Agency, Azerbaijan Tourism Board, Agrarian Credit and Development Agency, representatives of non-governmental organizations and more than 3,000 entrepreneurs; and trainings to increase the knowledge and skills of SMEs.” The event was attended by about 40 private investors, banks, state agencies involved in SME, agriculture and rural development as well as international organizations working in this sphere in Azerbaijan. ..

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The Investment Forum will be held in Baku The “Agri-Tourism Investment Forum” will be held in Baku on January 27, 2022 within the framework of the “AgriVision” project jointly implemented by the Eurasia Partnership Foundation and “Constitution” Research Foundation with the financial support of the European Union. The Forum will serve as a platform for farm owners and service providers from the Lankaran-Astara economic region to present the tourism destination strategies and business plans to potential public and private investors. Among the investors will be government agencies; international donor organizations working in the area of rural development, agriculture and tourism; financial institutions that work with small and medium farms and enterprises; also public and private companies interested in financing rural tourism opportunities; at the same time individual entrepreneurs. The Investment Forum is a closed event and will be held only with invited guests. The event will include a two-part panel discussion, with farm owners and investors, also speeches by the experts in relevant fields.  The event, filled with networking and new opportunities, will give participants from the regions the chance to present their services and products to potential investors. At the same time, the forum which informs about the existing difficulties and opportunities in the field of agrarian tourism, will serve to strengthen the relationship between urban and rural areas as well. The event, that will further strengthen the capacity of agrarian and eco-tourism stakeholders and service providers, will also increase the visibility of existing tourist destinations in the southern part of the country. ..

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Client: Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF) Description of Assignment: Mentorship in the preparation of the manual on agri / ecotourism Duration of Assignment: 3 months Contract Type: Service Contract Deadline for applications: January 16, 2022 BACKGROUND/OVERVIEW: With the financial support of the European Union, Eurasia Partnership Foundation in partnership with “Constitution” Research Foundation is implementing a 24-month "AgriVision" project in Lankaran economic region. The goal of the project is to create and test a sustainable replicable agro-tourism / ecotourism development mechanism that would help rural households in the southern region of Azerbaijan to increase their revenue and intensify the connection between urban and rural in Azerbaijan. One of the main goals of the project is to strengthen the capacity of public and private agri/eco-tourism stakeholders, also providers of business advisory services. To that end, Eurasia Partnership Foundation is forming a group of local business and tourism development experts in order to develop the manual for current and potential providers of agri/ecotourism services in Azerbaijan. OBJECTIVES, SCOPE OF WORK, COMPETENCIES Objectives: The manual will be based on materials developed during similar projects in other countries in the region and adapted to local conditions with practical instructions on how to develop the concept, acquire financing and effectively manage businesses in the agri/ecotourism sector. This manual will serve as a means of disseminating the knowledge gained during the project, which can be used to replicate or expand the project activities in other regions of Azerbaijan. The manual will also include new materials developed during the implementation of this project, such as: Recommendations for creation and management of the Tourism Destinations (TD) consortia;Format and samples of TD development strategies;Format and samples of business plans for the providers of agro-tourism and ecotourism services;Sources of funding for the agri / ecotourism services in Azerbaijan;Platforms and strategies for promoting agri / ecotourism services in Azerbaijan;Contact information of organizations and individual consultants providing agri / ecotourism business development guidance in Azerbaijan. Scope of Work: The specialist will conduct research with the team who will prepare the manual and review the existing literature to increase awareness on agri/ecotourism destinations, the development of this type of tourism in our country and the real situation; At the same time, the specialist will review the materials provided by the project team and if necessary will make some adjustments to the manual content in accordance with the feedback of the project team or their partners; Mentorship in the preparation of the “Manual on Agri / ecotourism” Competencies: Professionalism: Maintains the highest standards of efficiency, competency, ethics and integrity;Understands and applies fundamental concepts and principles of a professional discipline or technical specialty relating to the assignment;Demonstrates professional competence, has conscientious approach and meets commitments, observes deadlines and achieves results;Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges. Knowledge Sharing and Learning: Shares knowledge and experience;Actively works towards continuing personal learning through self-directed study and other means of learning;Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities . KEY DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAME Surveys and review of the existing literature                                             01 February 2022 – 28 February 2022Assisting the preparation of the draft of the manual                                           01 March 2022 – 31 March 2022Mentorship in the preparation of the “Manual on the agri / ecotourism”   01 April 2022 – 30 April 2022 REPORTING: The incumbent will be reporting to the Project Manager. The incumbent must ensure timely fulfillment of his/her assisting and support actions, thus making sufficient contribution to the timely preparation and submission of the inputs. The expert shall maintain regular communication and coordination with all parties overseeing the implementation of his/her duties. MONITORING: The monitoring of fulfillment of the assignment by the specialist will be conducted by Eurasia Partnership Foundation’s experts and manager of the concerned project. SELECTION CRITERIA: University Degree in the related fields. An advanced degree will be considered as an advantage;Experience in the relevant field;Work experience with the educational institutions of Azerbaijan will be considered as an advantage. PAYMENT TERMS Payment – within 7 (seven) days upon completion of tasksPayments will be made in accordance with Service Contract HOW TO APPLY: Interested candidates are invited to send financial offer and CV/resume to info@epfound.az by January 16 2022. Please, write “preparation of a manual” as a position title in the subject line. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. ..

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Avrasiya Əməkdaşlıq Fondu (AƏF) Avropa İttifaqının “Bacarıqların Artırılması və Vətəndaşların İştirakı ilə Sülh Quruculuğu: Mərhələ 2” (PeaCE-2) proqramı çərçivəsində, gənclər üçün “Münaqişə Məktəbi”nə qəbul elan edir. “Münaqişə Məktəbi”nin məqsədi Azərbaycan gənclərinin münaqişə və sülh sahəsində bilik və bacarıqlarını artırmaq və beləliklə də, müxtəlif beynəlxalq platformalarda Azərbaycan və Ermənistan arasındakı münaqişə ilə bağlı aparılan müzakirələrdə uğurla iştirak edə biləcək yeni nəslin formalaşmasına töhfə verməkdir. “Münaqişə Məktəbi” müxtəlif mövzularda təlim seminarları və mühazirələrdən ibarət olacaq. Seminar və mühazirələr sülh, müharibə və münaqişələrin sosiologiyası, sosial münaqişə nəzəriyyələri, beynəlxalq humanitar hüquq normaları kimi nəzəri mövzularla yanaşı, qaçqın və məcburi köçkünlərin vəziyyəti, medianın münaqişənin nizamlanmasında rolu və təhlükəsizlik məsələləri, xalq diplomatiyası və sülhyaratma təşəbbüsləri kimi müxtəlif aktual mövzuları əhatə edir. “Münaqişə Məktəbi”ndə təlim seminarı aparmaq və mühazirə vermək üçün müstəqil ekspertlər, elm adamları və dövlət qurumlarının təmsilçiləri dəvət olunacaq. “Münaqişə Məktəbi ”ni uğurla başa vurmuş iştirakçılar sosial fəaliyyətləri üçün kiçik maliyyə dəstəyi əldə etmək imkanına sahib olacaqlar. Maliyyə imkanından əlavə “Alumni+network” iştirakçıları üçün nəzərdə tutulmuş təlim və tədbirlərə qatıla biləcəklər. “Münaqişə Məktəbi″də iştirak üçün 18-28 yaş aralığında olan tələbələr, yeni məzun olmuş gənclər və gənc mütəxəssislər müraciət edə bilər. Seçim müraciət edənlərin münaqişə sahəsinə olan marağı və təhsil göstəriciləri əsasında həyata keçiriləcəkdir. İştirakçıların seçilməsi müraciət formu və müsahibələr əsasında aparılacaqdır. “Münaqişə Məktəbi” 4 – 14 fevral 2022-ci il tarixlərində Bakıda həyata keçiriləcək. Məktəbin keçirilmə formatı offlayndır, COVİD-19 pandemiyası ilə bağlı tövsiyyə edilən bütün təlimatlara riayət olunacaqdır. “Münaqişə məktəbi” boyunca iştirakçılar sadəcə nahar və çay fasiləsi ilə təmin olunacaqlar. Nəzərə almağınızı xahiş edirik ki, ölkə kənarında və Bakıdan kənarda yaşayan iştirakçıların yaşayış və yaşayışla bağlı digər xərcləri qarşılanmayacaq. “Münaqişə Məktəbi”ndə iştirak etmək üçün 18 yanvar 2022-ci il tarixinədək müraciət formasını qeyd edilən keçidə daxil olaraq tamamlamağınızı xahiş edirik: https://forms.gle/3vTRycatZX3UMBsX8. Namizədlərin müsahibəyə dəvət edilməsi və seçilməsi müraciət etmə tarixinə əsasən aparılacaq. Bunun üçün iştirakçılardan mümkün qədər tez müraciət etməyini xahiş edirik. Təlim proqramı Azərbaycan dilində keçiriləcək. Avrasiya Əməkdaşlıq Fondunun (AƏF) missiyası insanlara sosial ədalət və iqtisadi inkişaf üçün faydalı olan proqramlar vasitəsilə dəyişiklik etməyə imkan yaratmaq, onlara öz icmalarını və öz həyatlarını yaxşılaşdırmaqda yardım etməkdir. Azərbaycanda qeydiyyatdan keçmiş Fond, Avrasiya Fondunun (AF) – keçmiş Sovet ölkələrində yaranan vətəndaş cəmiyyəti təşkilatlarına ilkin maliyyə dəstəyi göstərmək üçün 1992-ci ildə yaradılmış özəl idarəetmə sisteminə malik gəlirsiz təşkilat – varis institutudur. ..

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Client: Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF) Description of Assignment: Preparation of the manual on agri / ecotourism Duration of Assignment: 3 months Contract Type: Service Contract Deadline for applications: January 16, 2022 BACKGROUND/OVERVIEW: With the financial support of the European Union, Eurasia Partnership Foundation in partnership with “Constitution” Research Foundation is implementing a 24-month "AgriVision" project in Lankaran economic region. The goal of the project is to create and test a sustainable replicable agro-tourism / ecotourism development mechanism that would help rural households in the southern region of Azerbaijan to increase their revenue and intensify the connection between urban and rural in Azerbaijan. One of the main goals of the project is to strengthen the capacity of public and private agri/eco-tourism stakeholders, also providers of business advisory services. To that end, Eurasia Partnership Foundation is forming a group of local business and tourism development experts in order to develop the manual for current and potential providers of agri/ecotourism services in Azerbaijan. OBJECTIVES, SCOPE OF WORK, COMPETENCIES Objectives: The manual will be based on materials developed during similar projects in other countries in the region and adapted to local conditions with practical instructions on how to develop the concept, acquire financing and effectively manage businesses in the agri/ecotourism sector. This manual will serve as a means of disseminating the knowledge gained during the project, which can be used to replicate or expand the project activities in other regions of Azerbaijan. The manual will also include new materials developed during the implementation of this project, such as: Recommendations for creation and management of the Tourism Destinations (TD) consortia;Format and samples of TD development strategies;Format and samples of business plans for the providers of agro-tourism and ecotourism services;Sources of funding for the agri / ecotourism services in Azerbaijan;Platforms and strategies for promoting agri / ecotourism services in Azerbaijan;Contact information of organizations and individual consultants providing agri / ecotourism business development guidance in Azerbaijan. Scope of Work: The specialist who will prepare the manual will conduct research and review the existing literature to increase awareness on agri/ecotourism destinations, the development of this type of tourism in our country and the real situation;At the same time, the specialist will review the materials provided by the project team and include that information in the content of manual, if necessary will make some adjustments to that content in accordance with the feedback of the project team or their partners; He/she will prepare the “Manual on Agri / ecotourism” within the time period specified by the client. Competencies: Professionalism: Maintains the highest standards of efficiency, competency, ethics and integrity;Understands and applies fundamental concepts and principles of a professional discipline or technical specialty relating to the assignment;Demonstrates professional competence, has conscientious approach and meets commitments, observes deadlines and achieves results;Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges. Knowledge Sharing and Learning: Shares knowledge and experience;Actively works towards continuing personal learning through self-directed study and other means of learning;Demonstrates openness to change and ability to manage complexities. KEY DELIVERABLES AND TIMEFRAME: Surveys and review of the existing literature      01 February 2022 – 28 February 2022Draft of the manual                                             01 March 2022 – 31 March 2022“Manual on the agri / ecotourism”                      01 April 2022 – 30 April 2022 REPORTING: The incumbent will be reporting to the Project Manager. The incumbent must ensure timely fulfillment of his/her assisting and support actions, thus making sufficient contribution to the timely preparation and submission of the inputs. The expert shall maintain regular communication and coordination with all parties overseeing the implementation of his/her duties. MONITORING: The monitoring of fulfillment of the assignment by the specialist will be conducted by Eurasia Partnership Foundation’s experts and manager of the concerned project. SELECTION CRITERIA: University Degree in the related fields. An advanced degree will be considered as an advantage;Experience in the relevant field;Work experience with the educational institutions of Azerbaijan will be considered as an advantage. PAYMENT TERMS: Payment – within 7 (seven) days upon completion of tasks;Payments will be made in accordance with Service Contract. HOW TO APPLY: Interested candidates are invited to send financial offer and CV/resume to info@epfound.az by January 16 2022. Please, write “preparation of a manual” as a position title in the subject line. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. ..

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On November 28, “Baku Food Hackathon” was jointly organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Azerbaijan, the “Young European Ambassadors” network, and EU-funded “AgriVision” project implemented by the Eurasia Partnership Foundation and Constitutional Researches Foundation. The main theme of the hackathon was promoting healthy eating habits, encouraging the consumption of the locally made food products, and creating innovative solutions to food problems in Azerbaijan. In order to make the ideas presented in the hackathon more effective and efficient, the trainings conducted by the Eurasia Partnership Foundation on November 13-14 and 20-21. During the trainings conducted by the experts, representatives of the IT and Start-up communities based in Baku met with local food producers from the regions and acquired knowledge and skills about the most important problems and opportunities related to production, distribution and consumption. In addition, as a continuation of support and assistance to the participating teams, experienced local and foreign mentors were also involved in the Baku Food Hackathon. It should be noted that a total of 144 application forms were filled out and 13 teams with 55 participants were selected. Criteria such as experience of the participants, innovativeness and real impact of the proposed solutions were taken into account during the evaluation of the applications. The winner was selected by invited members of the jury, including the Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, Mr. Peter Michalko, and high-profile experts in the field of agrarian services and innovation. Among the jury there were representatives of government agencies, such as the director of the “ABAD” public legal entity Mr. Rufat Elchiyev, the deputy director of Agrarian Services Agency Mr. Jafar Maharramov, the deputy director of the Agrarian Innovation Center (AIC) Mr. Anar Jafarov and the Head of Department at the Innovation Center under the State Agency for Public service and Social Innovations Ms. Shabnam Mammadova. The selection of the winners was based on criteria, such as the approach to the problem, business model, technological implementation, proposed solution and presentation. The winning team received EUR 5,000, and the second and the third teams each received EUR 3,000 and EUR 1,000 respectively. Besides, some of the participating teams were offered support by the representatives of government in jury in the implementation of their projects. ..

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“Baku Food Hackathon” trainings were held. The trainings on “Baku Food Hackathon” jointly organized by the European Union Delegation to Azerbaijan, “Young European Ambassadors” network and the “AgriVision” project were held on November 13-14 and 20-21. During the trainings that were held to make the start-up ideas going to be supported in the Baku Food Hackathon, which is planned to be held on November 27-28, more effective and efficient, the representatives of IT and Start-up communities based in Baku together with local food producers from regions informed the participants interested in this field about the most important problems and opportunities related to the production, distribution and consumption of local food. Also, the selected food producers and service providers from Lankaran economic region had the opportunity to share their experiences and the real-life challenges they faced with the participants. Food producers and service providers from Lankaran economic region are sharing their experiences and the real-life challenges they faced with the participants. Each training session started with a brief presentation by the project coordinator of Eurasia Partnership Foundation Ramin Safarzade on the “AgriVision” project and “Baku Food Hackathon”. On November 13th and 20th, the Food Value Chain specialist Yagub Zeynalzade spoke on “The challenges faced by food producers” and “Traditional products and agrarian tourism”. On November 14th and 21st, the training on “Technological solutions to agricultural problems” and “Application areas of information technology” was held under the mentorship of program architect Babek Nagiyev. At the end of each module, the Q&A session was held to listen to the participants’ opinions on the discussed topics and answer their questions, at the same time participants had the opportunity to exchange views with mentors during the tea break. ..

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A business plan competition is carried out within the framework of the “AgriVision” project implemented by Eurasia Partnership Foundation and “Constitution” Researches Foundation in Lankaran economic region with the financial support of the European Union. For this purpose, the info-session on the competition organized at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Lankaran provided the conditions of the competition, selection criteria, rules for selecting the winners, the prize fund and other relevant information. In addition, Rafat Shiraliyev, Director of the Lankaran SME Development Center, presented an application form prepared by experts for the competition and explained to the participant how to write a business plan based on an example. As part of the business plan competition, which runs until November 30, agri / eco-tourism service providers are invited to submit a business plan to improve or expand the tourism services that they provide or to launch new tourism activities within their Tourism Destination (TD). In order to increase the quality of the submitted business plans, EPF will organize consultation for potential applicants. Hence, interested organization  and entrepreneurs who want to submit a business plan during the competition will be provided with mentoring services by project experts for 1 month. The business plan competition serve multiple purposes. First, the process of developing and improving a business plan is an additional tool for building capacity of the providers of agri / eco-tourism services. Second, the requirement for the business plans to align with the TD strategies promotes consistency in the development of the tourism destinations, furthers implementation of the strategies and strengthens the partnerships within the consortia. Third, the matching fund provides much needed resources for implementing the TD strategies which in turn help develop new agri / eco-tourism products, diversifies revenue sources of the local farmers and creates employment opportunities in rural areas. Detailed information for the business plan competition can be found in the announcement posted on the website of the Eurasia Partnership Foundation or by writing to info@epfound.az ..

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Trainings were provided to agri / ecotourism service providers in the southern region. Within the framework of the "AgriVision" project implemented by  Eurasia Partnership Foundation and "Constitution" Research Foundation with the financial support of the European Union, farmers and entrepreneurs operating in Lankaran economic region were trained for 15 days on 6 different topics in July-August 2021. Expert assessments were conducted at an earlier stage to ensure that the trainings meet the needs and requirements of farmers and entrepreneurs. In particular, the training needs of private providers of agri / ecotourism services have been identified. Areas of need included standards of hospitality and catering services offered by the local providers, customer relations, marketing, managing staff, strategic and financial planning, and etc. Based on these assessments, EPF developed a detailed plan of capacity building activities, also engaged local experts from relevant industries in the process to plan and implement the capacity building activities. The primary target group of the these activities would be the members of the consortia from the selected tourism destionations. However, EPF invited agri and eco-tourism service providers from Lankaran and neighbouring southern regions who are not members of the selected consortia to join these events when there is available space and sufficient demand.  The trainings, which started on June 29, 2021 and lasted until August 24, 2021, were attended by 111 entrepreneurs from the Lankaran economic region, working in the field of agriculture and, most importantly, interested in agro-tourism. During the trainings, the participants were provided with information and additional training materials on "Development of a business plan in the field of agritourism", "How to start agrotourism", "Marketing, sales and communication in the field of agritourism", "Organisation and development of agro-tours”, “Financial planning and accountability for small businesses” and "Tidiness and and hygiene standards in small agro-tourism destinations". ..

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The Call is offered by the Caucasus Research Resource Centre in Georgia and facilitated by  Eurasia Partnership Foundation in Azerbaijan in the framework of “Peacebuilding through Capacity Enhancement and Civic Engagement: Phase 2” (PeaCE-2) programme funded by the European Union under the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP). Description: The call aims to re-engage people and communities from geographic areas affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and facilitate the engagement of interested civil society actors and grassroots organizations in improving human security and a future-oriented, peaceful outlook. This call enables individuals and organizations to implement innovative in-country initiatives promoting peace in the South Caucasus particularly in regards to the Nagorno-     Karabakh conflict, and addressing needs of people and local communities affected by the NK conflict. These initiatives should focus on (but are not limited to) one or more of the following areas and target groups in random order:  Target groups:  YouthWomenCommunities affected by the conflictRefugees and IDPs Persons with disabilities (as a result of the conflict)Ethnic and religious minoritiesWar veteransProfessional categories aiming to deal with the consequences of the NK conflict (e.g.  social workers, psychologists, education professionals, etc.) Areas:  EducationHuman and leadership capacity building and developmentCivic activism aiming to deal with the consequences of the NK conflictHuman security and management of emergency situationsEnhancing women’s participation  (or women empowerment)Post-war reconstructionConfidence-building (including dealing with the past)Dialogue between different social or professional groupsPolicy relevant advocacy and research. Eligibility of applicants:  Non-profits (NGOs, foundations), for-profits[1] (e.g. small and medium enterprises) and individuals are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to local applicants (non-profits, for-profits and individuals) who come from geographic areas affected by the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. International applicants will need to prove maximum value added in terms of engaging and empowering local actors.  Non-profits and for-profits should be able to prove that they have:  Formal registration and availability of a bank account; Sufficient administrative, financial and technical capacity to implement an initiative; Demonstrable good track record of working with donors in the past. Individuals should be able to demonstrate a suitable track record, e.g. educational background, professional affiliation(s), engagement in similar initiatives in the past (if at all). NOTE: Individual applicants are expected to propose smaller-scale initiatives that can be managed by one person, e.g. writing and publishing a book, doing research, creating multimedia products, etc. In case an individual applicant proposes a larger-scale initiative involving a team of implementers, he/she must assume responsibility and demonstrate ability for a proper financial management of the proposal. Budget and timeframe:  From the technical point of view, a service contract will be provided to a beneficiary or a group of beneficiaries in the aggregate amount of up to EUR 25,000 to implement an in-country initiative. Please note that cost-efficiency is one of the most important selection criteria; therefore, keep your budgets as low as possible.  The implementation period of a proposed initiative should not exceed 12 months. Application and selection process:  The Call will be open for applications from May 2021 through September 2021. Applicants are invited to submit their Full Proposals in the requested format (Annex 1: Proposal Form) to info@epfound.az before one of the two interim submission deadlines: June 15, 2021; and September 15, 2021. This notice is subject to availability of funding. Prior to each of the above interim submission deadlines all interested applicants are asked to submit a brief notification (one sentence is sufficient) to info@epfound.az for EPF-Azerbaijan/CRRC-Georgia to build an email list. In case of any questions or request for additional information, please contact us via info@epfound.az. The language of the proposal can be English, or Azerbaijani. In case if the proposal is submitted in Azerbaijani, brief explanation with key activities in English should be submitted along with Proposal Form. However, the narrative and financial reporting of the activities within the proposed initiatives should be submitted in English. The applications will be reviewed in accordance with the following criteria:  To what extent is the initiative relevant to the aims of the call? To what extent does the initiative address the needs of people and local communities affected by conflict, and provides tangible impact on improving their lives?To what extent is the initiative feasible? Is there evidence for the ability to contribute to solving the identified problem? Are external stakeholders (gendered dimension) analyzed properly? NOTE: Feasibility also refers to the possibility of the proposed proposal’s implementation under the continued COVID-19 crisis.To what extent does the initiative focus on target groups and areas mentioned above on page 1?To what extent does the applicant demonstrate adequate capacity to implement the initiative? It also refers to the peacebuilding capital an organization/individual brings to the initiative.To what extent are risk factors and their mitigation strategies well explored? To what extent does the initiative provide measurable and realistic long-term results/outcomes and sustainability of one or more of the initiative’s components?To what extent is the initiative cost-efficient? Is the budget realistic and relevant to the activities proposed?To what extent does the initiative respect the do-no-harm principle in its objectives, implementation approach and communication?To what extent is the initiative creative and innovative, and different from existing initiatives? Pre-selection and post-selection process:  The entire process from the time when the selection decision was made to the expected start time of the selected Full Proposal may take about one calendar month. In the course of this month, successful applicants (nonprofit and for-profit) will be required to undergo a Pre-selection Interview (an online interview in case the COVID-19 crisis continues). The due diligence interviews will be conducted with the key staff in the beneficiary organization, which will help assess organizational capacity and identify risk factors that may impact the ability to implement the initiative and to be fiscally responsible. Successful individuals will also have a Pre-selection Interview (an on-line interview in case the COVID-19 crisis continues), which will help assess the capacity of the individual applicant to implement the proposed initiative. The selection decision may be reverted in case the Pre-selection Interview demonstrates that the applicant’s capacity to implement the initiative is questionable The successful applicants (non-profits, for-profits and individuals) will also need to attend a  Management Seminar, which they will be additionally informed about by EPF-Azerbaijan/CRRC-Georgia. The Management Seminar is a workshop that helps the beneficiaries to understand requirements with regard to the organizational and financial management of the proposed initiative. Following the Management Seminar, the beneficiaries will sign a service contract with CRRC-Georgia. The selected proposals are expected to start within two calendar months after the service agreement is concluded. The implementation period of these initiatives should not exceed 12 months. Throughout the initiative’s life cycle, the beneficiaries will submit periodic financial and narrative reports to EPF-Azerbaijan/CRRC-Georgia. EPF-Azerbaijan/CRRC-Georgia will make the next disbursement only upon the approval of both the financial and narrative reports. The staff will conduct occasional site-visits (or interviews) to assure adequate progress in the implementation of the supported proposals. The supported proposals will undergo external evaluation and (financial) audit.  EPF-Azerbaijan/CRRC-Georgia will assist the beneficiaries with networking, as well as will advise them on the nuances of publicity regarding the supported proposal. EPF Azerbaijan/CRRC-Georgia will also include the beneficiaries into the mailing list to keep them updated on opportunities, including capacity-building opportunities. [1] Service contracts with for-profits should not have the purpose or effect of producing a profit within the framework of the initiative. Any possible profit generated by a for-profit beneficiary should be directed to support the purposes of the initiative.  Annex-1_Proposal-Form-2Download Annex-2_BudgetDownload ..