EPF Annual Report to Sida Feb 2009 Final

8/10/2019 EPF Annual Report to Sida Feb 2009 Final

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EPF Annual Progress Report February 15, 2009

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Core Support for the Establishment of Eurasia PartnershipFoundation in Georgia

Annual Progress ReportJanuary 1-December 31, 2008

Submitted to the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

February 18, 2009

Submitted to:

Louise BermsjProgramme Officer (Sida) / Second SecretarySection for Development CooperationEmbassy of Sweden20 Zandukeli Street0108 Tbilisi, [email protected](+995-32) 99 98 33

EPF Contact:

George Zarubin, President

[email protected]

Ketevan Vashakidze, Country Director, [email protected]

3 Kavsadze Street0179 Tbilisi, Georgia+995 32 22-32-64, 25-39-42/43


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. PROGRAM BACKGROUND.............................................................................. 4

II. SECTOR DEVELOPMENTS .............................................................................. 5

III. PROGRESS AND IMPACT ACCORDING TO MANDATE ........................ 6

IV. 2008 INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT REPORT.................................. 14

V. LIST OF SIDA-SUPPORTED GRANTS IN 2008..................................... 19

VI. 2009 ANNUAL WORK PLAN ........................................................................ 33

1. 2009 INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN........................................ 33

2. PROGRAM STRATEGIES AND IMPLEMENTATION PLANS ................ 39

A. CIVIC MONITORING AND DIALOGUE................................................................ 40

B. CORPORATE SOCIAL INVESTMENTS:ANEW MODEL FOR PARTNERSHIP .... 47

C. TOURISM DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................... 51

D. PROMOTING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN GEORGIA ................................ 52

E. COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT THROUGH YOUTH INITIATIVES........................ 54

F. UNAGTOLERANCE BUILDING GRANTS........................................................... 56

G. OPEN DOOR GRANTS......................................................................................... 56

CROSS-BORDER PROGRAMS .......................................................................................... 57

A. SUPPORT TO CROSS-BORDER UNSOLICITED PROJECTS ............................... 58

CAUCASUS RESEARCH RESOURCE CENTERS (CRRC)PROGRAMS ........................... 59

A. TRAINING AND FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM........................................................... 59

B. THE DATA INITIATIVE........................................................................................ 60

C. LIBRARIES AND INFORMATION ......................................................................... 60

3. COMMUNICATIONS PLAN ............................................................................ 62

REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES: ............................................................... 62

AUDIENCES &MESSAGES: ............................................................................................ 62

MAIN COMMUNICATIONS PRODUCTS AND DELIVERY SCHEDULE ................................ 63

MONITORING AND EVALUATION:................................................................................... 65

4. COMMUNICATIONS PLAN ............................................................................ 67

FUNDRAISING TARGETS FOR 2009 .............................................................................. 67


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1) GEORGIA ............................................................................................................. 67

2) CROSS-BORDER.................................................................................................. 68

3) CRRC .................................................................................................................. 68

IDENTIFYING NEW OPPORTUNITIES.............................................................................. 68

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND UNRESTRICTED FUNDING .......................................... 69

5. FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE PLAN ................................................. 70


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I.

PROGRAM BACKGROUND

After 15 years of political independence and support for democratic development

from international donors, civil society has still not achieved sustainability inGeorgia. Until recently, donor investments were not targeted at the root challengesto achieving a vibrant civil society in a holistic and systematic way. Thesechallenges include a lack of diversified opinions and dialogue on public policy topics,a lack of reliable information and nuanced analysis of social processes, apathytowards civic engagement, limited local sources of support to sustain civicinitiatives and a prevailing tone of conflict and mistrust across political boundaries.

Eurasia Partnership Foundations (EPF) mission is to empower people to effectchange for social justice and economic prosperity through hands-on programs,helping them to improve their communities and their own lives. By inheriting the

strong systems, procedures and expertise of EF offices in the South Caucasus, EPFbecame an operational local institution in February 2008.

Understanding that Sidas new development strategy for the South Caucasusfocuses solely on Georgia, EF sought a founding commitment from Sida in theestablishment of Eurasia Partnership Foundations operations in Georgia. In 2007,EF applied for and received a commitment of USD 3 million or USD 1 million peryear over three years. Thirty-five percent of this contribution is managed as a Sidaflagship Open Door Grants Program a pool of resources for initiatives that arehighly innovative or that respond to quickly emerging and critical needs in thecountry. The remaining balance is managed as core support for all of EPFs activitiesin Georgia, including support for operational programs, program and grantsadministration and overhead costs.


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II.

SECTOR DEVELOPMENTS

2008 has been wrought with a number of significant developments in Georgia,

including a political crisis culminating in snap Presidential elections (January);accelerated Parliamentary elections (May); a debilitating armed conflict betweenRussia and Georgia resulting in massive human displacement (with approximately127,000 displaced in Georgia proper at the height of the crisis, and an estimated31,000 who will not be able to return for the foreseeable future; plus 223,000existing IDPs from the 1992 conflict in Abkhazia), and an economic downturncaused by the loss of anticipated FDI. These events serve to underscore theimportance of EPFs work, supporting alternative voices in society and empoweringcitizens to effectively engage in policy dialogue and reform initiatives. EPF hasresponded to these events by convening stakeholder meetings, holding targetedgrant competitions and conducting public opinion surveys.

Toward the end of 2008, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Developmentforecasted slowed economic growth due to reduced private foreign-financedinvestments, decreased bank lending and a slowdown in post-conflict privateconsumption. EBRD reported that financing from the International Monetary Fund(under a US$ 750 million 18-month stand-by agreement signed in September2008) and other official agencies should support foreign reserves and maintain theconfidence in the currency. Many economic analysts predict that Georgia is betterplaced to weather the economic crisis, due to a heretofore underdeveloped bankingsector and because of the international aid pledged prior to the onset of thefinancial crisis.

In September 2008, President Saakashvili announced that Georgia would undertakea second wave of democratic reforms, including revising party financing rules,bolstering media freedom, supporting the independence of the judiciary andengaging in more dialogue with the political opposition and generally more politicaldebate. This will all impact the effectiveness of civil society in policy developmentand reform implementation, two major components of EPFs operating programsand grant-making.


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III.

PROGRESS AND IMPACT ACCORDING TO MANDATE

Eurasia Foundation (EF) supports programs in five areas: Creating Opportunities for

Civic and Economic Participation, Building Capacity for Evidence-Based Research toImprove Policy-Making, Fostering a Culture of Corporate and CommunityPhilanthropy, Cross-Border Cooperation, and Open Door Grant Making in Georgia.The majority of its activities are implemented by the Eurasia Partnership Foundation(EPF), now a member of the Eurasia Foundation Network. EPF started fulloperations in February 2008. Transforming the EF field office in Georgia into anindependent local foundation that is governed and managed according to thehighest international standards is an important element of EFs goals in buildingcivil society institutions in Georgia.

EPF is both a grant maker and a program implementer, focused on (1) fostering the

active and informed participation of Georgian community groups, NGOs and mediaoutlets in their communities political and economic decision-making throughmonitoring, (2) promoting civic participation in the process of Georgias integrationinto the European Union, (3) involving local youth as active citizens in thedevelopment of their communities in Georgia, (4) promoting philanthropy andsustainability of NGOs and (5) building confidence across the region of the SouthCaucasus by leveraging regional economies of scale, exchanging regional andinternational best practices, sharing innovative ideas, and fostering cooperativenetworks among civil society, media, and businesses from Armenia, Azerbaijan, andGeorgia.

While each grant awardmade through both targeted grant competitions and theopen door mechanismmeets unique program objectives set jointly by the granteeand EPF, all of EPFs grants also build the institutional capacity of partners in thefields of financial accountability, program design and monitoring.

In FY08, EPF made grants to 68 local organizations (31 with Sida funds) in Georgiato foster civic participation, including grants to a number of organizations throughthe open door mechanism, which is designed to address emerging needs outsideof EPFs priority areas through innovative or pilot type projects. Below please find abrief update about program outcomes and impacts and a summary of activitiesplanned for 2009. A comprehensive list of activities be found in the 2009 work planbeginning on p. 34.

Civic Monitoring

With Sida funding, EPF awarded grants to support investigative journalism,contribute to reform of the judiciary, monitor budget allocations, increase access toinformation during the elections and promote transparent decision-making. As withprevious projects, EPF emphasized collaboration between civil society groups andthe media (especially regional) to facilitate information dissemination and promotethe role of the media as a civic watchdog.


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EPFs civic monitoring program contributed to enhanced participation of better-informed communities in the monitoring process. EPF facilitated a dialogue betweenCSOs and the local and central government to jointly tackle problems identified by

local constituents. For example, the Georgian NGO Civic Education Youth Centerimplemented a project on civic monitoring for agricultural development. Themonitoring of the privatization of state-owned agricultural lands revealed severalloopholes in the new legislation and the Presidential decree # 525 regulating theprivatization of agricultural lands. This evidence, in combination with informationcollected through meetings with communities, showed that the loopholes in theprivatization legislation created problems for many renters of privatized land. Thecommunities of Kvareli and Sighnaghi were informed and educated about theseshortcomings, and the grantee prepared recommendations to correct the loopholesto be submitted to the Parliament.

As another example of impact, the EPF grantee the Human Rights Protection Centersuccessfully lobbied the Batumi City Council to create a permanent joint workinggroup (including CSOs, the media and the public) to supervise the expenditure ofthe funds allocated for municipal improvements. Members of the working groupattend city council sessions, sit in on commission meetings, receive informationfrom City Hall and prepare issue-based recommendations for the local government.The creation of the working group is a major success of the project, demonstratingthat properly planned participatory civic monitoring coupled with a proactive mediacampaign results in effective citizen participation in the local decision-makingprocess.

Summary of Plans for 2009: An assessment of the state of civic monitoring inGeorgia (conducted by an EPF grantee) prompted EPF to increase the number offields covered by civic monitoring activities (e.g., the judiciary) in 2009. Granteesfrom 2008 will conduct their activities and issue final reports and recommendations.In 2009, EPF will conduct two grant competitions on civic monitoring and holdroundtables and workshops with stakeholders on civic monitoring issues. EPF willalso conduct training of trainers in civic monitoring and training of grassroots CSOsin participatory civic monitoring, advocacy and policy dialogue.

Through these activities, EPF will increase the number of CSOs that have thecapacity to conduct civic monitoring activities, establish a network of civicmonitoring practitioners to facilitate improved work, increase the number of

participatory civic monitoring involving various community groups able to influencedecision-making and policy reforms and increase the awareness of all branches ofcentral and local powers of the importance of public oversight, transparency,accountability and dialogue with civic sector.

Please see the attached list of grants for all grants funded through the civicmonitoring component. Project close-outs are currently being prepared for anumber of projects and impact will be reflected in EPFs biannual reporting to Sida.


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European Integration

With the core funding provided by USAID and the funding from Sida, EPF was able

to leverage funds from the UK Department for International Development for its EUintegration and ENP civic dialogue activities.

European Integration/ENP Civic Dialogue: In 2008, EPF commissioned a regionalpolicy paper on food standards and safety and the European Neighbouhood Policy.Based on the recommendations, EPF started a new project to strengthen thecapacity of the National Service for Food Safety, Veterinary and Plant Protection.

In 2008, EPF funded a survey to identify civil society interest in monitoring theimplementation of the European Neighborhood Policy Action Plan and evaluate theexpertise of the civil sector to conduct monitoring. The final report, which was

issued in July, found that only 11 organizations were highly active in monitoring theENP Action Plan implementation.

On November 17, 2008, EPF participated in an open committee session of theEuropean Union Integration Committee of the Parliament of Georgia as part of thecoalition of CSOs that monitor Georgias implementation of the EuropeanNeighbourhood Policy (ENP) Action Plan (AP). EPF presented recommendations onthe pending EU-Georgia free trade agreement for each group of stakeholderstheGeorgian government, the EU, civil society organizations and business circles. Therecommendations had been elaborated during three policy forums organized by EPFin fall 2008 that brought together 120 participants from state institutions, civilsociety organizations, mass media and business circles.

In addition to the five civil society organizations (OSGF, GYLA, Green Alternative,CIPDD and EPF), representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development, theOffice of the State Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and theMinistry of Foreign Affairs participated in the session. Deputy ministers and headsof departments from the two ministries requested that EPF review therecommendations to develop a progress report for civil society on ENPimplementation over the last year.

In December, an EPF representative went to Brussels as a member of the GeorgianCivil Society Coalition to present the main outputs of the project to EU officials. The

presentations were held at the European Commission with the Directorate-Generalfor External Relations and DG Trade, as well as with local CSOs.

EPFs EU integration-related activities also focus on increasing access to informationthrough media trainings. Prior to the forums on the free trade agreement, EPForganized a training seminar on economic issues for nine journalists from differentmedia outlets. After the forums, ten newspaper articles were printed on the eventsand the leading TV business program, Business Courier, covered the issue.

Summary of Plans for 2009: EPF will conduct up to 8 roundtable meetings (on thefree trade agreement, conflict resolution and media freedom) to support


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constructive dialogue among stakeholders. EPF will produce policy briefs to evaluatethe fulfillment of commitments under the ENP Action Plan and monthly E-bulletinswill provide updates on EU-Georgian relations and implementation of ENP AP for

stakeholders. EPF has already identified the winner of a grant competition in thefield of food standards and safety in order to evaluate the impact of the currentlegislation and promote awareness. The grant agreement will be signed in February2009.

Through these activities, recommendations provided by the NGO coalition workingon ENP AP implementation monitoring to the government are taken intoconsideration and the recommendations on possible EU-Georgia FTA will bereflected in the document. Also, the number of food processing companies applyingto the HACCP and ISO systems will increase by a minimum of 10%.

Youth Integration

EPF established five Youth Bank committees in Marneuli, Akhaltsikhe, Batumi,Zugdidi and Telavi. Each Youth Bank of 7 members (35 participants total) wentthrough two intensive trainings in leadership and how to manage a small grantsprogram.

Each Youth Bank of seven members (35 participants total) went through twointensive trainings in how to manage a small grants program. Each Youth Bankannounced their small grants program in their communities and receivedapplications for small projects (up to $500) from other youth in their communities.The Akhaltsikhe Youth Bank alone received a total of 35 applications.

In November 2008, three Youth Banks operating in Georgia (Batumi, Akhaltsikheand Marneuli) awarded 12 youth let micro grant initiatives.

The leaders of the Youth Bank in Marneuli applied the skills obtained through EPFsYouth Bank program in organizing to help IDPs in Gori. In October 2008, theylaunched a donation drive at five local schools and gathered over 2,000 schoolsupplies, more than 400 articles of warm clothing and boxes of hygiene supplies,helping 116 children displaced by the conflict with Russia. The group intends tocontinue supporting IDPs as they are relocated to permanent housing in areas

throughout the country, including Kvemo Kartli.

In Batumi, the municipal government has made a financial contribution to some ofthe youth led micro grant initiatives. In Marneuli, the local council (Sakrebulo) hasindependently agreed to contribute to some of the youth led initiatives as well.

In fall 2008, EPF began consultations with the Association MitOst, represented byTheodor-Heuss-Kolleg, about establishing a strategic partnership in the area ofyouth engagement. The partnership will build off of EPFs existing Youth Banksthroughout the South Caucasus, working with twenty youth to develop project


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development, management and evaluation skills while promoting interculturalexchange and youth involvement.

Summary of Plans for 2009: EPF will establish seven new Youth Banks in theregions of Georgia and carry out capacity building workshops for the 70 Youth Bankcommittee members on project writing, implementing, and monitoring skills. YouthBank committees will award at least 70 youth led initiatives (maximum 500 USDper micro project). EPF will conduct workshops on lessons learned following eachfunding cycle. EPF will also develop youth-adult partnerships and support at least20 micro grant initiatives implemented in collaboration between youth and adults.

Through these activities, EPF will increase opportunities for community involvementand volunteerism both for adolescents and adults and knowledge sharing andlearning processes will lead to more effective micro-projects.

Community and Youth Philanthropy

In 2008, EPF launched the Corporate Social Investment (CSI) program. Initialactivities focused on promoting the concept of CSI through a roundtable andworkshop to build awareness of the concept among Georgian companies. EPF alsoorganized stakeholder meetings for a new endowment law and lobbied forfoundations to be included in the list of eligible organizations in the draft legislation.

EPF launched the CSI program with the conference Corporate Social Investments: ANew Model of Partnerships, which convened 70 participants from the businesscommunity, government, non-profits and donor organizations. The workshop forcompany representatives was conducted by British CSI experts and covered suchissues as why companies should get involved in CSI and what international modelsof CSI can be applied in the Georgian context.

Unfortunately, the conflict with Russia and the global financial crisis inhibitedfurther significant progress in this mandate area. Additionally, EPF has hired a newprogram manager in fall 2008.

Summary of Plans for 2009: EPF will hold workshops and consultations for threeseparate groups on CSI: (1) business schools to improve education delivery in the

area of CSI, (2) business representatives to improve private companies capacity todesign and implement CSI projects and (3) non-profit organizations to improvetheir capacity to establish partnerships with private companies.

Through these activities, participating business school instructors will have greatercapacity to develop CSI courses, participating companies will have improvedunderstanding of corporate social investment as a concept and its application, andnon profit organizations will have increased awareness of various models of privategiving.


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Tourism Development

In 2008, EPF worked to promote the tourism industry in Georgia by supporting

human resource development in the tourism and hospitality sectors. Theseactivities resulted in:

Quality control systems introduced at two vocational centers in Tbilisi andKobuleti

Assessment findings are incorporated in the program content andadministration

Improved capacity of two state tourism schools to provide quality vocationaleducation and retraining programs

Achievement of affiliation with an internationally recognized tourism schoolabroad

EPFs assistance to the Tbilisi Tourism School, which in addition to curriculadevelopment, involved support in the establishment of partnerships with the privatesector, led to several private companies agreeing to provide summer internships tostudents. Eighteen students were recruited by the Marriott, 25 students by GMTGroup, and 50 students by various restaurants and hotels in the resort townBatumi. Students receive credit toward their degrees for the internships.

Summary of Plans for 2009: EPF has made the strategic decision to discontinueworking explicitly on tourism development, though the Foundation continues to beinvolved with the Department of Tourism and Resorts to keep abreast of anydevelopments in the sector and be aware of potential project synergies.

Elections

EPF held grant competitions to solicit proposals on voter education and monitoringthe parliamentary elections, funding projects by the Georgian Regional MediaAssociation (GRMA) and Public Movement Multinational Georgia (PMMG). GRMAprovided voters with up to date information on candidates and voting proceduresthrough a coalition of nine popular newspapers in 7 regions (Ajara, Imereti,Kakheti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Guria, Shida Kartli and Samegrelo) of Georgia. PMMGmobilized local communities in Kvemo Kartli and Samtskhe-Javakheti regions for

pre-election and election monitoring and preparing them for a public response topossible violations. Over 200 community activists that had been trained on electionprocedures for the January 5 presidential election campaign conducted monitoringof parliamentary elections to prevent vote-rigging and other violations.

There are no elections planned in Georgia for 2009, so EPF will not be focusing onelection-related projects at this time.


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Cross-Border

Through the South Caucasus Citizen Empowerment Program, a cross border

initiative, EPF trained partner organizations in Georgia to independently implementtown hall meetings to facilitate group discussions on policy issues and developpolicy recommendations.

From mid-April to mid-October 2008, EPF funded the film festivalNATIONALITY:H U M A N in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, as well as in the breakawayregions of Abkhazia, Nagorny Karabakh and South Ossetia. The festival traveled tomid-size and small centers of the South Caucasus and organized up to 27documentary film presentations of 9 international top level documentaries dealingwith human rights and conflict resolution issues. Each presentation lasted for threedays and was prepared and conducted in close partnership with local organizations,

accompanied by public discussions with the participation of external experts andother cultural or social events linked to the promotion of Human Rights and Conflictresolution.

The festival broadened the debate on human rights and the peaceful settlement ofconflicts beyond the immediate intellectual circles within the South Caucasiancapitals.

Summary of Plans for 2009: EPF will focus on four main directions: South CaucasusCitizen Empowerment to promote inclusive and transparent decision-making onpublic policy issues in the South Caucasus; South Caucasus Creative Commons(CC) to adapt the CC licensing system to intellectual property rights frameworks inArmenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia; and South Caucasus Public Policy CapacityBuilding to improve the quality of policy analysis in the countries of the SouthCaucasus.

Social Enterprise

In 2008, EPF added a new programmatic focus: social enterprise (businesses thatoperate primarily with social objectives as the bottom line and reinvest profitsback into the social objectives of the business). EPFs activities focus on thoroughlystudying international models of social enterprises, examining local experiences and

identifying beneficiaries and target organizations.

Activities in this area began in late 2008 (due to staff turnover, the conflict withRussia and the global economic crisis) and will continue into 2009. There has beenno impact to date.


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Evaluation

In 2009, EPF will evaluate its programmatic activities according to baseline

information and activities implemented to date. The results of these evaluations willbe used to refine program methodology and adjust activities within specificprogrammatic areas as needed, and will be introduced to the Board during thestrategic planning meeting in late spring 2009. The results from these evaluationsand refining of programmatic activities will be reflected in EPFs biannual reportingto Sida.

Post-conflict Activities

Aid Monitoring

EPF is a founding member of the Transparent Aid to Georgia Coalition, which willmonitor international aid to Georgia in order to promote the transparency of theforeign financial aid pledged by donor countries and international organizations toassist Georgia in overcoming the crisis following the August 2008 armed conflict,increase government accountability, and promote the participation of civil society inthe management of this aid.

Post-War Rehabilitation

No significant impact has yet been recorded from the EPF supported projects thatassist the post-war rehabilitation work in Georgia. However there are outputs thatare worth mentioning:

Shelter: EPFs grantee, the Association for Protection of Landowners Rights(APLR), assisted 300 IDP families in acquiring residential and agriculturalland parcels (formerly state-owned land in Kvemo Kartli region). Theorganization assessed the land in terms of accessibility, infrastructuredevelopment and arability and assisted the families in registering theproperty.

Psycho-social rehabilitation: EPF grantee NGO Sapari has been activelyinvolved in psychological and medical rehabilitation of IDPs from theTskhinvali Region and Kodori Gorge. Sapari focuses on helping IDPs to avoidor cope with family violence caused by post-conflict psychological trauma.

Currently EPF is reviewing five grant proposals focused on integrating newIDPs into society.

EPF is exploring program opportunities in Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali Region.Senior management and program staff have had meetings and discussions with theleadership of the Ministry of Reintegration and former grantees working on/in thebreak-away regions. Currently EPF is considering four inquiries (from theAssociation of Georgian-Abkhaz Mixed Families, the Center for Georgian-OssetianRelations, the radio station Voice of Abkhazia (www.abkhazmedia.com) and theAssociation of Printed Media) focusing on confidence building and reestablishingcommunication among Georgian, Abkhaz and Ossetian communities.


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IV.

2008 INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT REPORT

EFP was launched on November 14, 2007 when the Board of Trustees

approved the Charter and Bylaws of the Foundation. On February 1, 2008,EPF began full operations as a local organization.

In calendar year 2008, the following Board meetings were held:

Audit and Finance Committee 7 meetingsDevelopment Committee 1 meetingExecutive Committee 3 meetingsNomination Committee 3 meetingsFull Board 2 meetings

EPF has made impressive strides forward in its organizational development. TheInstitutional Development Plan contains six objectives. The majority of theoutcomes for each objective have already been met:

Objective 1: To engage EPF trustees in the strategic development of EPF

Orientation for EPFs Board was provided through a workshop on November 13,2007. About seven board members participated in a three-country launch of thelocal foundation. The Board adopted the organizations Bylaws and created an AdHoc Governance Task Force that met in January 2008 to review the Policies andProcedures and Bylaws, and develop Committee Charters for the ExecutiveCommittee (ExCom), Audit and Finance Committee and the Nominating andGovernance Committee.

Daniel Tarshys joined the Board at the May Board meeting. George Zarubin andHorton Beebe-Center provided him with an orientation using the materials from theNovember Board meeting (charters, bylaws, etc) and reviewed with him hisresponsibilities as a new Board member.

EPFs Presidents office staff developed a checklist and formal orientation manual fornew Board members, which was used in December 2008 when Tehri Hakala joinedthe Board of Trustees.

The Nominating and Governance Committee prepared a self-performanceevaluation form for Board members, which was presented to the Board at theNovember 17, 2008 Board meeting.

EPFs president sends monthly budget-to-actual reports to the Finance Committee(FinCom) and to any other Board members who wish to receive them, andcumulative reports for the FinCom, ExCom and Board meeting.

Several board members provided assistance in meeting potential donors. SabineFreizer scheduled and attended meetings for Keti Vashakidze in Brussels. Margo


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Squire helped organize contacts and meetings in Ankara for George Zarubin. TimStraight worked with Gevorg Ter Gabrielyan to make introductions and submit aproposal to the Norwegian government. Andrew Coxshall, managing partner for

KPMG, assisted in obtaining a corporate contribution for a seminar in Yerevan onCorporate Social Responsibility. Five trustees (Margaret Richardson, RoySouthworth, Horton Beebe-Center, Ken Yalowitz and George Zarubin) madeunrestricted contributions to EPF.

EPFs chair visited the Yerevan office to learn more about programs and trusteeSabine Freizer visited both the Tbilisi and Baku offices to learn more about thedetails of our programs. The CFO has revised and improved the monthly financialreports provided to the trustees on the Financial and Audit Committee of the Board.

In September 2008, the ExCom visited Baku for site visits and stakeholder

meetings and held their meetings there. This visit helped the trustees learn aboutthe program details. Likewise, site visits were organized for trustees around theNovember 2008 Board meeting in Georgia

Objective 2: To set medium-term and specific program targets for EPFs financialsustainability and to create the systems required to achieve those targets

EPFs Board approved our fundraising strategy at the November 2007 Boardmeeting. The Eurasia Foundations donor management system, the Donor DataBase (DDB), is used in all offices to maintain information about correspondencewith donors, including submitted project proposals and contracts.

In 2008, staff received training in program design, budget development andgeneral fundraising, with on-going skills development by drafting new proposals.

EPF has received new awards from numerous new donors including the EuropeanUnion, National Democratic Institute, Garadagh Cement and Western UnionFoundation. Between the November 2007 and the May 2008 Board meetings, EPFreceived pledges of approximately $6 million from non-core USAID donors,including $3 million from Sida over 3 years for Georgia. Carnegie renewed theirsupport for CRRC with an award of $2 million.

EPF continues to enjoy VAT exemptions on US bilateral funding and continues toexplore all options to retain its charity and VAT-exempt status where it can.

Progress made on fundraising goals ($10,000,000 over 3 years) was reported tothe Board. Between November 2007 and April 2008, EPF raised pledges ofapproximately $7.4 million. A large number of new proposals were prepared andsubmitted, collectively worth $1,371,649.

At the November 2008 Board meeting, the trustees decided to create aDevelopment Committee to focus on EPFs fundraising strategy.


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priorities, a letter from the President and other information was printed anddistributed for internal use. One-page summaries were printed and more detailedone-pagers were written and printed for programs that were ongoing from the prior

year for some offices.

Communications staff continue to write press releases and the decision was takento begin publishing new grant awards through the websites again.

A new web-site was launched in February and fully populated with information. EPFcommunications staff continue to place news and announcements on the web-siteseveral times a week. Program staff have taken greater ownership over the webpages describing their programs, and the regional communications officer continuesto work with the web designer on a retainer contract to improve functionality.


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EPF 2009 Work Plan February 15, 2009

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The project will be implemented in Rustavi, Gardabani, Bolnisi, Marneuli, Dmanisi,Tsalka and Tetritskaro districts.

Grantee Institution: The Education-Information Center - Kartli XXIProposal Title: Youth: future public authorityGrant Amount: 5, 628.53 USDImplementation Dates: June 20 November 20, 2008

To promote civic activism and the acquisition of practical job skills among youth inKhashuri district (Kartli). The Education-Information Center - Kartli XXI organizedan internship program for young people at business and government offices inKhashuri to provide necessary leadership and practical skills for young peopleparticipating in the project to become more active in decision-making within theirlocal municipality. This project was cofinanced by the World Bank Youth Voices

Small Grant Competition.

Participatory Civic Monitoring

Grantee Institution: Chemi Kharagauli NewspaperProposal Title: Contribute to Development of Self-Governance by

Development of Independent NewspaperGrant Amount: 27,013 USDImplementation Dates: July 1, 2008 June 30, 2009

To facilitate dialogue between the local government and citizens of Kharagauli byinvolving the readers of the independent local newspaper Chemi Kharagauli incivic oversight of the elected local government, and by developing the newspaperscapacity to provide information about local self-governance problems.

The project will contribute to the expansion and development of the volume andcirculation of the sole non-governmental and independent newspaper in the region,thereby allowing more residents of the district to be better informed about self-governance issues. Citizens will be better informed on their rights of participationand have an opportunity to voice their opinions about the burning issues of thedistrict and performance of local authorities. The local government will have an

opportunity to better understand local communities needs through training aboutself-governance and citizens participation issues. The increased volume, circulationand audience of the newspaper will contribute to the further development of thesole independent media outlet in the district and improve involvement of localcommunities in local democratic processes.


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Grantee Institution: Human Rights CenterProposal Title: Monitoring of Court System in GeorgiaGrant Amount: 33,130 USD

Implementation Dates: October 1, 2008 September 30, 2009

To promote citizen oversight of the court system in Georgia through monitoring andimproved journalistic coverage. The combination of court monitoring by a watchdogCSO and journalistic investigation of 50 politically sensitive criminal andadministrative court cases will contribute to the strengthening of the weakenedpublic oversight on judiciary, more transparency of sensitive court cases andincreased accountability of the law-enforcement authorities before the public. Theproject will be jointly implemented by an experienced human rights NGO and anexperienced media outlet involved in investigative journalism. The projectaddresses one of the most sensitive areas of Georgias domestic reform agenda and

will further reforms of Georgian judiciary system and development of courtjournalism.

Grantee Institution: NewspaperKakhetis KhmaProposal Title: Civic Monitoring of Transfers from the Central

Budget to the Vintage-2008 Program in Kakheti

Grant Amount: 27,720.01 USDImplementation Dates: December 1, 2008 July 31, 2009

To promote citizen oversight on the spending of the central budget transfers andsubsidies allocated to the Kakheti Region for implementation of the Vintage-2008program. After receiving training in covering budgetary issues, the grantee willundertake journalistic investigations of the local budget spending for the designatedprogram and cover the issue in a designated section of the newspaper. The projectwill increase the role of the local media in participatory civic monitoring in theregion, enhance the capacity of the newspapers journalists to cover fiscal issues,including the budget, and create an environment for increased citizen participationin the local decision-making process.

Grantee Institution: Union Studio MonitorProposal Title: Investigative Journalism against CensorshipGrant Amount: 36,000 USDImplementation Dates: October 1, 2008 March 31, 2009

To support media independence and civic monitoring in Georgia throughindependent investigative journalism. The project will produce nine documentariesbased on journalistic investigations on a wide range of sensitive issues, focusing onpossible misuse of power and money by public officials. The documentaries will bebroadcast by the independent TV company Kavkasia. Broadcast of the films willcontribute to increased civic awareness of the problems needed to be addressed,call the public and the government for actions to resolve the problems andresurrect the role of the media and journalistic investigations in civic control overthe authorities and private sector. Overall, the project will contribute to the


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Grantee Institution: Democratic Development Union of GeorgiaProposal Title: Does the government listen to you?!Grant Amount: 21,362 USD

Implementation Dates: October 1, 2008 September 30, 2009

To increase participation of six territorial communities of Ozurgeti municipality inthe local governments decision-making process by strengthening public discussionand civil control over spending part of the Ozurgeti municipal budget and proactiveinvolvement of the local media in this process. The participatory monitoring withthe trained civic initiative groups in six municipal areas, regular communitymeetings and community-driven budget initiatives shall reinforce latent civicresources in the region, provide grassroots civic groups with skills and knowledge ofparticipatory monitoring and decision making contribute to better transparency andaccountability of local government and. facilitate dialogue between government and

communities. The involvement of the local independent newspaper in themonitoring through the cooperation with the Civil Society Organization willcontribute to their lasting cooperation, which improve quality and impact of themonitoring process, increase public understanding and awareness of civil controlover the local budget and contribute to the budget spending in accordance with thecommunity needs.

Grantee Institution: Public Union The Young Scientists Club ofOzurgeti

Proposal Title: Why we elected them?Grant Amount: 24,644 USDImplementation Dates: October 1, 2008 July 31, 2009

To increase transparency and accountability of the elected governments andappointed municipalities of Ozurgeti, Lanchkhuti and Chokhatauri in their socialand economic activities by joint efforts of local civil society organizations (CSO) andthe independent local television.

The CSOs will gather and analyze information about the burning social economicproblems of these municipalities and then will make them subject of publicdiscussion among the major stakeholders in the live televised talk shows. The talk-shows coupled with CSO monitoring activities must mechanisms for a dialoguebetween government and civic groups about changes to policies and decisions

affecting communities lives and contribute to the improvement of the quality ofplanning, spending and delivery public services in these municipalities. Thegrassroots community groups will acquire skills of participatory monitoring and thelocal media will become a part of this process.

According to the decision by EPF Experts Panel the project will be implemented inclose cooperation with another winner of the EPF grant competition Georgian Unionfor Democratic Development. . The Memorandum of Cooperation andUnderstanding defines terms of cooperation


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Implementation Dates: December 12, 2008 March 15, 2009

Batumi Youth Bank initiative group has announced micro grants competition for the

youth (aged 16-25) of Ajara Region to open up the opportunities for participation ofyoung people in decision making and mobilization of resources around theimportant challenges faced by youth of Ajara. As a result of community needsassessment Batumi Youth Bank ahs identified the following priorities:

1) Lack of opportunities for involvement in sports;2) Inadequate conditions for receiving quality education;

As a result of the competition Batumi Youth Bank has solicited 24 applications, outof which 6 were shortlisted for the interview and 4 have been selected for funding.


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Staff are constantly up todate on ongoing and new

activities of otherimplementers and donorsin the areas where theywork

Ongoing

acceptance memos

Meeting notes;

Needs assessmentsand acceptancememos

Improve reportingon impact inprograms/projects

Outcomes, indicators andverifiable targets areincorporated in initialprogram design andreporting

Board is better briefed onprogram outcomes

Quarterly

Semi-annual

Reports in DDB,Acceptance memos,Quarterly Reports

Reports to the EPFBoard at the Boardmeetings

Knowledge, usageand maintenance ofprogrammanagementsystems (PMISand/or new EFnetwork system)

# of program staffregularly using PMIS

Actual-to-targetinformation on program isavailable on a quarterlybasis

Development of workplans by all program stafffor all programs

training;ongoing usage

Quarterly

On-going

Training Agenda and# participants

Program Reportsgenerated

Work plans

Regular reviews ofprogram progress

by EPF seniormanagement

# of individual meetingswith program staff

1 per quarter,including annual

performancereview

Quarterly PMISreports

Copies of AnnualEmployeePerformanceAppraisal

Knowledge of EPFpolicies andprocedures

# of EPF staff training inpolicies and procedures,including program design,etc., especially for newstaff

On-going Copy of Policies andProcedures

Copy of trainingmaterials

Objective 4: To develop strong human resource management, administration andcommunication to ensure effective and improved operations

Improve the annualreview process,setting clear,measurable goalsfor all staff,including thePresident

Semi-annual staffperformance reviews

Review of the Presidentsperformance by the Board

Twice each year

Twice each year

Employee andEmployerPerformance Reviewforms

Boards notes

Confirm staff Employees participate in Semi-annually Copies of annual


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Continuedinvolvement of theBoard and its

Finance Committeeto providenecessary guidanceand control

# of financial budget-to-actual reports by programsubmitted to the Board

# of financial budget-to-actual reports by programsubmitted to the EPFFinance Committee

monthly

monthly

Board books; copiesof Board meetingminutes

Documentedconversation; copiesof reports sent byCFO to trustees

Improved skills andknowledge of EPFemployees on USGregulations andrequirements withrespect to fundsmanagement,NICRA formulation,documentretention, etc.

# of EPF employees whoReceive training onproposal budgetpreparation, new donorrequirements & contractsmanagement

# of EPF employeesattended training session& cross-training of financestaff in each office tosupport each other

All EPF program,finance andadministrativeemployees

Ongoing trainingas required

List of attendees;Agenda of training

List of attendees;Agenda of training

Developedmethodology fordistribution ofindirect cost pool,regularly reviewedand revised

Methodology is approvedby President

By Jan. 2009 Copy of approveddocument

Completion of an A-

133 auditequivalent with nomajor findings &constructiveresponse to anyrecommendations

Training of future local

CFO

Audit Report

Management Response toAudit Report

Ongoing training

in 2009

Audit due byMarch 31, 2009

Work onresponses andrecommendationsto any auditfinding

CFO training

checklist

Audit Report

ManagementResponse to AuditReport

Objective 6: To improve external and internal communications about EPFs goals andaccomplishments to all levels of it stakeholders (Media, Donors, Trustees, Staff, etc)

Through use ofcommunicationsstrategies,popularize EPFactivities andachievement andprogram outcomes

# of EPF staff invited tospeak as experts at non-EPF events

# of EPF events attendedby a broad range ofstakeholders, includingdonors and governmentofficials

On-going

Minimum 4events in 2009

Requests for EPFstaff as speakers

List of Participants atevents; RSVPs

Awareness raised, Number of visitors to the Quarterly Web Traffic On-line


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creating an evenmore positiveimage of EPF and

its programs

EPF site

Explore the need for a

bulletin board on thewebsites for feedback

# of press releases & TVreports about EPF events

Annual Report

Revised CommunicationsMaterials

By December

2009

On-going

April 2009

On-going 2009

stats

Memo to EPF Sen.

Management Team

Records maintainedby the EPFscommunicationsofficers

Annual Report

CommunicationsMaterials

Through buildingrelationships withkey partners &donors, market EPFso that it has betteraccess to donorfunding

# of EPF success storiescited by donors to EPF

# of EPF events promotingcollaboration with partners& donors to highlightaspects of EPF programs

Several in 2009

2 seminars heldin conjunctionwith otherpartners ordonors outside ofthe Caucasus

EPF success storiesin donors reports,publications and onwebsites

Agendas of theevents


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A. Civic Monitoring and Dialogue

Program Goal:

To foster active and informed participation of Georgian community groups, NGOsand media outlets in their communities political and economic decision-makingthrough monitoring.

Program Justification:

Civil society in Georgia has not yet reached its potential to hold governmentaccountable and to effect change in policy. The varying levels of professionalismand research skills among NGOs further hinder their abilities to supportconstituencies and bring about change. NGOs must simultaneously demonstratethat their actions are driven and inspired by grassroots demand, and they must bemore diligent and professional in their monitoring, data collection and reporting if

they are to be treated as equal partners in policy formation.Project 1.1: Civic Monitoring

Project Background/Justification

A public opinion survey conducted by CRRC for Transparency International Georgiain 2007-2008 confirmed that citizens poor knowledge about the main functions ofthe state and their low trust are pervasive problems. The majority of those pollednamed poor communication between citizens and elected officials and the low levelof qualification of officials as the main causes of citizen distrust. Those citizens whoare active in the regions lack knowledge of tools for influencing local decision-making, while NGOs sometimes are regarded as biased not only by government butalso by citizens. The population is evenly split regarding trust of civil society: 21percent fully or somewhat trust CSOs, while 20 percent fully or somewhatdistrust CSOs, according to the 2007 nationwide survey commissioned by CRRC.These results are a vivid example that since the latest similar survey in 2005(USAID/Citizens Advocate Program), which found that CSOs in general have notmade any significant progress in the improvement of their public image andcredibility. Through encouraging participatory civic monitoring, CSOs will be drivento improve their links with communities and to make them part of the publicoversight efforts.

Another aspect of the problem is the media, which tends not to acknowledge theimportance of cooperation with CSOs in monitoring the government. This problem

needs to be addressed because the solitude of CSOs in monitoring significantlylowers its impact. Participatory civic monitoring needs to address this problem bybuilding sustainable cooperation between the media and CSOs whichsimultaneously shall improve the process of informing largely uniformed publicabout the monitoring and its outcomes.

The concept of participatory civic monitoring emphasizes the process by whichprimary stakeholders at the local level actively engage in monitoring thegovernments commitments to the reform process and public service delivery andbecome engaged in identifying or taking corrective actions. Through this process,


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Program Activities:

Roundtable meetings: Up to eight roundtable meetings (on the priorities ofthe ENP AP, including an EU-Georgia Free Trade Area food standards andsafety, and visa facilitation) will be held to support the constructive dialogueand exchange of ideas among stakeholders.

Policy briefs and E-bulletins: Every roundtable meeting will be followed bypreparation and dissemination of a policy brief, which will evaluate thefulfillment of commitments under the ENP AP. Monthly E-bulletins on updatesof EU-Georgian relations and implementation of ENP AP will be prepared anddisseminated among the stakeholders.

Grant making: EPF will make grants in the field of food standards and safetyin order to evaluate the impact of the current legislation and launch publicawareness building and advocacy campaign. Survey of Attitudes towardsEuropean values and institutions and the progress of Georgias EuropeanIntegration. The survey will assess citizens attitude towards Georgians EUintegration process as well as produce a baseline data for policy and programplanning for the Government of Georgia, donors and NGOs.

Outcomes PerformanceIndicator

Baseline Target/Date Data source

Increased public

awareness of EUinstitutions and ENPcommitments

Consensus built onspecific issues ofENP APimplementationamong various

stakeholders

# of people with

the understandingof EU institutionsand ENPcommitmentsparticularlyreferring to visafacilitation, EU Georgia free tradearea

# of jointrecommendations

between variousthe CSOrepresentativesdeveloped

n/a

1

Increase of 10 %

8

Baseline survey

Summativeevaluation

Programdocumentation

Improved policyand actions aimedat the fulfillment ofENP commitments

# of ENP APcommitmentsfulfilled

# of changes inthe laws andactions undertakenby the government

0 Up to 2 policyareas (traderelations andfood security)

EC annualevaluationreports on ENPAPimplementation


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in response to theadvocacycampaigns


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B. Corporate Social Investments: A New Model for Partnership

Project Goal:

To promote greater engagement of private companies in addressing Georgiasdevelopment needs

Program Justification:

At a more general level, the need is coming from the ongoing transformation in theroles of the government, private companies, and non-profit organizations inaddressing Georgias development needs. With the governments move away froma highly centralized economy built on the soviet socialist model, and towards a freemarket-oriented system (often highly criticized), centralized social services have allbut disappeared. Many private companies operating in Georgia are experiencing anincreasing pressure to develop social investment programs to address the gaps,

and non-profits are natural partners in implementing social service projects.However, private companies have a poor understanding of how they can identifypriorities and develop strategies for social investments; and often they also do notknow about or even mistrust potential partners in the non-profit field. On the otherside, non-profit entities do not have the capacity to effectively fundraise from theprivate sector.

NB: As a response to the recent influx of refugees, several prominent banks andbusinesses (Bank of Georgia, TBC) have set up relief funds to which their accountholders can contribute. This is a good precedent because it enables people to makecash contributions to a specific cause and also shows that the company isresponsive. However, it is not clear how the money from these funds will bedistributed and whether local NGOs will be involved. EPF has been approached byrepresentatives of TBC and Bank of Georgia regarding the management of theirconflict-related funds and has offered consulting and technical assistance in grantsmanagement; however no details of cooperation or commitments have been made.This is a high-risk area, since many banks in Georgia currently have very little cashand the management of these funds is unlikely to be very transparent.

The program will address the problems through a series of trainings for bothcompanies and non-profits. Recognizing the absence of local training capacity inthis area, the program will also facilitate international consultancy to introducecorporate social investment courses in the curricula of local business schools. This

component targets the next generation of managers, who will later enter thecorporate world with an understanding of the notion and importance of corporatesocial investments. The program also addresses the existing legal framework forprivate contributions, recognizing the flaws in the tax treatment of privatecontributions and earning of economic, i.e. revenue-bearing activities of non-profitorganizations. It will include legal research, drafting, consultations withstakeholders, and lobbying with the relevant ministries and parliamentarycommittees.


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will include preliminary meetings with the heads of academic programs of thebusiness schools, an intensive 2-3 day workshop for the faculty interested in thepreparation of courses, and follow-up consultancy to provide feedback on the

courses developed by business schools.



Introduction ofcorporate socialinvestment coursesin the curricula oflocal businessschools

Number of schools,which willintroduce CSRstudies in theirstandard curricula

Number ofstudents signing

up for CSR courses

0

0

2

20 (first year)09/2009

School web-sites, developedcurricula

Survey ofparticipating

lecturers andacademicprogram heads

Project 2.3: Building Non-Profit Organizations Capacity in Fundraising from PrivateDonors

Project Goal:

To improve capacity of non-profit organizations to establish partnerships with theprivate companies

Project Summary:

The project will be structured as a series of workshops for non-profit organizationsfocusing on such topics as different models of private contributions, fundraisingfrom corporate donors, effective management of private donor funds, etc. A kick-offworkshop was held in July 2008 with co-funding from British Council and SorosFoundation that attracted over 40 representatives of Georgian non-profit andacademic organizations. A panel of international speakers from Great Britain,Hungary, Ukraine, Russia and the Philippines discussed best practices of non-profit/private sector collaboration and models that could be duplicated in Georgia.Three additional workshops will be carried out in 2009. EPF will also organize oneevent to promote networking among private and non-profit organizations.



Partnershipsestablishedbetween non-profitand for-profitorganizations;

Number ofpartnershipsestablished amongfor-profit and non-profitorganizations.(Partnerships canencompass directcash donations,employees

0 10 SummativeEvaluation


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C. Tourism Development

Program Goal:

To promote the tourism industry in Georgia by supporting human resourcedevelopment in the tourism and hospitality sectors

EPF has made the strategic decision to phase out the tourism development programdue to the implications of the conflict with Russia and better allocation of resources.


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CROSS-BORDER PROGRAMS

EPF Cross-Border Programs plan to implement operational programs in four main

directions: South Caucasus Citizen Empowerment to promote inclusive andtransparent decision-making on public policy issues in the South Caucasus; SouthCaucasus Creative Commons (CC) to adapt CC licensing system to intellectualproperty rights frameworks in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia; Unbiased MediaCoverage of Armenia-Azerbaijan Relations to increase the amount of accurate andunbiased reporting of the bilateral relationship between Armenia and Azerbaijan;and South Caucasus Public Policy Capacity Building to improve quality of policyanalysis in the countries of the South Caucasus. The Unbiased Media Coverageprogram is largely supported by British FCO funds with a small EF/USAID costshare. Technical assistance is provided by Creative Commons International underthe Creative Commons program. There are plans to fundraise with OSCEs ENVSEC

and other donors to support the Phase II and III of the Citizen Empowermentprogram. Strategies for each of the above programs follow.


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CAUCASUS RESEARCH RESOURCE CENTERS (CRRC) PROGRAMS

CRRC is fully funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York. The program receives no

core-USAID funding.

Background:

In 2009, CRRC's main goals are to continue to strengthen, develop and enhancecurrent programming including the Data Initiative, the Fellowship Program and theLibrary and Training Program. CRRC has attracted a significant number ofcollaborative projects with substantially larger budgets outside of Carnegies corefunding, than projects awarded in FY07 with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office(FCO), The National Democratic Institute of International Affairs (NDI),International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), Transparency Internationaland the Global Development Network (GDN). Most of these projects have built on

work done under CRRCs Data Initiative program, with the goal of providing moreaccurate data on which to base public policy. In 2009, CRRC will continue suchcollaborative projects, while attempting to find further co-financing for corebusiness. CRRC has already received approval from the European Commission tosupport the Data Initiative in Georgia (rebranded Caucasus Barometer) and is alsolooking to work with OSI.

A. Training and Fellowship Program

Program Goal:To bring social science research in the South Caucasus up to internationalstandards of excellence.

Justification:

The rapid pace of economic and political change in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgiarequires researchers who are able to objectively assess and report on theseprocesses, and whose work helps to develop future policies. While there is apressing need for indigenous scholars to carry out public-policy relevant research,neither governmental nor non-governmental support for research has materializedin the region. The lack of social science capacity has an impact on the quality ofpolicymaking. Local researchers are not sufficiently capable of analyzing thesituation in their own countries. Consequently, there is insufficient expertise, andpolicymakers lack critical constructive support in designing, implementing,

monitoring and evaluating policies. Foreign consultants cannot make up for thisproblem, since they often lack knowledge of local particulars, work in their ownincentive structures, and are disproportionately more expensive.

In response, CRRC provides fellowships for local fellows in the South Caucasus tocarry out social science research. In FY09, CRRC will continue to administer thefellowship through Moodle, an online platform. Furthermore, CRRC will work to buildmore trainings around the fellowships and find more opportunities for successfulfellows and for fellowship. CRRC will also continue to build on the trend initiated inFY07 of finding non-core Carnegie funds to support fellowships, however, on a more


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3. COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

REGIONAL COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES:

To raise awareness among the general public about EPF and its programsthrough increased news articles and TV reports

To integrate communications and outreach efforts into all programs, in orderto 1) raise awareness about the role of civil society and EPF, and 2)contribute to EPFs own external communications products/efforts

Focus more on telling stories that demonstrate program/grant impact andoutcomes.

Build/maintain relationships with current donors: communicate more clearlyand more often about our activities; attract new sources of funding,especially from European donors

To maintain a consistent message about EPF that is delivered by staff at alllevels to external audiences

AUDIENCES & MESSAGES:

The audiences and targeted messages of EPFs external communications are asfollows:

Primary Audience Message

Donors Mission StatementLocal foundations are an effective vehicle for managing funds andprograms because they build off of EFs strong systems, but theyhave a renewed focus on working outside capital cities tooPrograms are responsive, not directive we work between thenexus of locally-defined priorities and international interestsEPF has a unique and effective mechanism for regionalprogramming ( cross-border programs)EPF has deep experience in civic sector programmingEPF has a very strong abilities and experience both as a programimplementer and grant maker

Local Partners andGrant Seekers

Mission StatementEPF is looking for innovative ideas new solutions to old oremerging issues

Role of civil society and EPFEPF programs are tough, but they build grantee capacity andexperienceEPF is looking for more strong or emerging partners in the regionsoutside capital citiesEncourage grant seekers to make deeper connections with local andregional constituencies/beneficiaries/grassroots initiativesEPF programs are demand-driven and based on actual needsEPF programs have impact!

Government Mission StatementWe are ready for cooperation with the government inimplementation of our programs


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Azerbaijan: Programs implemented by EPF absolutely coincide withthe development directions of Azerbaijan and assist to achieve itsgoals; We support non-political initiatives; Priorities of the

localization processArmenia: communicate better how our services complement theirprograms and objectivesGeorgia: Maintain ongoing positive relationship with variousministries including Ministry of Education and Ministry of EconomicDevelopment/Department of Tourism; build new relationship withOffice of the State Minister for Conflict Resolution with an eyetowards new programming in Abkhazia and S. Ossetia; buildrelationship with local/municipal governments

General population(through nationalmedia)

Mission StatementBenefits for population of localization locally defined priorities withfocus on working outside capitalLocalization: EF has operated like a local organization for manyyears now EPF is putting our legal structure in line with the waythat we operate; localization will not affect our core operations inany substantial wayEPF has a very strong abilities and experience both as a programimplementer and grant maker

Local Businesses Corporate Social Investment program helps share best practicesand offers businesses practical case studies from other businessesEPF invests in human capital the return is strong institutions thatsupport freedom of democracy and economyEPF is an experienced manager of funds directed to organizationswho implement social work

Development of business sector (development of entrepreneurship,CSR, etc) is one of the priorities of EPFEPF has experience of working with both donors and businesses(Statoil, Garadagh Cement)

MAIN COMMUNICATIONS PRODUCTS AND DELIVERY SCHEDULE

We anticipate that the communications/outreach component will be added to all theprojects/programs and following public outreach products will be used throughoutthe course of the program and documented accordingly in the reports as they relateto a specific program task:

Product Description Distribution Method Delivery Schedule

Websites 3 new coordinatedwebsites: Armenia,Azerbaijan, Georgia,Regional

Promotion of theweb-address oneverymeeting/event/e-communications

Updated regularly,at least once amonth

Annual Report 8-page report withRegional and Cross-border information, plus aback pocket for country-specific inserts (

Delivered by hand toall meetings;displayed inentryway to alloffices; available at

FY08 report printedby March 2009


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MONITORING AND EVALUATION:

The following indicators will be tracked to evaluate the efficacy of our messagingand communications:

Objective Indicator Target Data source

To raise awarenessamong the generalpublic about EPF andits programs throughincreased newsarticles and TVreports

# of newsarticles and TVreports aboutEPF and itsprograms innational/localmedia

To integratecommunications andoutreach efforts intoall programs

# of 1-pagersprinted/used perprogram

# outreachevents held perprogram

300 local language; 200 English

Ate least 2/program

Program records

Focus more on tellingstories thatdemonstrateprogram/grant impactand outcomes.

# successstoriesdeveloped

# stories in e-bulletinsdemonstratingimpact andoutcomes

4/office/year

4/e-bulletin/quarter

Success story

e-bulletin

Build/maintainrelationships withcurrent donors:communicate moreclearly and moreoften about ouractivities; attract newsources of funding,especially from

European donors

# donorsreceiving e-bulletins

100 on distribution list Distribution listrecords

To maintain aconsistent messageabout EPF that isdelivered by staff atall levels to externalaudiences

# staff who canrepeat not justEPFs mission,but who cangive theelevatorspeech -describingbriefly thefoundations

ALL program staff byNovember 2009

Mini quiz;conducted oncein February andagain inNovember tomeasure progress


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4.

COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

In 2008, EPF set a fundraising target of $10 million in non-core USAID funding for

its first three years of operations as a local organization. This target was set withthe primary purpose of diversifying EPFs donor base away from core-USAIDsources, which are not expected to be sustainable beyond 2010. Since the launch ofEPF in November 2007, the foundation has already raised more than $6 million innon-core USAID funding. While the figures are impressive, the fundraisingchallenges facing each office differ widely. Half of the funds raised to date havecome from a single donor to one country ($3 million from Sida to EPFs Georgiaoperations); and almost one quarter of funds raised to date (1.2 million) come fromEPFs longtime donor, Carnegie Corporation, for the CRRC program. Thus, the issueof diversification of funding sources is not yet resolved.

In 2009 EPF set fundraising targets based on estimates of the previous yearsfundraising. Since the general fundraising strategy is to seek funding for existingprogram areas by leveraging core USAID resources (rather than investing effortsinto launching new program areas), each target is specified as a percent of totalprogram funding.

The rationale for each target is explained below.

FUNDRAISING TARGETS FOR 2009

Percent of 2008 programs fundedby non-core donors*

2009 target (non-corefunding)

Georgia 52 % (including Sida) 70 %CRRC 23 %(73 % Carnegie core)

40 % (non-Carnegie)

Cross-border**

Armenia: 62 % (FCO)Azerbaijan: 61 % (FCO)Georgia: 23 % (Sida)

Azerbaijan: 100 %

PresidentsOffice

n/a Target: $ 100,000 inunrestricted funding

* Core donors are the EF/USAID grant (excluding performance funds) and CarnegieCorporation in the case of CRRC. Sidas contribution in Georgia is not consideredcore funding.**The figures for each country office include the portion of USAIDs core funding

that is allocated to cross-border programs.

1)Georgia

The Georgia offices costs are split almost evenly between core USAID funding andSida funding. While the Sida funding gives the Georgia office a level of security overthe next 2 years, Georgia must begin to establish substantial new sources offunding in 2009-10, well before the Sida monies run out. In 2009, a lot of money isexpected to pour into Georgia after the Russia-Georgia war in August. However,most of the new funding will be for infrastructure and humanitarian aid. It will be anew challenge to the fundraising team to respond to opportunities while adhering tothe Foundations core mission.


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2)Cross-border

Since cross-border budgets come from each country offices budget, and because

cross-border can be bilateral or trilateral, within the region or including othercountries (e.g. Russia, Turkey), it is very difficult to set targets for cross-borderfundraising. EPF will strive to fund 100% of Azerbaijans share of cross-borderprojects from non-core donor. One way to do this could be to seek more Armenia-Azerbaijan opportunities similar to the current FCO-funded media bias program,which will be increasingly relevant and attractive to donors. EPF will continuefundraising efforts for the Armenia and Georgia portions of these projects as well,whenever possible.

3)CRRC

While CRRC has demonstrated the largest successes in raising new sources of

funding in 2008, the majority of these funds have been raised for operations inGeorgia and Armenia; and very little new (non-Carnegie) money has been raisedfor CRRCs core activities: training, data collection and fellowships. Further, many ofthe CRRC awards have been relatively small over the last year, between 10,000and 50,000. While they have opened up new doors and allowed CRRC todemonstrate its ability to serve as a leader in high-quality research and surveywork, the demand on staff resources has been very high. In 2009, CRRC will needto continue its strong trend in attracting outside funding sources, but with a view topursuing larger, multi-year awards and projects for both its core activities andnewer competencies.

IDENTIFYING NEW OPPORTUNITIES

In the last 12 months, EPF has submitted a total of 49 proposals for funding in theSouth Caucasus. Of these, 18 proposals were awarded, 17 were rejected orwithdrawn and 15 are still outstanding. At an estimated 50 percent success rate,EPFs program development team has responded to nearly every opportunity thatarose during the last year. Compare these facts to the previous 12 month period,from September 2006-September 2007, when EF submitted 28 proposals, winningonly 10 and losing 18. Clearly, EPF has significantly increased both its overallnumber of submitted proposals (21 more), and the success rate (from one third toone half) over the last year.

Currently, EPFs development team and program staff have taken an opportunity-based approach to identifying new opportunities, passing along information whenwe hear of it and waiting for the news to come to us. EPF is developing a more asystematic process for identifying new requests for proposals, which means that thefoundation will be able to be more proactive. This is especially important in caseswhere multiple deadlines require strategic decisions about the allocation of stafftime and institutional capacity to respond. This is expected to increase the overallquality of proposals, the appropriateness of each concept to the opportunity, andthus to increase the win rate.


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THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND UNRESTRICTED FUNDING

In the long term, EPF must find ways to raise unrestricted funding that can replace

the core funding it now receives from USAID, Sida and Carnegie Corporation. Thesesources of funding are essential they allow the foundation to survive and maintainstaff and operations in periods where there is relatively little program-basedfunding, and they are attractive to donors who require co-financing of programs.

EFs efforts to secure a line item in the U.S. Congressional budget are critical to thiscause. However, with the U.S. Presidential elections, a new administration inJanuary 2009, and the usual delays in disbursement if the line item is successful,such funds would not become available until 2010 at the earliest. In the meantime,EPF will barely be able to cover its basic operating costs in Azerbaijan.Raising unrestricted funding is extremely difficult. It requires networking with high

net worth individuals and the engagement of the Board of Trustees. The Presidentsoffice will devise and pilot a strategy to raise unrestricted funding in 2009, setting alow but realistic target of $100,000 in the first year. This strategy will rely heavilyon the involvement of EPFs board members (one of the Institutional Developmentgoals for 2009), and EPF will put together a longer-term strategy for engaging theboard in fundraising activities, including setting up a Board Fundraising Committee.


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FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE PLAN

Still, EPF has areas in which it would like to improve or expand upon in 2009. These

include the development of an overhead rate, leading the EF network in developingnew information systems, the localization of the Chief Financial Officer position, andcontinued capacity building of the staff.

The financial staff will undergo training in 2008 in order to develop a standardformula to calculate overhead. Key staff will be brought to Tbilisi to discuss ouroptions. This includes but not necessarily means the approval of an official NICRArate. Other options include a base rate to calculate direct administrative based ondonor ability and a rate based on type of project. An overhead rate will also be usedto capture costs in donor proposals and to measure efficiency.

A major goal in 2009 is to become a leader in the development of an EF networkinformation system. EPF can not complete this on its own but the goal of EPF is tobe the leading contributor to the selection, design and implementation of the newsystem. The system will integrate a donor database, project management andfinancial accounting system.

By the end of 2008, EPF will also cease to have an expatriate Financial Officer. Aspart of overall sustainability plan, the Chief Financial Officer will be a local hire. Theperson has been identified and has been working at the Foundation for one year asthe Deputy Chief Financial Officer.

Trainings will continue to be an important part of the Human Resources departmentin 2009. EPF will focus its attention on sending program officer, grants managers,and finance staff to professional seminars. These include trainings for innovativeprogramming and donor regulation. For other outside trainings, the Foundation hasa goal of having 70% of the staff utilize the professional development allowance of$250.

In addition to staff training provided by external sources, EPF is utilizing newtechnologies such as Camtasia to build libraries of information, introduced by CRRCand copied by Finance. Camtasia allows staff to produce small tutorials thatincorporate narration, recorded screenshots, quizzes, and a graphical interface totrain employees. Our goal is to create a library of over 40 videos that teach basic

accounting, form completion, and other common tasks.

Documents

EPF Annual Report to Sida Feb 2009 Final