SOL-114-12-000001 Attachment 2.pdf

GEORGIA NEW ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES INITIATIVE FY 2012 WORK PLAN 11

A2. Detailed Approach

Activity 1.1. Select target communities for the 10 municipalities

Throughout Georgia, municipalities differ in population density, economic potential, agricultural production, and livelihoods. The mountainous municipalities of Oni, Tsageri, Lentekhi, Dusheti, and Kazbegi are sparsely populated, villages in these municipalities are scattered and in some instances inaccessible in winter months, the majority of villagers are elderly, and there are few IDPs. These factors hamper the economic potential of these municipalities. Even though a number of disadvantaged persons live in these municipalities, the potential for economic development projects, (i.e., reaching a large number of beneficiaries and achieving a sustainable impact) is very low. In Oni and Kazbegi, for example, an average community has 500 inhabitants

— most of whom are elderly. In contrast, an average community in Gori or Zugdidi has a population of more than 5,000. Given the disparity in population density between NEO municipalities, more people will benefit from the project interventions in densely populated municipalities.

During the selection of 84 communities, we prioritized communities with the largest number of inhabitants, thus increasing the possibility of sustainable economic impact on a large number of vulnerable Georgian citizens. We allocated the number of communities to be targeted in each municipality based on the municipalities’ populations. In municipalities with lower number of inhabitants, we slightly increased the number of communities to include villages with highly vulnerable individuals. The breakdown of the communities for each municipality is presented in the table below.

Region Municipality Population Number of

Communities

Number of Communities

Selected

Estimated Population

Shida Kartli Gori 148,686 21 16 112,061 Kareli 50,422 17 9 27,337 Khashuri 62,714 13 10 49,588

Mtskheta-Mtianeti Dusheti 33,636 18 8 14,067 Kazbegi 5,261 6 3 2,610

Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti

Zugdidi 167,760 29 17 97,253 Tsalenjikha 40,133 13 8 25,385

Racha-Lechkhumi Oni 9,277 18 4 2,038 Tsageri 16,622 16 5 5,498 Lentekhi 8,991 8 4 4,374

Total 543,502 159 84 340,211

After determining the number of communities to be targeted in each municipality, the NEO team started the community selection process based on the analysis of available statistical information, the outcomes of focus group discussions with key informants, and recommendations from NEO team and EDT. The following criteria were used for community selection:

12 GEORGIA NEW ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES INITIATIVE FY 2012 WORK PLAN

Vulnerability Number of vulnerable individuals in a community Percentage of IDPs vis-à-vis the rest of the population Proximity to conflict zones

Demographics Total population Number of village clusters Percentage of working age population youth (17-22 years old) vis-à-vis the rest of the population Unfortunately there is no centralized source of information on age composition of the community. One source of information is the local authorities (local authorities usually can name the villages where mostly pensioners live). The other way to check is the number of people per family. This information is also available with the local authorities. In most Georgian communities, with normal age composition, average family size is close to 3.5. The average family size of 2 in some communities shows that there are no children and most of the elderly live together.

Economic potential Agricultural production levels (i.e., production volume exceeds what is sufficient for household consumption or their product is recognized in the market) Tourism potential (i.e., proximity to such existing tourist attractions as ski resorts, caves, hiking and bicycle trails, and natural scenic beauty) Potential non-agricultural sectors, such as construction and IT Existence of small-medium to large businesses in the area (i.e., juice and cheese factories, hotel service industries, etc.)

Community engagement Record of past community efforts to resolve certain problems of common interest; some communities are more active in solving their problems and have a history of implementing projects and mobilizing community members to solve their problems

Existence of associations, youth clubs, and informal groups oriented toward promoting the community’s economic and social development

NEO staff have compiled demographic and vulnerability statistical information for every community in the selected municipalities from sources including the Department of Statistics, Social Service Agency and the municipalities themselves. Unfortunately gender disaggregated data is not available for the communities at the central or local level, so it is not possible to incorporate this analysis at this stage of community selection. But NEO will incorporate a gender analysis at each stage of program implementation. The regional team leader, LED advisor, and RDAs will hold focus group discussions in each municipality to assess the community’s economic potential. These focus groups will include the head of the municipality and local council, leaders of agriculture and/or economic development departments in each municipality, and members of infrastructure development and property management units.

Three such focus groups were conducted successfully in Dusheti, Kareli, and Gori during FY2011. Focus group meetings will be held in all 10 municipalities before the end of FY2012.

GEORGIA NEW ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES INITIATIVE FY 2012 WORK PLAN 13

NEO technical advisors will conduct independent assessments of the agricultural and non-agribusiness potential of these communities. Their assessments will be based on meetings and discussions with private-sector representatives, sector specialists, representatives of local NGOs, and professional associations. Final selection of target communities is based on a thorough analysis of consolidated information.

Milestone 1: Target communities selected based on pre-defined criteria. Selecting 84 out of a possible 159 communities in the 10 municipalities pragmatically and fairly was a challenge.

Exacerbating the difficulty is that the 10 NEO municipalities are scattered throughout Georgia.

Five of them — Gori, Kareli, Khashuri, Dusheti, and Kazbegi are in eastern Georgia; the others

— Zugdidi, Tsalenjikha, Oni, Tsageri, and Lentekhi — are in the western part of the country.

Milestone 2: Launch EDP process in all selected municipalities and communities. By the end of Quarter 1 of FY2012, NEO will conduct introductory meetings with regional and municipal authorities in four municipalities (Khashuri, Oni, Tsageri, and Lentekhi) and hold consultation meetings within six others (Khashuri, Oni, Tsageri, Lentekhi, Kazbegi, Zugdidi, and Tsalenjikha) review the selection of the communities.

Milestone 3: Finalize memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with target municipalities. NEO will send USAID/Georgia samples of MOUs between central government line ministries and NEO. USAID/Georgia will sign with Ministries (such as MRA and MRDI) once they approve the draft MOUs submitted by NEO. This should happen in December 2012. It has yet to be determined, but it is probable that NEO will sign MOUs with the municipalities. The head of administration (gamgebeli) and the head of local counsel (sakrebulos tavmjdomare) will sign on behalf of the municipalities, to ensure a working operational framework for both the municipality and NEO.

Resources. Resources required for this activity include the time spent by the regional team leader, LED advisor, RDAs and CMSs.

Activity 1.2. Facilitate and develop local economic development plans for selected communities

The RDAs and CMSs serve as facilitators to assist communities in identifying economic and social development opportunities and constraints. Ms. Krivcevic and NEO’s LED advisor, Maia Nizharadze, led training activities on the practical applications of the community mobilization methodology for the Tbilisi-based team and the RDAs and CMSs based in East Georgia. Ms.

Nizharadze and regional team leaders conducted a training activity on facilitating focus group discussions and conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis.

They also introduced a primer on basic agricultural practices. Training for the West Georgia staff is planned for October and November 2011.

LED planning process. The success of the LED planning process is contingent on the active participation of as many key community members as possible. NEO staff will advertise widely throughout the communities to ensure engagement of diverse stakeholders, including small