On 24 September 2018, a seminar on the topic of “Presentation of the Czech Experience of Evidence-Based Public Policy Development” was held in Gyumri in the scope of the CSO incubator of the “Commitment to Constructive Dialogue” project funded by the European Union.
The seminar was conducted by Victoria Yeghoyan, the Gyumri Incubator Coordinator and the lawyer of the Gyumri branch office of the Armenian Lawyers’ Association.
The civil society organisations (CSO) incubators are aimed at promoting CSO capacity building and enhancing productivity.
CSO incubators’ mission is to provide professional and technical assistance to Armenian CSOs to develop their capacities in 9 target sectors and 4 thematic areas listed below:
- Monitoring of Public Budgets and Policies;
- Development of proven policies;
- Creation and / or Development of Coalition,
- Constructive participation / dialogue with the government and local self-governance bodies in the process of public policy development.
The target areas of the project are:
- Public Finance Management
- Human Rights
- Justice
- Business
- Education
- Agriculture
- Economy
- Energy
- Social sector: social inclusion of children with disabilities
CSO incubators will be run in two stages in the following five cities: Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor, Gavar and Kapan. In each phase, 36 CSOs will be selected, who will be selected from the series of CSOs who completed their training organised by the American University of Armenia. Upon completion of CSO incubators, a total of 33 grants will be provided on a competitive basis, envisaging 16-17 grants for each stage.
CSOs of Tavush Marz will have the opportunity to benefit from the Vanadzor incubator, Aragatsotn CSOs can become a part of the Yerevan, Gyumri, and Vanadzor incubators, according to CSO locations, Vayots Dzor CSOs might benefit from the Yerevan Incubator.
