Letter from the President
Constant and often break-neck change have become the norm rather than the exception in the South Caucasus over the last 17 years. GDP and foreign investment are rising at the fastest rate in the modern sovereign history of these three nations, while each election cycle brings new crises, new opportunities and further change. The frozen conflicts in Nagorno-Karabagh, South Ossetia and Abkhazia are hardly frozen. Almost daily, new developments in these regions are taking place. Amidst this never-ending tumult, how do we continue promoting sustainable, responsible civil society in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia?
The good news is that citizens are demanding greater opportunities for participation in shaping their own futures and achieving economic prosperity and social justice; the bad news is that civil societies, though active, are marginalized from the processes that are driving change in this region. This is due to a combination of factors – many civil society organizations (CSOs) lack the capacity to engage policy makers in a meaningful way, they lack financing and governments are frequently unwilling to listen to the voice of the third sector. Our approach to addressing these problems is based on the belief that it must be comprehensive, systemic and
sustained.
Our approach is designed to address each of the major weaknesses and problems that prevent civil society from fulfilling its potential role in the economic and social development of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. For example, why don’t governments engage the expertise of civic groups more? One reason is that civic groups lack access to high quality data and training in evidence-based analysis, which should be the foundation for making convincing policy recommendations. EPF’s Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) are supporting policy-related social science research and setting the standard for high quality research products. CRRC also runs the largest yearly survey of household attitudes and behavior in the Caucasus, effectively addressing the information gap that leads to generalizations and uninformed policy. What about promoting sustainable methods for financing positive social change in the long term? Our Corporate Social Investment (CSI) program works with local and international businesses to promote strategic investments into social needs that simultaneously benefit the business and society; and our economic development programs target sectors such as vocational education and training that can significantly increase job creation. You will find further information about our mandates and approaches in the following pages.
In November 2007, we embedded our 13 and more years of experience supporting civil society in the South Caucasus into a long-term commitment – we launched three new Foundations in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. These new local foundations, collectively called Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF), inherited the key assets and resources that made its predecessor (Eurasia Foundation – EF) successful: experienced staff, rigorous financial and accounting systems, expertise in program and grant management, and in-depth knowledge of the needs and characteristics of civil society in the region. As local organizations, we are well placed to take a long-term, strategic view to civil society development.
So what does all this change mean in practice? In some ways, not much at all. EPF will carry on EF’s core work, building the capacity of local civil society through grants management in areas where our staff believe we can be most effective; using core funds from generous donors such as USAID and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) much like a venture capital fund, to seek out new and innovative solutions to existing problems; and setting up larger-scale, targeted assistance programs when those pilot programs yield impressive results. Other aspects of our work are changing as a result of the localization strategy. We are even more local. Our new Board of Trustees is made up of a distinguished group of individuals with a wide variety of local expertise to steer all aspects of our work, Advisory Councils in each country made up of local experts guide our programming decisions, and our mandates and approaches seek to build sustainable local institutions that are strong enough to last beyond donor-driven funding priorities, serving the needs of citizens not just in the capital cities but in the regions beyond.
At Eurasia Partnership Foundation, we believe that our grass-roots approach to programs helps people improve their communities and their own lives, empowering them to effect change for social justice and economic prosperity. This approach is based on the conviction that individuals and institutions matter the most, and I hope that it will weather the capricious volatility of the short term to allow citizens to become ever more responsible and effective in their civic and political engagement.
George Zarubin
President
Invitation to the Conference: The EU and Civil Society in the South Caucasus: a Common Effort to Build Sustainable Peace
Grant Competition for Social Enterprises
Call for Participants: Getting Involved!
Public Discussions: European Integration and Eastern Partnership: Challenges and Opportunities
