The Georgia Self Reliance Fund: Announcements for the second round of the New Approach to IDP assistance

The Georgia Self Reliance Fund (GSRF) is seeking proposals for small-scale pilot programs, which can generate new programmatic ideas to help internally displaced persons (IDPs), their host families and their host communities improve their self-reliance. The Fund is especially interested in receiving proposals related to initiatives in the areas of accommodation, income generation, community development, and access to information/outreach activities but will review applications in other areas of concern as well.
The Fund will provide grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 to support successful proposals. The grants shall be awarded via a competitive selection process that shall be conducted in several rounds. Proposals for the second round should be submitted no later than the close of business (18:00 hours, Tbilisi time) on 31 July 2001 to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which is providing secretariat support to the Fund.

During this round, only NGOs (national and international) are eligible to apply. Furthermore, only NGOs having successfully implemented annual programming valued at over $20,000 may apply. Local NGOs not fulfilling this requirement are strongly recommended to partner with an international NGO. Businesses are not eligible to apply for this round, however the Fund is investigating arrangements with local banks that would provide credit for business proposals supporting IDP self-reliance. A separate announcement will be made to announce this scheme when it has been finalized.

Prospective applicants interested in submitting proposals to the Georgia Self Reliance Fund should review a copy of its Applicant Guidelines. The Guidelines describe the Fund, the scope of interventions it will support, who is eligible to apply, the application format, how to submit applications, and the review criteria that will be applied. A copy of the Applicant Guidelines for the Fund may be requested from OCHA (UN House, 9 Eristavi Street, Tbilisi, Georgia, 380079; Tel./Fax: (995 32) 959-516; E-mail: unocha@unocha.org.ge). Alternatively, it may be downloaded from OCHA's ReliefWeb at www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf .

In addition, hardcopies may be obtained from the DRC NGO Resource Centre in Kutaisi, and the office of the Public Interest Protection League in Zugdidi. Electronic copies may be obtained from the website of the United Nations Association in Georgia (www.una.org.ge/index.shtml), and the Assistance Georgia website (www.assistancegeorgia.org.ge), a project maintained by the Georgian Government's Coordination Department for International Humanitarian Aid, with technical assistance from Save the Children under USAID's Georgia Assistance Initiative.

The Georgia Self Reliance Fund is a financing mechanism associated with the pilot phase of the New Approach to IDP Assistance. The New Approach is a joint effort, initially undertaken by the Government of Georgia, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Bank and OCHA. The New Approach is a common endeavor to develop and implement projects that contribute to sustainable improvement in the lives of displaced persons and host communities in Georgia by reforming government policy and supporting effective assistance programs. The GSRF has been established with approximately US$ 1.3 million in financing from UNDP, UNHCR, the World Bank, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Swiss Agency for Cooperation and Development (SDC). It is open to additional donors.

UN House, 9 Eristavi St., Tbilisi, Georgia. Tel/FAX: (995-32) 959-516. E-mail: unocha@unocha.org.ge
Tbilisi, erisTavis q. 9., tel/faqsi (995-32) 959-516,. el-fosta:unocha@unocha.org.ge