ACTIVITY DATES: April 2006 - June 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC), Citigroup Foundation, Central Bank of Russia

REGION(S): Moscow

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

FSVC has provided AML and CFT support to more than 1,520 people from over 920 institutions through the implementation of 34 linked projects. Project activities contributed substantively to the recently-adopted amendments to Russian AML law.

The project assisted Rosfinmonitoring in developing the methodology for preparing money laundering typologies that, through its adoption by the Eurasia Group for AML/CFT (EAG), will benefit AML systems in all EAG countries.

Based on the strong relations developed with the EAG, the partners are working on expanding the existing GDA to attract more contributing partners and transforming it into a regional program involving other EAG countries.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

FSVC has provided AML and CFT support to more than 1,260 people from over 770 institutions through the implementation of 21 linked projects. Project activities contributed substantively to the recently-adopted amendments to Russian AML law.

The project assisted Rosfinmonitoring in developing the methodology for preparing money laundering typologies that, through its adoption by the Eurasia Group for AML/CFT (EAG), will benefit AML systems in all EAG countries.

Based on the strong relations developed with the EAG, the partners are working on expanding the existing GDA to attract more contributing partners and transforming it into a regional program involving other EAG countries.

ACTIVITY DATES: July 2007 - June 2010

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Southern Regional Resource Center (SRRC)

REGION(S): Adygeya Republic, Chechenskaya Republic, Dagestan Republic, Ingushetiya Republic, Kabardino-Balkariya Republic, Karachayevo-Cherkesiya Republic, Krasnodarskiy kray, Rostovskaya oblast, Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya Republic, Stavropolskiy kray, Volgogradskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The project aims to strengthen the impact of the Southern Regional Resource Center (SRRC) and its regional NGO network in the area of public policy formulation in Southern Russia by advancing effective techniques of citizen engagement and forging effective mechanisms for NGO-government interaction.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Building on the achievements of the previous Third Sector Advancement Program, the SRRC has become an important regional resource for NGOs and a critical interlocutor and source of expertise for regional and local government authorities in Southern Russia.  Recognized as an effective technical leader, SRRC has been invited by Krasnodar Kray Administration to conduct an anti-corruption survey for the region.

Specific achievements include:

• Development of a model for government-civil society negotiations, piloted in Krasnodar and replicated in eight districts of Southern Russia, that fosters productive communication among stakeholders - including NGOs, government, political parties and public movements - with a view to increasing public participation in policymaking and promoting social stability in the region.
• Monitoring of legislation regulating public hearings procedure underway in Krasnodar Kray, and in the territories of its network members in the Southern Federal District, to ensure proper implementation of required citizen participation mechanisms.
• Production of a newspaper New Reality that keeps NGOs, executive and legislative agencies, municipal and oblast administrations, and territorial self-governing bodies apprised of NGO-driven initiatives in the region, and improves NGO-government cooperation.

ACTIVITY DATES: July 2007 - June 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Russian Microfinance Center (RMC)

REGION(S): Chitinskaya oblast, Kabardino-Balkariya Republic, Khabarovskiy kray, Khanty-Mansiyskiy autonomous okrug, Krasnodarskiy kray, Krasnoyarskiy kray, Nizhegorodskaya oblast, Primorskiy kray, Rostovskaya oblast, Sverdlovskaya oblast, Volgogradskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This project supports cooperation between banks and microfinance institutions, and the development of branchless banking technologies using GSM banking and E-net banking capacities, in order to improve the distribution of financial services to start-up businesses, microfinance sector organizations, and a wide range of low income populations in Russia's regions, with a special focus on activities in the North Caucasus.

Microfinance is a key factor in the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which are essential for private sector development, poverty alleviation, and the creation of employment in Russia. However, the supply of financing is not meeting the demand-especially in rural and smaller urban areas, as well as the critical regions of the North Caucasus (NC) and the Russian Far East (RFE) where the formal financial system is underdeveloped. This project aims to build the capacity of the Russian Microfinance Center (RMC) and the National Partnership of Microfinance Market Stakeholders (NAMMS), and expand their reach in the NC and RFE regions to help create long-term job and income opportunities for people there, thus mitigating the possibility of conflict.

Through activities targeted at the RMC's network of 800 microfinance institutions (MFIs) and 85,000 entrepreneurs, the project will support the development of branchless banking; introduce new distant learning models and models to combat microfinance market abuse and money laundering; support financial literacy for SMEs and low-income households, with a special focus on the Southern Federal District and NC; and promote microfinance standards through publications, conferences and seminars.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

RMC set up a NC regional office in Kabardino-Balkaria. Twenty-five credit cooperatives and funds for SME support in the NC have received training.

A new department on Perspective Financial Technologies was established in January 2008 at the Higher School of Privatization and Entrepreneurship (HSPE) to provide education in the area of microfinance, branchless banking, and financial literacy, as well as to conduct research into new financial technologies. The new department will reach Russian regions through HSPE branches in Perm Kray, Samara Oblast, Rostov Oblast, and St.-Petersburg.

RMC assisted the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation to develop recommendations for supporting regional programs of microfinance and credit cooperatives, and a project to support ratings of Russian MFIs was jointly launched with the Ministry of Economic Development. NAMMS and the Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA) agreed to collaborate on developing microfinance and the small business sector in Russia and the Asia-Pacific region.

In the past year, several national events were also organized: the 7^th National Conference on Microfinance in Russia: New Technologies of Success (St. Petersburg, 19-21 November 2008); the 6^th National Forum on Legal Affairs of Micro-finance (St.Petersburg, 19 November 2008); and the Russian Microentrepreneurship Awards, in association with Citigroup (St. Petersburg, 20 November 2008).

ACTIVITY DATES: July 2006 - April 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Russian Children’s Fund, North Ossetia Republican Branch

REGION(S): Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya Republic

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
This program facilitates the integration of vulnerable and displaced populations, especially forced migrants, in North Ossetia by improving infrastructure and social services through labor-intensive public works projects and by developing small businesses through trainings and a targeted small grants program.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Twelve labor-intensive public works projects were selected, according to criteria based on best practices guidelines developed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).  

To date, ten infrastructure projects have been implemented.  The projects include: laying water pipelines in the villages Kardzhin and Gizel; reconstruction of a road in the village Kartza; renovation of an elderly care facility in Chernoyarskaya; extension of gas pipelines in Novy and Krasnogor; and four energy-saving projects at local kindergartens.  These ten projects created over 100 temporary work places and more than 3,500 people will benefit from their results.

Under the small business development component of the program, forty people have received training and seven SME projects have been funded by the small grants program. These projects have resulted in the creation of 85 jobs, of which 40 were filled by women.

Working in alliance with several government ministries, CFNO was able to leverage $158,000 in support from local administrations to supplement the $305,000 in funding from USAID.

ACTIVITY DATES: September 2001 - September 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Institute for Urban Economics (IUE)

REGION(S): Amurskaya oblast, Khabarovskiy kray, Moskovskaya oblast, Permskaya oblast, Primorskiy kray, Rostovskaya oblast, Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya Republic, Vologodskaya oblast

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This project strengthens local self-governance through improved coordination within local communities and enhances local decision-making skills by improving local government's capacity to develop and manage financial, human, and physical resources.  The project increases the awareness and willingness of local governments to operate transparently and in sustained partnership with their communities.  Activities develop and introduce effective and efficient models of public participation for decision making, public private partnerships, local economic development, social service delivery, and a robust private housing economy.  Local government administrators and community leaders are provided with the skills and tools to increase efficiency, equity, and effectiveness in the development and delivery of social and communal services.  

In implementing this project, IUE partners with the Federal Agency on Construction, Housing and Communal Services (ROSSTROI), Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Ministry of Finance, Ministry for Regional Development, municipal associations, regional and municipal administrations, business organizations, and local NGOs.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

IUE experts participated substantively in the work of key federal level commissions on delineation of powers and responsibilities between federal, regional and local governments. Overall, 150 federal acts that have been enacted were drafted with IUE assistance. Sixty six municipalities in 38 regions adopted new social and economic reforms models and policies and IUE experts were deeply involved in developing a package of 27 laws on affordable housing, of which 25 were adopted.

Thirty five models of efficient municipal governance developed by IUE experts are either ready for replication or at the stage of pilot testing. IUE regularly updates its Code of Best Practice in municipal governance, comprising rules and procedures that represent the most progressive solutions to economic and social problems at the local level.

Numerous trainings have resulted in:

• More than 170 government and NGO leaders trained on local- and federal-level policy skills development;
• Over 22,000 local, federal and regional administrators and NGO leaders trained in specific skills of municipal management;
• More than 380 regional and municipal employees from SFD regions received advanced training;
• 10 public hearings in support of independent local governance and emerging civil society conducted;
• 124 radio/105 TV presentations on federal and regional channels and 2797 mass-media articles and interviews produced.
  

ACTIVITY DATES: September 2002 - May 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: Faith, Hope and Love (FHL)

REGION(S): Dagestan Republic, Moscow, Stavropolskiy kray

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
This project aims to help migrants and socially vulnerable populations in the Northern Caucasus protect their basic rights by consolidating existing human rights centers that provide legal assistance and informational support into a united network. The network also conducts activities to increase the effectiveness of the centers' use of public relations and the mass media. The project conducts training workshops for lawyers and advocates, and also established a Consultation Center for filing complaints to the European Court of Human Rights.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Centers participating in the project have provided more than 32,000 pro bono legal consultations to migrants and other socially vulnerable citizens. Among these, 4,000 cases were submitted to courts with 97% of the cases resolved favorably.  The Consultation Center established under the project has provided 340 consultations on applications to the European Court of Human Rights and 15 cases were submitted to the Court.

As part of the effort to improve public information, brochures on "Defend Your Rights," "Law in Your Hands," and "Migrants have the Right..." were published and distributed to target beneficiaries. Public awareness about the issues facing refugees and migrants was raised through the production of 610 TV and radio programs and over 1500 articles published in the local press.

ACTIVITY DATES: January 2005 - September 2011

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: ACDI/VOCA, Rural Credit Cooperative Development Fund

REGION(S): Adygeya Republic, Chechenskaya Republic, Chuvashiya Republic, Ingushetiya Republic, Kabardino-Balkariya Republic, Kalmykiya Republic, Karachayevo-Cherkesiya Republic, Krasnodarskiy kray, Stavropolskiy kray

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The rural credit cooperative component of the project: enhances access to credit for small and medium-sized businesses through a rural credit cooperative system, provides professional development, improves the qualifications of current and potential rural credit cooperative personnel, and integrates rural credit cooperatives of the North Caucasus (NC) and Kalmykia into the rural credit cooperative system of Russia.  The agribusiness component of the project improves the quality and scale of services rendered by agricultural and extension institutions to NC agribusinesses and improves the efficiency and profitability of NC agribusinesses.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

The rural credit cooperative component has supported the creation of 39 new RCCs and cooperative membership has reached 8500, as compared to approximately 2600 at the beginning of the project. The loan volume, which stood at $10 million in 2005, is now over $93 million.

Other successful project activities include:

• Six training modules, developed by ACDI/VOCA in collaboration with Russian partners, used at 44 workshops that trained 918 participants;
• Three round tables of regional Ministers of Agriculture to discuss vital issues of RCC development;
• Hardware and software donated to 29 RCCs to develop an MIS system;
• Stavropol Agrarian University developed a credit cooperative training module for university students; regional RCC leaders studied the best practices of RCCs in other areas of Russia; and key stakeholders in RCC development traveled to the US to study the Farm Credit System;
• A $400,000 grant to the federal apex lender for rural credit cooperatives led to over $900,000 in loan capital to the North Caucasus RCCs;
• Three RCCs developed into 2^nd tier regional cooperatives and gained membership in the 3^rd tier national credit cooperative, Narodny Kredit.

Under the agribusiness development component 39 US volunteers and consultants provided short term technical assistance to regional agribusinesses, cooperatives and agricultural educational institutions. Directly or indirectly, the agribusiness development component helped sustain 10,000 jobs in the region and expanded new business possibilities.

ACTIVITY DATES: June 2006 - August 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: World Vision

REGION(S): Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya Republic

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The program tackles the root causes of conflict in North Ossetia by bringing together Ingush and Ossetian men, women, and children through a variety of community mobilization activities that address local community issues in two neighboring villages in the Prigorodny region.  These activities work to address the local economic deprivation and the lack of educational, cultural and athletic opportunities for children and youth.  The program also helps to foster the mutual interdependence of Ingush and Ossetian residents through joint agricultural and economic recovery initiatives.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

The program began with efforts to foster discussion and better relationships between the government administrations of two villages, Kurtat and Dachnoe.  After a number of meetings, interviews, and focus group discussions, a series of labor-intensive work projects were designed.  To date, eight of the work projects have been completed in these villages-including the building of three school playgrounds, the repair of two sections of road, the renovation of a home economics classroom, the replacement of the heating system at the Kurtat school, and landscaping at the Dachnoe Mosque.  In total, 122 people gained temporary employment as a result.  

In May 2007 an official opening was held for a new Community Center in Kurtat that offers cultural, sporting and educational activities for the benefit of Ingush and Ossetians from both villages.  The Community Center football team participated in the first inter-village sporting event in Kartsa; theatre and concert performances are given on the main stage at the Center; and seven community trainings have been conducted. The total number of children who have participated in Center activities so far is 228.

A Youth for Peace club has been functioning at the Community Center since February 2008.  A quarterly newsletter is being produced by children in the Youth for Peace club.

  A Business Education Center was established at the Kurtat Community Center, where Prigorodny residents are being trained as trainers under the International Labor Organization's "Start and Expand your Business" module. The program's small grant component will provide start-up capital to entrepreneurs to help put good business ideas into motion.

 

ACTIVITY DATES: June 2006 - December 2009

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: World Vision, International Rescue Committee (IRC)

REGION(S): Chechenskaya Republic, Dagestan Republic

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

The Vperyed project aims to expand grassroots economic opportunity and boost employability in two districts of Chechnya and Dagestan through capacity-building partnerships with local institutions, the provision of training and technical assistance, and targeted grants to micro-businesses (MB) and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). The project fosters the development of a thriving MB/SME culture and works to strengthen business networks and market linkages between war-affected communities and a variety of state, international and business stakeholders for grassroots expansion of economic opportunity.

Project activities also focus on supporting agricultural sub-sector economic communities to help them become the drivers of their recovery, using a market-led and evidence-based approach. (The agricultural component was added in September 2007 and is implemented exclusively by IRC.)

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Based on a comprehensive labor-market survey, topics for vocational training that address market gaps or needs in Chechnya and Dagestan were identified. Under this vocation training component of the project, a total of 400 young people participated in professional courses on computer design, construction, tailoring, cake decoration and hair dressing.

Four cycles of business training were conducted in Dagestan, and 6 cycles in Chechnya. In Chechnya, the IRC issued start-up grants to entrepreneurs to launch businesses in the fields of cattle fattening, tire repair, grocery stores, hairdressing salons and others. In Dagestan, start-up grants were issued for greenhouse agriculture, shoe production, cyber cafés and advertisement production. A total of 69 grants were issued in the two regions. 

After extensive consultations with international, national, civil society, business and government stakeholders, the districts of Shelkovskoy in Chechnya and Khasavyurtovsky in Dagestan were selected for add-on agricultural economic recovery activities.

ACTIVITY DATES: September 2007 - September 2010

IMPLEMENTING PARTNERS: International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX)

REGION(S): Adygeya Republic, Chechenskaya Republic, Dagestan Republic, Ingushetiya Republic, Kabardino-Balkariya Republic, Karachayevo-Cherkesiya Republic, Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya Republic, Stavropolskiy kray

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
The YIPP project works to reduce the potential for conflict in the North Caucasus by creating opportunities for inter-cultural relationships between young people aged 15-25, increasing communication and cultural understanding between different communities.  Project activities also aim to support youth as community leaders, to advance community development goals, and improve their professional and life skills.  The project fosters the development of employment networks and improves access to information.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS:

To realize its overreaching goal of enhancing multiethnic understanding and providing youth with skills and opportunities for economic progress and community involvement, YIPP has achieved the following results:

• About 150 youth from different regions of the North Caucasus took part in professional and life skills development trainings (vocational courses, entrepreneurship and business development, NGO management, life skills). In total, 49% of vocational trainees managed to secure viable employment six months after the completion of the courses.
• Two sports and leadership youth camps were organized for 170 target youth from the North Caucasus, who participated in trainings on tolerance, civic education, leadership, volunteering, and project writing.
• Under the Youth Initiated Community Development component or the program, 66 conflict mediation/civic education trainings were carried out for 158 youth and representatives of youth committees; 17 youth NGOs from throughout the North Caucasus were awarded small grants for leadership capacity development and implementation of social projects; and a Training of Trainers (TOT) was organized for 10 target youth, who received state certificate of trainers after the completion of the courses.
• Four Centers for Accessing Technology (CATs) were opened in Stavropolskiy Kray and the Republics of Dagestan, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria to provide youth with free access to the Internet and free computer courses.