Approved by General Assembly of - UN in Armenia Community_eng.pdf · basin and are fed by thaw and...

Approved by General Assembly of Aknaghbyur CommunityOn September 1, 2006

Republic of ArmeniaTavush Marz

AKNAGHBYUR COMMUNITY 2006-2008INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Aknaghbyur Village – 2006

CONTENTS

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32. General Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43. Vision of Aknaghbyur Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84. Social-Economic Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95. Problem Identification and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .166. Priority Problem Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .187. Statement of Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218. Medium-Term Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219. Project Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2310. Annexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

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1. Introduction

To facilitate sustainable and integrated rural development and to assistlocal government bodies and the population of communities in Armenia, theUnited Nations Development Program (UNDP) has, jointly with theAknaghbyur Community and in cooperation with the Republic of ArmeniaMinistry of Foreign Affairs, in view of the forthcoming Third Diaspora-Armenia Conference, initiated and elaborated the 2006-2008 IntegratedDevelopment Plan of the Community. This effort has not been confined tofunctions currently performed by the Community. The Development Plan isanchored in a Community Development Vision articulated by its inhabitants,covering the development goals of the community as a whole. The Plan hasbeen developed by means of conducting a comprehensive analysis of theimpact of the external environment on the Community, the social-economicsituation in the Community, and the existing and potential capacity andresources (natural, geographic, economic, social, financial, and human). Itis a guideline for integrated community development, which may serve as abasis for policy-making at all levels of government.

Financial resources and project outputs have been evaluated in order tomake the Plan even more realistic.

The Plan is in conceptual agreement with the UN MillenniumDevelopment Goals and Targets, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Program,the 2006-2008 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework adopted by theArmenian Government, the Integrated Development Plan of Armenia’sBorderline Regions, the Millennium Challenge Program, and the MarzDevelopment Plans.

The objectives and priorities set forth in the Plan are not final and can beadjusted in the course of implementation.

The Planning process and methodology are presented in Annex 1.

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2. General Overview

TTaavvuusshh MMaarrzz.. The TavushMarz was formed under theRepublic of Armenia Law onAdministrative-Territorial Divisionadopted on December 4, 1995.

The Tavush Marz includes theformer Ijevan, Tavush (Sham-shadin), and Noyemberyan dis-tricts, as well as the health-resorttown of Dilijan. There are foururban and 58 rural communitiesin the Marz. To the west and thesouth, it borders the Lori, Kotayk,and Gegharkunik Marzes ofArmenia, the Republic of Georgiato the north, and the Republic ofAzerbaijan to the east. The Tavush Marz has a 400-kilometer very difficultsection of the state border, of which 352 km are with Azerbaijan.

The Tavush Marz has a territory of 2,710 square kilometers. The Marzcapital is Ijevan, which was called Karvansara prior to 1919, and became atown only in 1961. The largest river is Aghstev, which flows through the cen-ter of the Marz towards north-east.

The Tavush Marz stretches in the north-east of Armenia—on an externalrow of the Caucasus Minor mountain chains, made up of the GeorgianArmenian, Gugark, and Miapor mountains. The humidity is moderately highhere. Annual irradiation lasts 1,900-2,000 hours. The summers are warm,and the winters—mild. The rivers belong to the Caspian Sea (River Kur)basin and are fed by thaw and underground and rain water. The largest lakeis Parz Lich in the proximity of Dilijan. During 1970-1980, the Jokhaz(Berkaber), Hakhum, Tavush, Aygedzor, and Ijevan reservoirs were built.97,768 out of the 271,000 hectares of Marz surface area are used for agri-culture. 143,000 hectares (51%) are occupied by mixed forests.

The Marz has relatively little in terms of mineral ores. The main industri-al resources are bentonite clay, limestone, construction stone, dolomite, andfelsite. The River Aghstev valley has an abundance of curative water, whichis also bottled. This forest-rich land has diverse flora, fauna, and unique nat-ural monuments. To preserve nature in its original form, to enrich it, and tobreed new local species, the Dilijan State Reserve and the Ijevan Forest

Tavush Marz.

Aknaghbyur

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Park have been created. During the energy crisis, unsound logging was afrequent occurrence.

Prior to 1990, the Tavush Marz had a developed agriculture, whichaccounted for 9% of the nation’s gross agriculture output. Tavush was thesecond after Ararat in terms of the product per unit of agricultural land. Themost developed industries were tobacco growing, horticulture, and pigbreeding. Tavush produced 33% of the nation’s tobacco and 23% of thenation’s fruit. The former Shamshadin (Berd) and Ijevan administrativeregions were the top two national producers of raw tobacco (2,500-2,700and 1,800-2,000 tons per annum, respectively). Noyemberyan was thenational leader (25-30,000 tons per annum) in terms of fruit production.

During the last decade, the agriculture of the Marz suffered greatly fromnot only the hectic privatization (by fragmenting the land), but also theArmenian-Azeri armed conflict. As a consequence of the latter, more than9,000 hectares of arable fields and orchards near the border have remainedwithout cultivation. During the last two years, targeted projected have beencarried out to rehabilitate traditionally-profitable tobacco growing and horti-culture. In general, the land and climate conditions are conducive of grow-ing subtropical crops.

About 15 years ago, the industry of the Tavush Marz contributed 3% ofthe gross industrial output of the nation, and more than half of this came from

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the food industry. In the Marz, powerful canneries exist in Ayrum andVaragavan. There are wineries in Debedavan, Ijevan, and Aygepar. Thereare raw tobacco preliminary processing workshops in Kayan Station andAygepar, but they are under-loaded.

In the 1930s, the development of industry in this forest-rich region start-ed with timber processing, when the Ijevan Timber Processing Plant and theDilijan Flexible Furniture Factory were opened. Later, the Ijevan Carpet andBentonite Clay Processing Plants, the Dilijan Knitting Plant, the Berd “Relay”factory, the Dilijan “Impulse” factory, the Ijevan Forest Machine Factory, theDilijan and Ijevan mineral water factories, and numerous affiliates of otherenterprises and national factories were opened, which provided employmentfor the local workforce. However, some of these enterprises are presentlyidle (or operate at negligible volume) due to the absence of inputs and funds,the continuing transportation blockade, and the loss of sale markets.

Recently, the Marz has been the focus of and cooperated effectively withthe Armenian Government and many international organizations.

The British DFID, funded by the Government of Great Britain, has devel-oped a Marz Social-Economic Development Plan, and capital investments(of about 1 million British pounds) have been earmarked for its implementa-tion.

In Tavush, the Food Safety and Local Government StrengtheningPrograms of the German Government’s GTZ are operating successfully.

The Health and Infrastructure Rehabilitation local projects implementedby World Vision are worth mentioning.

In the Marz, there are also international projects aimed at the agriculturesector, namely the rehabilitation of irrigation systems.

Background

The Village Aknaghbyur was previously called Aghdam Nerkin, AghdanNerkin, Dosh Aghdan, and Morut. Prior to 1967, it was called NerkinAghdan; from 1967 to 1970—Morut; and was renamed to Aknaghbyur by aNovember 11 decree of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic SupremeCouncil. The Village owed its name to an abundant source (“aghbyur” inArmenian) flowing at the south-western end of the Village: this source oper-ated a mill, and now supplies water to the community. There is a large oaktree next to the source, which used to be a pilgrimage site.

The Village Aknaghbyur is 11 km to the north of the Tavush Marz capitalIjevan, on the left bank of the River Aghstev, on the beautiful eastern slopesof Mount Mtnasar, at 683 meters above sea level. The Village is 146 km

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from Yerevan. The average annual temperature is 11 degrees Centigrade.Precipitation is 568 millimeters. There is refractory clay in the territory of theVillage.

As a borderline settlement, Aknaghbyur continues to be affected by theArmenian-Azeri conflict. The Community has inherited external threats,despair, and a destroyed economy. It remains of no interest for seriousinvestment. However, the village population is highly mobilized and keen onmaking it a rich settlement with developed agriculture and processing indus-tries, with all the favorable conditions for a prosperous, peaceful, and cre-ative living.

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3. Vision of Aknaghbyur Community

The community vision is a desirable situation in the future towards whichall the members of the community collectively aspire.

AAkknnaagghhbbyyuurr iiss aa ssaaffee sseettttlleemmeenntt wwiitthh ddeevveellooppeedd aaggrriiccuullttuurree,, pprroo-cceessssiinngg iinndduussttrriieess,, aanndd aaccttiivvee ssppiirriittuuaall aanndd ccuullttuurraall lliiffee,, wwhheerree tthhee ppooppuu-llaattiioonn ggrraasspp tthhee jjooyyss ooff pprroossppeerroouuss aanndd ccrreeaattiivvee lliiffee

Discussion in Focus Group

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4. Social-Economic Overview

4.1 Situation by Sectors

44..11..11 DDeemmooggrraapphhyyThe Community comprises 181 households. The population (as of

January 1, 2006) is 542, of which 274 are male and 268—female. Thereare 60 pre-school-age and 45 school-age children in the Community. Themiddle-age population is 320, and the senior population—117. There are133 retired pensioners in the Community. 35 households are included in the“Paros” scheme of family allowances. There are 27 individuals with disabil-ities. The population is mono-ethnic: everyone is Armenian (see Annex 2).

44..11..22 EEmmppllooyymmeennttThe majority of the Community population is occupied in agriculture.

Here, occupation is seasonal due to the seasonal nature of agriculture. Asmall part of the population earns income from labor migration and non-agri-cultural activities. 17 unemployed people have been registered by theEmployment Center.

The Village Municipality, the school, the health post, and the librarytogether employ 24 people.

The Community has potential for directly and indirectly creating addition-al jobs, provided that the processing industry develops further.

44..11..33 AAggrriiccuullttuurreeThe administrative territory of the Community is 580 hectares, of which

275 (about 47%) is agricultural land. 210 hectares are under Communityjurisdiction; private land is 223 hectares; and state land is 147 hectares.Arable land is 176 hectares; grassland is 16 hectares; pastures are 62hectares; and perennial plants are 21 hectares (see Annex 3).

About 37% of the arable land (101 hectares) is used to grow agriculturalcrops. Another about 40% has turned into grasslands (during 2005, 3,810centners of grass was collected from the non-cultivated arable land). In2005, the Community cultivated grains (57.2 hectares or about 21% of thearable land), technical crops (2.8 hectares), and potato (14.8 hectares) (seeAnnex 4).

The majority of the population is occupied in agriculture, including plantcultivation and livestock breeding. However, none of these activities havebeen commercialized.

Studies have shown that the agricultural land is not used purposively.

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This is a consequence of the difficulties connected with irrigation water, theinaccessibility of quality seeds and fertilizer, the poor state or absence ofagricultural machinery, periodic drought, the absence of farm support, andso on. All of this leads to violations of the cultivation schedules, lower yields,and higher crops. There are also problems related to the sale of agricultur-al products due to the absence of supply and processing stations and the dif-ficulties of transportation to the sales markets. It is, therefore, essential tocarry out measures in order to address the irrigation-related problems, toacquire a variety of agricultural machinery, to improve land fertility, and togain access to low-interest long-term agricultural credit.

The favorable conditions in the Village ensure high yields and perfectquality of fruit. Here, they grow pomegranate, cornel, fig (yields of up to 1.5tons in recent years), pineapple, walnuts, grapes, apple, pear, and the like.However, the losses are high due to sale difficulties. To this end, it is crucialto create a supply station and processing workshops, which will create jobopportunities.

In the livestock sector, too, there is under-occupation. About 90% of thepopulation is employed in cattle, pig, and sheep breeding.

Livestock production development is impeded by sales difficulties, unrea-sonable price fluctuations, and the lack of pastures. If these obstacles areovercome, the Community will be able to develop livestock breeding, mak-ing further use of the possibilities of nearby pastures. The construction of alivestock breeding complex and the creation of a milk and dairy processingworkshop are considered potentially successful projects.

44..11..44 NNoonn-AAggrriiccuullttuurraall AAccttiivviittiieessIn the Community, non-agricultural activities are underdeveloped. There

are only two small here.There is no industrial activity whatsoever.

44..11..55 PPoottaabbllee WWaatteerr aanndd IIrrrriiggaattiioonnPotable water is supplied from natural sources concurrently by gravity

and pump (the pump ensures one hour of water supply per day on average).About 40% of the water is supplied to the Community by gravity, and theremaining 60%—by pump. The total length of the potable water network is12 kilometers, of which the main is 3.1 kilometers. The network and themain have not been repaired for a long time, which has resulted in changesin the quality of potable water and losses. The water that is supplied corre-sponds to the established standards of sanitation and hygiene. There is suf-ficient potable water in the Community, and, if the pump station is upgradedand the network losses—minimized, it will be possible not only to ensure

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24/7 potable water supply to the Community, but also to irrigate some of thehome-adjacent land plots. In the Community, 48 households have individualtaps. The residents do not pay for water. The pump station operation costsare born by the Village Municipality out of its scarce budget.

Irrigation, especially that of non-home-adjacent land plots, is an acuteproblem. The irrigation network, which has a total length of 8 kilometers, isin extreme need of repairs. Irrigation water is supplied by two pumps locat-ed in neighboring settlements. Due to the remoteness of the pump stations,the population is incurring serious losses of time, money, and patience.

44..11..66 EEdduuccaattiioonn,, HHeeaalltthh CCaarree,, CCuullttuurree,, SSppoorrttss,, aanndd RReelliiggiioonnAccess to comprehensive high-quality education is considered essential

by the Community residents.There is an 8-year secondary school in the Community, which has 66 stu-

dents. The school is located in a former kindergarten building (the oldschool building has collapsed), which is in decent state. The Communitycannot secure access to 10-year education. Those that finish the eighthgrade have to continue their education in Achajur, Ijevan, and other settle-ments. The assets and facilities of the school are rather old and needrenewal. Purchasing sport assets is especially important in order to makethe sport life in the Community somewhat more active (presently, theCommunity cannot provide any services in sports). The school has 18employees.

The Community does not offer pre-school education services. In thepast, there were attempts at building a new kindergarten, but they had tostop because of the selected site being affected by land slides. As ofJanuary 1, 2006, there are 60 children of pre-school age in the Community.The absence of a kindergarten is not an acute problem in the Community.

There is a community library. The library stock has not been replenishedfor a long time and is also worn-out. The “library room” is located in anunsafe structure called “the club,” which is extremely humid and lacks light,casting doubt on the continued operation of this structure.

There is no extra-school education or sport services in the Community.There are no activity circles. The warehouse of the former collective farm,called “the club,” which has 100 seats, serves as a culture center for theVillage: however, it is in an extremely inadequate state, hindering the prop-er organization of cultural activities. All of these problems hinder the devel-opment of aesthetic taste, the proper education of gifted children, and thecreation of real preconditions for self-realization. Sport life, to, is extremelypassive. There is neither a gym nor sport assets.

In the Village, 21 people have higher education, 31—vocational educa-

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tion, 88—ten-year education, and 141—eight-year education (see Annex 5).The basic health needs of the Community are met by a health post,

which is an affiliate of the Achajur Health Center. The building and furnitureof this community-owned health post are in adequate state. World Vision iscurrently implementing a health program in the Community: through amobile diagnostic center, World Vision regularly visits the Community inaccordance with a pre-set schedule and provides the necessary care. TheCommunity health post does not have medication, and the nurse needstraining.

The Community has beautiful nature. An oak tree, which the legend linksto Vardan Mamikonyan’s name, is located near the Village spring.

Church services are not rendered in the Community. The Kirantz andMakaravank monasteries are too far away. Not everyone has access to reli-gious service, which creates preconditions for the proliferation of sects.

44..11..77 UUttiilliittiieessNatural gas used to be supplied to the Community, but has been termi-

nated now. The existing gas supply network has been damaged and is notfit for continued operation. The distance to the nearest gas main is 4 km.Natural gas would be the preferred fuel for the population, because there arepresently serious obstacles to the use of forest wood as fuel: forests are thesubject of tight government controls.

Garbage removal is not organized in the Community and is performedindividually. The total garbage removal area, which is subject to sanitarycleaning, is 9.27 hectares.

There is no central sewerage. Its function is performed by the drainagelines.

The total housing stock of the Community is 12,870 square meters.There are 117 residential houses, of which 85 are unsafe.

There is no street lighting in the Community. Having street lighting isextremely important from a perspective of overcoming the psychologicaldespair. However, due to budgetary constraints, the Community is unable topay the recurrent costs of street lighting.

There are no leisure areas in the territory of the Community.About 70-80% of the Community territory is affected by slides. Slides are

especially activated by precipitation. There are no floods.

44..11..88TTrraannssppoorrtt aanndd CCoommmmuunniiccaattiioonnssThe Community is 3 kilometers away from the closest national highway.

One of the two existing inter-community roads is in good state, whereas theother one (4 kilometers long) is in dire straits and is almost impassable.

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The roads within the Community also need to be renovated. They are inhopeless state: in the winter, they are almost impassable. When it rains,movement within the Community, even for basic everyday needs, becomesvery difficult.

An Aknaghbyur-Ijevan bus operates irregularly; the fare is 150 drams oneway.

The Community has 17 passenger cars and 14 trucks.The Community internal automated-switch telephony does not operate.

The station needs repairs, and the network is missing altogether. There isone (Marz) telephone number in the Community (belonging to the Ijevan sta-tion). Viva-Cell and ArmenTel mobile telephony is accessible. There is noInternet. A post office operates regularly. The population receives 10 TVstations.

44..11..99 LLooccaall SSeellff-GGoovveerrnnmmeenntt BBooddiieessFrom July 4, 2004, Karen Dolmazyan (38 years old) has been the

Community Head.Here are the names of the Community Council members:

1. Radik Dovlatyan2. Vruir Mayilyan3. Atabek Mirzoyan4. Arshavir Yeganyan5. Larisa Shahnazaryan

The Mayor has created a four-position staff with the following structure:

The Community does not have an administrative building. A residentialhouse owned by the Community serves this purpose. The so-called “VillageMunicipality” does not have the necessary facilities or assets. It is at the farend of the Village; the existing furniture is very old and worn-out; there areno computers.

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There is cohesion in the Community, which has not resulted in the forma-tion of social institutions. There are no formal associations in theCommunity.

44..11..1100 CCoommmmuunniittyy AAsssseettss aanndd BBuuddggeettThe Community owns a residential house, which is used as the adminis-

tration building, a club (100 seats), a monument, and an office/warehouse.In 2004, the revenues of the Community budget were executed by 83.0%

and expenditures—by 82.4%. The revenue and expenditure executionimproved to 95.8% and 94.2%, respectively, in 2005. Within the Communitybudget, staff overheads account for a large share of the expenditures.

During the first six months of 2006, revenue execution is 51.3%. Ownrevenue execution is 38.8%, including land tax collections of 42.5% andproperty tax collections of 2.4%.

Expenditure execution is 39.1% for the first half of 2006 (see Table 1).The rate of tax arrear collection is high in the Community.

More detailed information on the Community’s revenues and expendi-tures is presented in Annexes 6 and 7.

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44..11..1111 PPrroojjeeccttss IImmpplleemmeenntteedd iinn tthhee CCoommmmuunniittyy

4.2 Analysis of Internal and External Factors

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5. Problem Identification and Analysis

During the first Community General Assembly, the problems faced by theCommunity were identified. These problems were later elaborated and ana-lyzed in a focus group. The problems were analyzed on the basis of mate-rials received in the frameworks of the “My Vision for the Development ofAknaghbyur” essay contest. The findings are summarized below:

1. Absence of culture services2. Absence of natural gas supply3. Absence of youth occupation4. Absence of agricultural machinery5. Inadequate state of intra-community roads and drainage6. Agricultural product sale difficulties7. Absence of stadium and sport assets8. Absence of street lighting9. Absence of pre-school education services10. Livestock product sale difficulties11. Extremely poor state of irrigation and potable water pipes12. Absence of internal telephony13. Absence of Village Municipality administrative building and

library14. Inaccessibility of 10-year education in the Community15. Need to improve health services16. Inadequate state of flood tapping17. Absence of a church18. Absence of computers19. Absence of a swimming pool

The identified problems were evaluated and classified by acuteness andtrends (see Annex 1), and were classified by the level of priority (see Table 3).

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The half of the problems, which scored the maximum possible number ofpoints, was considered priorities. Here they are:

Absence of culture servicesAbsence of Village Municipality administrative building and libraryAbsence of agricultural machineryLivestock product sale difficultiesInadequate state of intra-community roads and drainageAbsence of stadium and sport assetsAgricultural product sale difficultiesExtremely poor state of irrigation and potable water pipesInadequate state of flood tapping

6. Priority Problem Analysis Using §Cause-Consequence-Solution¦ Scheme

Once the priorities were identified, problem casual links were exploredand solutions proposed.

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7. Statement of Outputs

Based on the analysis of priority problems, the following outputs havebeen stated:

Make Community cultural life more active.Overcome agricultural product processing difficulties (due toimpossibility of leasing agricultural machinery, delays of agricultur-al works, etc.) by creating a pool of multi-purpose agriculturalmachineryHave sound Community roads with a drainage systemCreate conditions for overcoming agricultural product sale difficul-tiesMake Community sport life more activeCreate conditions for overcoming livestock product sale difficultiesIncrease access to potable and irrigation waterHave a proper administrative building and a library in theCommunityAddress the threat of rain floods

8. Medium-Term Projects and Their Priorities

Projects were defined on the basis of solutions derived from the problemcausality analysis. From the alternative solutions, the ones that correspond-ed to pre-defined criteria (degree of solution of the problem, required finan-cial resources, and feasibility of operation and maintenance) were selected.Thus, the following projects have been selected:

Build a 200-seat culture centerPurchase multi-purpose agricultural machinery, as per theattached listRepair the roads within the CommunityBuild a drierBuild a stadium and purchase sport assetsCreate a milk supply station (with a capacity of 2 tons per day)Perform capital repairs of irrigation and potable water pipesBuild an administrative building of 250 square metersBuild a libraryRepair the flood tapping system

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The choice of these solutions does not mean that the other solutions willbe overlooked. Any change of circumstances may bring other solutions tothe forefront and trigger new solutions.

The assessment of projects and the classification of priorities were doneusing the “pair-wise” method (see Annex 1), and priorities were selected(Table 4).

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9. Project Development

Project Discussions. For the purpose of addressing project implementa-tion issues, monitoring and evaluating them, and identifying potentialsources of funding for projects, each project was discussed in a joint work-shop of the working and focus groups, to which relevant experts had beeninvited, as well.

Projects were discussed and examined with experts at Marz and nation-al levels for purposes of compatibility with policies.

As a result of the discussions, medium-term projects were identified.

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10. Annexes

Annex 1. Methodology

11.. PPllaannnniinngg SStteeppss aanndd PPrriinncciipplleessThe Aknaghbyur Community Development Plan (CDP) was developed

during July and August, 2006 by a group comprising community residentsand UNDP experts. Public participation in the CDP elaboration process hasbeen achieved by means of discussions with the Village Municipality staffand the Community Council, as well as discussions in general communityassemblies (to address general matters pertaining to the CDP) and an initia-tive group (CDP elaboration process).

The Development Plan has been elaborated through the following steps:1. Preparatory activities;2. Community vision statement;3. Social-economic overview;4. Problem identification and analysis;5. Statement of outputs;6. Medium-term objectives and underlying priorities; and7. Project development.

11..11.. HHeerree aarree tthhee mmaaiinn pprriinncciipplleess uunnddeerrllyyiinngg tthhee ddeevveellooppmmeenntt ooff tthhee CCoommmmuunniittyy DDeevveellooppmmeenntt PPllaann::

PPaarrttiicciippaattoorryy:: the Community residents, through a group of repre-sentatives formed on voluntary grounds by the General Assemblyof the Community, participated in the process. This format helpedachieve process transparency and accountability. In addition tothe Community residents, stakeholders from outside of theCommunity participated, as well (including the Marz Governor’sOffice, the Government, international organizations, donors, non-governmental organizations, private sector representatives, andthe like).CCoommppaattiibbllee:: National, regional, and neighboring communities’interests have been factored in.CCoommpplleemmeennttaarryy:: The capacity existing in neighboring communi-ties has been taken into account.CCoonnsseennssuuss-BBaasseedd:: Differences in opinion have been respectedand decisions taken on the basis of compromise.Feedback: With a certain sequence order, the activities have beenreflective.

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FFlleexxiibbllee:: Any change of the situation can be added in.SSuussttaaiinnaabbllee:: The general arrangements by which the Plan wasdeveloped and adopted (i.e. its participatory nature and theapproval by the Community Council and the Community GeneralAssembly) ensure the sustainability of the Plan.

22.. PPrreeppaarraattoorryy AAccttiivviittiieessThe Community Development Plan has been elaborated by means of

official talks at two levels (regional and local). To improve consistency andavoid redundancies, introductory meetings were held and understandingsreached with regional officials and the community leadership. The UNDPCommunity Development Plan objective was presented and specificarrangements on joint work were made.

Participation in the CDP process was achieved by means of communitygeneral assemblies and discussions in a working group.

CCoommmmuunniittyy GGeenneerraall AAsssseemmbbllyyPurpose: Two general assemblies were convened during the CDP

process, the first of which was intended to raise awareness, to mobilize, andto build an initiative group, while the second was held to discuss andapprove the draft CDP.

Method of Convening: the Community general assemblies were con-vened by means of announcements published by the Village Municipality.The announcements were posted in visible sites within the Community.

The working group was made up of the Village Mayor, the VillageMunicipality Staff, the Community Council members, and the initiative group.

IInniittiiaattiivvee GGrroouuppPurpose: To identify, analyze, and proposal solutions to the problems of

certain groups, including socially-vulnerable groups of the population.Principles of Formation: The desire of participants to be involved, the

approval of the majority of the general assembly, and the diversity of thegroup (in ethnic, professional, and age-gender terms) were taken into con-sideration.

Method of Formation: The initiative group was formed in the first GeneralAssembly of the Community by means of voluntary nomination and self-nomination. It was made up of representatives of various social segmentsof the population.

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For a list of the working group members, see Annex 9.

33.. CCoommmmuunniittyy VViissiioonn SSttaatteemmeennttThe community vision is a desirable situation in the future towards which

all the members of the community collectively aspire. The communityvision—as a “light” spotted in the distance—guides the development of thecommunity, and each community institution, with its function in the context ofits authority and mission, incrementally makes it closer.

The community vision setting process was carried out by means of acommunity-wide contest and a presentation in the working group.

CCoonntteessttA community-wide contest for essays on the topic “My Vision for the

Development of Aknaghbyur” was organized and conducted. Instructions onhow to take part in the contest were developed and disseminated within thecommunity (as well as posted on the Municipality wall), which stated themain assignment (i.e. to present their vision for the community, values,issues, their causes, consequences, and solutions) and the terms of partic-ipation. The papers were evaluated by community development experts.The authors of the best papers received prizes.

WWoorrkkiinngg GGrroouuppParallel to the evaluation of essays, statements of the Community vision

were extracted and combined with the one proposed in the working group.As a result of this exercise, a common community vision was articulated.

44.. SSoocciiaall-EEccoonnoommiicc OOvveerrvviieewwThe social-economic situation in the Community was analyzed by meth-

ods such as data surveys and working group discussions.

Surveys and analysis of available information

Information on the Community was collected from different organizations(the Village Municipality, the Marz Governor’s Office, the Government, inter-national organizations, non-governmental organizations, and the like). TheTavush Marz Development Plan, as well as the last several years’ commu-nity budgets, its triennial development plan, and other community-relatedplans were studied.

Working group discussions

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The Community’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats(SWOT) were identified in the working group. This analysis then served asa basis for identifying the issues faced by the Community and proposingsolutions.

55.. PPrroobblleemm IIddeennttiiffiiccaattiioonn aanndd AAnnaallyyssiissThe problems were analyzed in the following stages:

I. Problem identification and mapping;II. Problem assessment; andIII. Analysis of urgent problems using a causality scheme.

II.. PPrroobblleemm IIddeennttiiffiiccaattiioonn aanndd MMaappppiinngg:: the focus groups identified all theproblems that the participants deemed related to community development.The identified problems were then grouped according to the competentauthorities.

IIII.. PPrroobblleemm AAsssseessssmmeenntt:: the focus groups determined the most seriousproblems that need to be solved in order to start a process of fundamentalcommunity development. The problems assessment was performed usinga so-called “Problem Acuteness and Trend ” method.

The “Problem Acuteness and Trend” Method. Each participant receivedsheets containing a list of all the problems (one problem per sheet). Theparticipants were then asked to assess the problems as “Very Acute,”“Acute,” and “Less acute” by jointly choosing assessment criteria inadvance, including:

The number of people affected by the problem;The impact of consequences; andThe incidence of the problem.

Each participant was asked to mark his/her grade to each problem on theopposite side of the problem sheet. Then, the participants were asked tosort the problems by the trends observed during the last two-years(“Worsens,” “Remains unchanged,” or “Improves”), after which all the partic-ipants’ sheets were analyzed using the ratios specified in Table 1.

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66.. MMeeddiiuumm-TTeerrmm OObbjjeeccttiivveess aanndd UUnnddeerrllyyiinngg PPrriioorriittiieessPriority-Setting. The assessment of projects and the classification of pri-

orities were done using the “pair-wise” method, for which medium-term fea-sibility (access to financial, human, material, and other resources) was takenas a benchmark.

The Pair-Wise Method. The examined problems were filled out in verti-cal and horizontal lines of a matrix (see Table 2), after which each problemstated in a vertical line was compared with all the problems mentioned in thehorizontal lines. The top priority identified as a result of this comparison waswritten in the box where the lines cross. After all the boxes were filled in thisway, the incidence of each problem was calculated, and the problems wereclassified in the order of incidence. According to this classification, prioritieswere set.

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