Economic Integration of Syrian Refugees in Armenia
The EISRA-Project seeks to contract a national company/ group of experts to conduct Pre-study on Creative Employment Opportunities in Armenia.
The objectives of the pre-study will deal with two distinct areas:
- Mapping: the pre-study will provide a deep inventory of global; best-available studies, business models, projects, approaches to skills assessment, networks and platform on the topic of Creative Employment (employment opportunities in the Creative Sector); suitable practices extracted for examination and implementation in Armenia.
- Economic Impact: provide measurable recommendations and criteria to supportpolicy advice matched by Creative Employment opportunities in Armenia.
- Institutional benefits: The pre-study will also address the preconditions for enhancing and adding efficiency to current and future services provided by the State Employment Agency for Syrian-Armenians and persons who fled areas of armed conflict.
Brief information about the programme
The three countries of the South Caucasus, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, face the challenge of generating broad based inclusive growth to reduce the urban-rural gap and poverty above all in rural regions. In view of the small domestic markets with low purchasing power, the primary aim is to expand foreign trade. High policy priority is therefore accorded to diversifying the economy and improving the competitiveness of export products. The greatest export potential exists in processed agricultural products and - though not in all countries - tourism development. In Azerbaijan there is scope for revitalizing the plastics industry.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), however, do not take advantage of the market opportunities provided by the European Union (EU), the main trade partner. The core problem lies in the lack of adequate entrepreneurial and institutional preconditions for developing foreign trade-oriented sectors for inclusive growth. The reasons for this lie in the insufficient capacities of the institutions engaged in economic policy, trade promotion and vocational qualification policy. There is hardly any inter-institutional cooperation and dialogue with the private sector. Services are lacking in the fields of production, quality, procurement and distribution. The increasing demand for specific qualifications and competence poses a further challenge for private sector development. Also, there is no systematic exchange of information and experience on economic policy issues among the South Caucasian countries.
The objective of the technical cooperation (TC) measure, Private Sector Development South Caucasus, is therefore: the conditions for the development of selected foreign trade-oriented sectors for inclusive growth have improved. To achieve this, the programme focuses on three intervention fields: (1) Improvement of the business development framework conditions, (2) Promotion of the private sector in the selected value chains, and (3) Vocational qualification. Business needs-oriented promotion of the private sector in the value chains with proven export potential is of the central importance. The intervention areas ‘Improvement of the business development framework conditions’ and ‘Vocational qualification” are geared to this. The programme supports the implementation of policies, strategies and pilot measures.
The measures are implemented in cooperation with the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and in coordination with the ongoing projects of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that support agricultural production in Georgia and Azerbaijan within the value chain promotion framework. An integrated development partnership (PPP / public private partnership) with the economy initiated by the predecessor programme in Armenia and Georgia is continued. There is potential for further cooperation with the private sector. The programme operates at the national level in each of the three countries as well as in pilot regions and promotes the exchange of experience and cooperation at the regional level.
In addition, there are three projects attached to the PSD SC programme which are in line with the objective and intervention fields of the programme:
(1) The project “Economic Integration of Syrian Refugees in Armenia” tackles the challenges related to Syrian refugees with an Armenian ethnic background that immigrated to Armenia during the last years due to the civil war in Syria. In order to support the economic integration of refugees in Armenia, the project supports the economic dialogue and coordination of relevant stakeholders, the integration in existing business networks as well as the access to and the adaptation of employment and qualification programmes. It comprises of three main intervention fields: (1) Public-Private-Dialogue and Participation, (2) Integration in Value Chains and Business Networks, (3) Vocational Qualification and Skills Development.
(2) The project “SME Development and DCFTA” is related to the Association Agreement and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) which was signed by Georgia and the European Union in 2014. The European Union is co-financing a support to SME development and DCFTA to be implemented by the GIZ Private Sector Development programme. It seeks to assist the Georgian Government in the implementation process of the DCFTA, supporting the development of the SME sector to adapt to DCFTA regulations and facilitating Georgia’s integration into the EU market. The project comprehends following components: (1) Improved enterprise development framework and SME participation in the political dialogue, (2) Comprehensive capacity development for SME support institutions with focus on improved service delivery, (3) Enterprise development and promotion via clustering and support to business networks on national, sector and local level, (4) Business clusters and networks integration into relevant existing EU networks for enterprise development, investment and trade promotion.
(3) The project “SME Development” in Armenia is co-financed by the EU and implemented by the GIZ Private Sector Development Programme. It focuses on the improvement of the Armenian business and investment climate and the support to the development of the SME sector, in particular the link between research and economy as well as access to finance. The projects comprehends following result areas: (1) Improved policy making process and coordination of support to SME development, (2) Strengthening private sector organization to implement SME policies, (3) Improved process of commercialization of ideas linking research institutions and business via cooperation networks, (4) Improved design and management of economic clusters (incubators, technoparks and Free Economic Zones (FEZ)).
Target groups and other stakeholders
The programme target group is females and males, owners and employees of enterprises (primarily SMEs) in the selected value chains and their suppliers. Female entrepreneurs are often engaged in micro and small enterprises in the traditional sectors (agriculture, production and sale of processed food, handicrafts, service sector, e.g. tourism).
As part of the vocational qualification measures, the target group includes job-seekers and alumni of vocational schools and higher education institutions as well. In Armenia, significantly more women are affected by unemployment than men (35% of the female workforce is unemployed vs 22% of male; data from 2011). The unemployment rate among young women amounts to 40.7% in Georgia and to 69.4% in Armenia (32.4% and 42.7% respectively among male youth).
Other stakeholders are the teaching staff of vocational schools; specialists and managerial personnel of think tanks; representatives of ministries involved; service providers (e.g. export promotion agencies, management consultants) and non-governmental organisations.
The project “Economic Integration of Syrian Refugees” concentrates on Syrian refugees in Armenia as a target group with a special focus on women and people of the age between 30 and 50 years as well as young people.
Responsibilities
The experts will:
a) undertake the study to address the research questions identified above;
b) provide a methodology for the study;
c) engage with other relevant institutions and initiatives to secure evidence;
d) incorporate desk-based analysis of secondary data and analysis of qualitative and quantitative primary data;
e) work directly with and under supervision of the CIM Integrated Expert, the coauthors of the Terms of Reference and the EISRA project team.
Target Group
The preliminary target group of the Creative Employment Mapping Study of Armenia (CEMSA) are the Syrian-Armenian youth (i.e. recent graduates, young professionals) of untapped talent and ambition who aspire for entrepreneurship in the Creative Industry, and show the desire to transition from informal labour to formalized economic activity. The target group also includes business-minded, highly skilled individuals who consider themselves practicing creative employment in Armenia with a visible track of success and sustainability, including export activity, as well as individuals with creative skills and experience who are struggling to locate employment in Armenia. The target group includes yet unidentified individuals at the forefront of innovation and creative employment whether Syrian-Armenian or Armenian. Some of the identified SyrianArmenian youth groups to target include those in: architecture, textile and printing, digital design and the general crafts and arts, including knitting and embroidery.
Submission Requirements
The company may apply through a consortium with other consulting companies/ international experts. At least 20% of the expert days shall be allocated for international expertise. GIZ will sign the contract with a lead company, which can have subcontracts with other companies/experts.
The hired company needs to meet the following requirements:
- A documented path of experience with a minimum of five years in the fields of labour migration, inclusive growth, socioeconomic development action planning and implementation, public policy production, business development, entrepreneurship, employment support measures, creative industries, modeling and (if possible) long-term experience in the field of coaching unemployed (immigrants) to valuable and fulfilling employment (esp. applicable to the international expert sought).
- Proven expertise in the area of conducting socioeconomic development research, target group identification and needs-analysis similar to the assignment, in Armenia and internationally (proven by references attached to the offer);Ability to access, establish and manage networks;Proficiency in English (written and spoken), deliverables in British English;Prior experience in dealing with Syrian Armenians in Armenia and their economic integration is a strong asset (proven by references attached to the offer);Proven ability to access to networks and individuals of the creative industry in Armenia, also the ones operating in informality Excellent understanding of and ability to meet the demands and standards of an institution of international development cooperation;Excellent understanding of how to approach and communicate with private businesses/start-ups, intermediaries, international organisations, government and state institutions;Structured, efficient, transparent and professional way of cooperation and communication, especially in case of applying as a consultancy company;Creative and innovate approaches for substantial and user-friendly publications and presentations
Submission deadline
If you are interested in performing this work, please submit a bid to the GIZ Country office/ Reception in accordance with the GIZ bidding conditions till 10.01.2017, 17:30 (date of receipt at GIZ).
Please address any commercial, technical and procedural questions at an early stage. Questions will be answered if they are received at the latest two working days before the closing of the tender. Questions have to be raised in writing by email only to: Mrs Angelika Sahakyan, email: angelika.sahakyan@giz.de