Local Action Group Kazbegi (LAG Kazbegi)

Rural Development Programme

Local Action Group Kazbegi (LAG Kazbegi)

Grant Manual

Open grant competition procedures

The International non-governmental organization People in Need (PIN) is implementing a rural development project in Kazbegi municipality as part of the European Neighbourhood Program for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD). The project is implemented jointly with partners of People in Need: the biological farming association Elkana and the national network of local action groups of the Czech Republic. As part of the project, People in Need announces the first round of open grant competition for spring/summer 2016.

The purpose of the grants is to fund projects which improve the standard of living and socio-economic situation in Kazbegi based on the priorities and objectives of the Kazbegi Development Strategy 2016-2020 developed by LAG Kazbegi.

The grant competition is targeting the entire administrative territory of Kazbegi Municipality. Grants will be awarded only to projects which reflect the priorities of Kazbegi Development Strategy 2016-2020. Grants are available for public, community and business projects. Co-funding is required for all projects.

Timeline:

The small grants competition will have two stages:

The first competition will be held in spring-summer 2016 and the second one in winter 2016 - spring 2017. Duration of projects may range from 3 to 12 months (to be completed by July 2017).

Priority will be given to projects aimed at promoting inter-sectoral cooperation, such as, for example (but not limited to), tourism and agriculture or public-private partnerships.

1.1.Timeline of first competition spring-summer 2016:

The deadline to submit Initial Project Applications is June 10, 2016, 17:30 Georgia Time. All projects will be submitted to PIN Kazbegi office in Stephantsminda, V. Phshavela #56

Evaluation of Initial Project Applications will take place from June 11 to 20.

Successful project applicants to be notified on 22 of June viaphone, invited for second stage and informed about training schedule. Attendance to trainings will be mandatory.List of approved initial applications also will be available online - People in Need web-page and LAG Kazbegi Facebook page.

Authors of rejected Initial project applications will be notified by phone and invited to PIN Kazbegi office on 22 and 23 of June – Stephantsminda, V. Phshavela #56, in order to receive written justification of application not meeting criteria.

In case any of the applicants had difficulty of phone coverage and project team wasn’t able to contact them, it’s solely applicant’s responsibility to request the result of evaluation in PIN Kabegi office on 22nd of June.

Mandatory trainings for second stage applicants: June 22 – June 28

Full project application preparation – June 22 – July 12

Deadline for submission of the full application is July 12, 17:30 PIN Kazbegi office, Stephantsminda, V. Phshavela #56

Evaluation of the full project application will take place from July 13to August 11

Final results will be announced on August 11published online - People in Need web-page and LAG Kazbegi Facebook page, as well as all applicants will be informed via phone.

All following procedures depend on seasonality of the successful project and procurement procedure timeline. Grant contracts will be signed with beneficiaries during next 20 days form enouncement of the final results.

Description of project ideas and participation in the grant competition:

Public and legal entities (businesses and civil society organizations) registered in Kazbegi and Georgian citizens who either reside in Kazbegi or have resided in Kazbegi in the past are eligible to take part in the grant competition (with the restrictions detailed below for each type of project), provided that all submitted projects will be implemented in Kazbegi region and the applicant accepts the co-funding requirement.

The total amount of grant for the two stages of the grant competition is €361.000, equivalent in GEL. Grants will be between €1,000 and €10,000; for projects aimed at the development/co-operation of several sectors, the maximum amount can be up to €60,000. Exchange rate will be determined in accordance to the official exchange rate of National Bank of Georgia on the date of signing the grant contract with the beneficiary.

Eligibility and co-funding requirements for each type of project:

Type of project / Eligible applicants / Co-funding requirements
Public projects / Local government and self-government agencies, legal entities of public law and other public institutions in the territory of the municipality / Minimum 20% of the total project budget
Community projects / citizens of Georgia and groups of citizens, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that will implement projects in Kazbegi Municipality / Minimum 20% of the total project budget. In-kind contribution is allowed.
Business projects / Small businesses (employing less than 15 people), as well as individuals or groups of individuals who, if awarded the grant, are ready to register their business in accordance with the law of Georgia / Minimum 30% of the total project budget

Finances and monitoring

4.1.Expenditures which cannot be requested as part of the grant, nor considered as co-financing:

Repayment of borrowings/debts
Repayment of future expenses - salaries/fees and other recurring expenses
Financing of undertaken obligations (for example-activities funded by other sources)
Any personal expenses, (for example educational and travel expenses)
Construction, except where it targets several sectors and is required for the community (inter-sectoral projects)

4.2.Expenditures which cannot be requested as part of the grant, but could be included in applicants co-financing:

Purchase of land and buildings
Renovation materials and services
Raw materials
Purchase of live cattle/birds
Expenses for licenses, permits etc.
Independently invited experts and consultants

4.3.Record keeping and monitoring

After the project is financed, all legal and financial documents must be made available to monitoring officers at the time of monitoring. This documentation will not be made public unless it has some irregularities specified in the law and grant agreement.

The beneficiary will comply with all requirements of tax legislation, will regularly maintain and file accounting statements in accordance with the law of Georgia. The documents must be stored by the grant recipient and made available to PIN and LAG Kazbegi monitoring teams for at least 3 years from the date when contract was signed.

For the purpose of sharing experience, beneficiary must, upon request of PIN or LAG Kazbegi, present its enterprise to all interested parties for at least the next 3 years, starting from the date when contract was signed.

Grant competition process

Prior to accepting grant applications, a campaign will be launched to spread as much information as possible in Kazbegi Municipality. Meetings will be held in all villages to present a brief overview of the strategy to the population. This document will be published onPeople in Need's website[1] and the Facebook page of LAG Kazbegi[2]. Both employees of the organisations implementing the project and all members of LAG Kazbegi are involved in this process.

Initial and Full project applications are evaluated by Kazbegi LAG Project Evaluation Committee.

The Project Evaluation Committee is a permanent body of LAG Kazbegi. Its members (currently 11 persons) are elected by LAG Kazbegi general assembly. The committee members will have trainings on the criteria and procedures for evaluation of project applications. In the event of any conflict of interests, i.e. if a member of the committee or his/her family member has any financial or other interests in the project under consideration, this member will refuse in writing to evaluate this particular project. His/her vote will be given to a neutral person invited by the People in Need for this purpose solely.

All project applications should be delivered to the following address, in hard copy and typed, by the applicant or his/her authorised representative (please see annex #2 for relevant form):

Kazbegi, Stephantsminda, V. Phshavela Street #56.

5.1.Submission and selection of project applications

All applicants participating in the grant competition will go through the following steps:

Project application submission

1.1Potential applicants must register project ideas via the hotline phone number operated by the Project Team in Stephantsminda PIN office, for not less than 10 days, from 10:00 to 18:00 Tbilisi time. The project idea, project venue, the applicant's personal data and contact numbers will be recorded. (Hotline phone number information is disseminated together with the strategy during community meetings, prior to call for project submissions).

1.2Applicants (authors of project ideas) registered via the hotline will be invited to the first consultation meeting where they will be informed about the conditions and process of the grant competition, including technical aspects, such as priorities and goals of Kazbegi Development Strategy 2016-2020 developed by LAG Kazbegi; evaluation and management of project applications; specific requirements of business applications - forms of incorporation, tax liabilities, food safety regulations, standardization, etc.

1.3Individual or group consultations will be held additionally for applicants whose project ideas are subject to specific regulations and permits under the law. For instance, food/fodder safety, veterinary and phytosanitary standards, etc.

1.4After the first consultation meetings, grant applicants will submit their initial project applications (annex 1) in hard copy to the Kazbegi Office of People in Need by the stated deadline.

1.5After the initial applications are submitted, the Evaluation Committee of LAG Kazbegi will review them against the major criteria of the Kazbegi Development Strategy and grant competition. ( Please see - Evaluation Criteria of Initial Project Applicationsbelow) All initial applications meeting the criteria will be admitted to the next stage of Full applications.

1.6At this stage, specific groups of applicants (hotel, greenhouse, bakery, etc.) will take part in technical trainings, including preparation of business plans, financial aspects, marketing, etc.). Attendance is mandatory! (In case of an applicant's absence, the trainings can be attended by his/her authorised representative based on written authorisation document (annex 2).

1.7After the trainings, applicants will prepare a narrative (textual/descriptive part) of Full application on their own, to be submitted in hard copy (annex 3, part 1) to the Kazbegi Office of People in Need by the stated deadline (maximum 3 weeks). The applications via Fax, e-mail or other electronic tools, as well as sent via postal service will not be accepted. Please take into consideration that incomplete applications will not be accepted and list of presented documents will be filled, as well as each application will receive a unique registration number.

1.8At the Full Project Application submission, Initiative groups are required to submit two letters of recommendations and CVs of all group members, with detailed description of professional experience.

1.9At the stage ofFull application preparation (annex 3, part 1 and part 2), individual consultations will be held with invited experts regarding business plans, financial aspects, marketing for those who need such support.

1.10Full project applications will not be accepted after the expiry of the above-mentioned deadline.

Evaluation of Full Project Applications

2.1Evaluation committee members will be given reasonable time to read and evaluate Full project applications individually and present their written conclusion. Evaluation criteria are based on the strategy approved by LAG Kazbegi (please see the General and Specific Criteria below).

2.2The invited expert will also prepare financial evaluation of Full project applications received from the business sector and will give recommendations to the project evaluation committee.

2.3At the same time, employees of the Kazbegi Office of People in Need will evaluate movable and immovable assets of the applicants that was described in Full project application as applicants in-kind contribution and submit their recommendations to the evaluation committee.

2.4 The evaluation committee will appoint a special meeting with authors of full project applicationswho will present their projects verbally (project presentation is open for public). Committee members may ask additional questions. Projects will be scored based on above described recommendations, conclusions and verbal presentations. Complete applications, applications with minor mistakes and incomplete applications will be identified based on scores. Evaluation results will be made public with written explanation of reasons for accepting or rejecting each project.

2.5For applications with minor mistakes, applicants will be additionally given one week to correct their applications.

2.6The project evaluation committee will appoint another meeting where re-submitted applications will be evaluated again.

2.7At the third meeting the committee will identify all complete applications to be supported, based on the highest scores,in the range of funding available for the first stage of the grant competition.

Grant contract and procurement:

At the next stage, successful applicants will prepare necessary documents together with the procurement specialists of People in Need.

At the same time, successful business sector applicants will register their business (if not registered yet) and present appropriate documentation (within one week).

Successful applicants must open bank accounts, deposit the amount of co-funding specified in the grant agreement and provide documented proof of deposit to the People in need Stephantsminda office (except for the non-financial co-funding and co-funding of public institutions).

Grant contract will be signed with successful applicants.

After signing of grant contract, applicants need to start procurement in the range of their co-financing described in project application and provide all necessary financial documents to the People in Need Stephantsminda office.

After documented proof of co-financing from the applicants side, People in Need will start its own procurement procedures, in accordance with the regulations of People in Need and EU.

All applicants will receive goods procured by the People in Need for temporary use and not in ownership, till the end of July 2017.

All supported projects will undergo monitoring, in order to evaluate if the project progress meets the targets and goals described in the project proposal. Monitoring will be conducted by People in Need project team, as well as LAG Project Evaluation Committee on a monthly basis till the end of July 2017.

Monitoring will cover activities and targets set by the project, as well as all financial and legal documents should be accessible to the monitors, to see that there isn’t any breach of grant contract conditions.

If all monitoring reports prove project progress and no beach of grant contract agreement is recorded, goods in temporary use of grantee will be transferred in ownership via donation contract.

Project selection criteria

All project applicants registered via hotline will be informed about the selection criteria at the first stage of consultations. The criteria have been defined by LAG Kazbegi.

7.1.Evaluation form and criteria of Initial Project Applications

Evaluation form of Initial Project Applications
Name of the project/ applicant/ group
Name of evaluator
Date of evaluation
Section 1
Mandatory Criteria to be met by all application / Yes/No (Project that do not meet all mandatory criteria- will not be evaluated further in section 2) / Comment of evaluator
Project will be implemented in the territory of Kazbegi Municipality
Individual applying for the grant is citizen of Georgia / Organization applying is legally registered in Georgia
Project application is in line with the priorities of Kazbegi Development strategy 2016-2020 developed by LAG Kazbegi
Project is not harmful to the environment
Project is not politically and religiously biased
Project applicant commits to mandatory co-financing
Section 2
Criteria to be Scored / Score/points
Maximum or 0 / Comment of Evaluator in case of 0 score
Project supports youth engagement / 15
Project clearly presents innovative approach/ technology / 15
Project clearly shows support of villages located far from town / 10
Project proves gender equality / 10
Project clearly shows cooperation with other economic or institutional sector / 10
Budget justification is clear and relevant / 10
Applicant has relevant experience/skills / 10
Project offers employment to local residents / 10
Need is justified, beneficiary group is clearly identified / 5
Project responds to more than one priority of Kazbegi Development strategy 2016-2020 developed by LAG Kazbegi / 5
Total Score: maximum 100

Each Initial Application will be evaluated by 3 members of Evolution Committee independently.

Maximum points by one evaluator per project – 100 points. Maximum points per project: 300.

Projects receiving less than 120 points in total will not be invited to submit full application.

7.2.Evaluation Criteria of Full Project Applications

Apart of meeting the criteria, in order to score highest points, Full Project Applications should receive Recommendations for Support of two assessments: 1. financial evaluation by invited business expert 2. factual check and evaluation of legal ownership/lease of movable and immovable assets of the applicant that was described in Full project application as applicants in-kind contribution by the employees of the Kazbegi Office of People in Need

Full Proposal support scoring

Project Name / Points received against General Criteria / Points received against Specific Criteria / Recommendation of support from business expert
Yes - 50 points
No – 0 points / Recommendation of support from PIN project staff
Yes - 50 points
No – 0 points / Total points

7.2.1.Evaluation form, General and Specific criteria for evaluation of public projects - bylegal entities of public law

Evaluation form - Full Application for public projects
Name of the project/ applicant/ group
Name of evaluator
Date of evaluation
Section 1
General Criteria / Maximum points / Allocated points / Evaluators justification
Proof of at least 20% of co-funding – (officially issued documents) / 10
Sustainability of project results is clearly described and demonstrated / 10
Objectives of project applications are in line with the priorities of Kazbegi Development Strategy 2016-2020 / 10
Supports youth engagement / 10
Promotes gender equality / 10
Promotes/practices environmental protection / 10
Presents innovative approach to problems/ introduces new technologies / 10
Supports villages located far from town (Distant from Stephantsminda 5 km and more) / 10
Is in compliance with the Kazbegi National Park regulations / 5
Clearly indicates the number of direct and indirect beneficiaries / 5
Presented two letters of recommendations / 5
Politically and religiously neutral / 5
Total Maximum: 100 / Total:
Section 2
Specific Criteria / Maximum points / Allocated points / Evaluators justification
The project cannot be funded from the public body’s own budget or from other sources (no committed funds for project) / 20
Realisable/realistic action plan and transparency of project activities / 20
Partnership with civil and private sector / 15
Community's engagement in the project development and implementation / 15
Involvement of groups with special needs or focus on them / 15
Budget efficiency / 15
Total Maximum: 100 / Total:

7.2.2.Evaluation form, General and Specific criteria for business projects - existing businesses or new initiatives