Regional Civil Society Organizations as Vectors of Rural Economic Development

Project Description:

PMC Research Center, together with People in Need (PIN), the Rural Communities Development Agency (RCDA), and Association ATINATI are working to support rural economic development and to stimulate the agricultural sector in Georgia, as part of the European Commission project – Regional Civil Society Organizations as Vectors of Rural Economic Development.

The overall objective of the project is to strengthen region-based CSOs in the DCFTA implementation process and in the implementation of Georgia’s SME policy through the specific objective of strengthening the capacity of region-based CSOs to serve as effective vectors of democratic and socio-economic development in rural areas.

The pilot project targets civil society organizations (CSOs) and business support organizations (BSOs) from the following seven different regions of Georgia: Imereti, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Kakheti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Adjara and Kvemo-Kartli. The project focuses heavily on rural communities.

At the same time, the project aims to support CSOs and Local Action Groups (LAGs) to monitor the effects of the DCFTA and SME policy on local producers and SMEs, and ultimately hopes to contribute to the formulation of policy recommendations.

PMC Research is conducting the following activities to reach its goal:

• Coaching target CSOs in each region about value chain research
• Developing a framework for product research
• Selecting Value Chain Analysis (VCA) products for each region
• Assisting CSOs in data collection and interviews for VCA
• Providing value chain research on identified products
• Providing policy briefs on DCFTA effects; topics are chosen from the Association Agreement Agenda
• Arranging Semi-annual regional workshops discussing policy briefs and feedback from grassroots level