| 1. What is LIFE Programme |
| The LIFE global
pilot programme was started by the UNDP
decision in 1992 and consists of 12 countries
and a few regional and inter-regional programmes
supported by LIFE. The 12 LIFE countries
are spread over all the regions. |
|
| 2. LIFE Philosophy
and Principles |
| LIFE is based on
the premise that participation and cooperation
by all actors are the most important factors
for bringing sustained improvement in the
environmental conditions and that "dialogue"
and open communication are powerful ways
for achieving effective partnerships and
participation |
|
| 3. LIFE Objectives |
|
LIFE promotes local - local
dialogue and collaborations between various
stakeholders at all levels to improve urban
environment conditions, which eventually lead
to appropriate changes in policies and functioning
styles.
3.1. Capacity building and empowerment of urban
poor through financing of urban poor and their
organizations projects, addressed to their needs.
Projects are implemented and managed in cooperation
with other urban communities parties.
3.2. Creation the environment of partnership,
cooperation and dialogue among different local
organizations, movements, population groups.
Projects become to be a definite basis gathering
different parties in definite activities in
order to solve definite problems. These activities
clarify the capacity and importance of each
party. 3.3. Two mentioned above conditions of
local self-governance based on the principal
of participation in decision making, should
be institutionalized in policy, resolutions,
legislative acts, capacity building measurements
etc. Thus, the population is empowered and builds
it's capacity as own rights.
3.4. To implement last article LIFE promotes
the importance of 3.1 and 3.2 articles for political
governance and public opinion formation. To
do so following measurements are organized:
visits to project implementation sites, experience
exchange, documentation of lessons learned from
implemented projects analysis in order to define
shortcomings and to bring new ideas. This analysis
is used as for promotion as for political negotiations
and dialogs.
|
| 4. LIFE Methodology:
A Three Stage Process |
4.1. Upstream: Catalyzing
a dialogue on national and local levels, developing
activities main directions, gathering a support
from civil society, population and the state.
4.2. Downstream: Effective and collaborative small
projects which address mainly urban environment
problems; promotion of local -local dialogue and
cooperation on local level, empowerment capacity
building of local stakeholders and partners.
4.3. Upstream: Exchanging experiences, influencing
policies and institutionalizing (transformation
into organizational and legal forms) of LIFE methodology.
|
| 5. LIFE institutional
framework in Kyrgyzstan |
Institutional framework
includes:
-LIFE National Steering Committee, consists of
13 members representing NGOs, local municipality
bodies, urban communities, international programmes
-UNDP country office focal point
-LIFE Programme National Coordinator and Assistant
-LIFE office |
| 6. LIFE
Main Areas of Project Competition Support at the
Urban Communities Level |
The main programme objective
is to develop life conditions of urban poor through
encouragement of activities in three spheres:
- political (local self governance based
on principles of participation, capacity building
and empowerment of urban poor)
- economical (income generating activities,
purchase of property, new market relations among
urban poor, public organizations, municipalities)
- ecological (urban environment, sanitary
and hygiene)
The projects are accepted into consideration
if would create economical and legislative initiatives
in measurements implementation process, develop
urban ecology (urban environment, sanitary and
hygiene), foresee direct participation of urban
poor or their organizations in project design,
implementation and monitoring, involve gender
issues.
|
| 7. Who can apply? (Which
organizations can apply) |
|
Projects for LIFE Programme grants support
can be submitted by legally registered (posses
a certificate of registration from The Ministry
of Justice or it's regional branches) local
municipality bodies, non-profit NGO and public
organizations, condominiums. Project activities
should be directed to municipal territories
only.
Local municipality bodies can submit projects,
restricted to following areas:
- Practice of referendums, round tables and
other joint actions, including public considerations
and discussions over design and taking of decisions
on improvement of urban poor environment.
- Encouragement of urban poor interests in planning
of urban society development through development
of "Urban poor environment improvement"
item, as an element of perspective and annual
plan for urban society development
- Encouragement of private and public initiatives
in water supply, heating, waste collection and
processing, sanitation and other municipal services,
improvement of environmental conditions.
- Establishment of learning-consulting-production
centers to improve urban poor settlements environmental
conditions
- Design of strategy and activities plan on
improvement of urban poor settlements environment
not with external aid only, but with self organization,
changes in culture of behavior, living, use
of own sources.
There are no restrictions under main areas of
support, shown in item 6 above, for condominiums,
non-government and public organizations.
|
| 8. Grant proposal
application procedure. |
·· Applicant applies
to LIFE National Coordinator (NC) or LIFE office
to obtain application forms and guidelines
· With assistance of NC/Asstistant or personally,
applicant prepares project concept and consults
over it with NC or National Steering Committee
member
· In case the project concept is approved, applicant
starts to prepare project proposal using application
form standard
· Ready enclosed project proposals to be submitted
to LIFE office or UNDP "Poverty alleviation
component" regional PIU offices
· National Coordinator examines received project
proposals to ensure it fits LIFE programme principles
(item 2), objectives (item 3), methodology (item
4), main areas of activity (item 6), the form
and context of project proposal format (see Appendix
2-6). Checked project proposals to be submitted
to National Steering Committee to compete. Unsuccessful
project proposals neither to be returned nor reviewed.
Only successful applicants to be informed of competition
results
· Approved project proposals are included to LIFE
programme country work plan via signing the contract
between applicant and UNDP Kyrgyzstan Country
Office
|
| 9. Project categories |
Projects are divided
on three categories up to time frames and capacity
of works applied in project proposal:
· Short term - up to 3000 US dollars with implementation
period up to 3 months.
· Midterm - from 3000 to 5000 US dollars with
implementation period up to 6 months.
· Long term - from 5000 to 10000 US dollars with
implementation period up to 12 months.
Grants payment schedule is multi-stage process
(see Table 7-1). First prepayment is made after
signing a contract and can vary from 10 to 50
% of a total required sum.
There are 4 planned cycles for grant application
and further project realization:
I. Application period is- February 2002. Application
deadline is to be announced. Priority to be
given to short and mid term projects.
II. Application period is- August 2002. Application
deadline is to be announced. Priority to be
given to short and mid term projects.
III. Application period is- February 2003. Application
deadline is to be announced. Priority to be
given to mid and long term projects.
IV. Application period is- August 2003. Application
deadline is to be announced. Priority to be
given to short term projects.
|
| 10. Project
requirements and selection criteria. |
10.1.Essential requirements.
National Steering Committee examines projects
if they:
· Foresee co-financing concept, thus resources
required from LIFE are less than half of the
total project cost, other project cost share
should be realized for applicant's, partners,
other programmes and donor funds;
· Initiate cooperation among local organizations
(NGOs, public organizations, condominiums, population,
local municipalities) in project design, realization,
monitoring and management;
· Fit to project proposal format and it's context.
The project is not eligible to compete, if
it does not fit to even one of mentioned above
requirements.
10.2.Evaluation criteria. The priority is
to be given to those competitive projects,
which:
· Address to essential needs of urban and
urban-type poor;
· Create stable employment for urban poor
not for grant period only, but furthermore;
· Develop capacity of urban poor through provision
of new practical skills, knowledge, encourages
establishment of their unions, groups, societies;
· Attract and implement innovative social
and specific (technical, engineering, agro-biological)
technologies;
· Attract additional funds of other national,
international, foreign programmes and donors;
· Foresee establishment of scheme for funds
revolving and their re-investment for project
objectives, project expansion or project replication;
· Address to gender issues and attract women
into the process of project objectives and
goals clarification, project management, realization
and monitoring;
· Content grounded plans on dissemination
of results and experience learned from project
realization, their consolidation with local
municipality normative documentation;
· Content detailed applicant information (items
9.1-9.6).
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| Appendix 1. Terms
of reference |
Beneficiaries - groups
of individuals or organizations receiving social,
economic, moral or other benefits or advantages
from project implementation.
Gender - not only a biological difference between
male and female, but also acquired, socially settled
behavior and expectations, related to men and
women. Gender is concerned to roles and characteristics
assigning to men and women in every definite ethnic
culture. These socially conditioned differences
reflect concept of biological differences in every
society. The main idea of gender modern concept
is in acknowledgement of "result equality",
in other words, the concept of equality assumes,
that difference in approaches to men and women
are essential to reach equal (same) results.
Institutionalization - the process of organizational
forms acquisition by the programme/project and
it's normative/legal security.
Under concept of urban and urban type communities
we understand associations of inhabitants such
as: associations of mutual aid groups, teachers,
doctors, water users; condominiums, housing
cooperatives; women, youth, children clubs etc.
Participation principle - each party (poor,
population, local municipality bodies, public
organizations, private sector, the science and
the education etc.) should be aware of decisions
taken, measurements goals and objectives, participate
in their design, realization, control.
|
| Appendix 2. Project
proposal format |
PROJECT PROPOSAL FORMAT
COVER PAGE TO BE SUBMITTED IN TWO EXEMPLARS
PROJECT№____________________________________________
(TO BE ASSIGNED BY UNDP)
PROJECT SUMMARY
Country________________________________________________
Name of organization seeking award:__________________________________________
Mail address:_____________________________________________________________
Telephone/fax №, E-mail address:_____________________________________________
Principal officer(s):_________________________________________________________
(name and position)
Project director:____________________________________________________________
(name and position)
Contact for this application (tel., E-mail)__________________________________________
(name and position)
Previous awards received under LIFE Programme
(if any):
Project №:___________________________________________________________
Name or title of project:________________________________________________
Grant amount received in ___________________
_________________________
(local currency) (US $ equivalent)
DESCRIPTION
1. Name or title of proposed project (with capital
letters)____________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. Project location (region, city/town, district,
block, street)___________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
3. Project period (months)_____________________________________________________
4. Project total cost in local currency and
US dollars equivalent________________________
5. Amount requested from LIFE in local currency
and US equivalent___________________
6. Stamp, signature of the principal, project
manager_________________________________
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| Appendix 3. Project
objectives, goals and expected results |
| 7. Project goals/objectives,
expected results (approximately up to 6000 symbols,
or 60-65 lines of 12 character in A 4 format)
Project main goal (write in one sentence up
to 12 words)
Project objectives (realistic objectives, solution
of which leads to project goals achievement)
Expected results (either project objective are
solved or not - it is defined by results. Thus
a result - is activity summary on objective
solution)
Activity (measurements and activity to obtain
results)
Essential conditions and risk possibility expectations
of conditions, under which project realization
is difficult or impossible, and this conditions
are not controlled by the project. E.g. third
parties pressure, changes in taxation laws,
fires, floods etc.
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