New Economic Opportunitites Initiative.pdf - Economic Growth - usaid

SOL-114-10-000002awareness of government plans and priorities for their communities is strengthened andsustained.Component 2. Rural Economic DevelopmentCommunity level economic development planning described above will prioritizeeconomic development needs based on regional and domestic market opportunities, anddraw community members into defined EDPs. In coordination with local communitiesthe following assistance will be made available to implement the economic developmentplans.Provide technical assistance and targeted grants to develop sustainable marketbasedcommunity-level economic activities. Interventions include:--Assist with forming groups of individuals into organized economicentities (e.g., partnerships, cooperatives, producer organizations,associations)--Provide demand-based vocational training, agriculture practices or othertechnical assistance to develop targeted economic opportunities (e.g.,horticulture, vegetable, livestock, handicraft, service provision, etc) fromproduction through market linkages--Establish or strengthen linkages between horizontal and vertical actorsthat are critical to developing targeted economic opportunities (e.g.,consolidators, wholesalers, processors)--Improve access to information and communication technologies--Improve productivity by improving access to inputs, and introducingnew technologies, practices or methodologies--Facilitate viable linkages with regional and or domestic markets--Establish small-scale incubators, business services centers, economicmeeting centers, or physical markets--Strengthen and promote access to financial service providers--Promote linkages and cooperation between economic actors in selectedcommunitiesContribute to designing and funding small economic infrastructure projects (e.g.irrigation channels, farm to market roads), and to the extent possible link such projects toothers being implemented at the municipal, regional or national levelsEstablish linkages between communities and appropriate/applicable Georgianeducation institutions, think tanks, NGOs and other sustainable providers of information,training and technical assistancePromoting off-farm employment opportunities, providing needed skills andfacilitating linkages to potential employersDevelop capacity of community leaders to lobby municipal governments topromote community-level infrastructure and or economic investment opportunitiesThe contractor will establish at least one model joint-use center near Abkhazia or SouthOssetia to provide a location for business services including processing/marketingfacilities, training, community space, input supply sales and information, and/ormicrofinance services. These centers could be established by refurbishing existing