Letter of Inquiry

March 30, 2018

Allison Barlow
Director of Democracy Programs
Wallace Global Fund
2040 S. Street NW
Washington, DC 20009

Dear Ms. Barlow,

Kazakhstan-based organization “Civil Alliance of Mangistau Oblast” (501(c)(3) equivalent) is pleased

to submit a brief description of project “Aulda Birlece Damity!: A Multi-Stakeholder Approach
to Local Self-Governance” for your consideration.

Unmet promises of oil-funded development and a Soviet legacy of top-down community planning
have left many rural communities in Kazakhstan poorly-equipped to chart their own course for local
social and economic development. Many residents of under-resourced regions continue to wait for
infrastructure development and economic support from the national government - support which
is simply not coming without greater participation of citizens in the identification of local
development priorities and stronger advocacy for policies which protect local interests.

NGO “Civil Alliance of Mangistau Oblast” (CAMO) proposes project Aulda Birlece Damity!: A
Multi-Stakeholder Approach to Local Self-Governance, designed to respond to the challenges
of self-governance in rural regions through targeted capacity-building for community stakeholders
and collaborative community planning in 13 villages of Mangistau province.

CAMO was founded as a regional association and NGO resource center for more than 50 non-
governmental organizations in Mangistau province in November 2005. CAMO’s mission is to
promote the development of civil society institutions and improve engagement between regional
authorities and the wider public. Through research, training, and social initiatives, CAMO aims to
reduce economic inequality in the region, strengthen local governance, and encourage greater
transparency and accountability from public organizations, state agencies, and businesses in the
region. The organization has an annual operating budget of $120,000; CAMO’s primary sources of
income are regional government contracts for social service provision and NGO consulting
activities, and grants from national and international corporate and institutional donors.

The overall goal of the Aulda Birlece Damity!: A Multi-Stakeholder Approach to Local Self-
Governance project is to enhance quality of life and economic development in the region through
strengthened local governance mechanisms in rural Munaili and Tupkaragan districts of Mangistau
province. Specific project objectives include:
1. To increase the capacity of village governments and members of the local community to
collaborate in the development of village development plans. Capacity-building trainings
and facilitated discussions will equip key stakeholder groups with the planning and consensus-
building tools needed for collaborative planning and decision-making.
2. To develop village development plans which respond to the needs of local communities.
Stakeholder groups will apply new skills into practice, working together to identify key
 development priorities in their villages; the process will initially be coordinated by CAMO and
later coordinated by community leaders.
3. To enhance the role of local entrepreneurs in the process of local economic development.
Recognizing that local economic development and job creation are fundamental to strategic
community development, the project will train potential entrepreneurs in target communities
to launch small businesses and support small business owners to grow their enterprises
sustainably.

To support these objectives, the project strategy will include the following components:
• Strategic Stakeholder Engagement: CAMO will work with key stakeholder groups at the
provincial level to establish a Regional Working Group to provide strategic oversight to
project activities and ensure alignment with regional development activities throughout the
province. A village-level working group will be established in each target community, to
ensure broad representation of local stakeholder groups in planning and decision-making
processes.
• Capacity Development for Local Authorities: A capacity-building training series for local
government officials and civil servants will support improved engagement with community
members through participatory needs assessments, public hearings, feedback mechanisms, and
organizational learning processes.
• Community Development Planning: Trained authorities in each target community will
facilitate collaborative community planning processes, culminating in a Village Development
Plan, a three-year community development strategy which includes key priorities, objectives,
and time-bound action items for local development.
• Information Campaign: CAMO and partners will develop and disseminate communications
products and resources through traditional and new media channels to increase regional
awareness about local self-governance practices.
• Entrepreneurship Development: Business development trainings will be held for 40 current
and potential entrepreneurs in each target region in partnership with the national Chamber of
Entrepreneurs; participants will be eligible to compete for ‘seed’ funding to start or grow their
business.
• Local Self-Governance Resource Handbook: CAMO will develop a resource handbook “Best
Practices in Local Self-Governance: The Experience of Mangistau Province”, which will not only
provide reflection on CAMO’s project target district, but also provide recommendations and
lessons learned which can be applied by other districts.

The total budget for the project is $600,000 for the period 2017-2020; the European Union in
Kazakhstan has committed €458,000 ($565,000). An additional $35,000 is requested from the
Wallace Foundation to support the project in the period from 2018-2020. Thank you for your
consideration and we look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Jessica Howard
Development Consultant
jessica.l.howard@vanderbilt.edu
+1-615-806-5994