PROJECT BACKGROUND

The European Union (EU) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) value
a dynamic civil society environment, which fosters pluralism and contributes towards sustainable development and inclusive growth. The organisations recognise the important role of the civil society in support of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. The EU and UNDP have developed long-term partnership realized through a number of initiatives that promote a conducive environment for civil society organisations (CSOs), foster meaningful participation of CSOs in policy formulation, local development, and service delivery as well as strengthen CSOs’ internal capacities.

To further support engagement of the civil society in the national development processes, EU and UNDP have launched a new 3-year Action “Developing innovation-driven and sustainable civil society in Azerbaijan”. The Action is designed as a multi-dimensional response to accelerate the development and growth of the civil society sector in through building capacities, promoting social entrepreneurship and stimulating social innovation.

The Action’s overall development objective is to contribute to building conducive environment for a vibrant, sustainable and innovation-driven civil society in Azerbaijan. The Action pursues two Specific Objectives:

1. To increase CSOs capacities to engage in policy-making and foster local development;

2. To build an enabling ecosystem and capacities for social entrepreneurship and social innovation.

The objectives of the Action will be achieved through the delivery of the following Expected Results:

1. Capacities of the CSOs for policy engagement around development issues are strengthened.

2. Essential capacities of the region-based CSOs as actors in local development processes are built.   

3. Conducive ecosystem and enabling opportunities for boosting the start and development of social enterprise are improved.

4. Social Enterprise Platform is established and promoted.

The current Call for Expression of Interest is launched in support of the Specific Objective 2 and Expected Result 4 above.

AIM OF THE CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

This Call for Expression of Interest is launched to invite social entrepreneurs, socially oriented businesses and civil society organizations in an IDEATION BOOT CAMP. The primary goal of the ideation boot camp is to encourage creative thinking and generate innovative business ideas that bring income and help address Sustainable Development Goals SDGs challenges (for reference, visit: https://azerbaijan.un.org/en/sdgs)

WHY TO JOIN

Join us if you’re interested in:

• Generating social impact through an entrepreneurial approach

• Offering solutions to address SDGs challenges by generating jobs, providing innovative services and products, promoting inclusion and sustainability

• Gaining new experiences and insights in a rapidly developing social entrepreneurship field

• Getting inspiration and sharing new ideas  

• Working collaboratively in diverse teams to tackle SDGs challenges

• Making new friends and connections

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

In order to be eligible for participation, the participants must:

• operate in the Republic of Azerbaijan

• be registered as an individual entrepreneur, or non-profit organization, or limited liability company, in accordance with the national legislation

• have social or environmental mission

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS        

All social entrepreneurs and CSOs interested to participate in the ideation bootcamp should fill out the organization’s Profile Form and Business Idea Form enclosed to this invitation.  Please note that you can submit more than 1 business idea. Applications will be reviewed by the project committee and applicants will be notified accordingly. UNDP may contact applicants if more information is required. Questions can be sent to: info.az@undp.org no later than 3 April 2023.

The Profile Form and the Business Idea form should be sent to info.az@undp.org no later than 3 April 2023, by 18:00 by local time.

Please, download forms HERE