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Approved in Community Council Session ofDzoramut CommunityOn August 30, 2006

Republic of ArmeniaLori Marz

DZORAMUT COMMUNITY 2006-2008INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Dzoramut Village – 2006

CONTENTS

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32. General Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43. Vision of Dzoramut Community . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64. Social-Economic Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75. Problem Identification and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156. Priority Problem Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .167. Statement of Outputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .198. Medium-Term Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199. Project Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2110. Annexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

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1.Introduction

To facilitate sustainable and integrated rural development and to assistlocal government bodies and the population of communities in Armenia, theUnited Nations Development Program (UNDP) has, jointly with theDzoramut Community and in cooperation with the Republic of ArmeniaMinistry of Foreign Affairs, in view of the forthcoming Third Diaspora-Armenia Conference, initiated and elaborated the 2006-2008 IntegratedDevelopment Plan of the Community. This effort has not been confined tofunctions currently performed by the Community. The Development Plan isanchored in a Community Development Vision articulated by its inhabitants,covering the development goals of the community as a whole. The Plan hasbeen developed by means of conducting a comprehensive analysis of theimpact of the external environment on the Community, which includes twosettlements (Gogavan and Dzoramut), the social-economic situation in theCommunity, and the existing and potential capacity and resources (natural,geographic, economic, social, financial, and human). It is a guideline for inte-grated community development, which may serve as a basis for policy-mak-ing at all levels of government.

Financial resources and project outputs have been evaluated in order tomake the Plan even more realistic.

The Plan is in conceptual agreement with the UN MillenniumDevelopment Goals and Targets, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Program,the 2006-2008 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework adopted by theArmenian Government, the Integrated Development Plan of Armenia’sBorderline Regions, the Millennium Challenge Program, and the Lori MarzDevelopment Plan.

The objectives and priorities set forth in the Plan are not final and can beadjusted in the course of implementation.

The Planning process and methodology are presented in Annex 1.

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2. General Overview

The Republic ofArmenia Lori Marz* isthe third largest in thecountry in terms of terri-tory (covering 12.7% ofArmenia’s territory) andthe second in terms ofpopulation (afterYerevan). The Lori Marzis located in the north ofthe country. It bordersGeorgia. The main rail-way and highway of thecountry pass throughthe Lori Marz. As of April 1, 2006, the population of Lori was 283,100 (8.8%of the total population of Armenia). 41.2% of the population is rural.

The territory of Lori Marz occupies the eastern half of the Gugark Landsof Historical Armenia (in the ninth and tenth centuries, there was an inde-pendent Armenian state in this territory, called the Kingdom of Lori; a part ofthe territory of the Marz was owned by the Zakaryan Dynasty).

The highest point in Lori is Mountain Tej (3,101 meters), and the low-est—the low sections of the River Debed (about 390 meters). There arenumerous architectural monuments inherited from different centuries. About3,000 of the monuments here are subject to state protection. It is worth men-tioning the Sanahin and Haghpat church complexes, the Odzun Church, theAkhtala monastery complex and fortress, the ruins of Lori and Tashirfortresses, the dwelling caves and copper-age settlement in Spitak, the 5th-century churches in Vanadzor, the royal residence, the ruins of two cyclo-pean fortresses, the “Kosi Choter” copper-age settlement, the St. GrigorBardzrakas Monastery in Dsegh, and others.

The Lori Marz has 192,212 hectares of agricultural land, including 47,823hectares of arable land. There are eight urban and 105 rural communities(with 122 rural settlements).

The agriculture of Lori contributed 10.5% of Armenia’s gross agricultureoutput in 2005.

Lori is rich with different types of and is the second in the country in termsof mineral ores. The main mining products of Lori are gold, copper, non-fer-

Lory MarzDzoramut

* www.region.am

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rous metals, molybdenum, basalt, different pigments, fire-resistant andceramic clay, high-potassium tuf, and others. Lori is rich with forests, whichcover 98,700 hectares (30% of the territory of Lori).

According to the 2004 Integrated Household Living Standards Surveycarried out by the Republic of Armenia National Statistics Service*, the levelof poverty in Lori is 33.0% (compared to a national average of 39.0%). Thesocial vulnerability index** of the population is 35.5% (compared to a nation-al average of 36.6%).

Background

The Dzoramut Community comprises two settlements—Dzoramut andGogavan, which used to be called Evlu and Demurchilar. These settlementswere founded in 1890. As a consequence of the Armenian-Azeri conflict,Armenians forced out of their homes in Azerbaijan have settled here. Thereare also some Armenians that re-settled here from Georgia.

The Dzoramut Community is located in the north of the country, in theTashir District of theLori Marz. TheCommunity bordersGeorgia. The Yerevan-Vanadzor-Stepanavan-Tbilisi inter-state high-way passes throughGogavan. Distance tothe capital city is 185kilometers, toVanadzor—60 kilome-ters, to Tashir—10 kilo-meters, and to theArmenian state bor-der—1 kilometer.

The climate is mod-erate. The winters arecold, and the summers—cool. Drought is a frequent occurrence, inflictingserious damage on the farms, because, despite the existence of water

On road to Dzoramut

*Social-Economic Situation in Armenia during January-September 2005, NSS, p. 165.**Vulnerable Population in the Marzes of Armenia, Armenia Social Trends Newsletter, UNDP,

October 2005, p. 18.

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resources, the land plots of the village remain without irrigation, and only apart of the home-adjacent land plots are irrigated. The Community is rich incold mountain springs. Long rains, frost, and hail happen rather frequently.The landscape is hilly—fragmented by small gorges.

3. Vision of Dzoramut Community

The community vision is a desirable situation in the future towards whichall the members of the community collectively aspire.

VViissiioonn ooff DDzzoorraammuutt CCoommmmuunniittyy

TThhee ppeeooppllee ooff DDzzoorraammuutt lliivvee wwiitthh ccoommmmoonn ggooaallss aanndd sshhaarreedd vvaalluueessffoorr tthhee sseettttlleemmeennttss ooff GGooggaavvaann aanndd DDzzoorraammuutt.. TThhee vviillllaaggeess aarree pprroossppeerr-oouuss,, ccoonnnneecctteedd ttoo eeaacchh ootthheerr bbyy tteelleepphhoonnee aanndd iinntteerr-vviillllaaggee ttrraannssppoorrttaa-ttiioonn ooppeerraattiinngg wwiitthhoouutt aannyy iinntteerrrruuppttiioonn.. TThhee vviillllaaggeess hhaavvee nnaattuurraall ggaass,,aanndd ppoottaabbllee wwaatteerr iiss ssuupppplliieedd rroouunndd tthhee cclloocckk.. TThheerree iiss aa kkiinnddeerrggaarrtteenn..TThhee sscchhooooll pprroovviiddeess hhiigghh-qquuaalliittyy eedduuccaattiioonn.. HHeeaalltthh sseerrvviicceess aarree aacccceess-ssiibbllee ffoorr tthhee rreessiiddeennttss ooff GGooggaavvaann,, aass wweellll.. IInn tthhee bboorrddeerrlliinnee aarreeaa nneeaarrGGooggaavvaann,, tthheerree iiss aa wwhhoolleessaallee mmaarrkkeett,, aanndd tthhee ccoommmmuunniittyy rreessiiddeennttss aarreeaabbllee ttoo sseellll tthheeiirr aaggrriiccuullttuurraall pprroodduuccttss..

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4. Social-Economic Overview*

4.1. Situation by Sectors

44..11..11.. DDeemmooggrraapphhyyThe Community comprises 149 households (of which 15 are in Gogavan

and 134—in Dzoramut). 111 households are currently living in theCommunity (of which 13 in Gogavan and 98 in Dzoramut). The permanentregistered population (as of January 1, 2006) is 397, while the actual pres-ent population is 448 (of which 40 in Gogavan and 408 in Dzoramut) due tothe presence of some residents with temporary registration. There are nopeople of other ethnicity in the Community. There are 165 refugees and 6IDPs. There are 10 disabled persons in the community, of which 3 are underage 18. There are 83 retired pensioners, and 8 families made up of only pen-sioners. There are 22 families with multiple (three or more) children.

38 families have emigrated. The number of seasonal labor migrants, too,is growing. 17 have left in 2006.

44..11..22..EEmmppllooyymmeennttThe majority of the Community population (230 people) is occupied in

agriculture. 15 of the Community residents perform paid work in land plotsof neighbors. 31 people are occupied in non-agricultural activities. The pop-ulation of Gogavan sometimes performs temporary work in the customspoint of Gogavan, when there is a need for unloading cargo or performingcertain other services. There are six unregistered people in the Community.

44..11..33.. AAggrriiccuullttuurreeThe Community is at an altitude of 1,590 meters. Its administrative terri-

tory is 729.7 hectares, of which 248.7 (81.5%) is agricultural land. Arableland is 248.7 hectares; pastures are 155.2 hectares; and grassland is 157.7hectares. 37 hectares of home-adjacent land plots are mainly used to growpotatoes, beans, cabbages, carrots, and beet. 280 hectares of land havebeen privatized. Nine households currently do not have any agricultural land.The average land plot owned by a household is 2.0 hectares; the largestland plot does not exceed 6.0 hectares. According to estimates, the farms inthe Community produced more than 236 tons of potato, 115.5 tons of grains,and 20.4 tons of fruit and vegetable during 2005.

* There is scarce information on the social-economic situation in the Community due to the lack ofreporting, which has made the analysis rather difficult. Trends in certain sectors have been estimatedon the basis of expert opinions and interviews.

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During the last 3-4 years, the number of cattle and sheep in theCommunity has grown by 10%. As of January 1, 2006, the Community hada total of 378 cattle (including 198 cows), 152 sheep and goats, 45pigs, and1,260 poultry, as well as 40 bee colonies. During 2005, 50 tons of meat,237.6 tons of milk, 3.0 tons of wool, 156,000 eggs, and 1.0 ton of honeywere produced. Some supplies of milk are organized within the Community.Twice a day, the milk is purchased from Dzoramut (at a price of 90 dramsper liter) and moved to Tashir. The absence of customs duties on agricultur-al products promotes potato exports to Georgia.

Haymaking in Dzoramut Community

The problems of fair distribution of potable water and feecollection for its consumption sometimes cause this type

of quarrels.

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Though there is some agricultural machinery in the Community (3 wheeltractors, 3 caterpillar tractors, etc.), it is outdated and worn-out (the rollingstock has mostly become unusable due to the absence of spare parts andlubricants).

44..11..44.. NNoonn-AAggrriiccuullttuurraall AAccttiivviittiieessThere is one restaurant in Gogavan, which employs five people, as well

as two shops that employ two people. The residents understand the impor-tance of creating a cross-border wholesale market near the GogavanCustoms Point, which would create an efficient platform for trade and createadditional occupation for the Community residents.

44..11..55.. PPoottaabbllee WWaatteerr aanndd IIrrrriiggaattiioonnThe situation concerning potable water differs in the two settlements. The

Village of Dzoramut receives water in a centralized manner from theDashtadem-Dzyunashog-Metsavan-Mikhaylovka-Petrovka-Dzoramut-Norashen network. There is an internal network in the Village of Dzoramut,which is 4 kilometers long and is in an inadequate state. The Community hascontracted the “ArmWaterSewerage” company’s Tashir branch to supplypotable water and to provide services related to the external network. Theupper neighborhood of the Community (only 6 families) has water round theclock, whereas the lower neighborhoods get two hours of water per day inthe best case. The people of Dzoramut are unhappy about the potable waterdistribution system.

The problems of fair distribution of potable water and fee collection for itsconsumption sometimes cause this type of quarrels.

According to their estimates, the volume of water is sufficient, providedthat it is distributed fairly. The people that live in the upper neighborhoodconsume potable water without water meters and use it to irrigate theirhome-adjacent land plots. This problem was reported by the aforementionedorganization, with which the Community has had a contract since 2002.According to the reading of the meter installed on the water main enteringinto the Community, the average supply of one liter of water per residentcosts 51 drams. The network within Dzoramut does not include a workingreservoir (there are three idle reservoirs in the Community, which can onlybe used after cleaning).

Gogavan residents have to carry water from this natural source locatedfar away from their houses.

Because the network is old, there are frequent accidents. Losses are 45-50%. Water is supplied to all the households by gravity. The residents do notpay water fees.

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The Village of Gogavan receives potable water from the nearby naturalsources. This settlement does not have a potable water network. There areonly two sources in the Village, from which people take potable water. Theremoteness of sources exacerbates the living conditions.

The Community does not have an irrigation network.

44..11..66.. EEdduuccaattiioonn,, HHeeaalltthh CCaarree,, aanndd CCuullttuurreeThe level of access to education differs in the two settlements. The

Dzoramut Secondary School, which is a single legal entity, renders educa-tion services to both villages. The school is located in the Dzoramut Village.In Gogavan, there is only an elementary school (up to fourth grade). Only sixpupils study in the territory that is referred to as “the school” (a one-floorruined building, without any facilities for education). The bridge to the schoolhas collapsed. Only 10 children from Gogavan attend middle and highschool in Dzoramut: they walk to school and miss almost all the classes dur-ing the winter. The remoteness of the school is a serious problem for thepupils from Gogavan. Neither settlement has a kindergarten, though thereare 43 pre-school age children.

The Dzoramut Secondary School was built in 1980 for 360 pupils. It waspartially renovated in 1991 and 2004 (in 2004, only one building was partial-ly renovated) with state budget funds. Presently, the school needs capitalrepairs, as well as furniture and other facilities. 83 pupils currently attend theschool. There is one computer in the school, but there isn’t a computerclassroom. Two foreign languages (Russian and English) are taught. 50% ofthe teachers are students, which is due to the lack of qualified cadre. Thestudent-teacher ratio is 3.7/1. The number of pupils tends to decline (from 89in 2004 to 83 in 2006). Though the grave social and economic conditionshave affected the Dzoramut School, more than 30% of the graduates of theschool continue their education. Compared to 2004, the school budget hasbeen doubled to what is currently AMD 17.7 million.

Health services are rendered by a rural ambulatory that is located inDzoramut—on the first floor of the Community Municipality building. Thistwo-room space was renovated in 2004 with the support of “Save theChildren” and “PRIME 2”. Thanks to a local “Support to Communities” and theOXFAM (GB) international non-governmental organizations, a revolving drugfund operates in Dzoramut (the Community Health Board was created in andis active since 2005), which partially meets the drug needs of the population.Twice a month, people can undergo free-of-charge medical checkups by doc-tors visiting Dzoramut with the support of World Vision. However, the peopleof Gogavan, unable to walk 3 kilometers, are deprived of this service.

Disease prevention and early identification work is performed by only one

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health professional in the Community. Health services are not rendered tothe people of the two settlements under any clear timetable, and the nursealmost never visits Gogavan. One of the reasons is the absence of bothtransportation and a health post in Gogavan. Health services are, therefore,accessible to mostly the people of Dzoramut. Resources are sufficient forfirst aid, though the absence of vaccine refrigerators is a problem.

Cultural life is scarce. There is no culture center as such, other than a hallin the Municipality building, which was partially renovated with AMD 1.5 mil-lion allocated from the Community budget. There is no library.

44..11..77.. UUttiilliittiieessThe Community does not have natural gas, and heating is highly prob-

lematic. A neighboring community called Mikhaylovka has natural gas. Thepeople of Dzoramut and Gogavan hope that they will soon have natural gas,as well. The cost of installing an external gas network has been estimatedAMD 50 million.

Garbage removal is not organized in the Community. There is no sewer-age. The street lighting system does not work.

44..11..88.. TTrraannssppoorrtt aanndd CCoommmmuunniiccaattiioonnssThe four-kilometer gravel road within the Village of Dzoramut is in dire

straits. In 2005, roads were partially renovated with Community budget fund-ing. The 800-meter asphalt road leading into the Village of Dzoramut is inextremely poor state due to low elevation. In the winter, the snow covers theroad, which is lower than the side land, and makes it impassable.

There is no regular transportation between Dzoramut and Tashir. Peopleuse the transportation coming from Gogavan. The bus stop, which is at thecrossroads, is in destroyed state, and people have to stand without anycover and wait for the bus. The fare is 200 drams one way. There are 26 pri-vately-owned passenger cars in the Community. In Gogavan and Dzoramut,mobile telephony works, but needs reinforcement. The Village of Dzoramuthas an internal telephone network for 50 subscribers. There is internal tele-phone network between Gogavan and Dzoramut. The people of Dzoramutreceive only three TV channels (H1, H2, and Rossia), whereas Gogavanreceives only a low-quality signal of H1.

44..11..99.. HHoouussiinngg SSttoocckkThe Community housing stock is 15,600 square meters, of which 1,800

are in Dzoramut, and 13,800 are in Gogavan. No one is living in temporarydwellings. The number of families moving from Gogavan has increased, dueto the absence of a secondary school.

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44..11..1100.. NNaattuurraall EEnnvviirroonnmmeenntt aanndd LLeeiissuurree AArreeaassThere are no leisure areas in the territory of the Community.

44..11..1111.. SSoocciiaall TTiieess aanndd RReellaattiioonnssThough the Dzoramut Community population is not fully mobilized, there

is notable aspiration to create common community values.

44..11..1122.. LLooccaall SSeellff-GGoovveerrnnmmeenntt BBooddiieessSince 1996, Ararat Pnjoyan has been the Community Mayor. He was

most recently re-elected on March 26, 2006, when he was the only candi-date. There is a five-member Community Council. The Community Mayorhas created a five-position staff.

Two of the Community Municipality staff have higher, one—vocational,and the others—secondary education. The staff needs professional training.The Municipality building needs renovation and furniture, and lacks facilities.

44..11..1133.. CCoommmmuunniittyy AAsssseettss aanndd BBuuddggeettThe year of constructing the two-floor stone building of the Community

Municipality is unknown. This building also hosts the culture hall and thehealth post. The Community owns the intra-community roads and fourbridges, as well as the community water supply system, three car parkinglots, and a cemetery. The budget is mainly filled by land tax (of which only10-15% is collected), property tax, and central government subsidies. TheCommunity population have large arrears, especially for land tax (AMD3,050,000), potable water fees (AMD 2,225,700), electricity (AMD 868,000),and the lease of community-owned land (AMD 674,800).

In 2006, the community budget was AMD 7,149,100, of which AMD1,250,000 is the fund budget. The financial capacity of the Municipality par-tially supports the implementation of the Community’s priority projects in themedium term.

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44..11..1144.. PPrroojjeeccttss IImmpplleemmeenntteedd iinn tthhee CCoommmmuunniittyyAccording to information provided by the Mayor’s Office, the following

projects have been implemented in the Community in recent years:

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4.2. Analysis of Internal and External Factors

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5. Problem Identification and Analysis

During the first Community General Assembly, the problems faced by theCommunity were identified. These problems were later elaborated and ana-lyzed in a focus group. The problems were analyzed on the basis of materi-als received in the frameworks of the “My Vision for the Development ofDzoramut/Gogavan” essay contest. The findings are summarized below:

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The identified problems were evaluated and classified by acuteness andtrends (see Annex 1).

The problems that scored more than 2/3 of the maximum possible num-ber of points were considered priorities:

6. Analysis of Priority Problems

Once the priorities were identified, problem casual links were exploredand alternative solutions proposed (Table 5).

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7. Statement of Outputs

Based on the analysis of priority problems, the following outputs havebeen stated:

Potable water is available 24/7 in the whole community, includingboth Gogavan and Dzoramut.The whole community (both Gogavan and Dzoramut) has naturalgas.High-quality secondary education is accessible to the whole com-munity.There is communication between the two settlements.

8. Medium-Term Projects

Projects were defined on the basis of solutions derived from the problemcausality analysis. From the alternative solutions, the ones that correspond-ed to pre-defined criteria (degree of solution of the problem, required finan-cial resources, and feasibility of operation and maintenance) were selected.Considering the interrelated nature of projects and the high efficiency of theirconcurrent implementation, some projects were merged. Thus, the followingprojects have been selected:

1. Purchase a minibus2. Plant trees along the 800-meter section of the road connecting

Dzoramut to the highway3. Install a 4-kilometer natural gas network4. Build a 1-kilometer external and 1-kilometer internal network of

potable water in Gogavan, and install a water reservoir5. Renovate the Dzoramut parking lot6. Renovate the Gogavan elementary school7. Renovate the Dzoramut secondary school8. Repair 4-kilometer internal network of potable water in Dzoramut

The choice of these solutions does not mean that the other solutions willbe overlooked. Any change of circumstances may bring other solutions tothe forefront and trigger new solutions.

The assessment of projects and the classification of priorities were doneusing the “pair-wise” method (see Annex 1).

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9. Project Development

Project Discussions. For the purpose of addressing project implementa-tion issues, monitoring and evaluating them, and identifying potentialsources of funding for projects, each project was discussed in a joint work-shop of the focus group, to which relevant experts had been invited, as well.

Projects were discussed and examined with experts at Marz and nation-al levels for purposes of compatibility with policies.

As a result of the discussions, medium-term projects were identified.

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2,0 5

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10. Annexes

Annex 1. Methodology

11.. PPllaannnniinngg SStteeppss aanndd PPrriinncciipplleessThe Dzoramut-Gogavan Community Development Plan (CDP) was

developed during July and August, 2006 by a group comprising communityresidents and UNDP experts. Public participation in the CDP elaborationprocess has been achieved by means of discussions in general communityassemblies (to address general matters pertaining to the CDP) and a focusgroup (CDP elaboration process).

The Development Plan has been elaborated through the following steps:

1. Preparatory activities;2. Community vision statement;3. Social-economic overview;4. Problem identification and analysis;5. Statement of outputs;6. Medium-term objectives and underlying priorities; and7. Project development.

11..11.. HHeerree aarree tthhee mmaaiinn pprriinncciipplleess uunnddeerrllyyiinngg tthhee ddeevveellooppmmeenntt ooff tthhee CCoommmmuunniittyy DDeevveellooppmmeenntt PPllaann::

PPaarrttiicciippaattoorryy:: the Community residents, through a group of repre-sentatives formed on voluntary grounds by the General Assemblyof the Community, participated in the process. This format helpedachieve process transparency and accountability. In addition tothe Community residents, stakeholders from outside of theCommunity participated, as well (including the Marz Governor’sOffice, the Government, international organizations, donors, non-governmental organizations, private sector representatives, andthe like).CCoommppaattiibbllee:: National, regional, and neighboring communities’interests have been factored in.CCoommpplleemmeennttaarryy:: The capacity existing in neighboring communi-ties has been taken into account.CCoonnsseennssuuss-BBaasseedd:: Differences in opinion have been respectedand decisions taken on the basis of compromise.FFeeeeddbbaacckk:: With a certain sequence order, the activities have beenreflective.

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Flexible: Any change of the situation can be added in.Sustainable: The general arrangements by which the Plan wasdeveloped and adopted (i.e. its participatory nature and theapproval by the Community Council and the Community GeneralAssembly) ensure the sustainability of the Plan.

22.. PPrreeppaarraattoorryy AAccttiivviittiieessThe Community Development Plan has been elaborated by means of

official talks at two levels (regional and local). To improve consistency andavoid redundancies, introductory meetings were held and understandingsreached with regional officials (Governor, Deputy Governor, RegionalGovernance Department Head, and others) and the community leadership(Village Mayor and Community Council Members).

Participation in the CDP process was achieved by means of communitygeneral assemblies and a focus group.

CCoommmmuunniittyy GGeenneerraall AAsssseemmbbllyyPurpose: Two general assemblies were convened during the CDP

process, the first of which was intended to raise awareness, to mobilize, andto build a focus group, while the second was held to discuss and approvethe draft CDP.

FFooccuuss GGrroouuppPurpose: To identify, analyze, and proposal solutions to the problems of

certain groups, including socially-vulnerable groups of the population.

Principles of Formation: The desire of participants to be involved, the sizeof the group (smaller groups are more efficient), and the diversity of thegroup (in professional and age-gender terms) were taken into consideration.

Method of Formation: A focus group was formed in the first GeneralAssembly of the Community by means of voluntary nomination and self-nomination. The focus group, which was made up of 15 members, chose itsmoderator, who then organized the activities of the group (for a list of focusgroup members, see Annex 2).

33.. CCoommmmuunniittyy VViissiioonn SSttaatteemmeennttThe community vision—as a “light” spotted in the distance—guides the

development of the community, and each community institution, with itsactivities in the context of its authority and mission, incrementally makes itcloser.

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The community vision setting process was carried out by means of acommunity-wide contest and a focus group.

ContestA community-wide contest for essays on the topic “My Vision for the

Development of Dzoramut-Gogavan” was organized and conducted.Instructions on how to take part in the contest were developed and dissem-inated within the community (as well as posted on the Municipality wall),which stated the main assignment (i.e. to present their vision for the commu-nity, values, issues, their causes, consequences, and solutions) and theterms of participation. The papers were evaluated by community develop-ment experts using tailor-made criteria. The authors of the best papersreceived prizes.

FFooccuuss GGrroouuppThe vision, ideals, and aspirations of the group were presented. Parallel

to the evaluation of essays, community vision statements were drawn upand combined with the vision proposed in the focus group, as a result ofwhich the common vision for the community was defined.

44.. SSoocciiaall-EEccoonnoommiicc OOvveerrvviieewwThe social-economic situation in the Community was analyzed by meth-

ods such as data surveys and focus group discussions.

Surveys and analysis of available informationInformation on the Community was collected from different organizations

(the Village Municipality, the Marz Governor’s Office, the Government, inter-national organizations, non-governmental organizations, and the like). The2006 Development Plan of the Marz, as well as the last several years’ com-munity budgets and other community-related plans were studied.

FFooccuuss ggrroouuppThe Community’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

(SWOT) were identified in a focus group. This analysis then served as abasis for identifying the issues faced by the Community and proposing solu-tions.

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55.. PPrroobblleemm IIddeennttiiffiiccaattiioonn aanndd AAnnaallyyssiissThe problems were analyzed in the following stages:

I. Problem identification and mapping;II. Problem assessment; andIII. Analysis of urgent problems using a causality scheme.

II.. PPrroobblleemm IIddeennttiiffiiccaattiioonn aanndd MMaappppiinngg:: the focus group identified all theproblems that the participants deemed related to community development.The identified problems were then grouped according to the competentauthorities.

IIII.. PPrroobblleemm AAsssseessssmmeenntt:: the focus group determined the most seriousproblems that need to be solved in order to start a process of fundamentalcommunity development. The problems assessment was performed using aso-called “Problem Acuteness and Trend” method.

The “Problem Acuteness and Trend” Method. Each participant (15 indi-viduals) received sheets containing a list of all the problems (one problemper sheet). The participants were then asked to assess the problems as“Very Acute,” “Acute,” and “Less acute” by jointly choosing assessment cri-teria in advance, including:

The number of people affected by the problem;The impact of consequences; andThe incidence of the problem.

The participants were asked to sort the problems by the trends observedduring the last two-years (“Worsens,” “Remains unchanged,” or “Improves”),after which all the participants’ sheets were analyzed using the ratios spec-ified in Table 1.

66.. MMeeddiiuumm-TTeerrmm OObbjjeeccttiivveess aanndd UUnnddeerrllyyiinngg PPrriioorriittiieessPriority-Setting. The assessment of projects and the classification of pri-

orities were done using the “pair-wise” method, for which medium-term fea-sibility (access to financial, human, material, and other resources) was takenas a benchmark.

The Pair-Wise Method. The examined problems were filled out in verticaland horizontal lines of a matrix (see Table 2), after which each problem stat-ed in a vertical line was compared with all the problems mentioned in the

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horizontal lines. The top priority identified as a result of this comparison waswritten in the box where the lines cross. After all the boxes were filled in thisway, the incidence of each problem was calculated, and the problems wereclassified in the order of incidence. According to this classification, prioritieswere set.

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