This project Operations Manual (OM) establishes the rules and procedures to be followed by the State Committee for Affairs of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (hereinafter SCRI), project field staff, and the communities for the utilization of the State and Peacebuilding Fund Grant, awarded to the Government of Azerbaijan (GoA) to undertake an Improved Livelihoods for Internally Displaced Persons Project (ILIDP).
The main objective of this manual is to provide the referred stakeholders with a set of guidelines for their role in any of the project cycle stages. The respect to these guidelines will allow the coordination and execution of the funds provided by the World Bank in a transparent and accountable manner while maintaining high degree of efficiency and effectiveness to realize project objectives.
The manual contains a brief description of the country context in relation to the Project intervention, the Project objectives and components, the scope and targeting, the project cycle, the fund flow arrangements, the procurement guidelines and the monitoring and evaluation mechanism.
The OM is a document in-progress that will be reviewed and updated throughout project implementation, incorporating lessons from experience. The design of the OM and need for this project are based on the recommendations and findings of two pieces of work. The first document is the recommendations and opportunities identified through analytical work in an Assessment of IDP Livelihood Support Lessons and Needs which was conducted in 2022. The second one is a Baseline Needs Assessment Survey undertaken during June-July 2022, which collected information on IDPs’ demographic, social, and economic background, needs and aspirations regarding income generating opportunities and skills in order to inform employment and livelihood support programs tailored towards IDPs. Strong evidence of impact from recently implemented IDP Living Standards and Livelihood Project (“LSLP Project”), 2011-2019, support the arguments made then.
