The key governance challenge in Armenia is corruption and the lack of genuine checks and balances. As governance is based on the consensus of elite groups, Armenia suffers from the inconsistent application of the rule of law as well as from the exclusion of civic input to legislative processes and policy formation. In addition, civil society is atomized, heavily donor dependent, and not widely seen as representative of the public’s interest. The media suffer from limited resources and lack diversity of viewpoints and professionalism. Consequently, citizens have low levels of trust in governance institutions, NGOs, and the media alike.

Targeting reform areas where political will exists – decentralization and local governance strengthening, accountability and transparency, and social sector reform – USAID partners with both the government and civil society to develop and reinforce a set of competencies and practices that improve citizen-government interaction and lead to more effective policymaking and implementation that delivers tangible results for citizens. USAID also increases citizen access to independent and reliable sources of information, while educating citizens to become savvy media consumers and demand higher quality reporting.

CURRENT PROGRAM

Advisory Support to Local Governance Programme in South Caucasus – USAID provides technical assistance to the Territorial and Administrative Reform in Armenia (aka TARA). The reform was officially announced by the Armenian government and a first important step towards decentralization of power in the country. The program largely complements USAID’s direct support to the Armenian government by building the capacity of newly consolidated clusters through training and technical assistance.

The Local Governance Reform Activity assists the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Development to implement its decentralization policy and provide matching grants for community development in the 14 consolidated clusters.  ‡‡‡  

The Civic Engagement in Local Governance (CELoG) supports the joint efforts of local civil society organizations to increase civic engagement and oversight of local governance and decentralization reform at central and local levels. The project increases monitoring and advocacy capacities of the civil society, with a special focus on community-level civil society actors.  ‡‡‡  

The Engaged Citizenry for Responsible Governance project supports a locally-led civil society consortium to reduce the space for corruption by mobilizing citizens in public oversight on national and local levels and ensuring citizens’ access to reliable information on corruption.  ‡‡‡  

Civil Society Organizations Development Program (CSO DePo) works to develop the capacities of Armenian civil society organizations to become more business-oriented as well as sustainable service providers. CSO DePo seeks to expand the pool of professional and organizationally strong local partners in the country.  ‡‡‡  

The Media for Informed Civic Engagement (MICE) project increases public media literacy and access to independent and reliable sources of information about government’s priority reforms and policies. While increasing public demand for information, the project will also help targeted media outlets to improve their professional capacity to produce fact-based, quality content as well as act as effective media watchdogs.  ‡‡‡  

The Enhanced Transparency in the Mining Sector project promotes transparency and accountability in Armenia's mining sector through assisting the Armenian government's efforts in joining the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), in digitizing the data of the the Republican Geological Fund, and conducting public awareness campaigns.

The Promoting the Human Rights of LGBTI People in Armenia project aims to combat and reduce discrimination in policies, laws, and societal norms against LGBTI people in the country.