From 13 to 15 December 2022, in Almaty the Border Management Programme in Central Asia (BOMCA 10) held an advanced training on project management cycle for Central Asian non-governmental organization (NGOs).  

The activity is aimed at training the employees of the Central Asian NGOs, that have been pre-selected to implement projects in the border areas under financing offered by the European Union through the BOMCA 10 Programme, on advanced project management.

This activity equips the NGOs with the skills and capacities of project implementation, specifically project implementation, narrative and financial reporting and develop the project visibility and communication strategies.

In addition, the training guided the grantees on the grant contracting and implementation conditions and finalisation of the previously submitted budgets, prior to contracting and subsequent projects kick-offs. 

Participants are expected to develop their capacities in the selected areas of projects implementation, being quality management and results monitoring; narrative and financial reporting as well as communications activities. Furthermore, selected organizations will improve their detailed understanding on the contacting conditions and project implementation requirements in line with the donor rules and procedures, while the submitted project budgets have been adjusted prior to contracting and projects start.

It is worth noting that BOMCA 10 announced call for proposals for civil society and non-governmental organisations working in the border regions of the Central Asian states. The combined value of the grants under this call is up to 300 000 EUR.

The selected projects will improve the living conditions of the communities in border areas, will further strengthen the capacities of abovementioned organizations in project development and implementation, and will reinforce dialogue between civil society and local authorities.

The Programme will particularly support initiatives that are targeting more than one Central Asian country, submitted by organisations from two or more countries, and implemented in a cross-border context. Extra attention was paid to initiatives that are endorsed by or that are going to be implemented in close cooperation with relevant local authorities.

The priority areas include:

1. Research and analysis in the area of migration, cross-border and related areas;
2. Awareness-raising on irregular migration, preventing human trafficking, and issues relevant to the migration-affected population;
3. Assistance to vulnerable population groups affected by migration and border proximity (in particular to children and women left behind by migrants);
4. Support to entrepreneurship, including social entrepreneurship initiatives, of all population groups and among women, as a special category;
5. Facilitation of networks and forums for CSOs and NGOs working in the border regions, for discussing and cooperating in migration and cross-border areas.