Submissions – Guidelines

Project Submission Guidelines

About Project Submissions

Beyond providing a forum for creativity and engagement, United AIO will create a space in which proposed projects and their proponents can be introduced to talent and potential sponsors and vice versa, giving all the ability to harness the professional expertise, potential, energy and resources of the worldwide Armenian community. Participating in United AIO will be organizations and individuals who may be looking for the right project for Armenia to back with their talent or material resources. Participating in United AIO will be individuals and members of organizations who may be looking for the right project for Armenia to back with their talent or material resources.

A wide universe of potential sponsors will be invited to participate including in addition to the traditional sponsoring organizations of the Armenian Diaspora individuals and groups whose interest in giving has been newly awakened by the war and developments in Armenia since.

This concept of a platform for projects, talent and potential sponsorship will be a key feature of the new model of Diasporan engagement that United AIO and the conference seeks to build.

Most importantly, project submissions will provide proponents an opportunity to show leadership and initiative. Projects will be the responsibility of their proponents and advance toward implementation through the efforts of their proponents with the collaboration of individuals or organizations who choose to join their project team.

All registered conference participants except members of the selection committees will be eligible to make project submissions. Submissions may be made by persons, entities or organizations individually or collaboration with others. Project submissions are not a requirement of participation or attendance. There will be no limit to the number of submissions one can make.

Fifteen projects will be selected from the submissions received in response to the open call, three in each of the five substantive categories that constitute the Five Pillars of Armenia’s National Strength. The selections will be made by five specialist panels representing expertise in each of the categories. The entire selection process will take place before the conference begins and committee members will be introduced during the program.

While only 15 submissions will be selected for presentation, it is important not to think of project submissions as a competition but rather as an outlet for creative imagination and engagement. All submissions whether selected for presentation or not will be published on United AIO’s website, in advance, either in whole or redacted form and be available to be seen by participants in the conference and potential sponsors. Thus, everyone will have an opportunity to connect. Projects that are not selected will also be eligible for resubmission at future United AIO conferences.

Each project presentation will be 7 minutes in duration. At the conclusion of each presentation, audience members will be asked whether they wish to join the team for the project and in what capacity. Audience members will be permitted to join as many project teams as they wish. 

We will coach the project proponents who will present at the conference, in advance, and work with them to sharpen and rehearse their presentations.

Eligibility

All registered conference participants are welcome to make project submissions except members of the selection committees. Submissions may be made by persons, entities, or organizations individually or in collaboration with others. Project submissions are not a requirement of participation or attendance. There is no limit to the number of submissions one can make.

Submission Deadline

May 25th, 2021*

*May 25th is the deadline to submit a proposal for a chance for it to be presented at the conference. We will continue to accept proposals after this date, however, these proposals will only be displayed on the website.

Submission Procedure

To make a project submission, you must prepare a written proposal in PDF format following, fill out the submission form below and upload your proposal.

Substantive Criteria for Project Proposals

Projects must be of systemic importance to Armenia in a way that materially contributes to Armenia’s national prosperity, security, self-sufficiency and resilience.

Projects must engage Armenia principally through the private sector with minimal need for government involvement. Achieving enduring change in Armenia depends on building a more robust private sector capacity for wealth creation, problem solving and governance.

Projects must favor technology-based solutions where possible or contribute to the further advancement of the science, technology and innovation sectors of Armenia and promote the modernization of the Armenian educational system.

Projects must be profit-making ventures or lead to profit-making ventures or be capable of showing a qualitative return on investment by materially improving Armenia’s infrastructures for the creation of wealth, security, self-sufficiency and resilience.

Projects must be sustainable in the sense of being capable of delivering their intended results over their proposed lifetimes.

 
The Five Substantive Categories
Projects must be submitted under one of the following 5 substantive categories that have been designated by United AIO as the Five Pillars of Armenia’s National Strength identified by United AIO.
 
Nation of Health Nation of Health includes projects that address the main public health challenges as a whole facing Armenia: emergency response to pandemics, chemical, biological and radiological attacks, and other public health emergencies; rehabilitation from wartime injury; combat medicine; redundancy of critical supply chains and domestic manufacture of medical equipment, medicines, and medical supplies.
 
Nation of Security Nation of Security includes projects that address the national security needs of Armenia broadly defined, including critical infrastructures supporting the generation and transmission of electric power and other energy supplies, access to water resources, environmental protection, food supply independence, national telecommunications, cybersecurity, the sourcing and protection of crucial supply chains, the defense and other strategic industries, and anti-fragility and redundancy against Black Swan risks.
 
Nation of Innovation and Education Nation of Innovation and Education includes projects that address innovation in Armenia broadly defined, including how Armenia can improve its educational and institutional infrastructures to foster innovation and sustain a world-class innovation economy, and how to cultivate a startup mindset like the one that has revolutionized the IT sector of Armenia and bring it to the rest of the economy in particular to the yet-untapped but economically enormous potential of Armenia’s scientific and engineering talent and know-how.
 
Nation of Business Nation of Business includes projects that focus on what Armenia must do to attract foreign investment, promote capital formation and be truly open for business, including reforms in law and regulation, corporate and business sector governance, banking, financial and capital markets, taxation regimes, etc. Armenia consistently enjoys a reputation for economic freedom.
 
Nation of PR and Advocacy Nation of PR and Advocacy includes projects that address the critically important question of what Armenia must do to tell its story to the world as a whole and to the elites who rule the world and shape world public opinion, across the entire spectrum of means available to do national advocacy from traditional public and media relations, to public and private international diplomacy, to advocacy before national and international political bodies and tribunals, to social media and popular culture, to intellectual and moral suasion through personal and professional networks.

Content of Project Proposals

You must prepare a written proposal to upload in PDF format. Your written proposal must include a brief narrative response for each call for information below, in light of the substantive criteria specified above.

  • Name and Contact Information of Proponent
  • Title of Project
  • Purpose/Objective of Project
    • State the purpose or objective of your proposal, in a single declarative sentence.
  • Statement of the Problem
    • Briefly describe the problem your proposal aims to solve and how the problem is currently being addressed.
  • Statement of the Solution
    • Briefly describe how your proposal aims to solve the problem identified.
  • Description of Project
    • Briefly describe your project.
  • Statement of Systemic/Strategic Importance
    • Briefly state why your project is systemically or strategically important and what value it offers toward improving Armenia’s national prosperity, security, self-sufficiency, and resilience.
  • Why Now?
    • Briefly state why you believe it is important to do your project now.
  • Target Beneficiaries
    • Briefly state who will be the immediate and ultimate beneficiaries of your project.
  • Intended Impact
    • Briefly state your project’s intended impact once implemented on both the target beneficiary and on Armenia as a whole. Projects must be profit-making ventures or lead to profit-making ventures or be capable of showing a qualitative return on investment by materially improving Armenia’s infrastructures for the creation of national wealth, security, self-sufficiency, and resilience. Thus, profit may be imagined more broadly to embrace the concept of creating or adding value that may not necessarily be measurable in monetary terms.
  • Comparative Advantage
    • Briefly state what comparative advantage your project confers or contributes to conferring on Armenia as a nation vis-à-vis other nations. For instance, does your project aim to capture or extract value from a critical part of a global supply chain or scientific discipline over which Armenia can gain a temporary or permanent monopoly?
  • Other Similar Projects in this Space
    • List efforts similar to your project and briefly describe how your project will complement rather than duplicate any such efforts or why your project enjoys a competitive advantage.
  • Sustainability
    • Briefly state how your project will be able to sustain itself and deliver its intended results over its proposed lifetime.
  • Definition of Success and Criteria for Measuring Success
    • Briefly state how you define success for your project and the criteria by which you propose to measure success.
  • Potential Challenges and Obstacles/Plan to Overcome
    • Briefly state the main challenges and obstacles you expect to encounter and how you expect to overcome them.
  • The Impact of NOT Doing Your Project
    • Briefly state what you believe will happen if your project is not implemented.
  • Coalition
    • List the Armenian Diasporan and other organizations that you envision will be involved with your project and briefly state the role you expect each to play.
  • Budget
    • State the total estimated budget for accomplishing your project.
  • Resources Required
    • Briefly state which resources will be required to achieve your project, from design through implementation.
  • Governmental Authorizations Required
    • Briefly state whether and which government licenses or authorizations may be required, Armenian and Non-Armenian, to implement your project.
  • Duration and Target Completion Date
    • Briefly state the expected duration and expected implementation date of your project.
  • Project Team Leaders/Key Persons
    • Identify the key persons who will be involved in your project and state their principal affiliations.
  • Business Plan
    • Briefly state your business plan and revenue plan (where appropriate).
  • Key Milestones with Timeline
    • Briefly state the key milestones of your execution plan with an accompanying timeline.

Selection Deadline; Notification of Selections

Our selection committees will review proposals and decisions will be communicated on a rolling basis in 7 to 10 business days. If your project is selected, we will reach out to you with further instructions.

To download a PDF version of the project submission guidelines, click below.

Submission Guidelines