Under the auspices of the “Budgets for Citizens” programme funded by the European Union and implemented under the leadership of the “Armenian Lawyers’ Association” NGO, a baseline assessment of awareness, needs and use of budget information by CSOs was conducted. In particular, the purpose of the assessment was:

• To study and assess the awareness, needs and capacities of CSOs to conduct monitoring and analysis of state and local self-government budgets, including simplified budgeting,
• To study and evaluate the awareness, needs and capacities of CSOs in the implementation of participatory budgeting and advocacy during the budget process,
• Provide insights into CSO awareness, needs, and capacity to inform the programme of existing gaps and issues to focus on when developing CSO capacity building interventions within the programme
• Provide baseline data on the awareness, needs and capacities of CSOs that can be used to measure the effectiveness of the project (a similar evaluation is planned at the end of the project).

Accordingly, a baseline assessment was carried out during the period March-May 2023, comprising a range of tools including an online survey, focus group discussions and individual interviews of key stakeholders. This report sets out the methodology, findings, conclusions and recommendations arising from the assessment.