On July 9, 2024, IDFI held an online training on issues of obtaining and collecting public data as part of the policy paper competition. Young people interested in the competition received practical and theoretical information about requesting, receiving and obtaining public data from various online sources.The training covered issues such as:

 - Legal guarantees of access to public information in Georgia

 - Definition of public information

 - Categories of non-public information

 - Preparing a public information request letter

 - Forms and ways of requesting public information

 - Terms of issuing public information

 - Trends in access to public information in Georgia

 - Examples of use of received public data

 - Standard for proactive disclosure of public information

 - Websites and platforms of public institutions displaying important data

 - Monitoring platforms created by civil society

The training was conducted in an interactive format. Participants had the opportunity to ask their preferred questions and receive advice from IDFI representatives to find effective ways to collect relevant data. At the end of the training, the participants did an individual assignment on methods and ways of obtaining data on desired public policy issues, on which they would receive feedback and advice from IDFI representatives. The mentioned task will help them to prepare a policy document within the framework of the competition.

The policy document competition is announced with the support of the USAID National Governance Program, within the framework of the project "Empowering Youth for Evidence-Based Policy-Making". It aims is to empower youth, students, and young professionals to become active contributors to the policymaking process through capacity building, sharing practical experience/best practices, and providing them a wide-range of opportunities to prepare and communicate evidence-based analyses and recommendations.

To get familiar with the detailed conditions of the competition and information about the support provided for the winners, visit the link: https://idfi.ge/ge/pagel/competitionview/73/