Projects

Project Title: Develop Open Data Strategies and Action Plans for Kutaisi and Akhaltsikhe City Halls (2019-2020)

Donor Organization: USAID Good Governance Initiative in Georgia, Tetra Tech ARD

Project Contract Number: GGI-SUB-023
Total Budget: 50,160 GEL ($18,578)
Duration of the Project: 03 May, 2019 – 20 October, 2019

Objectives

The objective of GGI is to support Akhaltsikhe and Kutaisi City Halls in improving open data collection and publishing process and ensure release of open government data in a way that will make it more accessible, interoperable and reusable. The ultimate goal of GGI is to support its partner municipalities in the publication of valuable datasets to meet the existing demands from all stakeholders, including private sector, civil society, media, academia, etc.

The specific objective of this project is to provide technical assistance to Akhaltsikhe and Kutaisi City Halls in developing Open Data Strategies and Action Plans (2019-2020) and monitoring frameworks that will ensure improved data management, including better practices of data disclosure, which is an important element of a wide variety of key policy documents and action plans.

Project Activities

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, IDFI will implement the following activities:

- Development of a detailed methodology

- Development of a detailed work plan

- Conduct comprehensive situational analysis

- Preparation of Situation Analysis Report and Recommendations

- Presentation of findings and recommendations

- Development of draft Strategies and Action Plans

- Conduct Public Discussion (focus group)

- Finalizing Strategies and Action Plans

- Development of Training Module

- Conduct capacity building activities

- Submission of final deliverables

Timeline of Activities

Project Budget  

Contract

Project Title: Providing Assistance to the Open Governance Permanent Parliamentary Council to Conduct Thematic Inquiry on the Subject of Legislation and Practice of Citizen Participation in the Process of Public Policy Development at the Executive Branch of Government 

Donor Organization: United Nations Development Program (UNDP)

Total Budget: $5,613

Duration of the Project: May, 2019 – November 2019

Project Description 

On May 29th, 2019 Open Governance Permanent Parliamentary Council (the Council) created a thematic inquiry working group (the Working Group) for studying existing practice and legislation of citizen participation in the process of public policy development in Georgia. Through the parliamentary oversight mechanism, the Council aims to study and support the process of participatory decision-making at the executive branch of governance (ministries and the Government Administration (AoG)).

The decision of the Council to conduct the thematic inquiry derived from the poor state of participatory decision-making in Georgia. Ensuring citizen participation in the process of elaborating public policy documents, is one of the declared priorities of the government (see:  Open Government Partnership Action Plan of Georgia 2018-2019,  Challenge 1, Commitment 2; Association Agenda between the European Union and Georgia 2017-2020, Priority 2.2; Public Administration Reform Roadmap 2020, Policy Area 1). However, no significant progress has been made in this regard in recent years. According to the Baseline Measurement Report of the OECD program - Support for Improvement in Governance and Management (SIGMA), Georgia received the lowest 0 score evaluation in regards to public consultations in the process of public policy development.

IDFI as a member organization of the Consultative Group created within the Council and an NGO with in-depth knowledge and experience on the subject of participatory decision-making will provide the Working Group with expert assistance necessary for planning, conducting and finalizing the thematic inquiry.

Project Objective

The main objective of the project is to enable the conduct of the thematic enquiry. For this purpose IDFI will draft all necessary preparatory documents, participate in meetings and hearings of the thematic enquiry, analyze materials, study best international practice and develop the final report of the thematic inquiry. IDFI will agree and discuss all the materials with the members of the working group before they are officially registered at the Parliament of Georgia. The main project deliverable will be the final report of the thematic inquiry prepared by IDFI and approved by the Working Group. The final report will inter alia include the main findings in regards with the practice and legislation of participatory decision making at the central public institutions of the executive branch and relevant recommendation dwelling from existing problems and based on the best international standards.

Project Action Plan

Project Title: Empowering Watchdog Community for Government Accountability

Supported by: International Visegrad Fund 

Grant Number: 21830043

Budget: EUR 33,670

Duration: March 1, 2019 – February 29, 2020

Partner Organizations: KohoVolit.eu (Czech Republic and Slovakia), K-Monitor Public Benefit Association (Hungary), ePaństwo Foundation (Poland)

Project Contact Person: Levan Avalishvili 

Project Objectives

The project aims to empower Georgian public to effectively monitor and control the government, and enhance availability of public data.

1) Increase capacity of journalists, CSOs and activists through enhancing their oversight skills and promote conducting watchdog activities;

2) Enhance access to open data in Georgia through local advocacy efforts.

Such holistic approach will significantly improve the environment for the watchdog community through enriching their professional skills, fostering cooperation between CSOs, investigative journalists and activists and opening more public data. This approach will also expand the number of highly qualified watchdogs and investigative journalists throughout the country, who will have enough skills to follow spending of public money. By promoting watchdog activities the project will also increase public support for good governance in the country. Sharing experience of our partners from Visegrad countries will be crucial in this regard.

Project Activities

1. Preparing a toolkit/practical manual for trainings

2. Consultations with project partners from Visegrad countries

3. Workshops/practical trainings

4. Providing consultations to journalists/activists/CSOs/watchdogs

5. Preparing analytical/investigative articles

6. Preparing visualizations and informative videos

7. Preparing datasets and further development of DataLab.ge

8. Contest of analytical/investigative reports/articles

9. Workshops on open data

10. Final presentation

Timeline of Activities

Project Budget 

Contract

Project Title: Access to Information in Georgia - 2018

Funded by: East-West Management Institute’s (EWMI) Advancing CSO Capacities and Engaging Society for Sustainability (ACCESS) project, funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Project Contract Number: G-1599-19-210-3023-20

Implemented by: Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI)

Total Budget: 15,000 USD

Duration: 15 March – 15 June (2019)

Objectives 

IDFI will submit FOIA requests to all ministries and local government agencies (i.e. executive and legislative offices) and analyze received responses in terms of their compliance with the FOIA regulations in Georgia. It will also request and analyze the official statistical information on the FOIA databases (i.e. received and processed FOIA requests) maintained by the monitored government agencies. Additionally, IDFI will analyze the official websites of the monitored agencies to assess their compliance with the government regulation on the proactive disclosure of public information. Based on this monitoring and assessment, IDFI will develop and publish a comprehensive report on the FOIA adherence to Georgia to be accompanied with a national ranking of the most- and least-open government agencies.

Project Activities

- Analyze responses to IDFI’s FOIA requests to central and local government agencies (2,000+ FOIA responses from over 250 government agencies);

- Analyze official statistics on the FOIA requests received and processed by the government;

- Analyze governmental websites to assess their compliance with the proactive disclosure regulations;

- Prepare and publish a comprehensive report analyzing government’s adherence to the FOIA and proactive disclosure rules and regulations; 

- Prepare and publish the national ranking of the most- to least-open government agencies; 

- Organize the public presentation of the FOIA report and ranking and award most transparent and least transparent government agencies with respective certificates

- Upload government’s responses to IDFI’s FOIA requests on the special FOIA database developed and maintained by IDFI https://idfi.ge/foi-statistics/;

- Widely disseminate the project findings using info graphics, short videos, and other user-friendly communication tools

Timeline of Activites 

Project Budget

Contract

Project Title: Good Governance for Georgia (3G)

Supported by: Luminate, Global Philanthropic Organization

Grant Amount: USD 390,000

Grant Term: January 1, 2019 – April 30, 2022

Project Description

Project aims at increasing public oversight of state institutions, and increasing transparency and accountability of the government of Georgia.

IDFI plans to accomplish this goal by conducting oversight activities related to monitoring of effective, responsible, transparent, ethical and accountable governance and public procurement activities, preparing investigative analyses, and increasing capacity of journalists, CSOs and activists to enhance their oversight skills and methods in the respective areas.

Initially, the project will pilot in Tbilisi (capital of Georgia) and gradually move to the rest of the country during the second and third years.  

The project will include the following activities:

- Promote anti-corruption agenda, access to public information, government transparency and accountability by preparing monitoring reports and in-depth analytical papers about implementation of fiscal policy at central and local government levels in Georgia;

- Based on IDFI’s practice, develop a practical toolkit about the use of open data and existing online and offline resources and mechanisms for government oversight;

- Hold practical trainings and workshops for the project’s target groups: journalists, local CSO representatives, activists and business sector representatives;

- Launch a monitoring process with the participation of trained journalists, CSO representatives and activists.

Project Budget 

 Contract

Project Name: PPD Quality Tracking in Georgia – Continuation
Donor Organization: Governing for Growth (G4G) in Georgia Program, Deloitte Consulting LLP /USAID 
Project Number: RFA #2018 - 016
Grant Amount: 25,000.00 USD
Period of Performance: December 20, 2018 – July 12, 2019

Project Description

Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) will continue implementing PPD Quality Tracking in Georgia. A regular, institutionalized platform for Public-Private Dialogue (PPD) will extend to future policy-making and development of legislation. In addition to assessing extent and quality of PPD at central public institutions (ministries), IDFI will raise awareness about high-quality PPD in the regions of Georgia (three selected municipalities - Rustavi, Telavi, Ozurgeti).

The objective of this grant is to continue implementing “PPD Quality Tracking Mechanism” for which each major law or regulation proposed by selected key ministries with considerable economic impact will be evaluated upon the extent and quality of inclusive consultation and assigned a rating in terms of four PPD quality parameters:

- Policy Design and Development

- Legislation/Policy Drafting

- Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA)

- Circulation and public comment

As a result, public discussions in Tbilisi and selected target regions will be arranged; Periodic and Annual Reports on Evaluations of Laws, will be produced; and Draft law with the highest evaluation in terms of extent and quality of PPD will be awarded.  

Planned Activities 

Project Budget 

Contract

Project Title: Supporting the Reform of the Supreme Court of Georgia

Donor Organization: East West Management Institute (EWMI)/Promoting Rule of Law in Georgia (PROLoG)

Partner Organization:  Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA)

Project Number: G-1584-18-211-3024-20

Project Budget: 25, 852USD

Project Duration: 15 December, 2018 – 31 January, 2020

Project Summary

The project is about the institutional organization, authority and functions of the Supreme Court of Georgia, appointment, accountability, removal of Supreme Court Judges, as well as specialization and case distribution.

According to the new redaction of the Constitution of Georgia, Supreme Court Judges are elected permanently (without specific term) by the Parliament of Georgia. Candidates are presented to the Parliament by the High Council of Justice instead of the President of Georgia. The same rule applies to the election of the Chairperson of Supreme Court that is elected for 10 years. The project intends to present recommendations for the legislative changes on appointment of Supreme Court Judges. Moreover, final report will be prepared based on existing legislative framework and international standards.

Project aim

The main aim of the project is to support institutional reform of the Supreme Court of Georgia and to advocate legislative changes/amendments.

Main goals of the project

- Preparing comprehensive analysis of the current legislation and policy documents connected to the Supreme Court of Georgia and identifying existing challenges and gaps;

- Presenting recommendations on legislative changes taking into account international standards and best practices;

- Advocating recommendations to the suitable bodies.

Activity Plan 

Budget 

Grant Agreement

/public/upload/Magda/Keti Kukava/grant agreemant.pdf

Project Title: Developing the Transparency and Integrity Building Strategy and Action Plan for the Akhaltsikhe Municipality

Donor Organization: USAID Good Governance Initiative in Georgia, Tetra Tech ARD

Project Contract Number: GGI-SUB-015
Total Budget: 35,300 GEL ($13,074)
Duration of the Project: 11 October , 2018 – 15 March, 2019

Project Description 

USAID Good Governance Initiative Project supports the Municipality of Akhaltsikhe in developing its governance capacities, including the area of fighting corruption on the local level.

The City Hall of the Akhaltsikhe Municipality made a commitment in the 2018-2019 OGP National Action Plan to strengthen its anticorruption system. The above-mentioned commitment includes development of a transparency and integrity strategy and action plan and their subsequent implementation. These activities will enable the Municipality of Akhaltsikhe to increase efficiency of its governance system, as well as boost transparency and accountability of institutions.  

Aim of the Project

The project aims to support the City Hall of Akhaltsikhe in developing the transparency, accountability and integrity strategy and action plan, as well as increase capacity of municipal civil servants in the area of fighting against corruption.

Goals of the Project

In order to achieve the above-mentioned aim, IDFI will achieve the following goals throughout the project:

- To facilitate development of the transparency and integrity strategy and action plan, support creation of a working group in Akhaltsikhe City Hall;

- Analyze international experience in the fight against corruption on the local level, including recommendations/best practices of OECD, GRECO and their member states;

- Conduct a detailed situation analysis with regard to transparency, accountability and integrity in municipal public institutions of Akhaltsikhe;

- Based on the situation analysis, develop a draft strategy and action plan for increasing transparency and integrity;

- To increase capacity of local civil servants,  develop a manual f about anticorruption best practices;

- Advocate for the formal adoption of the strategy and action plan and advocate for their integration in the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan.

Planned Activities 

Budget

Contract

Project Title: Local Self-Government Index - 2019

Funded by: Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF)

Project Number: LDD/16/18 - 20828

Total Budget: USD 60,203 (IDFI budget – USD 23,910)

Duration: September 20, 2018 – July 22, 2019

Implemented by: Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), Centre for Training and Consultancy (CTC) and Management Systems Development Center (MSDC)

Problem Statement (Situation Analysis)

Implementing reforms of local self-government and decentralization has always been on the Georgian political agenda over the past years. The latest wave of reform included the adoption of legislative changes to the Local Self-Government Code in 2014. A significant part of these changes aimed to enhance public participation in the decision-making process. Despite providing general legislative framework, new and further refined participatory mechanisms (general assembly of a settlement, council of civil advisors, petition, participation in meetings of representative bodies, and hearings of public officials), were implemented in municipalities incoherently.

There are several reasons for this, including lack of technical-material capabilities, experience and political will of municipalities. Awareness, willingness and skills of the local population to engage in political processes and contribute to solving local problems are equally important. According to recent polls, only 7% of the population is aware of the activities of their municipality.Also, the number of people who have information about newly introduced participation mechanisms is insignificant.

Apart from low public awareness, lack of proactivity and accountability of representatives of municipalities is another problem, which would encourage participation of local population in decision-making process. At the same time, the practice of proactive disclosure of public information among municipalities is uneven and negative. Even though, according to Georgian legislation, all administrative bodies are obligated to publish public information online, there are no common standards or policy regulating proactive disclosure of public information by public institutions. This problem is especially relevant for municipalities.

Project Goals

The ultimate goal of the project is to enhance public participation and ease risks of corruption in municipalities by improving practices of transparency and accountability in local government bodies.

To this end, the project aims to conduct follow-up assessment of municipalities in terms of openness and accountability based on Local Self-Government Index. 

Project Objectives

- Update the e-platform lsgindex.org enabling the assessment of transparency and accountability of municipalities and compilation of a comparative ranking of Georgian self-governing bodies.

- Raise public awareness about the Local Self-Government Index.

- Further raise qualification of local monitors.

- Conduct monitoring of all self-governing bodies and elaborate recommendations based on monitoring results.

- Prepare and present a national report on transparency and accountability of municipalities.

Planned Activities 

Budget 

Contract

Project Title: Assessing Public Procurement Legislations and Practice in 9 Countries: Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Indonesia, Philippines, Guatemala, Bolivia & Costa Rica

Donor Organization: Hivos

Total Grant Amount: 28,450 EUR

Project Number: 1017089

Project Start Date: September 2018 – May 2019

Project Summary

The project aims to assess Public Procurement Legislations (PPL) and their implementation in Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Indonesia, Philippines, Guatemala, Bolivia and Costa Rica with the use of the Transparent Public Procurement Rating (TPPR) Methodology to map the readiness of the target countries to adopt contemporary, modern and efficient public procurement systems, based on open data and the principle – “everybody sees everything”. The main goal of the project is to provide CSOs in target countries with the necessary tools for advocating changes in their respective public procurement systems.

Project Outline

Public procurement accounts for around one-fifth of global GDP. In the most high-income economies the purchase of works, goods and services accounts for a third of total public spending, making it especially important to manage the risk of corruption, collusion and other illegal practices in this area.

Without transparent public procurement systems, which are based on electronic means, are efficient and embrace open data, corruption may stay undetected from government authorities, watchdog organizations and the public. We believe that engaging in international collaboration between civil society organizations can create a stronger voice and better solutions to establish well-functioning public procurement systems.

Transparent and efficient public procurement systems also ensure citizens have equal access to public goods and services. For example, procurement systems of Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova or South Korea allow regular citizens to meaningfully engage in public resource allocation and monitor public expenditures.

Most countries in the Hivos “Open up Contracting” Portfolio have public procurement portals, however they lack contemporary elements, such as fully electronic procurement procedures built in the e-platforms; open data-based systems, which allow easy and fast access to procurement data; dispute settlement mechanism and its appropriate portal module, etc. These deficiencies are not only related to lack of technical expertise or financial resources in the country, but stem from incomplete legislative frameworks.

The main goal of the project is to map these deficiencies of public procurement legislative frameworks with the help of local partner CSOs in target countries, propose relevant legislative changes and assess whether the countries have the necessary legislative foundation to implement open, electronic and transparent public procurement system reforms. The project will create a mapping of public procurement systems in target countries and will provide an efficient advocacy tool for CSOs to change public procurement systems. Additionally, all target countries will become part of the TPPR Rating, an international rating of countries’ public procurement legislations. With the use of the rating, CSOs in target countries will have a comparative tool, with which it will be easy to compare their respective public procurement systems with those of other TPPR network countries (over 20 countries).

Project Activities:

Activity 1 – Identifying partner CSOs in target countries

Partner CSOs will be chosen in collaboration and upon recommendation from Hivos, based on the previous experiences that Hivos had with local CSOs. Partner CSOs will be trained and assisted in the particularities of the TPPR methodology upon final approval of their participation by Hivos.

Activity 2 – Assessment of public procurement legal framework in target countries

Partner CSOs will use the Transparent Public Procurement Rating (TPPR) Methodology to evaluate the public procurement legislations of their country. The methodology was created by IDFI in partnership with different international stakeholders such as the Open Contracting Partnership, the World Bank, EBRD experts.

The TPPR Methodology is a comprehensive methodology for assessing public procurement legislations with the ultimate goal of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of legal frameworks and their enforcement around the globe. More about the Methodology can be found here.

Activity 3 – Gathering public procurement data to identify what type of information is missing in target countries

Procurement related data will be gathered by IDFI and its partner organization in each country. The questionnaire for data gathering is already created and is a part of the TPPR methodology. The questionnaire provides a possibility to assess whether information necessary for public procurement performance analysis is available in the country. The data gathered will be comparable across all target countries and is a part of the research assessing the readiness of target countries to adopt contemporary, open data-based public procurement systems.

Activity 4 – Elaborating recommendations for the public procurement legal framework

Based on the legislative assessment, IDFI and each partner organization will create recommendations and a legislative package necessary for creating a solid foundation for open, transparent and efficient public procurement systems. The recommendations and the legislative package will be used as an advocacy tool to push for relevant changes in public procurement law of each target country. The legislative package will include TPPR best practices, as well as experience of more than 20 countries, which are part of the TPPR network.

Project Budget 

Planned Activities 

Contract

Project Title: Supporting Establishment of a Professional Development System in Civil Service of Georgia

Donor Organization: United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Governance Reform Fund (GRF) with funds of UK aid from the UK Government

Project Number: 0095872

Grant Amount: $35,600

Project Duration: 23 May, 2018 – January 31, 2019

Situation Analysis, Project Aim and Description:

Professional development of civil servants is one of the key priority areas of the Civil Service Reform Concept, which creates an obligation for the state to create an effective system for professional development. However, development and launch of this system requires certain prerequisites that need to be in place.

In addition to the Civil Service Reform Concept, Article 54 of the Law on Civil Service states that professional development standards and rules for determining professional development needs of a civil servant should be adopted through the Decree of the Government. The Civil Service Bureau drafted the Decree; however,   it has not yet been publicly discussed nor formally adopted.  Additionally, UNDP engaged an expert, which has developed a report containing analysis and recommendations on the professional development system.

In order to successfully reform the professional development system, it is crucial to examine capacity of public training centers and what role they can play in the new framework.

There are 12 public training centers operating independently or under the auspices of various ministries. These training centers offer a wide range of training modules/programs that are either general or tailored to specific ad hoc needs of its supervising ministry. Since no in-depth assessment of these training centers has been conducted, it is impossible to establish whether these programs/modules follow uniform standards and whether they take into account varying needs of civil servants. It has also not been established if these training modules are accessible only for civil servants or other public employees such as the contractual staff.

The main objectives of the project are:

- In order to support the establishment of a professional development system of civil servants, conduct a comprehensive analysis of existing practices, capacities and expertise of and gaps of public training centers;

- Examine the role, resources and capacity of private training providers as potential stakeholders in of the professional development system of civil servants;

- Facilitate involvement of civil society, academia and other potential stakeholders in the establishment of policies on professional development of civil servants.

Activity Timeline:

Project Budget

Audit Report

/public/upload/IDFI_2019/reports/par_audit_report_eng.pdf

Project Title: Supporting Development of E-Trancparency and E-Participation in the Municipalities of the Imereti Region

Donor Organization: Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF)

Project Number: LDD/08/18-20784

Grant Amount: $13,640

Project Duration: 18 April, 2018 – 18 September, 2018

Project Aim and Description:

In order to enable citizens to utilize their rights laid down by the Local Self-Government Code, the project aims to improve transparency and citizen participation mechanisms in the municipalities of Georgia.

To achieve the above-mentioned aim, IDFI will develop and install modern and dynamic municipal webpages, will develop capacity of webpage administrators employed in municipal public institutions and will increase public awareness about the new webpages. In total, IDFI will develop 7 websites for the municipalities of Bagdati, Terjola, Zestaponi, Tkibuli, Samtredia, Chiatura and Mestia.

New webpages developed by IDFI will be identical to the websites developed and installed within the scope of projects implemented earlier. The websites will be equipped with various modules that support greater transparency and citizen participation. New websites will be equipped with electronic petitions, questionnaires, budget planning tool, online forms for requesting public information, official document database etc.

Activity Plan

Budget 

Project Title: Promoting Prosecutorial Independence through Monitoring and Engagement (PrIME)

Funded by: European Union

Implemented by: Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) in cooperation with the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC) and Studio Monitor

Project Number: ENI/2018/396-009

Total Budget: EUR 333,321.64; European Union: EUR 299,989.48; Partners Match: EUR 33, 332.16

Duration: 14 March, 2018 – 14 May, 2020

Promoting Prosecutorial Independence through Monitoring and Engagement (PrIME) is the European Union funded initiative implemented by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) in cooperation with the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC) Georgia and the Studio Monitor.

PrIME aims to support the increase of an external and internal independence of the Prosecution Service of Georgia for ensuring impartiality and fairness in the Georgian prosecution and investigation systems.

Specific Objectives of the action are twofold:

1. Increase the accountability of Prosecution Service of Georgia (internal independence) to ensure they meet the Strategy of the Prosecution Service of Georgia, international and EU standards;

2. Empower information exchange between institutions: Government of Georgia (GoG), civil society organizations (CSOs), media as well as general public so that the public is knowledgeable and aware about issues of the ongoing major reforms in Prosecution Service of Georgia.

The Action assumes a comprehensive approach, as part of which IDFI and its partners will work in four main directions: monitoring, media investigation, capacity building, and outreach and awareness.  

Entire Monitoring process from the baseline survey to policy recommendations, will be aimed at increasing the accountability of PSG, and involving and informing the public about ongoing processes in the PSG, with the ultimate goal of slowly changing the culture of reforming the law enforcement system and implementing various policies without the involvement of and dialogue with the public.

Involvement of media in monitoring the implementation of Strategy and Action Plan of the PSG will be crucial for engaging the public. Investigative videos focused on high profile cases will provide clear and objective coverage of the case flow, thus informing the public and engaging the law enforcement system to work objectively and be accountable to the public. The public attention generated after publishing these videos will put pressure on specific cases and reduce possible external (political or other) influence on the process of investigation and litigation. To keep the discussion alive, the videos will be followed by focus group meetings once a year, summing up the cases presented in the investigative videos and similar high profile cases left investigated.

The content of outreach and awareness activities will majorly consist of data and challenge analysis of the monitoring and media investigation activities. Awareness will be raised in two main directions: the project and its component, and ongoing reforms and the role of PSG in a democratic society.

Capacity building for prosecutors and investigators is directly linked to the overall objective of the project. Major focus will be placed on hate crime and VAW, since crimes committed with the discriminatory motive are highly sensitive in Georgia and represent a huge problem. A study visit in one of the successful countries in tackling those crimes will be valuable for prosecutors and uninvestigated.

With the goal to improve the national capacities for better protection of human rights in Georgia, the PrIME Project aims at following results:

- More accountability of the PSG to the general public in light of monitoring reports of the Strategy of PSG, monitoring of high profile cases and expert discussions of the PSG’s actions;

- Raised interest and awareness among the general public and media about the PSG and the issues that necessitate reform;

- Increased ability of prosecutors to conduct prosecutions of hate crimes and cases of violence against women and apply precise qualifications of these crimes when relevant;

- Opened channels of dialogue between PSG and CSOs to encourage open discussion of challenges within the institution.

Planned Activities

Contract

Project Title: Facilitating Implementation of Reforms in the Judiciary (FAIR)

Funded by: European Union

Implemented by: Human Rights Education and Monitoring Center (EMC) in cooperation with the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC)

Project Number: ENI/2018/395-919

Total Budget: EUR 267,780; IDFI - EUR 45,900 

Duration: May, 2018 - 2020

The project is to support real reforms of the judicial system through monitoring, evidence-based advocacy, strengthening of individual judges and promotion of dialogue with them. The project also aims to increase the involvement of community groups in the reforms process of the judiciary through awareness raising and mobilization.

The following activities are planned within the framework of the project:

- Monitoring of the implementation of thenew electronic system of case allocationand the operation of Independent Inspector’s office and preparation of periodic monitoring reports;

- Monitoring of the implementation of judicial strategy and action plan, and other related policy documents and preparation of shadow reports;

- Qualitative research on the role of a judge with the participation of professional groups, including judges;

- Public opinion survey on the judicial reforms, achievements, and challenges;

- Monitoring the media coverage of major events in the judiciary;

- Working meetings with judges with the participation of international and local experts;

- Workshop on the ways of overcoming gender barriers in the courts system;

- Announcement of the scholarship programs for academia, activists and lawyers to prepare thematic blogs, articles and essays;

- Publication of the online journals on the justice system and its presentation in Tbilisi and the regions;

- Workshop for students, activists and interested groups on the following issues: drug policy, public protests, urban issues, equality issues and the role of the justice system.

Project Title: Analyzing Judges' Professional Education System in Georgia

Donor Organization: East West Management Institute (EWMI)/Promoting Rule of Law in Georgia (PROLoG)

Partner Organization: International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy (ISFED)

Project Number: G-1503-18-211-3024-20

Project Budget: 40,515 USD

Project Duration: 15 February, 2018 – 15 November, 2018

This project aims to critically analyze procedural and institutional guarantees of High School of Justice of Georgia (HSOJ) and initial stages of judicial education system to reveal main existing challenges for proper functioning of the HSOJ and draw relevant conclusions and recommendations based on thorough research and analysis.

Project Activities:

- Comprehensive analysis of the current legislation and identifying gaps;

- Comprehensive analysis of curricula of HSOJ;

- Assessment of HSOJ’s training system, compulsory internships, and their relevance;

- Presentation of the project findings, recommendations and relevant advocacy.

Project Title: Facilitate the Landing of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the National Level

Donor Organization: United Nations Development Program (UNDP) – Governance Reform Fund (GRF) through SIDA – Swedish International Development Agency

Project Number: 0097412

Grant Amount: $82,440

Project Duration: 25 December 2017 – 25 September 2018

Problem Statement

The Government of Georgia (GoG) offered high-level political support to prioritize SDGs on a national level. In 2017, The Administration of Government of Georgia (AoG) as SDGs coordinating body, institutionalized the SDG Council along with its four Working Groups (WGs)on Social Inclusion, Economic Development, Democratic Governance and Sustainable Energy & Environment Protection.

In addition to the coordination mechanisms, AoG together with the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) and a legal entity of public law, Data Exchange Agency (DEA) under the Ministry of Justice, continue to develop theElectronic Management System (EMS) platform to effectively monitor the implementation of SDGs in Georgia. Once the EMS is tested and launched in the beginning of 2018, all involved government institutions shall be trained in its effective use.

Now that the SDG coordination mechanism is set through the relevant Council, the GoG intends to strengthen the Council’s capacity and make the body a functional tool for coordination and oversight. For this purpose, the AoG is committed to ensuring that SDG Council meetings occur on a regular basis. While the Council oversees policy decisions, its WGs will target specific thematic areas and will be charged with coordinating the work of various bodies, compiling content and data from relevant institutions, and incorporating the SDG targets into existing or prospective National Strategies and Action Plans.

AoG and other responsible government institutions lack the capacity to generate and analyze relevant data for the implementation of SDGs. Starting from next year, the production of monitoring reports will call for the Council and its WGs to assume a key role in data collection and analysis. This will necessitate expert involvement in each of the WGs to ensure that WGs are adequately equipped to carry out effective data collection and analysis. In addition, one of the key functions of the WGs will be to integrate SDG targets into all existing and prospective national policy documents. It will be necessary for WGs to consult expert advice to ensure accuracy throughout the target integration process, which will create a strong basis for the future alignment of SDG targets into national policies.

Despite the comprehensive awareness raising campaign conducted within the previous project – “Support to the Implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goals in Georgia” the lack of meaningful involvementin the SDGs implementation process among Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), the private sector and academia remains a persistent challenge. A more targeted awareness-raising approach is important at this stage to encourage greater contributions from the aforementioned groups.

Project Objectives

The objective of the sub-project is to strengthen the data collection and coordination, capacities of leading national SDG mechanisms (the SDG Council Secretariat, the Council itself and the Council’s WGs.), along with the capacity development of civil servants to effectively monitor SDG implementation and apply newly-acquired skills in the development of the first progress report on SDGs implementation in Georgia.The project also aims to increase awareness on SDGs.

To meet with the objectives of the project the national data and policy experts will be engaged in the process. Data experts will strengthen the WGs on data collection standards, while policy expert will work on incorporation of SDGs targets into national policy documents.

In the framework of awareness raising campaign thematic discussions with the CSOs, meetings with the representatives of private sector and academia will be conducted.

Project Goals

- Strengthen data collection and coordination practices of leading national SDG mechanisms through facilitated  institutional capacity development;

- Increase public awareness and facilitate knowledge-sharing regarding global, regional and national developments on SDGs and their implementation, with a special focus on CSOs, private sector and academia;

- Enhance the monitoring capacities of civil servants in terms of measuring the effectiveness of SDG implementation and supporting the development of the first SDG progress report.

Expected Results

- Improved data collection standards for the Council, WGs and AoG;

- Strengthened Monitoring and Evaluation capacity of civil servants involved in the SDGs implementation process, through the effective application of the EMS;

- SDG targets linked with national strategy documents;

- Elaborated and disseminated first progress report on the implementation of SDGs;

- Increased engagement of CSOs, academia and private sector in SDGs implementation and monitoring.

Planned Activities

Budget

Independent Auditor Report

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Name of Grant Activity: Enhancing Openness of State Archives in Former Soviet Republics

Donor Organization: Open Society Institute Budapest Foundation (OSI)

Grant Recipient: Institute for Development of Freedom of Information

Total Grant Amount: 84,155.5 USD

Project Number:  OR2017-34436

Period of Performance: November 1, 2017 – October 31, 2018

Background

Access to the Soviet archives and archival documents remains contentious topic among many post-Soviet countries. The transition to democracy and rethinking of Soviet past proceeded with different pace and path in former Soviet republics. These differences determined the state policies toward archives. In many countries, documents of Soviet era remain classified, and archives are not accessible to scholars and historians. Others opened up only partially.

During the 70 years of the Soviet rule, history was used as an ideological weapon devoid of any real facts, truths and full with falsifications, misinterpretations, and communist postulates. The only space where communists were truthful and honest was “Secret” and “Top Secret” documents that Soviet bureaucrats circulated among top level of government and ruling elite.

The correct and precise examination of the Soviet past o is cornerstone of proper rethinking of the Soviet past. The newly published archival documents will help to improve historiography, shape the collective memory of the nation, and counter myths and lies perpetuated by many neo-Stalinists and the contemporary Kremlin propaganda.  It is impossible to have a valid written history of 20th century of any Soviet country without studying the archives.

Project Description

The overarching goal of the project is to ensure openness of Soviet archives in the post-Soviet space. This goal is to be attained by several objectives and activities. Firstly, a network of scholars and NGOs working on issues of Soviet archive openness will be created during the conference planned within the framework of the project. Additionally, a thorough study on the issues of post-Soviet space in terms of archive openness will be conducted to have clear vision on how and where to advocate for more openness. 

As a result of the project, a single standard of openness of archives will be promoted in post-Soviet space covering not only access to archives, but the format in which the data will be available. Hence, digital format of the archival documents will be promoted and enhanced. Additionally, a network of scholars will be established to improve the practice of exchanging archival materials among countries. Collective cross-country scholarly work on openness of archives, as well as archival findings will be stimulated. Establishment of connections between the archives of post-Soviet States will accelerate the research cooperation and transfer of needed documentation. Network established in the framework of the organized conference will work further on advocacy, and sharing experience on legal and practical aspects of access to archives, also initiating joint research projects on Soviet Studies among the participant countries.

Objectives

- Create a network of scholars/NGOs in post-Soviet space working on the issues of Soviet Archive openness

- Promote openness of archives in the post-Soviet space

Activities 

- Reach out to potential partners in post-soviet space: Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Central Asian states, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russian Federation.

- Organize a conference in Tbilisi on openness of archives in participant states, international best practice in terms of archive accessibility, inter-agency cooperation and scholars as mediators between state entities.

- Create a study on soviet archive openness in post-soviet states.

- Create a website for publishing studies on archival openness in post-Soviet space.

 Final Report

Name of Grant Activity: Transparent Public Procurement Rating – Assessing Public Procurement Legislation and the Enforcement Process in the Eurasian Region and Beyond

Donor Organization: Open Society Institute Budapest Foundation (OSI)

Grant Recipient: Institute for Development of Freedom of Information

Total Grant Amount: 155, 292 USD

Project Number:  OR2017-34436

Period of Performance: November 1, 2017 – May 31, 2019

Background

Public procurement is considered to be one of the key areas susceptible to corruption, especially in the economies of developing countries with widespread corruption. Public procurement accounts for around one-fifth of global gross domestic product. In most high-income economies the purchase of goods and services accounts for a third of total public spending, thus public procurement can become a significant area for corruption, collusion and other illegal practices. Without transparent public procurement systems, which are based on electronic means, are efficient, operate on API and open data, corruption may stay undetected from government authorities, as well as watchdog organizations or procurement enthusiasts. In this regard, collaboration between government authorities and civil society is crucial for efficient functioning of public procurement systems.

For this reason, in 2016, IDFI elaborated a common standard (methodology) for assessing the legislative framework of public procurement in 6 pilot countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. The result was a ranking of public procurement legislations based on benchmark characteristics that any well-functioning public procurement system must have: transparency, efficiency, accountability and integrity, uniformity of the legislative framework, competitiveness and impartiality. The methodology was then used to assess the implementation of PPLs of each participant country for the purpose of identifying the gaps that come with putting the legislation into practice, and elaborating specific recommendations to remedy them.

Project Description

The project aims to build on the experience of the project – “Transparent Public Procurement Rating (TPPR) – Assessing Public Procurement Legislation and the Enforcement Process in the Eurasian Region” and expand the (TPPR) and its common standard for assessing the legislative framework of public procurement beyond the Eastern Partnership Countries, in Central Asian States (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan), Visegrad Countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia), Albania and Mongolia.

The TPPR project is a good example of how CSO collaboration can produce a unique product, with which it is possible to rank countries according to PPLs and create ground for improvement based on research and exchange of information. As a result of CSO collaboration in 6 Eastern Partnership countries, a standardized methodology was created that provides possibility to assess, compare and rank PPLs in different countries. The methodology was piloted in Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The above mentioned regions for expanding the project were chosen in order to ensure that TPPR will cover diverse public procurement systems with different origins and realities. Central Asian states, Visegrad and Balkan countries have different political systems, which affect their public procurement systems.

In addition to expanding to 8 more countries, the project will have a greater emphasis on advocating for policy and practical changes based on the results of assessing public procurement legislations and their implementation. The project will also involve creating a standardized questionnaire for assessing the implementation of the legislation in order to make country comparison more viable.

Objectives

-          Expanding the Transparent Public Procurement Rating (TPPR) Network (PPL Assessments, PPL Implementation Assessments)

-          Creating a Set Questionnaire for Assessing the Implementation of the PPLs in Participant Countries

-          Expanding the CSO Network in Target Countries

-          Conducting targeted advocacy campaigns to reach out to relevant stakeholders involving public officials, businesses, media, civil society and communities 

Project Title: Combating Clientelism in Local Investments and Financial Transfers (CC-LIFT)

Donor Organization: The Open Society Initiative for Europe through Expert Forum Association (EFOR)

Grant Amount: USD 8,360

Project Duration: November 2017 – February 2019

Objectives and Goals

CC-LIFT contributes to the development of watchdog mechanisms in Romania, Moldova and Georgia regarding the clientelistic allocation of funds towards the local communities. The project aims to improve the effectiveness, transparency and accountability of governance by enabling local civil society organizations to oversee the budgetary development procedures and participate in debates on resource allocations by facilitating the policy dialogue between the authorities and CSOs.

The general objective of the project is to contribute to improving the effectiveness, transparency and accountability in budgeting and procurement in Romania, Moldova and Georgia. The specific objective of the project is to enable civil society to oversee budget, participate in public finance policy formulation and implementation by facilitating the policy dialogue between the authorities and public & civil society.

Through the project, local CSOs from the three countries will develop tools and share best practices to oversee public budgets and the intergovernmental fiscal transfers, as well as budgetary allocations and procurement for local investments. The local stakeholders, assisted by the project partners, will participate in public finance policy formulation and implementation by facilitating the policy dialogue between the authorities and local civil society. All these will be achieved by:

1. Translating in simple, visual instruments the key data on public budget transfers and thus provide more transparency on the local budgeting process.

2. Advocating with local and central decision-makers for better budgetary allocations in critical moments (before budget approvals or amendments).

3. Empowering (developing the capacity of) a network of local activists and journalists in 15 municipalities (6 in Romania, 6 in Moldova and 3 in Georgia) to undertake watchdog activities on public budgets and procurement processes.

Activities

A1. Preliminary Research

A2. Data Collection and Analysis of 3 Target Municipalities

A3. Identifying Local Activists in 3 Municipalities

A4. Organizing Three Training Sessions for the Local Activists

A5. Organizing Public Debates on National and Local Budgets

A6. Monitoring the Government’s Budget Allocations to Communities

A7. Map of Clientelism and Press Conferences

A8. Developing an Analysis Methodology for Public Procurement

A9. Preparing and Publishing Periodic Newsletters

Expected Outcomes - the project will deliver:

- A set of visual tools to clarify key budget data, which can be later updated yearly. These will be disseminated through a series of public events and media / social media.

- A methodology for monitoring and advocacy for budgetary transparency and implementation of criteria-based allocations to local governments, monitored from above (central budget) and from below (in 15 selected communities).

- A community of local citizens-activists and journalists, trained in budgeting and procurement, and who will also get in contact with a regional network of projects and best-practices of civic monitoring of public budgets and fighting clientelism in New Member States.

- Pressure from below in all three countries for making the allocation and use of public resources more transparent, rule-based and less clientelistic.

- Pressure from above, through possible benchmarking in the future among the countries in the project (Romania, Moldova, Georgia) and other countries in the EU or EaP.

Activity Plan 

Budget 

Contract

Project Title: Digital Literacy and Internet Freedoms in Georgia

Project Funded: The American Bar Association (through its Fund for Justice and Education supported by the U.S. State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor) 

Sub-award Number: S-LMAQM-16-GR-1095

Project Budget: USD 7,999

Project Duration: September 1, 2017 – January 31, 2018

Project Goals and Objectives

The general goal of the project is to strengthen Internet freedoms and digital literacy in Georgia.

To this end, the major objectives of the project are:

- Fostering multi-stakeholder dialogue and discussion on issues of Internet freedoms in Georgia.

- Enhancing digital literacy in Georgian through raising public awareness about the ways and tools for online security.

- Communicating the proposed legislative changes to different stakeholders.

Beneficiaries

The primary beneficiaries are Internet users, civil society and public institutions. Media and the private sector will also benefit from the project.

Project activities:

1. Participate in IGF panel about Internet freedoms

In order to foster multi-stakeholder dialogue and discussion on issues of Internet freedoms in Georgia, the project team will use the local Internet Governance Forum that is planned to be held in September, 2017.

2. Prepare guidebooks

Another important activity of the project is to prepare practical, informative, interactive and comprehensive guidebooks about Internet freedoms and tools for digital security.

3. Prepare quizzes

In order to further increase outreach of the project and its products, two quizzes about digital security tips and opportunities will be prepared and promoted. With the help of these quizzes, Internet users can check their awareness about and use of security tools and mechanisms.

4. Communicate the proposed legislative changes to different stakeholders

In order to advocate the elaborated legislative changes in the Regulation in respect to the Provision of Services and Protection of Consumer Rights in the Sphere of Electronic Communications, the project team will continue communication with all relevant stakeholders.

Activity Plan

Budget