Project Title: Supporting the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in Georgia

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

Project Number:  00060981

Grant Amount: $140,700

Project Duration: 1 December 2016 – 31 July 2018

Problem Statement

Georgia was one of the first countries that actively endorsed the  Sustainable Development Goals and started integrating them in its domestic policy agenda. The Administration of the Government of Georgia (AoG) was identified as the main institutions that would be in charge of coordinating all matters related to the integration, implementation and monitoring of the SDGs on the national level.

In addition, GoG has committed to provide a Voluntary National Review on the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. GoG has presented the first Voluntary National Report in September 2016 at UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF), which highlights the initial approach of the Government to streamline the SDGs into the national development agenda. The current report does not include specific data on individual goals and targets but is rather an overview of the SDG process and general developments in this regard.

Despite the leading regional role that Georgia has in the process of advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, there are certain needs to be addressed in order to move forward with the successful implementation of Sustainable Development Goals and its targets prioritized by Georgia. Currently, AoG does not have a mechanism that would enable it to effectively monitor the implementation of activities that are related to the SDGs at the national level. Moreover, voluntary reporting conducted by GoG is performed by manually gathering the data from responsible public institutions. Currently, an innovative monitoring methodology that would cover all Goals and targets that were prioritized by GoG is yet to be set up.

Another significant challenge is related to public awareness about the SDGs in Georgia. The awareness of stakeholders and the public on Sustainable Development Goals is low, which creates a gap for public ownership, oversight and policy input. The employees of public institutions are not well-informed about the national and international efforts on the implementation of SDGs. Low awareness and insufficient capacity prevents mid-level public servants from providing adequate policy input when it comes to the implementation of the prioritized SDGs and the relevant targets. Furthermore, specific groups such as the youth, private sector and academia are not properly informed about the international and domestic developments that take place around SDGs. It is important to create an enabling environment and would foster public ownership on the Goals and support knowledge-sharing about the efforts made on global, regional and domestic levels.

Additionally, civil society organizations are not sufficiently involved in the national efforts aimed at the implementation of 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. In order to increase the public ownership on the national activities related to SDGs, it is vital to empower specific target groups with sufficient information and skills that will at a later stage translate into tangible input.

Project Objectives

The aim of the sub-project is to support the Administration of the Government of Georgia (AoG) in effective monitoring of the national agenda on the implementation of UN Sustainable Goals (SDGs), based on a pilot system that will initially monitor Georgian performance on Goal 16.

The project intends to use an innovative approach and develop an electronic monitoring system that will enable effective and transparent monitoring of the national agenda of UN Sustainable Goal 16 that can be later adjusted to all SDGs after the successful testing of the initial tool. The electronic monitoring tool will support the distribution of up-to-date information about the performance of public agencies on individual targets and indicators of Goal 16 and subsequently all 169 targets of the SDGs.

The project also aims to increase public awareness about the global agenda on UN SDGs in the Georgian context. The planned target groups of the awareness campaign are central and local public employees, the private sector, youth, civil society and academia. Active involvement of various stakeholders in the implementation of UN Sustainable Development Goals will increase public ownership of SDGs as well as national activities aimed at their implementation.

Project Goals

Main Goals of the project are:

- Create an electronic monitoring and evaluation mechanism that will be utilized by AoG for ensuring effective coordination between government agencies in the process of monitoring and reporting on the national SDG agenda;

- Increase public awareness and facilitate knowledge-sharing on global, regional and national developments on SDGs and their implementation;

- Based on the principles of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), support AoG in institutionalizing and operationalizing the SDG coordination process.

Expected results

- A electronic monitoring system is created for effective monitoring of SDG 16 and subsequently all SDGs;

- A pilot monitoring report for SDG 16 is prepared;

- Awareness of the general public, civil society, public officials, media and youth is increased regarding 2030 UN Sustainable Development Agenda;

- The capacity of the Administration of Government of Georgia is increased on coordination of SDG implementation

Planned Activities

Budget

Independent Auditor’s Report

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