On August 26 and 31, 2020 the local strategies and action plans of Integrity and Transparency were adopted, respectively, by the decrees of the mayors of Telavi and Lagodekhi municipalities. The strategic documents were prepared and adopted in cooperation with IDFI within the USAID/GGI funded project “Develop Integrity and Transparency Strategy and Action Plan for the City-Halls of Telavi and Lagodekhi Municipalities”. The strategic documents aim to strengthen the resilience of Telavi and Lagodekhi City Halls against the threat of corruption.

The action plans of the City Halls are designed for 2021 - 2022 and envisage eight main directions:

- Transparency

- Citizen Engagement and Accountability

- Human Resource Management

- Ethics and Corruption Risk Reduction

- Public Procurement

- Permits

- Internal Audit

- Legal Entities Subordinated to the City Hall

At the first stage, in order to develop evidence-based strategic documents the City Halls together with IDFI conducted an in-depth situation analysis in terms of transparency and integrity. The situational analyses were prepared with the active involvement of the City Hall staff and civil society representatives. During the preparation process of the situation analyses, the existing anti-corruption legislative framework and policy-making documents; international recommendations regarding Georgia - OECD-ACN / GRECO monitoring reports and their general standards were being studied. The focus was on recommendations that were relevant to local government. Based on the recommendations elaborated for elimination the gaps and challenges identified within the situation analyses, the priority directions, goals and objectives of the strategies were determined.

At the next stage based on the recommendations elaborated for elimination the gaps and challenges identified within the situation analysis, the priority directions, goals and objectives of the strategy were determined. On the basis of the transparency and integrity strategy a two-year action plan for the implementation of the strategy was developed in each municipality.

Public involvement was ensured in the process of drafting the strategic documents. Initially, focus groups were held with the local civil society representatives during the preparation process of the situational analysis. Subsequently, public consultations were conducted online, the objective of which was to discuss the draft Integrity and Transparency Strategies and Action Plans of the City Halls of Lagodekhi and Telavi Municipalities respectively with the representatives of Lagodekhi-based NGOs, Telavi-based NGOs and Students and Professors of Telavi State University.

In the case of both municipalities in the City Hall a working group has been created which consists of the heads of the primary structural units of the City Hall. Once a year, the working group reviews the Transparency and Integrity Strategy and Action Plan of the City Hall and updates the documents in response to ongoing challenges as well as based on the experience gained during their implementation.

Transparency and Integrity Strategy of the City Hall of Lagodekhi Municipality

Transparency and Integrity Strategy of the City Hall of Telavi Municipality