On 3 – 4 December 2021 the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) conducted a   two-day workshop for public servants with the support of the European Union. The topic of the workshop was “Public Administration and Best Practice of Policy-Making”.

The representatives of the following entities participated  in the workshop: Administration of the Government of Georgia (AOG), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia (MFA), Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure (MRDI), Ministry of Justice (MOJ), Public Service Development Agency (PSDA), Digital Governance Agency (DGA), and Civil Service Bureau (CSB).

The workshop was led by Public Policy Expert Nodar Tangiashvili. Martins Krievins, OECD/SIGMA expert, Senior Policy Advisor and Regional Manager for the European Neighborhood Instrument (ENI) was remotely involved in the meeting.

The workshop focused on different important issues such as  Principles of Public Administration and Framework for European Administrative Space; Policy Planning and Policy Cycle; Evidence-Based Policy and Public Consultations; Best Practice of Policy-Making; Existing Challenges of Policy-Making, Coordination and EBP; Policy Design of Successful Policy; Policy Instruments. The participants had the opportunity to gain both theoretical knowledge and practical experience through the implementation of various works.

“The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information, together with the Georgian Young Lawyers’ association and regional partners, has been working on the development of Public Administration Reform in Georgia for the third year, promoting awareness and citizen engagement. We are successfully cooperation with the Public Administration Coordination Body – Administration of the Government of Georgia and the current workshop will further strengthen this relationship” – noted IDFI’s Executive Director, Giorgi Kldiashvili.

According to Colomb De Mercey – Team Leader for Governance and Human Capital, Delegation of the European Union to Georgia, cooperation between civil society and government institutions is a key element of democratic governance. Ms. Colomb De Mercey noted that a good example of this is ensuring the training of public servants by non-governmental organization within the current seminar, theoretical and practical knowledge gained from which will hopefully be useful for them in their work.

The workshop was conducted within the EU-funded project “Contributing to PAR through Civic Monitoring and Engagement”, which is implemented by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) in partnership with the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA).