Project Title: Assessment of Digital Tools for Citizen Engagement

Donor:  DAI Global, LLC / USAID National Governance Program

Project Contract Number: 1005207-101

Total Budget: 99,995 GEL

Duration of the project: May 30, 2024 - February 7, 2025

This project aims to enhance the effectiveness and use of digital tools for citizen engagement. It addresses the lack of research on these tools and user experience by investigating their challenges and opportunities, ultimately providing recommendations for better technology utilization. This aligns with the USAID National Governance Program's goals of increasing government accountability and responsiveness, improving public service delivery, and facilitating citizen participation in decision-making.

The project will develop an assessment methodology and create a shortlist of digital tools for in-depth analysis. This includes gathering information from stakeholders and compiling an inventory of available tools. These tools will be mapped based on criteria, and widely used ones will be thoroughly assessed using a user-centered approach within the people-process-technology framework.

Data will be collected through online surveys to capture public feedback on satisfaction and experiences with digital tools. User experience testing will focus on the needs of vulnerable groups, and interviews with public and private sector individuals will provide additional insights.

The project team will conduct a comprehensive analysis based on the collected data, resulting in an evidence-based research paper with recommendations for public sector entities and other stakeholders. These recommendations will focus on strategies to enhance citizen uptake and utilization of digital tools.

The findings will be presented to stakeholders for discussion and feedback, ensuring comprehensive insights into the challenges and opportunities of digital tools. This collaborative approach aims to create more user-centered digital tools customized to users' needs in the long run.

Project activities include:

 - Developing a methodology and creating a short list of digital tools for in-depth analysis (I month)

 - Data collection (II-VIII months)

 - Preparing the research paper (V-VIII months)

 - Presentation of the research findings (VIII-IX months)

Contract