Proactive disclosure of public information is one of the most significant commitments taken by Georgia within the framework of the Open Government Partnership (OGP).

With resolution N219 of the Government of Georgia of August 26, 2013, at the initial stage, a certain standard of proactive transparency was established in the country, which needed to be improved in the future. Specifically, this resolution includes a list of minimum information pertaining to the activities and finances of administrative bodies that should be available to any interested person, although this minimal effort did not guarantee a high standard of proactive transparency. Since 2013, despite numerous recommendations provided by IDFI, the Georgian government has not taken significant steps for improvement. For years, the IDFI initiative that aims to improve the existing standard of proactive disclosure of information and implement the second wave of reform has remained unanswered by the Georgian authorities. It is important to mention that IDFI's multiple research projects revealed that most public institutions were unable to ensure the proper fulfillment of the minimal obligations imposed by the government decree.

The need toimprove the standard set by the government of Georgia has become even more apparent in the light of current events when properly informing the public has become one of the most important mechanisms for preventing the spread of the virus. At the same time, against the background of the crisis, the risks of opaque and irrational management of budget funds have increased significantly. Restrictions on the provision of public information under the state of emergency in the country, as well as procurements made without tender procedures due to the current situation, etc., have significantly contributed to the increase in such risks. Taking into account the main challenges in the country as well as international practice, IDFI has developed a list of information that can be proactively published by public institutions during the Covid-19 crisis. Despite the importance of the issue, so far, no changes have been made to the existing standard for proactive disclosure of information. Accordingly, under the present report, no changes have been made to the methodology for the study of proactive access to public information. Accordingly, no changes have been made to the proactive access research survey methodology implemented under this report.

The report assesses the proactive availability of public information in Georgia as of September 2021 and outlines the main trends and tendencies of proactive access to information compared to previous years. The report also includes proactive transparency ratings of public institutions. The report also includes ratings of proactive transparency of public institutions.

Main Findings

- Since 2013, the Georgian government has not taken any significant steps to improve the standard of proactive disclosure of information;

- As of September 2021, 13 out of 124 monitored public institutions did not have websites

- 13 public institutions also did not have a public information section on their website or did not publish any information in this section;

-In 2021, the average compliance rate of proactive accessibility of public information is 56%, which is 1% higher than in 2020 and it is 15% lower compared to the same indicator of 2014;

- In 2021, only 6 public institutions (Parliament of Georgia, Ministry of Internal Affairs, National Statistics Office, Supreme Council of Adjara Autonomous Republic, Financial-Analytical Service, National Center for Education Quality Development) had perfect (100%) published information in compliance with the requirements of the relevant legal act;

 - Among central public institutions the lowest compliance was demonstrated by the Administration of the Government (31%) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia (36%);

- Following the monitoring by IDFI conducted in 2020, an additional 7 agencies ensured the creation of a public information section on the website and the publishing of certain information.

- Compared to 2020, 6 out of 14 central public institutions have worsened the rate of proactive disclosure of information;

- As compared to 2020, the overall compliance rate in central public institutions has decreased by 4%, in the public institutions of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara - by 19%, and in 1% of government-affiliated and other independent agencies;

- As compared to 2020, the overall compliance rate in subordinate entities and legal entities under public law improved by 4%. Nevertheless, half of them had published less than 50% of the information required to be published proactively on their websites;

- The most problematic issue remains the publication of information related to the management of finances;

- None of the evaluated public institutions had published information in open formats (CSV or XML). 29 public institutions had published specific financial information in the Excel format;

- The archives of proactively published information in the past years were accessible on the websites of only 60 public institutions.

Proactive Disclosure of Public Information on Georgian Public Institutions Websites 2021

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