Projects

Project title: Supporting Peoples’ Right to Vote in Georgia

Donor: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic

Project Duration: September 2024 - December, 2024

Grant amount: CZK 500 000 (EUR 19,860.97)

Goal of the Project

Support the holding of free and fair parliamentary elections in Georgia.

Project summary

Georgian civil society organizations have formed a Coalition - "My Vote for the EU." 

The Coalition aims: 1. to conduct a campaign - "My Vote for the EU" - before the elections; 2. to organize a large-scale observation mission which among other things includes a voter information campaign in the pre-election period, joint observation of the pre-election period and election day, protection of votes. The observation mission should cover all polling stations opened both in Georgia and abroad.

The project activities aim to contribute to the work of the Coalition, including through protecting the votes based on the litigation, and participation in the training of the observers. 

Budget

 Grant Agreement 

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

Project name: Common History, Common Future

Donor organization: Civil Society Forum e.V.

Total budget: 18,465 euros

Duration: 15.04.2024-25.02.2025

The Civil Society Forum e.V.'s Confronting Memories program gathers over 100 teachers from Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Germany, Moldova, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine to collaborate on developing multi-perspective, competency-based teaching materials spanning from World War II to current conflicts. These materials, created through collective effort, are accessible for free download on the program's website.

The project aims for history teachers and educators to utilize the pedagogical guide developed within the Confronting Memories program in crafting teaching materials and lessons. They are encouraged to integrate the materials into their own classrooms, conduct lessons using the provided resources, and foster familiarity with the material among their colleagues.

Duties of IDFI are:

1) selection of 5-7 history teachers and educators (formal or informal education sector) to participate in the summer school;

2) participation in the workshop on July 17-21, 2024, in Dilijan, Armenia;

3) Facilitating and supporting selected teachers in conducting workshops for their colleagues;

4) Organizing a workshop for 20-25 international participants in Tbilisi in January 2025.

Project Title: „CSO meter: Empowered for action” 

Donor organization: European Union (EU); Civil Society Institute

Budget: 6,720.00 EUR

Duration: March 05, 2024 - December 31, 2027

Project Goal:

The aim of the project is to be engaged in the project-based regional hub and to upgrade the CSO Meter annual report.

Main Activities Envisaged by the Project:

- Allocation of an expert/experts within the hub organization, who will work on the issues covered by the project and will be responsible for the topic related to the project;

- Participate in local and international events of CSO Meter for capacity building and networking;

 - Participate in the development of the annual advocacy plan, in the process of determining priorities and responsibilities;

 - Participate in the development of monitoring, reporting and other analytical documents at the country level;

- Participate in the work process of the CSO Meter Advisory Board

- Update the CSO meter report

- Involve and discuss project-related issues within its competence

- Identify Early warnings for CSO meters according to relevant directions and provide information about them to the customer and other members of the hub;

 - Disseminate the reports prepared within the framework of the project;

 - Be engaged in advocacy activities with other members of the Hub.

 Contract

Project Title: Public Policy Pilot Initiatives to Engage and Mentor Youth

Donor:  DAI Global, LLC / USAID National Governance Program 

Project Contract Number: 1005207-101

Total Budget: 215,922 GEL 

Duration of the project: February 23, 2024 - February 22, 2025

Project Summary 

Given the scarcity of high-quality research and policy documents concerning a range of governance reforms, the project aims to empower youth, students, and young professionals to become active contributors to the policymaking process through capacity building, sharing practical experience/best practices, and providing them a wide-range of opportunities to prepare and communicate evidence-based analyses and recommendations. This overall objective will be attained by:  

• increasing theoretical and practical knowledge and experience of students and young professionals in the field of good governance, including corruption; 

• fostering the availability of evidence-based policy analyses produced by young professionals through mentorships and capacity building; 

• encouraging government oversight activities and evidence-based discussions on crucial governance reforms with the participation of all relevant stakeholders.

Under the project, IDFI will expand the existing four academic modules/courses on a wide range of corruption and good governance issues integrated into the academic program of the Ilia State University. This expansion will provide additional opportunities (workshops, trainings, mentorships, Summer School on various governance issues, research methods, data analysis, data visualization, etc.) for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as the existing alumni network of these courses, students from other Universities, young professionals, and civil servants to further enhance their analytical skills. They will also be able to produce evidence-based policy papers and recommendations on various public policy issues through contests, scholarships, and mentorships, and to communicate them with all relevant stakeholders through social media campaigns and targeted outreach methods/activities.

National governance stakeholders will receive evidence-based analytical and policy papers produced by young professionals on a diverse set of governance issues. These papers can serve as valuable external analyses and assessments of ongoing reforms, highlighting significant achievements, identifying shortcomings, and offering specific policy recommendations to address observed gaps. In addition, the project will offer discussion and exchange opportunities between young professionals and other stakeholders on particular governance reforms. 

Project activities include:

1. Coordination of courses of the Spring 2024 semester and admission/coordination of new students for the Fall 2024 semester and the provision of additional opportunities (I-XII months)

2. Update the existing anti-corruption portal (I-V months)

3. Contest of evidence-based analytical/policy papers (IV-X months)

4. Around 6 lectures / workshops in cooperation with partner Universities to encourage students to participate in the contest (IV-X months)

5. Online training sessions, as well as one-on-one mentorships on research methods, data collection, data analysis, data visualization, policy analysis, and policy documents design (IV-X month).

6. Presentation held in the format of public-private dialogue (X-XI month)

7. Paid internships/scholarships at IDFI or leading think-tanks for selected students/young professionals

8. Outreach activities (VIII-XII months)

9. Winter School on Good Governance (XI-XII month)

Contract

Project title: Promoting greater civic awareness and engagement in judicial reforms and facilitating increased access to justice through holistic multi-agency action

Donor: The European Union, represented by the European Commission,itself represented by the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia

Partner organizations: Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, Social Justice Center, Studio Monitor

Project duration: 01.01.2024 – 31.12.2026

Total amount of grant: EUR 967,343.37 

The amount received by IDFI: EUR 124,255 

The overall objective of the action: Promoting accessibility, independence, transparency, impartiality, and accountability within the justice system, including judicial reforms.

The activities to be implemented by IDFI:

 To improve access to reasoned court decisions, IDFI will implement the following activities:

- Producing annual monitoring reports on the accessibility of judgments from the Common Courts and the Constitutional Court of Georgia. To assess the accessibility of judgments from the Common Courts and the Constitutional Court of Georgia, a comprehensive methodology - the Judicial Transparency Index of Georgia - will be developed;

- Producing comparative analysis on the proactive disclosure of the reasoned judgments. Particularly, conducting extensive research on case law, legal acts,  recommendations, directives, and standards  from international bodies concerning the accessibility of court decisions;

- Monitoring the practical enforcement of the Constitutional Court of Georgia's judgment on the accessibility of judicial acts and producing the report. IDFI will identify the current legal and practical challenges and develop comprehensive recommendations to enhance public access to reasoned judgments of the courts;

- Initiating strategic litigation to overcome the barriers that currently impede public access to judicial acts. 

IDFI’s share budget for 2024-2026, including IDFI’s contribution:

Contract

Project title: Increase the access of media to public information in Georgia

Donor:   Embassy of the Netherlands in Georgia

Project number:   4000006932

Project Duration:  1 September, 2023 – 30 November, 2024

Grant amount:  213,161 Gel

Project summary

The project's goal is enhancing and supporting evidence-based journalism, particularly during the pre-election period, and combat systemic legal and practical challenges in accessing public information.

The objectives of the project are to enhance journalists' access to public information, reduce systemic legal obstacles in public information accessibility. To achieve these objectives, the project team will provide full legal and professional aid to journalists. Furthermore, project team will strengthen their proficiency in requesting public information.   

Main objectives the project

A)    Supporting evidence-based journalism by increasing access of journalists to public information;

B)     Addressing the systemic challenges of accessibility of public information in Georgia.

Budget

Project Activities

Contract

Project title: Providing the International Conference – “Uncovering the Truth: Mass Graves of the Great Terror (1937-1938) in Batumi, Georgia” and the joint publishing of the book on the victims of the great terror in Adjara

Supported by: Juliusz Mieroszewski Centre for Dialogue, Poland

Overall Budget: 42,200.00 EUR

Duration: 10.07.2023 - 31.05.2025

Project Objective:

The project aims at the correct and precise examination of the Soviet past as a cornerstone of proper rethinking of its wrongdoings, and crimes against humanity and Actively introducing them to the wider public in Georgia and abroad.

Today, the manipulation of historical narratives is primarily directed toward Ukraine, Poland, and Eastern Europe, serving the larger context of the war launched in Ukraine. However, Central Asian countries, Georgia, and Armenia are also periodically targeted. Historical revisionism serves as a catalyst for the Kremlin's geopolitical interests, including aggressive foreign policy and populist nationalism. By downplaying Russia's historical wrongdoings, exaggerating its achievements, and grossly falsifying facts, the Kremlin aims to mislead both domestic and international audiences. 

The aim of the project is to understand the Soviet past from the perspective of the first mass graves of the victims of the repressions of 1937-1938 discovered in Adjara. To achieve this, a conference will be planned with the involvement of leading scientists working on the issue. The goal is to facilitate an exchange of ideas so that steps can be formulated for further study of the mass graves and raising public awareness. Additionally, the project aims to publish the first "Book of Remembrance" in Georgia. This book will include brief biographical data of all people repressed in Adjara, alongside scientific articles.

Activities:

-  Organizing an international conference about the first mass graves discovered in Adjara in October 2023.

-  Preparation and publication of the book on the victims of the great terror in Adjara, in the Georgian language containing scholarly articles and biographies of victims of political repressions in a total of 300 copies. 

- Presentation of the book and holding of open lectures in higher education institutions, schools, and libraries.

Initial Budjet and Activities

Amendments to the contract - 06.03.2024

Amendments to the contract - 31.05.2024

Ongoing activities and budget

Contract

Project Title: Core Support

Supported by: The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)

Grant Number: No. 16488

Budget: SEK 16, 500, 000 (Swedish kronor)

Duration: July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2026

Objectives of the Core Activities 

The goal of the project is to promote the Euro-Atlantic integration of the state, fight against corruption, improve the transparency and accountability of public institutions, increase citizen engagement in decision-making processes,promote the independence and impartiality of democratic institutions, achieve higher standards of rule of law, promoting inclusive economic policies, facilitating the democratic decentralization and the democratic transition processes, studying and analyzing Soviet past and countering disinformation, upholding media and human rights, and promoting innovations to solve outstanding problems.

Project Summary

Georgia has seen overall progress in building democratic institutions, developing good governance, transparency, and accountability principles and improving the effectiveness and fairness of governance over the past decades. These processes, however, have notably slowed down due to a number of reasons. The country is currently facing serious challenges, such as informal governance, unbalanced concentration of power, lack of judicial independence, high-level corruption, and lack of political will to continue with important reforms. In addition, political and economic pressure from the Russian Federation has a negative influence on Georgian democracy. Russian aggression in Ukraine had an impact on the region, as well as on Georgia’s political, economic, and international relations.

The named challenges reveal the clear necessity for civil society to support Georgia's democratic and pro-Western development and Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration within its competence so that the state can make the most of the window of opportunity.  Having 14 years of experience improving the democratic process, promoting the principles of good governance, and successfully advocating structural and legislative reforms/changes, IDFI intends to counteract the existing challenges facing democracy and good governance in Georgia through evidence-based research, monitoring, and advocacy. More specifically, IDFI will work on the implementation of the EU requirements in various fields, towards key objectives of combating corruption, improving transparency of public institutions, increasing citizen engagement in decision-making processes, achieving higher standards of rule of law, promoting more inclusive economic policies, facilitating democratic decentralization and democratic transition processes, upholding media and human rights, and promoting innovations to solve outstanding problems.

To achieve these objectives, IDFI will work with all relevant public, private, and civil society stakeholders. The organization will also make active use of various local, national, and international networks and platforms in order to achieve positive change in target areas. Finally, special attention will be paid to achieving results at scale, by engaging important cross-cutting issues such as inclusion, education, the environment, and gender. The organization will focus especially on monitoring and watchdog projects and activities in Georgia and developing, consultancy, and capacity-building projects in the region and globally. 

Budget

Contract

Project Title: Empowered Watchdog Community and Enhanced Transparency Standards for Government Accountability
Supported by: International Visegrad Fund and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea
Grant Number: 22310350
Budget: EUR 34,990
Duration: June 1, 2023 – June 1, 2024

Partner Organizations: KohoVolit.eu (Czech Republic and Slovakia), K-Monitor Public Benefit Association (Hungary), Citizens Network Watchdog Poland (Poland)

Background

Access to company beneficial owner (BO) data is crucial to combat international, and high-level corruption. The recent sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine demonstrated the issue's importance. Georgia still needs to adopt BO standards, making it challenging for watchdog groups to monitor suspicious companies effectively. They must request data from various institutions, monitor constantly, and use various platforms for data collection. Also, they lack relevant data collection experience. As for V4 countries, as our previous joint regional study prepared under Visegrad Fund-supported project showed, even though they have implemented standards on anti-money laundering, the best international standards are not fully implemented yet. Additionally, the recent European Court of Justice ruling revoked general public access to BO. However, it confirmed access for journalists and civil society, highlighting the need for further advocacy and local context-based approaches for adequate legislation in the EU and beyond.

To scrutinize the government, access to more BO data of companies operating in Georgia is necessary, along with support for monitoring activities and advocacy for adopting BO standards, taking into account the experiences and lessons learned from the V4 countries.

Project Objectives

IDFI together with its partners, aims to a) continue advocating for BO standards through local and regional events; b) empower watchdog communities in Georgia and beyond through research, capacity building, government monitoring, and more available public data; c) map beneficial owners of the most influential/largest companies operating in Georgia and publish a comprehensive database.

Project Activities

-  Workshop on Beneficial Ownership

- Training for journalists/activists/CSOs/watchdogs regarding government oversight activities

-  Preparing follow-up analyses/analytical papers about beneficial ownership transparency in Georgia and V4 countries

-  Regional/International Hybrid Conference on BO transparency and government accountability

-  Preparing new Datasets, Mapping Beneficial owners and updating DataLab.ge with new data

-  Conducting government oversight activities and preparing analytical/investigative articles

Contract

Project title: Transcaucasian and Visegrad Nations Common Memory – Occupants or Liberators? Democracy or Tyranny?

Supported by: International Visegrad Fund

Grant Number: 22230312

Projec Lead: Post Bellum (CZ)

Overall Budget: 49,954.00 EUR

IDFI’s Share: 13,812.27 EUR

Duration: 01.04.2023 - 30.09.2024

Project lead and partners:

Post Bellum is a non-governmental nonprofit organization which documents the memories of witnesses of the important historical phenomenon of the 20th century and tries to pass these stories on to the broader public. It was founded in 2001.The organization was founded by a group of journalists and historians. The organization believes that witnesses should have the opportunity to tell their stories and that these stories should be accessible to everyone. From this vision, Post Bellum was created.

Post Bellum’s core project is the Memory of Nations, a collection of memories from people who experienced the totalitarian eras of the 20th century as well as photographs, newspapers, and various historical records. The collection is comprised of about 12 thousand of witness stories and is accessible to the public through an online database.

Partners:

- Slovakia - Post Bellum SK

- Poland - Krzyzova Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe

- Hungary - Terra Recognita Foundation

- Armenia - „Hazarashen“ Armenian Center for Ethnological Studies

Overall Project Objectives:

The aim of the project is to document Armenian and Georgian witnesses remembering past, who can tell their life stories related to common Communist past. Georgian and Armenian project partners will receive workshops in documenting the life stories by oral historical methodology.

The primary focus of the project is to not only document the witnesses' life stories, but also to edit, publish, and employ these testimonies for educational activities. Specifically, the project will target younger generations by using experiential workshops as a platform for educating them.

The principal outcome of the project will be a short documentary film that underscores the shared history of the nations involved. The project aims to raise awareness among people and nations, emphasizing the repetition of history and our inability to learn from past mistakes. It aims to impart valuable lessons to the current and future generations, by means of experiential workshops, encouraging them to take those lessons to heart and mind.

Activities:

- Organizing a kick-off meeting in Tbilisi with Slovak, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, and Armenian partners to define project principles and plan further activities.

- Conducting a series of online workshops aimed at sharing the experience of documenting witnesses with Georgian and Armenian historians and filmmakers.

- Recording video interviews with more than 10 witnesses in Georgia who experienced Soviet "liberation" and had to live behind the Iron Curtain.

- Processing and publishing the witness videos in eight languages, including the languages of the countries involved in the project, as well as English and Russian.

- Producing a documentary film titled "Liberated and Occupied?" that will be based on the recorded interviews.

- Premiering the documentary and screening it for the target audience, including schoolchildren and students. The project team will arrange discussions parallel to the film screening.

Budget

Contract