Georgia Design Report 2018-2019

Georgia’s fourth action planAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... includes initiatives undertaken by the central government, the Parliament, and several local municipalities. Despite the range of topics covered, many commitments aim for minor improvements and do not clearly align with stakeholder priorities identified during the consultations. Moving forward, the next action plan could be more focused on commitments relevant for anti-corruption, such as disclosure of beneficial ownershipDisclosing beneficial owners — those who ultimately control or profit from a business — is essential for combating corruption, stemming illicit financial flows, and fighting tax evasion. Technical... More, improvement of public procurementTransparency in the procurement process can help combat corruption and waste that plagues a significant portion of public procurement budgets globally. Technical specifications: Commitments that aim t... More practices, and fulfillment of the long-standing commitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... to adopt the Freedom of Information Law.

The Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More (OGP) is a global partnership that brings together government reformers and civil society leaders to create action plans that make governments more inclusive, responsive, and accountable. The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM)The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) is OGP’s accountability arm and the main means of tracking progress in participating countries. The IRM provides independent, evidence-based, and objective ... monitors all action plans to ensure governments follow through on commitments. Georgia joined OGP in 2011. Since then, Georgia has implemented three action plans. This report evaluates the design of Georgia’s fourth action plan.

General overview of action plan

Since joining OGP, Georgia has introduced many transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More and good governance reforms, particularly around public officials’ asset declarations, budget monitoring, and public service deliveryTo ensure that citizens of all groups are better supported by the government, OGP participating governments are working to improve the quality of and access to public services. Commitments in this are... More. Georgia has taken a leadership role in OGP by serving as co-chair in 2016, hosting the 2018 Global Summit, and being re-elected to the OGP Steering CommitteeThe Steering Committee is OGP’s executive decision-making body. Its role is to develop, promote and safeguard OGP’s values, principles and interests; establish OGP’s core ideas, policies, and ru... in 2019.

To develop the fourth action plan, the Ministry of JusticeTo address barriers that prevent citizens from having their justice needs met, OGP participating governments are working to expand transparency, accountability, and inclusion into all systems of justi... conducted several public consultations throughout the country. Civil society representatives withdrew from the multi-stakeholder forum due to disagreements with the government over the decision-making process and the action plan’s lack of ambitionAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should “stretch government practice beyond its current baseline with respect to key areas of open government.” Ambition captures the po.... Georgia’s co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive... reached “involve” for the level of public influence. This was lower than rating for the previous action plan’s process (which reached “collaborate”).

In 2019, the multi-stakeholder forum secretariat transferred from the Ministry of Justice to the Administration of the Government of Georgia, a move that civil society welcomed. The fourth action plan also saw the inclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr... More of Open ParliamentEnsuring access to legislative information and creating mechanisms for public participation are critical to building an open, trusting relationship with citizens. Technical specifications: Commitments... More commitments through consultations led by the Open Governance Permanent Parliamentary Council.

Unlike all previous Georgian action plans, the fourth plan does not have any potentially transformative commitments. Despite overall lower ambition, the commitments cover a wide range of thematic issues, including public services, court decisions, and budget information. In addition, they cover new areas, such as the Sustainable Development GoalsOGP countries are experimenting with open government innovations to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 16+ which includes peaceful, just and inclusive societies..., homelessness, and information disclosure by state-owned enterprises. The action plan also includes numerous commitments on improving open government at the municipal level and in Parliament.

Notable commitments at the national level include those working toward publishing court decisions in a unified database, increasing transparency of the public grant-funding system, and improving transparency and efficiency of public procurement. Other notable commitments involve developing strategies for transparency and integrity in eight municipalities and creating a Citizen Engagement Center in the Parliament of Georgia.

Table 2. Noteworthy commitments

Recommendations

The IRM recommendations aim to inform the development of the next action plan and guide implementation of the current action plan. For the next action plan, the IRM researcher recommends that the government focus on fewer, more ambitious commitments targeting key policy areas still on the agendas of stakeholders. Commitments in the next plan should form part of a cohesive open government strategy through which Georgia aims to achieve tangible results around key priority areas.

Table 3. Five KEY IRM Recommendations