Improved Public Services (GE0066)

The Government of Georgia (GoG) has taken many important steps to make an efficient public administration system, which is to enhance the rights and freedoms of people with disabilities. For this purpose the GoG has ratified international agreements, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2015-2030, etc.

The LEPL Public Service Hall (PSH) is aimed at increasing and simplifying an access of citizens to public services. The PSH is the largest supplier of public services in Georgia. Therefore, hundreds of persons with disabilities (PWDS) make use of its services annually, throughout the country. In spite of improvement of the quality of servicing the persons with disabilities, they still face definite challenges in this process.

In order to cope with these challenges, it is necessary that:
- The PSH would develop clear-cut procedures for its personnel in connection with servicing the PWDS;
- The skills and competences of the PSH personnel would improve.

Within the framework of this Plan and with the direct participation of PWDS, a quality standard of serving PWDS, gesture language tutorial will be developed.

By meeting this commitment, the PSH will become the first public institution in Georgia having introduced the standard of serving the PWDS.

Commitment 1: Improved public services for all
Lead Agency LEPL - Public Service Hall, Ministry of Justice of Georgia
Other Involved Actors/Partners Public agencies
Civil society/ Private Sector/International organization
UNDP- Georgia; donor – the Government of Sweden
Issues to be Addressed A quality service standard has been established at the PSH, which provides for rules of consumer communication and service procedures. However, said standard does not include special rules that need to be taken into account when serving PWDS. It is noteworthy that no other public service provider has developed such a standard and, correspondingly, there is no a unified approach thereto, which would constitute a part of the state policy in the area of protection of the rights of PWDS.
It is noteworthy that the language of gestures lacks denotations of the specific terminology used in public structures when providing public services. Additionally, the lack of standards and guides conditions low competence of the personnel of public service providers, which constitutes a serious barrier for PWDS.
Main objective Improvement of the serving quality by developing for PWDS a standard of serving, gesture language tutorial and upgrading the PSH personnel in the serving of PWDS.

OGP Principles/Value Transparency Accountability Public Participation Technologies and Innovations
 
Milestones to fulfill the Commitment New or ongoing commitment Start date: End date:
Study of needs (with direct participation of PWDS in the focus group and round table format) New June 2018 October 2018
Developing for PWDS a standard of serving tutorial New July 2018 October 2018
(1) Developing in the course of serving PWDS a training module suited to their needs; (2) Conduct of training trainers and other training courses for the PSH personnel; New August 2018 November 2018
Development of necessary terminology in the language of gestures for communicating with public institutions and a relevant tutorial for PWDS and the PSH personnel. New July 2017 October 2018
Personnel retraining for mastering the language of gestures New September 2018 November 2018
Raising awareness of public, particularly of PWDS and their family members about the services adapted to PWDS available in the PSH. New November 2018 December 2018
Indicator - Three focus groups with participation of PWDS to study needs have been held;
- Engagement of PWDS in the process of the standard of serving and gesture language tutorial development, for which 4 meetings with PWDS in the round table format were arranged, has been ensured;
- The PWDS Serving Standard has been developed and is accessible;
- The Gesture Language Tutorial has been published and distributed through the organizations working on the rights of PWDS;
- The Training Module has been developed and approved;
- 50 PSH employees have been trained by means of Training Trainers, 750 – by means of other training courses, and 2- by means of the gesture language mastering course;
- 80% of trainees have upgraded their skills being evidenced by the pre and post tests;
- At least 80% of trainees positively assess the training;
- Materials for raising awareness have been developed and distributed.
Risks and assumptions Shortage of respective experts

Commitment 1: Improved Public Services for All

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

“The LEPL Public Service Hall (PSH) is aimed at increasing and simplifying access of citizens to public services. The PSH is the largest supplier of public services in Georgia. Therefore, hundreds of persons with disabilities (PWDS) make use of its services annually, throughout the country. In spite of improvement of the quality of servicing the persons with disabilities, they still face definite challenges in this process.

In order to cope with these challenges, it is necessary that:

• The PSH would develop clear-cut procedures for its personnel in connection with servicing the PWDS
• The skills and competences of the PSH personnel would improve

Within the framework of this Plan and with the direct participation of PWDS, a quality standard of serving PWDS, gesture language tutorial will be developed.

By meeting this commitment, the PSH will become the first public institution in Georgia having introduced the standard of serving the PWDS.

It is noteworthy that the language of gestures lacks denotations of the specific terminology used in public structures when providing public services. Additionally, the lack of standards and guides conditions low competence of the personnel of public service providers, which constitutes a serious barrier for PWDS.”

Milestones

1. Study of needs (with direct participation of PWDS in the focus group and round table format)
2. Developing for PWDS a standard of serving tutorial
3. (1) Developing in the course of serving PWDS a training module suited to their needs; (2) Conduct of training trainers and other training courses for the PSH personnel
4. Development of necessary terminology in the language of gestures for communicating with public institutions and a relevant tutorial for PWDS and the PSH personnel
5. Personnel retraining for mastering the language of gestures
6. Raising awareness of the public, particularly of PWDS and their family members about the services adapted to PWDS available in the PSH

Start Date: June 2018

End Date: December 2018

Editorial note: For the full text of this commitment, please see https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/georgia-action-plan-2018-2019/.

Context and Objectives

Persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Georgia, particularly citizens who are blind and visually impaired or deaf and hard of hearing, often face challenges accessing public services. According to recent civil society reports, public spaces, government buildings, and public transportation are often not adapted to the needs of PWDs. [1] Moreover, there is limited information about available services for PWDs. [2] [3] 

This commitment continues the aims of Commitment 1 from Georgia’s third action plan (2016–2017). That commitment required Public Service Hall (PSH) to add special navigation systems with tactile paths and braille maps to its buildings. [4] This current commitment aims to further improve PSH’s service delivery to PWDs by developing a specific service-related terminology guide in consultation with PWDs and through focus groups. It also calls for PSH personnel to be trained in accordance with the new guidelines. The commitment seeks to raise the quality of service delivery and raise awareness about available services among PWDs and their families. 

For Milestone 1, the government will conduct a needs assessment through focus groups and roundtable discussions with PWDs, to collect data to improve services. This element makes the commitment relevant to the OGP value of civic participation. The milestones are verifiable. The action plan provides specific indicators for the activities, such as the number of focus groups to be held and the number of PSH employees to be trained.

If fully implemented, this commitment could lead to PWDs-specific service standard guidelines. It would create a sign language handbook and improve the competence of PSH personnel regarding provision of services to PWDs. Interviewed civil society representatives, PWDs, and focus group participants unanimously told the IRM researcher that these activities could improve existing accessibility standards in the country. For example, according to an interviewed representative from ANIKA, a leading Georgian nongovernmental organization serving PWDs, [5] this commitment could help PWDs to access public services more independently. Such independence is essential for their integration into their communities. [6]

PSH provides access to 400 public and private sector services through 22 branches nationwide. If this commitment is fully implemented, PSH would become the first government agency in Georgia to develop and incorporate a PWDs-specific service methodology into the service delivery in its nationwide branches. [7] According to the action plan, Georgia currently lacks unified guidelines on PWDs-specific standards across all service providers. Therefore, PSH’s efforts for this commitment might provide a valuable example for other service providers in the country. However, the action plan does not specify if the planned PSH activities might be mainstreamed in all the relevant state policies and programs across the country. Therefore, the overall potential impact is considered minor.

Next steps

If the government carries this commitment forward to the next action plan, the IRM researcher recommends strengthening its link to OGP values by conducting a more extensive needs assessment, with the broader coverage. The next needs assessment would incorporate more quantitative measures and involve all relevant stakeholders, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and their family members. This assessment could help better plan and prioritize the improvement of service delivery. It could also help form a unified approach to service delivery standards for PWDs statewide. 

ANIKA recommends that the government continue working on the permanent improvement of accessibility by adapting infrastructure to ensure safe access to public services. Thus far, special navigation systems with tactile paths and braille maps have been built in PSH facilities as part of the 2016–2017 action plan. However, these facilities still lack fully functioning voice-assisted navigation systems. Thus, ANIKA recommends integrating a voice-assistance module into the entire navigation system. This change would drastically improve the ability of PWDs to access public services independently. [8]

[1] Institute for Development of Freedom of Information, “Analysis of Statistics on Persons with Disabilities,” 16 March 2018, https://bit.ly/2pfTrMo.

[2] Public Service Hall, Guidelines for Service Delivery for People with Special Needs, 2018, p. 11, https://bit.ly/2GfaCqS.

[3] Charity Humanitarian Center Abkhazeti, Barrier Free Environment—Adaptation of Buildings and Infrastructure in Georgia and International Experience, 2017, https://bit.ly/2Dj0euD.

[4] Open Government Partnership, IRM: Georgia Progress Report 2016–2018, https://bit.ly/2XKZWpP.

[5] ANIKA is a local association that works to create equal opportunities and conditions for persons with disabilities, http://anika.ge/?lang=en.

[6] Irakli Seperteladze, Member of Board at ANIKA, interview with the IRM researcher, 6 June 2019.

[7] Irakli Seperteladze, Member of Board at ANIKA, interview with the IRM researcher, 6 June 2019.

[8] Irakli Seperteladze, Member of Board at ANIKA, interview with the IRM researcher, 6 June 2019.

1. Improve public services for all

Theme 1: Improving Public Services

Complete

In consultation with persons with disabilities (PWDs) and experts, the Public Service Hall (PSH) developed a needs assessment, standard tutorial for service delivery for PWDs, [27] and a sign-language terminology guide incorporating around 400 signs. [28] PSH trained 750 of its staff under the new guidelines. Furthermore, 20 PSH personnel have learned sign language to deliver services to PWDs. The post-test results showed that 94 percent of PSH staff improved knowledge of specifics of providing services to PWDs. [29]

PSH prepared print and audio materials on adapted services, which it circulated among PSH personnel and partner organizations through social media and its official webpage as part of its awareness-raising campaign. [30]