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Georgia

Improved Public Services (GE0066)

Overview

At-a-Glance

Action Plan: Georgia Action Plan 2018-2019

Action Plan Cycle: 2018

Status: Active

Institutions

Lead Institution: LEPL - Public Service Hall, Ministry of Justice of Georgia

Support Institution(s): UNDP- Georgia; donor – the Government of Sweden

Policy Areas

Capacity Building, Marginalized Communities, Public Service Delivery, Sustainable Development Goals

IRM Review

IRM Report: Georgia Design Report 2018-2019

Starred: Pending IRM Review

Early Results: Pending IRM Review

Design i

Verifiable: Yes

Relevant to OGP Values: Civic Participation

Potential Impact:

Implementation i

Completion: Pending IRM Review

Description

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

IRM Midterm Status Summary

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.

Commitments

  1. Improved Public Services

    GE0066, 2018, Capacity Building

  2. Citizen Engagement Platform

    GE0067, 2018, Capacity Building

  3. Unified Authentication System

    GE0068, 2018, E-Government

  4. Economic Governance

    GE0069, 2018, E-Government

  5. Environment Portal

    GE0070, 2018, E-Government

  6. Strengthen Anti-Corruption Institutions

    GE0071, 2018, Anti-Corruption

  7. Monitor SDGs

    GE0072, 2018, Capacity Building

  8. Citizen Engagement Legislation

    GE0073, 2018, Legislation & Regulation

  9. Publish Court Decisions

    GE0074, 2018, E-Government

  10. Increasing Transparency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs

    GE0075, 2018, E-Government

  11. Citizen Participation in Public Finance

    GE0076, 2018, Anti-Corruption

  12. Transparent Public Funding System

    GE0077, 2018, Fiscal Openness

  13. Public Procurement Improvements

    GE0078, 2018, Access to Information

  14. Housing Policy Planning

    GE0079, 2018, Land & Spatial Planning

  15. Openness and Accountability of State-Owned Enterprises

    GE0080, 2018, E-Government

  16. Transparency and Good Governance

    GE0081, 2018, Legislation & Regulation

  17. Open Data Collection and Publication

    GE0082, 2018, Access to Information

  18. Participation for Disabled Individuals

    GE0083, 2018, Infrastructure & Transport

  19. Participatory Budgeting

    GE0084, 2018, Capacity Building

  20. Your Idea for the Zugdidi Mayor

    GE0085, 2018, Capacity Building

  21. Electronic Services

    GE0086, 2018, E-Government

  22. I. Gov. Zugdidi

    GE0087, 2018, Capacity Building

  23. Service and Citizen Satisfaction Assessment

    GE0088, 2018, Capacity Building

  24. Promoting and Monitoring SDGs

    GE0089, 2018, Legislative

  25. Citizen Involvement in Budget

    GE0090, 2018, E-Government

  26. Technology for Transparency

    GE0091, 2018, E-Government

  27. Citizen Engagement Center

    GE0092, 2018, Capacity Building

  28. Raising Public Awareness About Parliamentary Democracy

    GE0093, 2018, E-Government

  29. Electronic Innovations for More Transparency and Efficiency of Public Procurement

    GE0056, 2016, Anti-Corruption

  30. Starred commitment Adoption of the Environmental Assessment Code

    GE0057, 2016, Anti-Corruption

  31. Introduction of a Mobile App as an Alternative Channel to Connect to “112”

    GE0058, 2016, E-Government

  32. Development of Local Councils for Crime Prevention

    GE0059, 2016, Justice

  33. Development of a Guidebook for Economic Agents

    GE0060, 2016, Capacity Building

  34. Development and Introduction of the Quality Control Program of Commercial Service

    GE0061, 2016, Capacity Building

  35. Presentation of Company Reports in an Electronic Form and Provision of Their Accessibility

    GE0062, 2016, Capacity Building

  36. Introduction of an Electronic Petition Portal and “Zugdidi-INFO” on the Webpage of Zugdidi Municipality Assembly

    GE0063, 2016, Capacity Building

  37. Transparency of Ozurgeti Municipality Assembly Meetings

    GE0064, 2016, Capacity Building

  38. Creation of Electronic Mechanism for Local Budget Planning in Kutaisi, Ozurgeti, Batumi and Akhaltsikhe

    GE0065, 2016, E-Government

  39. Adapting the Public Service Hall to the Needs of the People with Disabilities

    GE0042, 2016, Capacity Building

  40. Launch of the Unified Healthcare System Information Portal

    GE0043, 2016, Capacity Building

  41. Introduction of Electronic Licensing System in the Field of Natural Resources Application

    GE0044, 2016, Anti-Corruption

  42. Creation of Spatial (Geographic) Data Web-Portal for the Energy Sector

    GE0045, 2016, Capacity Building

  43. Creation of Innovation Ecosystem

    GE0046, 2016, Capacity Building

  44. Electronic Portal for Registering and Disposal of State Property – Customer’S Module

    GE0047, 2016, E-Government

  45. Development of the Freedom of Information Law

    GE0048, 2016, Access to Information

  46. Development of a Monitoring and Assessment System of the Government Policy and Legislative Acts

    GE0049, 2016, Capacity Building

  47. Starred commitment Introduction of the Public Officials’ Asset Declarations Monitoring System

    GE0050, 2016, Anti-Corruption

  48. Establishing Unified Regulations to Publish Court Decisions

    GE0051, 2016, Judiciary

  49. Development of Transparency and Integrity Strategy and Action Plan in the Field of Regional Development and Infrastructure

    GE0052, 2016, Capacity Building

  50. Improvement of the Database of the Convicted and Transfer of the Penitentiary Department Entirely Onto the Electronic Workflow Management

    GE0053, 2016, Capacity Building

  51. Publication of Phone Tapping Data According to the Nature of the Crime and Geographic Area

    GE0054, 2016, E-Government

  52. Starred commitment Increasing Citizen Participation in Supervision of Public Finances (Public Audit)

    GE0055, 2016, Capacity Building

  53. "Voice of the Consumer"

    GE0013, 2014, Public Participation

  54. JUSTdrive

    GE0014, 2014, Public Service Delivery

  55. Educational Services

    GE0015, 2014, Education

  56. Citizen's Portal (Www.Mygov.Ge)

    GE0016, 2014, Capacity Building

  57. Transformation of Public Libraries for Regional Development

    GE0017, 2014, Capacity Building

  58. Digital Signature and Online Authentication

    GE0018, 2014, E-Government

  59. Open Data Portal (Data.Gov.Ge)

    GE0019, 2014, Access to Information

  60. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Draft

    GE0020, 2014, Access to Information

  61. Georgia's OGP Forum

    GE0021, 2014, Public Participation

  62. I-Change.Ge

    GE0022, 2014, E-Government

  63. Transparency of Public Service Recruitment

    GE0023, 2014, E-Government

  64. Asset Declaration Monitoring System

    GE0024, 2014, Anti-Corruption

  65. Starred commitment Political Party Financial Declarations

    GE0025, 2014, Access to Information

  66. Accessibility of Ministry of Interior's Webpage to People with Special Needs

    GE0026, 2014, E-Government

  67. Starred commitment Proactive Publishing of Surveillance Data

    GE0027, 2014, Civic Space

  68. Public Awareness of the Electoral Process

    GE0028, 2014, Capacity Building

  69. Transparency of Budgetary Processes

    GE0029, 2014, E-Government

  70. Electronic System of Procurement

    GE0030, 2014, Anti-Corruption

  71. Digital Human Resource Management System

    GE0031, 2014, E-Government

  72. Digital Preservation System: E-Archive

    GE0032, 2014, E-Government

  73. Openness and Accessibility of National Archives

    GE0033, 2014, E-Government

  74. Electronic Catalogues of Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) Archives

    GE0034, 2014, E-Government

  75. Public Finance Management System

    GE0035, 2014, E-Government

  76. Alternative Channels to "112"

    GE0036, 2014, E-Government

  77. Interactive Statistics and Crime Mapping

    GE0037, 2014, E-Government

  78. Travel Insurance Services

    GE0038, 2014, Citizenship & Immigration

  79. State Property Registration

    GE0039, 2014, Public Service Delivery

  80. Development of Community Centers in Georgia

    GE0040, 2014, E-Government

  81. Introduction of e-Governance in Local Self-Governments

    GE0041, 2014, E-Government

  82. Public Service Hall-Hub of Public Services

    GE0001, 2012, Access to Justice

  83. e-Governance in Local Governments

    GE0002, 2012, E-Government

  84. Citizens’ Portal

    GE0003, 2012, E-Government

  85. Easily Accessible and Better Healthcare

    GE0004, 2012, E-Government

  86. Launch Ichange.Ge and Data.Gov.Ge

    GE0005, 2012, E-Government

  87. Platform for Participating in the Legislative Process

    GE0006, 2012, E-Government

  88. Citizens and Justice

    GE0007, 2012, Access to Justice

  89. Starred commitment Transparent Party Financing

    GE0008, 2012, Political Integrity

  90. Home-Grown Concept of E-Procurement

    GE0009, 2012, Anti-Corruption

  91. e-Declarations

    GE0010, 2012, Anti-Corruption

  92. Technology Cares for Safety: ICCMS, Crime Mapping, and Safety in Your Neighbourhood

    GE0011, 2012, E-Government

  93. NGO Forum

    GE0012, 2012, Capacity Building

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