Introducing an SMS platform for citizen awareness (GEKTS0003)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Action plan – Kutaisi, Georgia, 2022 – 2025
Inception Report Summary: Inception Report – Action plan – Kutaisi, Georgia, 2022 – 2025
Commitment Start: May 2023
Commitment End: Feb 2024
Institutions involved:
- Kutaisi Municipality City Hall
- Local Democracy Agency Georgia
Primary Policy Area:
Primary Sector:
OGP Value:
- Access to information
- Technology and Innovation for Transparency and Accountability
Inception Report Summary
Verifiable: Yes
Relevance to OGP Values: Yes
The commitment is a new regulation, policy, practice or requirement.
The commitment activities will result in a change of the rules, practices or policies that govern a policy area, public sector and/or relationship between citizens and is binding or institutionalized across government or specific institution(s).
Description
Commitment ID
GEKTS0003
Commitment Title
Introducing an SMS platform for citizen awareness
Problem
Low awareness of citizens, both in Kutaisi municipality and throughout Georgia, remains an important challenge. In response to this challenge, the municipality must use diverse communication channels to proactively provide citizens with information about municipal activities and services.
Status quo
There are no platforms developed in the Kutaisi municipality that would allow the citizens to receive information on the issues of their concern in a timely and proactive manner. It is noteworthy that a certain part of the population does not use the website of the municipality, therefore, the municipality needs an alternative source for spreading the information.
Action
This commitment seeks to provide public information proactively about the activities of the municipality to the residents of Kutaisi through the introduction of the "SMS platform" as a quick and direct space for communication with citizens. As part of the commitment, an SMS system will be launched for informing the citizens proactively, which will be created on the basis of the website of the Kutaisi Municipality. This system will inform citizens, form the interest groups, and send out short text messages (SMSs) to these groups (e.g. SMS about planning the social programs, public meetings, city council meetings, and local economic development (LED) initiatives). Citizens will have an opportunity to register on the platform according to their preferences and mark the information that is a priority for them. Information about interested persons will be added to the relevant database, where the mobile number and areas of interest will be indicated in the area of local government. A special software will be used to send out SMS to interested individuals, containing the information that is interesting and important for them.
How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?
As a result of fulfilling the commitment, the SMS system ensures regular delivery of information to citizens about various issues, among them:
- Municipality budget and its public discussion;
- Social services and programs;
- Spatial planning and development of the municipality;
- Cultural events;
- Education (including the extracurricular, early and preschool education);
- Amenities and infrastructure (motorways and transport);
- Sessions of the Council of Civil Advisors;
- Other priority issues for citizens.
As a result, the citizen awareness will be raised, which will increase their interest to participate more actively in the local government.
What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?
Increasing the transparency of local government activities directly corresponds to the strategic vision of the municipality.
Primary Policy Area
Right to Information
Primary Sector
Public Services (general)
What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?
| Access to information | because this would allow the citizens to receive information on the issues of their concern in a timely and proactive manner. It is noteworthy that a certain part of the population does not use the website of the municipality, therefore, the municipality needs an alternative source for spreading the information. |
| Technology and Innovation for Transparency and Accountability | this commitment "SMS platform" is a quick and direct space for communication with citizens. . This system will inform citizens, form the interest groups, and send out short text messages (SMSs) to these groups (e.g. SMS about planning the social programs, public meetings, city council meetings, and local economic development (LED) initiatives). |