NDI Georgien politiska institutioner

The targeted self-government institutions on local level improved their outreach and communication with the public which led to an increase in the trust of the public in said institutions. For example from year 2 to year 3 there was an increase in the general performance of the targeted sacrebulos from 17 percent to 37 percent. New practices for outreach was put in place such as person-to person communication, public meetings, working groups and hotlines. This outreach led to new information and input from the public which was reflected in local programming. Thus practices and routines where changes and on occasions also local regulations and requirements related to communication with the public. One area highlighted for improved public involvement is budgetary issues. Zugdidi sakrebulo started to organize thematic budget discussions and Akhaltsikhe sakrebulo set up a citizens board and began canvassing the districts to increase public participation in the local budgeting. The outreach and structured consultations with CSOs also increased. Akhaltsikhe, Batumi and Kutaisi set up structures for thematic working groups, public discussions and formal correspondence with CSOs. The level of increased communication has thus delivered several good results. An area that did not develop however was the drafting of communication strategies. When it comes to the communication between the sakrebulos and the national institutions there was some improvement but not as systemic and extensive as communication with the public, and the exchange with the national level continues to be driven by specific needs and reactive rather than driven by a proactive approach. The use of and reference by politicians as well as media, to the polls carried out by NDI increased throughout the reporting period. During 2014, 35 politicians cited the polls; during 2015, 87 politicians cited the polls and during 2016, 66 politicians made reference to the polls. Furthermore more all mayor parties included key issues identified through the polls in their political platforms for the 2016 elections. The increase in the media attention can be seen in the following numbers 2000 media report on the polling in 2014, 2567 media reporting in 2015 and 4552 media reports in 2016. As a results of journalists trainings the programme also reported that the quality on the content of the polling. The capacity development did not only focus on journalists but also on members of civil society and by the last year 8 of the targeted 10 civil society organisations (CSOs) were using the polling in a better way in the advocacy work with the Georgian government on different topics. In relation to unexpected results the following can be noted as for the political polling. NDI reported on the strengthening of CRRC, who is NDI’s partner organisation that actually carries out the polling, as part of the overall strengthening of the CSOs. This account however does not include the efforts carried out and agreed with embassy to strengthen the capacity of CRRC to carry out and present the results from the polling independently of NDI. These efforts were included as part of the embassy’s sustainability discussions with NDI and aimed at ensuring that CRRC would be able to carry out the pollings without support from NDI. Halfway through the programme NDI however, contacted the embassy stating that such a transfer of tasks (that CRRC would not only carry the polling and the analysis but also present it to the public as well as to the political parties) would put too much political pressure on CRRC and undermine its credibility. NDI therefore decided not continue with the handover process and did not present any alternative way to strengthen CRRC to ensure that a Georgian organisation would be able to take over the role of delivering, analysing and discussion detailed political data. NDI chose instead to fundraise for continued polling by NDI and CRRC in the established format. It should be noted that the under the Swedish support NDI has played a key role in the political debate and development and that the polling activities, though they caused much public criticism against NDI from the Georgian counterparts, also placed NDI in the very center of the political debate and development. This unforeseen result of the activities of the programme, in the format of the high level of public attention that NDI received, may have had a negative effect on the sustainability of the polling as the handing over of these capacities to a Georgian counterpart became contrary to NDI’s organisational interest to continue to work in Georgia. 12 CSO were selected and strengthened in their capacity to work with and influence local government institutions. As a result, for example 4 of these organisations, which were already well established, became more efficient in their campaign work and advocacy while 8 CSO in the regions strengthened their capacity to act on the local level. Increased visibility and trustworthiness for them led for example to representatives from two organisations being appointed to advisory roles for local government structures. In the area of women’s political participation the formation of the Gender Task Force on Women’s Political Participation (GTF) was a key step which greatly influenced the debate around women’s political rights. The task force encompasses both political parties, local and international CSOs and other institutions, such as the Gender Equality Council of the parliament. The GTF managed to unify the voice of its members to work towards higher levels of women’s political participation. This was partly done through designated and coordinated campaigning for obligatory quotas for parties in the parliamentary election. Though the proposal for quotas later on was voted down by parliament, the process contributed to substantial awareness raising and several high ranking politicians have expressed their understanding that in order to increase overall gender equality in Georgia women needs to take a bigger share in the political decision making. 

The programme focused on building open and responsive local governments, providing objective information on citizen needs to political institutions, promoting CSOs' ability to advocate for their causes and increase the role of women in Georgia's political institutions. The four specific objectives are: Objective 1: Local governments’ capacity to address constituent concerns is improved through an increase in lawmakers’ skills and knowledge. Objective 2: The quality of, and access to, information about citizens’ political priorities is enhanced through the conduct and dissemination of public opinion research. Objective 3: Civil society’s influence in the political process is advanced through the development of more effective communication strategies. Objective 4: Women’s participation in political decision-making processes is increased by expanding their opportunities to participate in the political arena.