Core support Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI)

The contribution Core support Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) started in January 2020 and was completed by the end of March in 2023. The results of the contribution has been mixed. Unfortunately shrinking space for democratic development and non-governmental organisation activities also acute in Georgia. This has been observed during monitoring of this and other similar contribution over last few years. However, some important results achieved on a level of outcome over 2020-2023 described below. Results on Promoting Open Governance Since 2020, the performance of public institutions in terms of proactive disclosure of public information on the websites of central public institutions has improved by 7% (from 53% to 60%). The Parliament took into account IDFIs recommendation and committed itself to adopting common standards for Freedom of Information FOI compliance reports for public institutions under the Public Administration Reform Strategy and Action Plan. However, at the same time, radical decline by 23% was observed for the 2022 assessment of the annual ranking of compliance of public institutions with freedom of Information (FOI) legislation requirements conducted by IDFI since 2018. This is a matter of serious concern. Over the past years, IDFI has been actively promoting the development of open government principles by the Supreme Council of Ajara (SCA). As a result, in 2020 the Open Governance Action Plan of the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Ajara 2020-2021 was elaborated. With the support of IDFI the Open Governance Council of SCA implemented this Plan and it was estimated that 13 commitments out of a total of 15 were implemented. As a result of successful advocacy by IDFI, thousands of assets declarations of public officials were made available in open formats (through API and Excel), which means that journalists, activists, and the tech community will be able to easily analyze and use data on public officials and their financial interests. IDFI presented and communicated its recommendations on Public Administration Reform based on two-year monitoring reports and observations. Some of our recommendations were successfully advocated in the new Open Government Partnership (OGP) and Public Administration Reform (PAR) Action Plans. Results on Strengthening the Anti-corruption System IDFI submitted its recommendations for all sixteen priority directions of the Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan for 2021-2022 to the Anti-Corruption Secretariat. Though, the New Anti-Corruption Strategy has not been prepared/adopted by the government yet. IDFI submitted a report to the OECD-ACN on the corruption situation in Georgia and participated in the 21st plenary session of OECD/ACN to discuss several issues related to fighting against corruption, including high-level corruption. IDFI prepared a comprehensive analysis of legislation and practice on integrity principles in Georgias civil service, based on which the Institute revealed challenges and elaborated recommendations, some of which were considered in the PAR Strategy Action Plan 2023-2024. Results on Rule of Law and Freedom of Media IDFI has issued multiple evidence-based reports, analyses, and elaborated recommendations that have significantly improved the effectiveness of democratic institutions. For instance, during the institutional research of the State Inspectorate Service (SIS), IDFI and the Social Justice Center identified 48 main findings and developed 41 recommendations. Many of these recommendations were implemented by the state institutions. First comprehensive study that discusses the concept and scope of application of biometric and genetic data, threats, and risks associated with their processing, and analyzes the principles and grounds of processing such data, was published. IDFI has significantly increased its efforts to defend the freedom of media, as well as the rights and safety of journalists. IDFI has submitted over 500 applications to administrative bodies on behalf of journalists. In 2022, IDFI launched a free legal aid program for the media. In that year alone, IDFI initiated 198 legal proceedings, prepared 59 administrative complaints, and filed 24 administrative lawsuits on behalf of journalists. Thanks to IDFI's legal support, approximately 60% of the cases resulted in journalists obtaining public information of their interest. Results on Facilitating the Decentralization Process (Local Government) IDFI and its two partner organizations have successfully maintained a country-wide mechanism for assessing transparency and accountability in all 64 municipalities of Georgia biennially since 2017 Local Self-Government Index. According to the 2021 results, the overall performance of municipalities in terms of publishing public data online improved by 2% compared to 2019. IDFI made contributions to the localization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Georgia by integrating SDG targets into the local policy framework, developing capacity-building and awareness-raising materials for local stakeholders, and increasing the qualification of about 110 public servants and other stakeholders from 4 municipalities on SDGs through trainings and workshops. With IDFIs participation and support, 4 municipalities approved evidence-based Transparency and Integrity Strategies and Action Plans, enabling municipalities to implement effective mechanisms for openness, transparency, and citizen participation at the local level and implement commitments considered under the National Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan. Results on Social and Economic Policy IDFI introduced the first gender budgeting index/methodology to kick start gender mainstreaming and gender empowerment across all government action throughout the country, having started ranking 258 government budget programs together with the Ministry of Health of Georgia, the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, Public Defenders Office, Parliamentary Budget Office, UN Women, and a womens CSO. After the start of the pandemic, IDFI has been actively monitoring and analyzing data concerning COVID-19 infections, deaths, and the vaccination process. IDFI has identified inconsistencies in the data produced by the Ministry of Healthcare of Georgia, specifically regarding the duration between infection and death, as well as hospital stays. IDFI analyzes efficiency and effectiveness of government social protection programs at national levels. IDFI has prepared a report on "The Future of Georgia's Pension Reform." The report includes recommendations regarding the effective management of the pension system and addresses important issues surrounding the reform, including challenges in pension asset management and reform in general, international experience, and potential results of the reform. Results on Combating Disinformation and Revealing the Soviet Past IDFIs counter-disinformation efforts have garnered extensive coverage in both local and international media. In partnership with the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) and the Investigative Media Lab of the University of Georgia (UG), IDFI shed light on the connections between Soviet and modern propaganda. A bilingual (Georgian and Russian) database of Stalins Lists (3,616 individuals repressed by Stalin's direct orders in 1937-1938) was created and maintained over the past years. In 2022, IDFI submitted legislative proposals to the Parliament of Georgia for amendments and additions to the law of Georgia "On the National Archival Fund and the National Archives". IDFI played a pivotal role in investigating a mass grave in Khelvachauri, near Batumi, revealing the victims of the Great Terror of 1937-1938. Collaborative efforts with Radio Free/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) resulted in a widely viewed documentary and raised awareness of this historical tragedy. Results on Internet and Innovations Over the contribution lifetime IDFI prepared dozens of analyses, reports, studies on e-governance, digital freedoms, artificial intelligence, innovations, open data and related topics, which analyzed Georgias performance in various international rankings, government performance and use of new technologies in these fields, the state of digital freedoms in Georgia, etc. Based on the findings and contemporary tendencies, evidence-based recommendations were elaborated and communicated. Media and digital literacy of more than 30,000 people were improved as a result of IDFIs awareness-raising activities and capacity-building materials on digital literacy and cybersecurity. IDFI prepared a first ever study on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems by Georgian public institutions and existing legislation on AI in the country. As a result of AI use cases, gaps in legislation and practice were identified and relevant recommendations were elaborated. Following IDFI's study, the National Bank of Georgia updated the AI-related regulation adopted for commercial banks, during which some of the necessary international standards overviewed in our recommendations/studies were considered.

IDFI defined as the key objective "combating corruption, improving transparency of public institutions, increasing citizen engagement in decision-making processes, achieving higher standards of rule of law, promoting more inclusive economic policies, facilitating the democratic decentralization and the democratic transition processes, upholding media and human rights, and promoting innovations to solve outstanding problems". IDFI intends to achieve the following by the end of the intervention: a) Freedom of information legislation and practice is improved; b) Georgia’s performance in terms of open government (World Bank, WJR and other relevant surveys) is improved; c) Transparency standards of extractive industries are improved; d) Openness of registers (final beneficiaries) is improved; e) New open government data/datasets published on government and civic open data platforms; f) Civil servants, journalists and citizens acquiring new skills of working with open data; g) Extent and quality of public participation in the process of policy development is increased at the executive and the legislative levels (Parliamentary openness); h) The practice and quality of regulatory impact assessment (RIA) is improved;