Georgia is reforming its public administration as it modernises its governance systems and builds stronger democratic institutions. These reforms will help the country develop effective public institutions, introduce innovative approaches to policymaking, service delivery and citizen engagement, and ensure that Georgia’s civil service is stronger and more professional.

The ‘Public Administration Reform Roadmap 2015-2020’ defined the first cycle of this robust transformation. The government and civil society organisations conducted a series of assessments to provide an objective, critical account of the achievements and flaws in implementing the reform. The results of these assessments are informing the government’s current work on a new strategy, which will guide the next reform cycle. The United Kingdom (UK) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are supporting this process under their wider programmes to assist public administration reform in Georgia.

“Ongoing reform efforts respond to Georgia’s aspirations to develop a transparent, foreseeable and responsive public administration that serves the nation to effect positive change,” said Government Administration Head Ilia Darchiashvili. “The next reform cycle will build on the achievements of the past years and will help address new challenges brought on by pandemic realities.”

“United Kingdom is supporting Georgia’s efforts to reform its public administration,” said UK Ambassador Mark Clayton. “We are assisting the government to set and implement ambitious, coherent and commonly understood reform objectives at all levels of governance — from national public institutions to local municipalities.”

“Georgia has made notable progress in reforming and modernising its public administration – but there is more to be done,” said UNDP Head Nick Beresford. “A strong start has been made in policy planning and coordination, service delivery and civil service reform. The challenge now is to make these fully operational for the benefit of everyone.”

Since 2016, the UK and UNDP have been assisting Georgia’s promotion of public administration reform across its entire public sector. This support contributed to a range of reform, including introducing integrated approaches to the functioning of the governance system, setting the ‘whole-of-government’ standard to policy development and coordination, establishing a modern system of performance appraisal and professional training for civil servants, and developing uniform standards and introducing digital solutions to public service delivery.

As the pandemic strained the public sector, the UK and UNDP assisted Georgia’s national and local institutions to adapt to new realities, improve telecommuting practices and introduce new electronic services for citizens and civil servants. The UK and UNDP also helped strengthen linkages between the public sector and civil society and helped engage civil society organisations in public administration reform planning, implementation and monitoring. 

Media contacts

• Sophie Tchitchinadze UNDP, sophie.tchitchinadze@undp.org, +995 599 196907
• Ira Sulava, UNDP, irine.sulava@undp.org, +995 599 579105