Regulatory Impact Assessment to Establish Effective Employment Mechanism in Georgia

Aug, 2017

Overcoming unemployment, creating new job opportunities and supporting vocational education are all considered priority issues for the Georgian authorities which are planning the implementation of relevant regulations to address these issues. The program "Legal Approximation towards European Standards in South Caucasus" implemented by GIZ in close coordination with the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Civil Integration, decided to conduct a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) in light of the 2030 agenda requirements about the establishment of an employment mechanism in Georgia.In the framework of the program, PMCG was contracted by GIZ to support the Parliament of Georgia and its working group made up of respective committees in the process of the RIA on establishment of an employment mechanism.PMCG’s team will elaborate a detailed RIA action plan, capacity development plan and draft stakeholder surveys. In addition, the team will conduct on-job training sessions on RIA methodology for staff members of different parliamentary committees and identify preferred options for the establishment of an employment mechanism. Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Regulatory Impact Assessment on Options for Establishment of an Employment Mechanism

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Promoting Tourist Destinations in the Regions of Georgia

Aug, 2017

PMCG, together with Ecorys Poland and Best Place – European Place Marketing Institute, has started working with the Georgian National Tourism Administration (GNTA) as part of a World Bank project, aiming to support the promotion of tourist destinations in Georgia, specifically in the regions of Kakheti and Imereti. At the first stage, the project team will study and analyze the marketing needs of Georgia and especially these selected regions. Based on the results of this analysis, the team will develop a branding, marketing and promotion strategy.To support the strategy’s effective implementation, the team will conduct an online marketing campaign in targeted markets, such as Poland, Germany and Israel. Moreover, the team will develop and upgrade tourist websites, transforming them into world-class interactive portals. To facilitate more effective visual communication with potential tourists, PMCG will also oversee the recording of VR 3D videos, featuring the major tourist destinations within the regions of Kakheti and Imereti. Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Tourism Marketing, Promotion, Online Coverage and Destination Management for Kakheti and Imereti Regions in Georgia

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Supporting Liberia in Planning and Implementing Excise Stamps Reform

Aug, 2017

Through July-August, PMCG is holding meetings with representatives of Liberia’s Revenue Authority, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), the business sector and other stakeholders to assist Liberian authorities in planning and carrying out excise stamps reform effectively. Usually, one of the major components in a country’s revenue mobilization is excise tax. However, despite the long list of excisable items in Liberia, the revenue contribution of excise tax is notoriously low as it provides less than 4% of total tax revenue and 0.7% of GDP, which is largely due to a number of tax policies and administration issues. Working meetings are focused on analyzing the excise situation and discussing best possible options to overcome this challenge. As a result, the project team will draft an excise stamp reform roadmap.The meetings are organized as part of the USAID Revenue Generation for Governance and Growth (RG3) program, where PMCG works as part of a consortium led by DAI International. Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Revenue Generation for Governance and Growth (RG3)

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Competition for Post-graduate Researchers for Elaborating Policy Research Papers

Aug, 2017

PMC Research announced a competition for post-graduate researchers from institutions of higher education and other institutions in Georgia for elaborating policy research papers, under recently launched project - “Public Policy Discourse and Dialogue Platform”. The project is focused to create a platform that stimulates constructive and systematic policy debates and to establish cooperation practice among different political and social groups of Georgian society. Also, to encourage young researchers in Georgia to develop useful policy research papers on important policy issues, such as:  Georgia-Gulf Counties Economic Relations – Challenges and Opportunities Labor Immigration in Georgia Development of Regional Industrial Clusters in Georgia – Analysis of Current State and Perspectives Georgia as a Transit Hub and its Increasing Potential by Implementation of the OBOR Initiative Post-graduate researchers from institutions of higher education and other institutions in Georgia are welcome to apply for the competition until 14 August. Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information regarding submission, deadlines and selection process:Call for Policy Papers

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Supervising Rehabilitation of Water Supply Systems in 18 Towns of Georgia

Jul, 2017

PMCG, in consortium with Temelsu, under the European Investment Bank (EIB) project supervises the construction and rehabilitation works in 18 towns of Georgia - Tsnori, Telavi-Kurdgelauri, Akhmeta, Lagodekhi, Sagarejo, Dusheti, Tkibuli, Zestaponi and under defect nodificaion period (DNP) in Senaki, Abasha, Khobi, Ozurgeti, Terjola, Likani-Tsagveri, Signagi, Bolnisi, Kareli. In order to ensure effective implementation of the project and to support the on-going consolidation of water service provision, project team reviews bidding documentations and proposed designs prior to lunching tenders and offers advice regarding necessary changes or design aspects. The team also conducts pre-construction planning regarding the supervision of logistics, with particular regard to a quality assurance plan and a project supervision manual for the 18 work contracts. Supervision will also cover mobilization, construction and defects notification phases to ensure effective implementation of the rehabilitation process.Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Supervision of Rehabilitation of Water Supply Systems under WIMPII Phase II

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Evaluation of four NGO implemented Programmes in Georgia

Jul, 2017

Currently Georgia has an enabling environment for civil society. There has been slow yet steady progress towards a more diversified civil society with stronger organisations appearing in the regions. There is now also a greater understanding among CSOs of the importance to reflect the needs and interest of their constituencies in a better way. Recent years have also seen the appearance of new CSOs, some of which work mainly in regions with service delivery while other have been given a notable role in consultations with the government. Sweden has been financing a number of projects in Georgia that support selected NGOs towards achieving results in strengthened democracy, greater respect for human rights and more developed ruled of law, an improved environment and enhanced resistance to environmental impacts and climate change. Sida has scheduled evaluation of four NGOs in parallel in a single assignment. The NGOs to be evaluated are NDI, Orbeliani, TI Georgia and project “Clean-Up Georgia” implementing environmental NGO consortium. The purpose of the evaluation is two-fold: i) to assess the progress of each project individually in order to understand how well they contribute to the achievement of the results and based on this make recommendations to Sida for future decisions on support to civil society; and ii) to contribute to the learning of both Sida’s partners for increased efficiency and sustainability of results and of Sida internally in relation to civil society support and programme monitoring. Based on the evaluation results, the PMCG team should formulate recommendations for both Sida and the evaluated partner organisations. The project will allow the evaluator to make some overall conclusions to enable Sida to make informed decisions in the future regarding CSO support in Georgia.

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Enhancing Public Finance Management in South Africa

Jul, 2017

Effective management of public finances encourages aggregate fiscal discipline, operational efficiency and strategic allocation of resources. All of these elements are critical to achieving the public policy objectives, described in South Africa’s 2030 National Development Plan. PMCG, as part of a consortium led by ADE, under the European Commission project - Mid-Term Evaluation of Financial Management Improvement Programme (FMIP) – Phase III - is working on the mid-term evaluation of the Financing Agreement (FA), which governs the FMIP III program. The team will identify whether the program’s organizational, institutional, individual and stakeholder technical interventions contribute to the accomplishment of sound public financial management (PFM) and capacity development strategy (CDS) objectives. Based on the evaluation of the FMIP III progress, the project team will develop recommendations regarding the future orientation of the program.Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Mid-Term Evaluation of Financial Management Improvement Programme (FMIP) – Phase III

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Discussing How to Fight Corruption

Jul, 2017

On June 26, PMCG’s team members Sopio Khoshtaria and Shushanik Safaryan participated in the 2nd Regional Meeting of the “Anti-Corruption Professionals Network at the Black Sea”, in Kutaisi, Georgia. The event gathered anti-corruption practitioners, local government representatives, as well as civil society and international organizations from Georgia, Moldova, Turkey and Ukraine, aiming to exchange their experiences of applying the anti-corruption methodology in the municipalities of the participant countries as well as other Central and Eastern European countries. More specifically, participants discussed the methodology of “Islands of Integrity” – a tool for public officials to identify and change public policies and organizational systems to overcome corruption. In addition, they shared their experiences of introducing anti-corruption policies in their home countries and ways of multiplying the methodology of “Islands of Integrity” in the Black Sea region. This, the second conference in Georgia, is part of the follow-up activities of the 9th edition of the Black Sea NGO Forum organized by the Romanian NGDO Platform (FOND), with the financial support of the European Commission and the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in partnership with UNDP’s Regional Centre for Europe and Central Asia and Civil Society Organizations’ Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE).

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Welcoming Our New Research Director

Jun, 2017

We are delighted to welcome Giorgi Khishtovani to our team, as our new Research Director. Giorgi brings with him eight years of sound experience in public, private and non-governmental sectors in Georgia and abroad, as a lecturer, trainer, consultant, researcher, and project manager. Prior to joining PMC Research, Giorgi worked as programs director at the Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation (SRNSF). In addition, during his time in the position of head of research at the Institute of Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), he successfully led several research projects. Meanwhile, Giorgi also serves as an associate professor at the Business School of Ilia State University. We are confident that Giorgi will excel in his new role which will entail managing research and analysis, quality control, fundraising and communication strategies, particularly given his impressive experience of working with international organizations such as the World Bank, the Council of Europe, UNDP, and GIZ. Giorgi takes over from Maya Grigolia, to whom we convey our sincere gratitude for making such a significant contribution to the organization’s development. We wish her every success in her work as a researcher at ISET Policy Institute.

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Supporting Tajik CSOs to Engage in Budget Process

Jun, 2017

PMCG gave a series of trainings on public financial management for civil society organizations (CSOs), working on social and economic issues on June 13-16, in Vardzob, Tajikistan.The series were part of the UK AID project Supporting Public Finance Reforms in Tajikistan (Citizens’ and Civil Society Engagement in the Budget Process) in collaboration with the State University of New York’s Center for International Development (SUNY/CID).Through a combination of discussions, practical work and sharing best practices, participants were allowed to share and gain knowledge, skills and attitudes, necessary to develop valuable recommendations for central and local governments.  PMCG will also support local organizations to build an online platform to enable participating CSOs to rank the recommendations that were drafted during the training in terms of their importance as well as choose potential donors that might be interested in funding budget advocacy/lobbying to persuade the Government of Tajikistan to fully consider these recommendations. Through this collaboration, the project aims to enhance the capacity of local CSOs to present viable budget recommendations to policy makers and thereby contribute to increasing government accountability in Tajikistan.Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Support to Public Finance Reforms in Tajikistan: Citizens’ and Civil Society Engagement in the Budget Process

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