Press Release: Possible Consequences of Georgia-China Free Trade Agreement

Jul, 2015

The study showed that a free trade agreement between Georgia and China has great potential. Georgia’s export to China would increase by 9% approximately, in the short-term period including significant growth of wine exports (28.5%) and non-alcoholic drinks (36.7%). On the other hand, imports from China would increase by 1.7%. The study has crucial importance, as further negotiations between the two countries about the agreement will be based on its results.The comparative analysis of Georgia’s foreign trade and trade with China shows that a free trade agreement may increase export of goods and services in new directions as well. Please follow the link below for full press release:English Press ReleaseGeorgian Press Release 

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Gender Equality – A Wise and Worthwhile Business Approach

Jul, 2015

We are honored to have won the UNDP Gender Equality Award 2015, for Gender Balance at the Executive Level. We are pleased that our policy of equal opportunity for men and women in the workplace was acknowledged and positively appraised by an organization of such high standing. Over the years, we have stood by our belief that women and men should be equally involved in decision-making processes. Indeed, in the pursuit of development, this devotion to gender equality is the only way to progress in today’s business environment. For decades now, the world’s leading innovative companies have been following this approach. Their development and success is a clear argument for gender equality. Samsung, IBM, Unilever, KPMG and Ernst & Young are among the leading examples in this regard.The world has never seen so many women in paid employment than it does today, and women everywhere are occupying top level management positions. However, there is still an imbalance to be addressed. We believe that tomorrow will be even more diverse and we’ll have even more successful women. Olia Watt, Executive Director at PMCG explains: “While some companies find formal targets more appropriate to use, we as well as many other successful companies prefer not to create formal frameworks. We are oriented on discovering talented professionals and encourage and support their further development. For us, our team is the most valuable asset. That is why we try to create a comfortable environment, oriented toward progress where everyone has an equal opportunity to develop. For example, we realize that mothers need a more flexible working schedule; we fully compensate them for maternity leave; we have corporate insurance packages that also includes family members”.    

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Tbilisi City Hall Improves HR Management System

Jul, 2015

  The ongoing public service reforms set the challenges of transparency and effectiveness for Georgian government institutions. With this in mind, on July 11, PMCG organized a training on Recruitment and Effective Job Interviews at Tbilisi City Hall in order to raise the awareness of the latter’s management and staff about interviewing techniques and other basic aspects of HR management.  PMCG consultants introduced the participants to the concepts of recruiting, employer branding and psychological contracts as well as the stages of the employee selection process. Furthermore, consultants outlined the importance of effective job interviews and talked about basic interviewing techniques, atmosphere and the structure of the interview. To ensure the training’s effectiveness, each training module was followed by practical assignments and interactive discussions on the relevant problems. By the end, City Hall representatives were able to participate in role-play interviews, demonstrate their skills and obtain feedback from a mentor. Raising key HR personnel’s awareness about the basic issues of recruiting and interviewing is a prerequisite for more professionally-conducted job interviews and a more effective employee selection process at Tbilisi City Hall. Ultimately, this will contribute to a more transparent and trustworthy public sector for all citizens of Georgia.The training was held under the USAID Good Governance Initiative (GGI) Program, led by Tetra Tech.Follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Good Governance Initiative (GGI)

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Supporting Civil Service Bureau to Enhance Service for Citizens

Jul, 2015

The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) will soon increase the transparency and improve the overall standard of its Human Resource Management system, to support and reflect the necessary professional standards. The CSB’s system is oriented on providing efficient and effective public services to the citizens of Georgia.  Based on the best international practices yet tailored to the challenges CSB faces, Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG) will formulate and develop uniform and standardized job descriptions for all civil service positions in government institutions at the central and municipal levels. To increase CSB capacity in effective HR management processes, PMCG consultants will mentor and train CSB staff. Consultants will also assist Tbilisi City Hall Management in interviewing techniques and provide on-the-job assistance in recruitment and selection processes. CSB is playing a crucial role in the public service reform, aimed to encourage good governance, transparency and accountability in Georgia, as the bureau supports HR departments at public institutions by coordinating their activities and providing consultations for better HR management. That is why the USAID Good Governance Initiative (GGI) Program funded the project led by Tetra Tech ARD, to support the Civil Service Bureau.Follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Good Governance Initiative (GGI)

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Supporting Georgia and Moldova Effectively Manage EU Integration Process

Jul, 2015

We recently hosted a high-level two-day knowledge-sharing workshop in Tbilisi with the support of the International Visegrad Fund. The aim of the event was to establish a platform for dialogue and assist Georgian and Moldovan businesses and governments to discuss the potential costs and benefits of the EU integration process. PMCG invited high-level practitioners and business sector representatives from Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic to hear about their experiences and perspectives in this regard. We particularly focused on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement - DCFTA - which represents the most challenging part of the Association Agreement for Georgia and Moldova.The Georgian and Moldovan governments have agreed to harmonize their legislation with that of the Single European Market which requires approximation of various rules and standards. Georgia and Moldova will largely benefit from the DCFTA, although dialogue between public and private sectors is crucial to ensure the efficient and timely implementation of the agreement. SMEs represent one of the most vulnerable groups in this process as they have to adapt to a new environment and have to adopt standards in accordance with those of the EU. This will be beneficial from long-term perspective but can be costly if not carefully analyzed and considered. This challenge spawned the idea to invite recent EU members, the Visegrad countries, to our event in order to share their best practices, positive and negative negative experiences and lessons learnt.To summarize the results of the workshop, we can say that Georgia and Moldova have to focus on three key areas in order to fully benefit from the DCFTA:   Delays in the implementation process have to be prevented. Experience shows that some pieces of legislation are adopted in a hurried manner without proper consultation and engagement with the private sector which later causes undesired results and negative effects on businesses. Therefore, public and private sectors have to coordinate constantly to adopt legislation suitable and relevant to the current business climate. Strengthen knowledge and awareness of EU law approximation process. It is often considered that Georgia and/or Moldova have to copy EU member states’ legislation and completely re-write their respective national laws. This is an incorrect understanding, as in reality, the EU member states have different national legislation in each sector but it is compliant with EU general principles and directives. Therefore, there is a need to empower public and private sectors’ capacities in EU approximation processes in order to ensure legal harmonization which will prevent any misinterpretation and negatives impacts. Prevent overregulation. While harmonization regulations it is essential to consider local trends and the business climate. Overregulating of any sector, without proper analysis of the needs, might harm business development in the country and moreover bankrupt SMEs that play a crucial role in countries’ economic and sustainable development. While considering Slovakia’s example we can see that recent liberal economic reforms in this country resulted in fast development and modernization of industries. For example, currently Slovakia is one of the front runners in the automotive industry. In contrast, the example of Czech Republic showed that a lack of proper public-private dialogue decreased confidence of businesses and the country could not fully embed free market principles. When it comes to Poland, it has to be mentioned that frequent law changes and excessive regulations have become the main obstacles for SMEs in its EU integration process whereas Hungary’s experience demonstrated the need to support SMEs to be competitive on a new market.The following participants shared their views on the event and the broader issue of the path of EU integration for Georgia and Moldova.“We are thankful to the Visegrad Group, which is the most consistent supporter of Georgia’s European integration course. We highly value their support, especially by sharing the experience in the process of modernization and Europeanization of Georgia through the Association Agreement” – David Bakradze, State Minister for European and Euro Atlantic Integration,“From our experience we would highly encourage/recommend intensive formal and informal dialog and communication between government and public in general including dialog with representatives of employers, employees, NGOs and others” – Ivan Miklos, former Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Slovakia."The EU Association Agreement offers the opportunity to have a transformative impact on the Georgian economy…it is essential that the implementation of this agreement does not have the unintended effect of making it harder to do business in Georgia. Knowledge sharing with other countries provide essential insights about the problems to look out for, and how to proactively engage with the government in order to avoid them” – George Welton, President of Amcham in Georgia.It was widely acknowledged during the workshop that Georgia is a front runner among EaP Countries when it comes to economic and business enabling reforms. PMCG is actively involved in the EU approximation agenda of EaP countries and is sharing its expertise and successful institutional reforms in the region. Follow-up events will be held in Chisinau, Moldova, on October 21-23, 2015 as well as in Minsk, Belarus on October 24-26.The workshops are held under the International Visegrad Fund project “Sharing Experience of Public-Private Dialogue in EU Integration Process for Moldova and Georgia”, implemented by PMCG.Follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Sharing Experience of Public-Private Dialogue in EU Integration Process for Moldova and Georgia

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PMCG’s Aleksi Aleksishvili Participates in IMF Caucasus and Central Asia Advisory Group Meeting

Jul, 2015

On July 1, Aleksi Aleksishvili, Chairman and CEO at Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG) participated in the Summer 2015 IMF Caucasus and Central Asia Advisory Group (CCA Advisory Group) meeting in Dilijan, Armenia. As a member of the CCA Advisory Group of the IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Department (MCD), Aleksishvili took part in the session which was dedicated to recent developments, the outlook and key economic risks, economic stability, geopolitical risks, international sustainability and economic growth rate in the CCA region. Aleksishvili was elected as an advisory group member in April 2015 being a professional of sound experience working on public finance issues and economic development policy as a high-level government official and government adviser in transitional countries. The advisory board is focused on economic, political-economy, geopolitical and political issues, and carries significant importance for CCA countries. In addition, the board works to increase the Fund’s effectiveness and impact on the regions it serves, by raising awareness about challenges and trends, and influencing macroeconomic and financial sector development in the region.

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Possible Outcomes of Potential Georgia-China Free Trade Agreement

Jun, 2015

On June 17, PMC Research Center, in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, started a new research project: Joint Feasibility Study of Possible Outcomes of Georgia-China Free Trade Agreement.The research aims to study the outcomes of a possible free trade agreement between Georgia and China and its impact on the economic development of these two countries. The research will analyze the ongoing economic situations in Georgia and China and the opportunities for further development within these economies. PMC Research Center’s team will also analyze existing trade policies and future opportunities of trade in goods and services with China. In the framework of this project, PMC Research Center’s experts will be in active partnership with researchers from China in order to assess mutual trade and investment opportunities between these two countries.  The research process will conclude by the end of July and the research outcomes and recommendations will be presented to the relevant CSOs for discussion.

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Media Announcement: Knowledge Sharing Event to Facilitate EU Integration for Georgia and Moldova

Jun, 2015

On July 2-3, PMC Research Center (PMC RC), with the support of International Visegrad Fund hosts a two-day knowledge-sharing workshop to facilitate the effective management of the EU integration for Georgia and Moldova. The aim of the event is to assist Georgian and Moldovan businesses and Governments to have a better coordinated dialogue on potential costs and benefits in the EU integration process. More specifically, the timely implementation of DCFTA. For detailed information follow the links below:Media AnnouncementAgenda

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Developing Waste Management Systems in Kakheti and Samgerelo-Zemo Svaneti Regions

Jun, 2015

Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG), in consortium with Infrastruktur & Umwelt (lead company) and REC Caucasus, were selected to provide consulting services for the project “Integrated Solid Waste Management Programme in Selected Regions in Georgia” – Elaboration of a Feasibility Study sponsored by KFW Development Bank.The purpose of the project is to prepare a feasibility study to develop integrated solid waste management systems for the regions of Kakheti and Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti and to prepare the concept for construction of regional sanitary landfills as well as other solid waste treatment systems, if feasible.PMCG will provide the following services: Financial analysis of the present situation, supporting estimation of costs of the proposed measures, preparation of a financing scheme, financial analysis and financial risk analysis Assessment of current institutional and organizational framework, in cooperation with the international expert outline and discussion of options for the future institutional set-up, preparation of an adequate organizational and institutional concept, investigation of potential private sector participation Follow the link for detailed information:Integrated Solid Waste Management Programme in Selected Regions in Georgia – Elaboration of a Feasibility Study

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PMCG Launches HR Management Project for Tajik Ministry

Jun, 2015

PMCG, together with Linpico, a French development and consulting company will support the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Tajikistan in the integration of HR and payroll software automation. The assignment is financed by the World Bank and will be implemented under the public finance management modernization project (PFMMP).The objective of the assignment is to carry out a functional review of the HR management and payroll accounting system within the Ministry. In addition, a conceptual plan on process improvement and preparation of documents implementation of automated payroll accounting system, integrated with the HR management system, will be drawn up.The project will ensure access to accurate and relevant information on personnel in the public sector and bring uniformity in HR record-keeping and payroll management in public service organizations.To achieve its objective, from May 2015 to January 2016, consultants from Linpico and PMCG will analyze existing systems and payroll payments in the Republic of Tajikistan, design a plan on payroll accounting and HR management structure improvement and ensure its implementation.Follow the link below for detailed information:Review of the Government Payroll and Human Resource Management in Tajikistan as the Basis for the Conceptual Design for Integrated Payroll and Human Resource Management and Automation Project

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