Citizen Engagement Center (GE0092)

4. Creation of a Citizen Engagement Center in the Parliament of Georgia
Lead Agency Parliament of Georgia

Partners Public Institution
Civil/International/Private Sector Initiator: GIZ Eastern Partnership Parliamentary Project

Current Situation and Challenges The Department of Case Management of the Parliament of Georgia, which is composed of several structural units, is tasked with ensuring uniform case management of the Parliament Bureau, citizen reception, registration of their letters and other appeals and transferring them to relevant addressees.
The constitutional amendments and the new Rules of Procedure of the Parliament that will enter into force in November 2018 will increase the Parliament's oversight function. This constitutes a challenge that the Parliament Bureau must tackle through a new approach.
Article 1, Paragraphs f) and g) of the draft Rules of Procedure determine the following principles of parliamentary work: openness, transparency and accessibility. The principle of good governance and the Sustainable Development Goal 16 are also being fully reflected in parliamentary activities.
To tackle existing challenges, the Parliament must establish a Citizen Engagement Center that will offer new services to citizens in terms of staying informed about and taking part in parliamentary activities. The Center will also provide adapted services for vulnerable citizens and those with special needs.

Main Objective

Promoting citizen engagement in parliamentary activities and raising awareness about the Parliament by creating a Citizen Engagement Center.

OGP Challenge Improving Public Service

OGP Principles Access to Information
Accountability
Citizen Engagement
Technology and Innovation

√ √ √ √
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) the Commitment addresses Goal 16: 16.6. and 16.7
Milestones New/Old Commitment Start Date End Date
1. Analysis of the activities of the existing citizen reception office 09/2018 11/2018
2. Development and approval of a concept of the Citizen Engagement Center (including adapted services) 12/2018
01/2019
3. Creation and provision with equipment of the Citizen Engagement Center 01/2019 05/2019
4. Implementation of adapted services in the Citizen Engagement Center 03/2019 05/2019
5. Development of work instructions and training programs for the Citizen Engagement Center staff and retraining of staff 03/2019 06/2019
Indicators
Activity 1 • Activities of the existing citizen office have been analyzed
Activity 2 • A concept of the Citizen Engagement Center has been developed and approved
Activity 3 • The Citizen Engagement Center has been established and equipped
Activity 4 • PWDs are able to receive services in the Citizen Engagement Center;
Activity 5 • Work instructions and training programs have been developed for the Citizen Engagement Center staff
• Each employee of the Citizen Engagement Center has undergone training

Commitment 27: Creation of a Citizen Engagement Center in the Parliament of Georgia

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

“The Department of Case Management of the Parliament of Georgia, which is composed of several structural units, is tasked with ensuring uniform case management of the Parliament Bureau, citizen reception, registration of their letters and other appeals and transferring them to relevant addressees.

The constitutional amendments and the new Rules of Procedure of the Parliament that will enter into force in November 2018 will increase the Parliament's oversight function. This constitutes a challenge that the Parliament Bureau must tackle through a new approach.

Article 1, Paragraphs f) and g) of the draft Rules of Procedure determine the following principles of parliamentary work: openness, transparency and accessibility. The principle of good governance and the Sustainable Development Goal 16 are also being fully reflected in parliamentary activities.

To tackle existing challenges, the Parliament must establish a Citizen Engagement Center that will offer new services to citizens in terms of staying informed about and taking part in parliamentary activities. The Center will also provide adapted services for vulnerable citizens and those with special needs.”

Milestones: 

1. Analysis of the activities of the existing citizen reception office
2. Development and approval of a concept of the Citizen Engagement Center (including adapted services)
3. Creation and provision with equipment of the Citizen Engagement Center
4. Implementation of adapted services in the Citizen Engagement Center
5. Development of work instructions and training programs for the Citizen Engagement Center staff and retraining of staff

Start Date: September 2018

End Date: June 2019

Editorial note: For the full text of this commitment, please see https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/georgia-action-plan-2018-2019/.

Context and Objectives

Under this commitment, the Parliament of Georgia, with the support of the German Corporation for International Cooperation, [144] aims to establish a Citizen Engagement Center to ensure citizens are properly informed and to promote their engagement. As stated by the chair of the Open Governance Permanent Parliamentary Council, [145] the existing Citizen Reception currently does not have any mechanisms for citizen engagement in day-to-day parliamentary activities. The Citizen Reception’s current functions are limited to registering citizen requests and issuing entrance passes. Therefore, Parliament plans to replace it with an entirely new approach to engage citizens, namely the Citizen Engagement Center.

Parliament will conduct an analysis of existing participation practices and develop a concept for the Citizen Engagement Center, including adapting parliamentary services for people with disabilities. Parliament will then launch the Center and integrate the adapted services. Finally, Parliament will develop trainings for Center staff. As all the presented activities are aimed at increasing public awareness about Parliament’s activities and support greater public engagement, this commitment is clearly relevant to the OGP value of civic participation.

The set of milestones and indicators are specific enough to be verified. However, the text does not specify the scope of the Citizen Engagement Center. For example, it does not explain whether stakeholders or the public will be involved in the development process or what type of training will be provided to build staff capacity.

According to an interviewed National Democratic Institute representative, if established, the new Center could help improve Parliament’s engagement with citizens and deliver new and improved services. [146] According to the former parliamentary secretary of the president of Georgia, [147] this commitment could contribute to the effectiveness of the Parliament as an institution. Citizens who are not well informed about government services often address politicians and members of Parliament (MPs) with requests and complaints that do not fall within an MP’s legal discretion. Accordingly, the new Center could help citizens identify the proper addressee (agency, committee, an individual MP, or the Ombudsman Office) for their concerns. The Center could also provide them with support in further proceedings, such as writing and submitting notice, and set up the meeting. Thus, it could save the time of both citizens and MPs. When properly targeted, more citizens might receive better services that in the long term could increase the level of trust toward Parliament. However, because the scope of the initiative is not clear, this commitment is likely to have a moderate impact if fully implemented as designed.

Next steps

Moving forward, Parliament could clarify the new services that will be offered to citizens by the Citizen Engagement Center and describe what improvements and engagement mechanisms it will provide. To stimulate greater public interest and engagement in Parliamentary processes, the IRM researcher advises greater and sustained engagement with citizens and civil society. The government should also raise awareness about the prospective engagement opportunities through targeted public outreach activities. A special outreach exercise with teachers and students at schools and universities would also contribute to teaching practice and to a more up-to-date, practical understanding of the role and activities of Parliament.

If this commitment is carried into future action plans, the Center could elaborate an evaluation mechanism to assess its overall effectiveness. This could include tracking the number of persons who address the Center, types of questions and requests, petitions, engagement cases, and monitoring of service quality and feedback opportunity.

[144] GIZ eastern partnership parliamentary program project: Enhancement of the Parliamentary Staff in EaP Countries.

[145] Irina Pruidze, Chairperson of the Open Governance Permanent Parliamentary Council, interview with IRM researcher, 22 April 2019.

[146] Tamar Sartania, Deputy Chief of Party, National Democratic Institute, interview with IRM researcher, 11 July 2019.

[147] Ana Dolidze, Expert Member of the High Council of Justice, former Parliamentary Secretary of the President of Georgia, interview with IRM researcher, 12 July 2019.

27. Create a Citizen Engagement Center in the Parliament of Georgia

Open Parliament

Substantial

According to parliament's self-assessment report, parliament finalized the infrastructural work for the Citizen Engagement Center. This included allocating and renovating the space for the center, purchasing office equipment, and conducting two trainings for staff. [96] The cornerstone of the new idea was to develop the Concept Document that would define the specific services of the new Citizen Engagement Center. GIZ’s Eastern Partnership Parliamentary Project and Legal Program partnered with external experts, the Open Governance Permanent Parliamentary Council working group, and other parliamentary departments to develop the first draft of the concept in December 2019. However, parliament declined the first draft due to its "incompatibility with the specific needs of Parliament". [97] This resulted in a considerable delay to this commitment’s implementation in its initial form and in the action plan timeframes. [98]

Separate from this commitment, parliament approved a different inhouse concept in November 2019 that included major activities for 2020. ^[99] The concept lists the responsibilities of various structural units to support citizen engagement, such as Citizen Reception Center, the Public Relations Department, and the Parliamentary Training Center. However, it does not create a dedicated structural unit and does not introduce an entirely new approach for engagement of citizens in parliamentary activities as envisaged under the commitment. [100]

Based on a stakeholders' assessment, the center does not meet the initial goal of the commitment to establish a new center for citizen engagement. ^[101] The commitment entailed two phases: redesigning the Citizen Reception Center and establishing a Citizen Engagement Center. Although the first phase was implemented, by redesigning and reequipping the Citizen Reception Center, the more crucial second phase to establish a Citizen Engagement Center remains unfulfilled. [102]