Category: Georgia G-PAC

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The MPA Program serves as a focal point for public policy research and an incubator for the next generation of Georgian policy makers and public managers.

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29 MPA graduates proudly accepted their degrees during the ceremony.

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Graduation was the culmination of a four-year joint initiative by EWMI, ISU, and Columbia University.

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The MPA program established the Public Policy Research and Training Center.

On July 12, Ilia State University (ISU) held a commencement ceremony in Tbilisi for the first 29 graduates of its new Masters of Public Administration (MPA) Program. The graduation was the culmination of a four-year joint initiative by EWMI, ISU, and Columbia University to establish a high-quality graduate program to train Georgia’s next generation of public leaders.

In his opening remarks at the graduation, ISU Head of Administration and former MPA Program Director Dr. David Aprasidze congratulated everyone involved in developing and establishing the program in only four years. This includes 17 US professors from Columbia University, the City University of New York, and Arizona State University, who came to Georgia over the course of the project to work with MPA faculty and administrators on program administration, curriculum, and course design.

Jason Swantek, the Public Policy Advisor for EWMI’s Policy, Advocacy, and Civil Society Development Project in Georgia (G-PAC) discussed the program’s major successes en route to becoming the most practical program of its kind in Georgia. Mr. Swantek noted that the program had recruited highly experienced instructors, produced the first publication of Georgia-based public administration case studies, and established the Public Policy Research and Training Center (PPRTC), which has already begun to influence public policy and provide demand-driven training to government and civil society professionals. He identified the high caliber of students the program attracted as a particular success.

New graduate Gigi Katsaridze thanked the program’s instructors and encouraged his fellow graduates to aspire to do great things for Georgia. After his remarks, the students shook hands with program administrators and received their diplomas. The ceremony was followed by refreshments, cake, and live music to celebrate the occasion.

The MPA Program, which began its first classes in March 2012, serves as a focal point for public policy research and an incubator for the next generation of Georgian policy makers and public managers. The program’s instructors draw on their expertise in Georgia’s public, civil society, and private sectors to engage students in developing solutions to the country’s most urgent policy challenges. Students gain “real world” experience through an internship requirement and the opportunity to participate in research projects through the MPA Program’s PPRTC and case study publications. The program also provided students and professors with the opportunity to work with distinguished visiting US experts, who delivered public lectures and participated in MPA classes.

USAID through EWMI G-PAC provided approximately $700,000 to ISU to establish the MPA Program.

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New Ethical and Quality Standards document establishes principles to ensure that Georgian think tanks meet the highest possible professional standards.

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Representatives of Georgian Think Tanks sign the Ethical and Quality Standards Document.

On May 21, 16 Georgian Think Tanks signed an Ethical and Quality Standards Document. The document presents comprehensive standards to guide the work of Georgian think tanks and establishes principles to ensure that the think tanks meet the highest possible professional standards. The ethical code covers organizational themes such as transparency, accountability and governance, while the quality standards focus on research, analysis, and advocacy processes.

At the signing ceremony, EWMI presented new standards to an auditorium filled with CSOs, the media, and International Organizations. Following the presentation, Georgian think tanks publicly signed the document.

EWMI’s Policy, Advocacy, and Civil Society Development Project in Georgia (G-PAC) assisted Georgian think tanks in developing these standards, using similar documents from the US and Central and Eastern Europe as guidelines. Policy research experts from Arizona State University in the US reviewed the draft standards and provided feedback. Over months of discussion, and with great attention from the Georgian policy research environment, the Georgian think tanks developed, finalized, and adopted these standards.

By signing up to follow those standards, the Georgian Think Tanks have self-imposed principles of excellence and have taken responsibility for following the highest possible standards to guide them through their work. The standards will ultimately raise the profile of Georgian think tanks among the public, as well as enhance the credibility and quality of the policy research.

The following organizations signed the document:

• Curatio International Foundation
• The Economic Policy Research Center
• The International Institute for Education Policy, Planning and management
• PMC Research Center 
• Civil Society Institute
• Center for Social Sciences
• Centre for Civil Integration and Inter-Ethnic Relations (CCIIR)
• Liberal Academy Tbilisi
• Caucasus Institute for Peace, Democracy and Development
• ISET Policy Institute
• World Experience for Georgia
• Tbilisi Center of Policy Analysis
• Transparency International – Georgia
• The Caucasian Institute for Economic and Social Research
• Institute for Social Policy
• Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) 

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Residents of the Kazbegi region protest the construction of the Dariali HPP at the Ministry of Energy in Tbilisi.

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CSOs and the public have called for the potential benefits of HPPs to be balanced against potential environmental damage and risks to local communities.

Hydro-power will be an important component to developing a sustainable domestic energy supply in Georgia. However, several hydro-power plant (HPP) construction contracts were signed without the input of the communities those HPPs would affect or an assessment of their environmental impacts. To ensure a more participatory process that accounts for community and environmental concerns, EWMI Policy, Advocacy, and Civil Society Development Project in Georgia (G-PAC) grantee, Green Alternative, successfully facilitated greater collaboration between the government, CSOs, the private sector, and the public on the issue.  

Green Alternative focused its efforts on the Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi, and Svaneti regions, which would be affected by several new HPPs. Green Alternative began by meeting with community members to raise public awareness about the potential impact of HPP construction on local ecosystems, geography, and livelihoods. 

At the same time, Green Alternative facilitated communication between these communities and relevant investors and government decision makers. Green Alternative formed two working groups within the Ministry of Energy to address public concerns. The organization also researched the terms of HPP construction contracts and recommended amendments that would promote greater sustainability and economic benefits for Georgia. These recommendations were presented to all stakeholders.

Green Alternative also formed partnerships with local CSOs working on similar issues throughout the country, including some outside of the regions originally envisioned by the project. Stepantsminda, from the Kazbegi region, was one such organization. With assistance from Green Alternative Executive Director Ketevan Gujaraidze arranged through EWMI G-PAC’s Mentoring Program, Stepantsminda helped citizens in its community express their concerns about HPP construction in the Dariali Ravine to policy makers.

Thanks to Green Alternative and their coalition partners like Stepantsminda, three HPP projects (in Dariali, Khudoni, and Namakvani) have been put on hold until concerns about them can be adequately addressed. The Ministry of Energy is now working on a sustainable energy strategy that will account for the concerns Green Alternative’s coalition has raised.

EWMI funded Green Alternative’s project with a G-PAC Partnership for Change (PfC) grant.

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GIA’s research and advocacy, funded by EWMI, contributed to policy reforms aimed at making prescription drugs in Georgia more affordable.

Healthcare expenses in Georgia have risen steeply over the last decade. By 2009, they constituted an average of 35% of household income, with 60% of these health expenditures going toward prescription drugs. However, little data exists in Georgia to guide the formation of pharmaceutical policies that would make prescription drugs more affordable.

To fill this information gap, EWMI provided the Georgian Insurance Association (GIA) with a grant to survey Georgian physicians, households, and insurance companies to investigate the reasons for rising drug costs in Georgia.

One of GIA’s most important findings was that physicians rarely consider cost effectiveness when prescribing medicines. Only 4% of prescriptions are for generic brands, even though doctors’ attitudes toward generics are generally positive and the price of generics is approximately one-third that of brand name products. The fact that generics are not widely available in Georgia compounds the problem.

The study also found that doctors in Georgia prescribe a relatively high number of drugs per patient visit (2.9 on average), compared to internationally accepted standards (2.0). This means that people could be paying for drugs they don’t need.

Through EWMI’s Policy, Advocacy, and Civil Society Development Project in Georgia (G-PAC) Mentorship Program, Professor John Hall of Arizona State University provided advice to GIA on how best to present its results and recommendations. With Professor Hall’s input, GIA developed a policy paper based on its research and analysis of existing policies. GIA’s paper presented a number of policy options that included controlling the prices of brand name drugs, providing incentives for the increased distribution of generics, developing preferred drug lists, creating guidelines for prescription practices, and regulating drug promotion efforts for brand name drugs.

GIA then conducted an advocacy campaign to raise public awareness about the implications of unnecessary prescriptions, including holding presentations and discussions for the media and the public and appearing on TV and radio talk shows to discuss the issue. GIA’s research and public awareness efforts have contributed to a series of reforms, including a quadrupling of insurance benefits for 900,000 people covered under a new government health insurance program and new regulations establishing a list of approved brand name and generic drugs, and new requirements that pharmacies have adequate supplies of all drugs on the list and that they dispense the drugs as prescribed.

The Ministry of Labor, Health, and Social Assistance (MoLHSA), insurance companies, and medical service providers also collaborated on a list of prescription protocols for doctors, which took effect on January 1, 2013. Additionally, MoLHSA is developing an electronic prescription management system that will require all prescriptions to be registered and subject to audit by the end of 2012.

EWMI funded GIA’s project through G-PAC’s Think Tank Support Grant (TTSG) Program.