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)