Partnership in Developing OGP in Georgia Giorgi Kldiashvili Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) Georgia

Supporting Involvement of the Parliament of Georgia in Open Government Partnership (OGP) Funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in cooperation with the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) Main Objective of the Project - to promote Openness and Transparency of the Parliament of Georgia through citizen participation in legislative processes Within the scopes of the project the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan 2015-2016 was adopted

Engagement of the Parliament with the Civil Society The Inter-Factional Group of the Members of the Parliament (MPs) of Georgia was established The Civil Society Working Group represented by the Non-governmental and International Organizations was formed The Memorandum on Cooperation between the Parliament of Georgia and the Civil Society Working Group was signed The Declaration on Parliamentary Openness was signed

Supporting Involvement of the Parliament of Georgia in Open Government Partnership (OGP) Objectives achieved: Study on the issues of Parliamentary Openness was prepared Public Consultations were held for finalizing the Action Plan (for these purposes social network was actively used) Public awareness campaign was launched (meetings were held in the universities and in the municipalities) Joint meetings of the MPs and Civil Society were commonly held

Mechanism of cooperation of Inter-Factional Group (11 MPs) The Georgian Dream The Georgian Dream – Republicans The Georgian Dream – National Forum The Georgian Dream – Entrepreneurs The Georgian Dream – Conservatives Free Democrats The United National Movement The National Movement – Regions The National Movement Majoritarian Independent Majoritarian – for Powerful Regions Non-party, Independent Majoritarian Civil Society Working Group UNDP, EU, IDFI, USAID, NDI, Transparency International Georgia, Georgian Young Lawyer’s Association,, Open Society Georgia Foundation, Civil Society Institute, GIZ, Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum-Georgian National Platform, CiDA, JumpStart Georgia, Economic Policy Research Center

Cooperation in Developing the Legislative Openness Signing the Memorandum between the Parliament of Georgia and the Civil Society Working Group regarding OGP Signing the Declaration on Parliamentary Openness

Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan 2015-2016 Adopted on July 17, 2015 18 commitments (16 were recommended from the civil society) Based on Initiatives of Civil Society and the Parliament of Georgia and the best practices from OpenGovGuide Action to be implemented through 2015-2016

Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan Citizen Engagement Access to Information Accountability Technologies & Innovation

Content & its Process of development Starting Point Step 1: Research Step 2: Formation of Working Group Step 3: Involvement of the Administration of the Parliament Step 4: Joint Meeting & Workshops conducted regularly Step 5: Involvement of Citizens in Elaboration of Action Plan Step 6: Finalizing the Initiatives and the draft version of the Action Plan Step 7: Refinement of the Commitments Step 8: Action Plan is approved by the Inter-Factional Group Step 9: Action Plan is adopted by the Bureau of the Parliament Step 10: Implementation of the Action Plan

Meetings of the Working Groups and Approving the Action Plan by the Bureau of the Parliament of Georgia

OGP Global Legislative Openness Week Tbilisi, September 14-15

Civil Society Day in Mexico, Parliament of Georgia winning the OGP Government Champions Award!

Creation of the Parliamentary Council – 1st Implemented Commitment! Permanent Parliamentary Council on Open and Transparent Governance is created Legislative Amendments regarding the Parliamentary Council are implemented The Charter of the Parliamentary Council is adopted The Chair of the Parliamentary Council is appointed Consultative Group comprised of Civil Society representatives is formed The Chair Organization of the Consultative Group is elected

Permanent Parliamentary Council on Open and Transparent Governance 2 branches (MPs&NGOs) Mechanism Elaboration of the OGP Action Plan Implementation & Monitoring Functions SUSTAINIBILITY

Meetings of the Permanent Parliamentary Council on Open and Transparent Governance

Meetings of the Consultative Group

The Process of Implementation of the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan From January till May 2016: Four Joint Workshops were held Three individual meetings of the Parliamentary Council and the Consultative Group were held Four concepts of the commitments (allowing comments on draft legislation, submitting legislative proposals and initiatives electronically, easing access to the Parliamentary Information for Persons with disabilities, posting documents on the website of the Parliament of Georgia in an editable format) were adopted Draft Amendments, covering & enforcing 10 commitments, to the Parliament’s Rule of Procedure are elaborated Draft Code of Ethics is developed Parliament of Georgia is the first and still the only Parliament among OGP member countries, that has endorsed OGP declaration on SDGs

Commitments Reflecting the Engagement of the Parliament with the Civil Society & the Public Ensuring Easiness of Procedures for Physical Access in the Parliament Building for citizens The information is posted on the web-page of the Parliament of Georgia Raising Public Education and Awareness on Activities, Role and Mission of the Parliament of Georgia with different groups Awareness Raising activities are permanently performed Easing Access to the Parliamentary Information for Persons with Disabilities The concept is elaborated and approved by the Parliamentary Council

Commitments Reflecting the Engagement of the Parliament with the Civil Society & the Public Conducting Annual Meeting of the Parliament of Georgia and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) -> The meeting will be conducted during the Parliamentary Openness Week Developing and Approving the State Concept of CSO Development The concept is elaborated and approved by the Parliamentary Council Updating the List of Public Information to be Proactively Published by the Parliament of Georgia MPs’ inquiries, questions and responses are already uploaded to the web-page of the Parliament of Georgia and are ready to be published

Commitments Reflecting the Technological Innovations of the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan Posting Changes and Edits Made to Initial Draft Legislation on the Website of the Parliament of Georgia in a Visible and Timely Manner Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Georgia are ready for the further initiation Parliament of Georgia made visible the initiated legislation and its all attached documents (including reports of various civil organizations) in a timely manner Allowing Comment on Draft Legislation The concept is elaborated and approved by the Parliamentary Council

Commitments Reflecting the Technological Innovations of the Open Parliament Georgia Action Plan Submitting Legislative Proposals and Initiatives Electronically The concept is elaborated and approved by the Parliamentary Council Amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament of Georgia are ready for the further initiation Posting Documents on the Website of the Parliament of Georgia in an Editable Format Implementing New Technologies and Innovative Approaches; Increasing Level of Involvement of Youth, Ethnic Minorities and Other Stakeholders in Parliamentary Work -> still ongoing

Joint Meetings of the Permanent Parliamentary Council and the Consultative Group

Director, Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) QUESTIONS? THANK YOU! Giorgi Kldiashvili Director, Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI)