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2008- This document tries to assess the capacity assets and gaps of the regional office of the governor and the seven municipalities of Kvemo Kartli region, Georgia and tries to suggest solutions for some of the gaps through this capacity development response strategy.
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Capacity Development Response Strategy
Kvemo Kartli Region
Strengthening Regional and Local Governance in the Kvemo Kartli Region
This document tries to assess the capacity assets and gaps of the regional office of the governor and the seven municipalities of Kvemo Kartli region, Georgia and tries to suggest solutions for some of the gaps through this capacity development response strategy.
2008
Bikash Ranjan Dash Capacity Development Advisor UNDP, Georgia
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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Table of Contents
Acronyms…………………………………………………………………………………………………….................................... 3
Executive Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………….................................. 4
1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………................................ 16
2. Context ………………………………………………………………………………………………….................................. 16
3. Methodology and process ……………………………………………………………………………........................... 18
3.1. UNDP’s approach to capacity development and assessment ……………………………............... 18
3.2. Process followed …………………………………………………………………………………............................. 19
4. Summary of capacity assets and gaps …………………………………………………………….......................... 23
4.1. Regional Administration ………………………………………………………………………………………………... 23
4.2. Municipal Administration ……………………………………………………………………............................ 26
5. Capacity Development Response Strategy ………………………………………………………........................ 34
5.1. Regional Administration ………………………………………………………………………............................ 34
5.2. Municipal Administration ……………………………………………………………………............................ 35
Appendices
Appendix I – Capacity Development Response Strategy Matrix (Regional Administration) ………… 69
Appendix II – Capacity Development Response Strategy Matrix (Local Administration)................. 74
Appendix III ‐ Executive Summary of Institutional Baseline Mapping Report ……………………............. 92
Appendix IV‐ Prioritized Capacity Gaps (In consultation with the stakeholders )…………………………... 98
Appendix V‐ Sample questionnaire for planning and coordination component ……………………………101
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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Acronyms
ACH‐ Accion Contra El Hambre
BDD‐ Basic data and direction
CA‐ Capacity Assessment
CD‐ Capacity Development
CEGSTAR‐ The Centre for Effective Governance System and Territorial Arrangement Reform
CIS‐ Commonwealth of Independent States
EC‐ European Commission
EU‐ European Union
GDP‐ Gross Domestic Product
ICT‐ Information communication and technology
KK‐ Kvemo Kartli
MTEF‐ Medium Term Expenditure Framework
NALA‐ National Association of Local Authorities
OSCE‐ Organization for Security and Co‐operation in Europe
SIDA‐ Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
UNDP‐ United Nations Development Programme
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Executive Summary
During the “Rose Revolution” of November 2003, many Georgians—spurred on by rampant
corruption and the state failing to deliver basic services—took to the streets to demand
reform. A new government was formed, which started the reform process. A second wave
of reforms was initiated in 2005 and 2006 to create a solid legal basis for self‐governance.
Numerous laws were passed outlining the broad responsibilities of the regional and
municipal levels of government and attempting to delineate their functions.
UNDP, with support from SIDA, started a series of projects in Georgia in the area of
Democratic Governance. One of these projects was Strengthening Local and Regional
Governance in the Kvemo Kartli Region. The project aims to strengthen local and regional
governance structures in the Kvemo Kartli region by using the capacity development
approach.
UNDP Georgia and the Kvemo Kartli project decided to use UNDP’s capacity development
framework for the regional and local governance reform in the Kvemo Kartli region. The
capacity development framework of UNDP suggests that the capacity development process
should go through five steps:
1. Engage stakeholders on CD process
2. Assess capacity assets and needs
3. Formulate capacity development strategies
4. Implement capacity development strategies
5. Monitor and evaluate capacity development strategies
UNDP’s capacity assessment framework has three dimensions: point of entry, core issues
and functional capacities. It also suggests a capacity assessment methodology and a
practice tool to diagnose capacity assets and needs at three levels where the country’s
capacity resides: enabling environment, organization and individual. The Kvemo Kartli
project adapted the capacity assessment tool to factor in local requirements. Three sources
of information were used to collect data, namely, interviews with beneficiaries and
stakeholders (using open ended questions), self‐assessment questionnaires and focused
group discussions. There was a separate chapter of questionnaires covering issues and
challenges related to the representative body (Sakrebulo).
The capacity assessment process started with an institutional baseline mapping exercise
with the following thematic areas:
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1. Organizational and human resource management issues
2. Planning and coordination
3. Budgeting and financial management
4. Procurement and service delivery
5. Monitoring and evaluation
6. Communication and implementation
In the inception phase of the project, the Kvemo Kartli project built rapport with the
regional and local administrations, and the municipalities nominated one person each from
the executive and representative bodies as a focal point to work closely with the project. At
the project level, the Capacity Development Advisor developed the questionnaires, which
were translated into Georgian, and got feedback from the staff before they were finalized.
Because of the technicality of the questions, the Kvemo Kartli project decided to use project
officers to help fill out the questionnaires. The departments and committees organized a
series of meetings to discuss different issues and to fill in the questionnaires. All the
information received through these questionnaires was compiled by the project officers,
and a single, completed questionnaire was prepared for each municipality. Two villages in
each municipality were selected on a random sampling basis, where project officers
conducted focused group discussions to get an idea of the responses from community about
service delivery.
The process of designing a capacity development response strategy went through all the
steps prescribed in the capacity assessment methodology user’s guide:
1. Engage partner and build consensus
2. Assess capacity assets and needs
3. Summarize and interpret results
4. Formulate capacity development response strategies
By using the above mentioned tools, the Kvemo Kartli project collected all the information,
which consisted of capacity assets and gaps for both municipal and regional administration.
These capacity gaps led to the formulation of a capacity development response strategy
having the following four clusters:
1. Human resources
2. Organizational arrangements
3. External accountability
4. Strategic planning
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For each of the clusters, the Kvemo Kartli project, in consultation with other stakeholders,
came up with short‐, medium‐ and long‐term strategies at three levels: enabling
environment, organizational and individual. The Capacity Development Response Strategy
was described separately for both the regional and local administrations.
Regional administration:
Human Resources: Some of the issues under this section are the unclear and inappropriate
HR regulations and rules, which are necessary to implement functions properly. Under the
enabling environment point of entry, some of the short‐ and medium‐term (no long‐term
activities in this section) activities are the following:
1. Map the processes related to recruitment, performance assessment, and promotion,
and then, suggest improvements
2. Support implementation of recommendations related to recruitment, performance
assessment, and promotion
There are no activities under organizational and individual point of entry.
Organizational Arrangements: Some of the issues under this section are weak horizontal
coordination and information sharing between departments, lack of coordination and
information sharing between regional and local administrations, inappropriate
organizational structure for strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, and lack of
central government issued methodology/guidelines for data collection, storing and analysis.
Under the enabling environment point of entry, some of the short‐, medium‐ and long‐term
activities are the following:
1. Conduct a review of current municipal and regional offices of the governor and the
line ministry and statistics department practices in the area of data collection, etc.
and provide recommendations for improvement
2. Organize a workshop for relevant central and regional government authorities and
municipalities to present findings and recommendations for review
3. Discuss the recommendations of the study with the regional administration and
support implementation
4. Establish a working group at the national level on local level data collection, sharing,
storage and analysis.
Under the organizational point of entry, the Kvemo Kartli region will address issues of
communication, coordination and appropriate organizational framework for strategic
planning, and it will have the following short‐, medium‐ and long‐term activities:
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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1. Functional and business process mapping and reengineering on communication and
coordination
2. Study to find out the appropriate organizational framework
3. Develop guidelines on why and how information sharing between departments can
occur
4. Organize a briefing workshop on the draft guidelines
5. Implement the recommendations on data collection, analysis and storage
6. Document and disseminate best practices and lessons learned from the Kvemo Kartli
experience.
There are no activities under individual level.
External accountability: The issue under this cluster is a weak communication culture. The
regional office of the governor concerning has limited practice to consult different
stakeholders. They also have a weak system to disseminate information and receive
feedback from the community.
There are no activities under the enabling environment and individual point of entry under
this cluster. Under the organizational point of entry, the Kvemo Kartli region will try to
address the communications issues between the regional administration and community
and vice versa. Some of the short‐ and medium‐term activities (there are no long‐term
activities under this section) are:
1. Functional analysis and business process mapping and reengineering on
communication.
2. Preparation of an analytical study on the strengths and weaknesses of the current
feedback mechanism.
3. Implementation of the recommendations on the reengineered processes.
4. Holding of a workshop concerning findings of the analytical report and other citizen
feedback mechanisms.
5. Selection and implementation of new/improved citizen feedback mechanism.
Strategy and planning: Different issues under this section are the following:
1. Lack of technical and experienced staff to carry out the planning and budgeting
activities
2. Lack of a formal structure to involve different stakeholders in strategy preparation
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3. Lack of supporting documents or regulations to prepare strategic documents (such
as a manual, guidelines of approving strategic documents, and formation of working
groups for the preparation of strategic documents)
4. Lack of appropriate methodology to design the strategic plan
5. Inappropriate organizational structure for strategic planning, monitoring and
evaluation (addressed above under organizational arrangements)
Under the enabling environment point of entry, the Kvemo Kartli project plans to conduct a
study on current planning methodologies in use as a short‐term activity and provide
recommendations on a comprehensive planning methodology for consideration by the
national government. Some of the short‐term and midterm activities (there are no long‐
term activities under this section) under this point of entry are the following:
1. Conduct a study on the current planning methodologies in use and provide
recommendations on a comprehensive planning methodology for consideration by
national government.
2. Preparation of the manual on “How to Prepare a Regional Strategy.”
Activities under this point of entry are linked to activities under organizational
arrangements. The short‐term and midterm activities under this are the following:
1. Conduct a study on the organizational framework on strategic planning including
involvement of different stakeholders.
2. Implement the agreed recommendations.
Under the individual point of entry, there are no short‐term nor long‐term activities. Most
of the activities under the individual point of entry will be implemented by the regional
administration with support from UNDP project as midterm activities.
1. Organize trainings for staff of regional development unit on strategic and
participatory planning.
2. Organize a visit to one of the European countries having similar experiences.
Municipal administration:
Human resources: Under this cluster and under the enabling environment point of entry,
some of the capacity issues are: unclear or inappropriate criteria in municipalities for
staffing structure (level and number); in regard to the executive, a lack of enforcement of
civil service code (permanent staff being forced out when there are political changes); no
criteria for determining which recruitment process to use (professional vs. short term); lack
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of awareness at the municipal level of the recruitment procedures; promotion criteria not
clearly defined in the civil service code; and performance evaluation criteria not explained.
Under the enabling environment point of entry, Kvemo Kartli plans to implement activities
to streamline the human resources management system. Some of the short‐, medium‐ and
long‐term activities are the following:
1. Conduct functional analysis in collaboration with CEGSTAR.
2. Design guidelines for staffing structure of municipalities.
3. Organize workshop for municipal staff members, specialized governance
organizations, Ministry of Regional Development and regional office of governor.
4. Organize workshop on current status/difficulties in enforcement of the civil service
code.
5. Organize workshop with municipal and regional authorities to increase
understanding of recruitment procedures.
6. Develop criteria for selection of municipalities and subsequent selection of two
pilots.
7. Apply guidelines in two pilots.
8. Codify the process and make recommendations for improvement concerning the
application of guidelines.
9. Provide advice to municipal authorities on how to improve the civil service code, and
share experiences from new EU member states on civil service code reform and best
practices.
10. Define criteria for application of appropriate recruitment process (whether to
choose permanent recruitment or short term recruitment).
11. Conduct research on promotion policies relevant to the Georgian context.
12. Develop criteria for selection of municipalities and subsequent selection of the two
pilots.
13. Application of staffing structure guidelines in the two pilots.
14. Codify the process and make recommendations for improvement concerning the
application guidelines.
15. Pilot suggested civil service code improvements as noted by the consultant.
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16. Organize a workshop and present results to other municipalities, regional authorities
and ministers of regions and NALA.
17. Support preparation of decree on scaling up of good experiences and application of
criteria
18. Apply guidelines in remaining municipalities in Kvemo Kartli region
19. Organize workshop and present municipal perspectives and results of research on
different promotion policies to national stakeholders
20. Organize workshop to present experiences of pilot municipalities in applying
performance evaluation criteria.
Under the organizational point of entry, some of the issues are the lack of job descriptions
and a standardized format (coverage, quality and inconsistency in format); lack of
standardized and transparent recruitment guidelines for short‐term posts (duration of
advertisement, what details are required in a TOR, where to advertise, selection panel);
fiscal and non fiscal incentives are subjective—there is no objective criteria that determine
which staff will receive them nor specification of type/amount of incentive; and
performance criteria for staff are not yet defined nor linked to annual work plans (which are
subsequently linked to department work plans).
Under this point of entry, the Kvemo Kartli region focuses on streamlining the number of
departments and review functions of each of those departments and develops job
descriptions for all the civil servants. Some of the other short‐, medium‐ and long‐term
activities are the following:
1. Conduct functional analysis in collaboration with CEGSTAR.
2. Develop job descriptions in cooperation with relevant municipal HR focal points
based on accurate description of the post’s functions.
3. Develop training manual on job description formulation.
4. Hold workshop to train municipal administration in two pilots and regional
administration on job description formulation.
5. Conduct study on current incentives being offered and range of options based on
staff feedback and best practices in new EU members states
6. Hold workshop for municipal executive and legislative representatives to gain buy‐in
on application of policy.
7. Implement the pilot testing.
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8. Conduct study on current practices in performance assessment in Georgia and new
EU member states.
9. Organize workshop to train administration in five other municipalities on how to
formulate job descriptions.
10. Document best practices and lessons learned of pilot and disseminate to relevant
stakeholders.
11. Pilot testing of performance evaluation in one municipality.
12. Documentation and dissemination of lessons learned.
Some of the issues under individual level point of entry are lack of technically skilled staff in
certain sectors. However, there are no short‐, medium‐ and long‐term activities because
this is beyond scope of the project and the region as this is related to education reform and
other factors.
Organizational arrangements: Some of the issues under the enabling environment point of
entry are: lack of alignment of local priorities and budget allocation provided by the central
government, municipalities lacking access to and/or understanding of key guidelines issued
by central government (including budgeting, procurement, public expenditure
management/accounting and reporting, financial control, audit, laws and decrees and
delegated responsibilities).
There are no short‐term activities under this section. Some of the medium‐ and long‐term
activities are the following:
1. Hold workshop on BDD and MTEF processes for municipalities in Kvemo Kartli region
to ascertain impediments to their participation and understanding and to increase
dialogue between national stakeholders and municipalities in Kvemo Kartli region.
2. Develop an inventory of all applicable laws, decrees, and processes/procedures
relevant to municipal functions and responsibilities.
3. Establish a physical and e‐library of information
4. Disseminate findings/results of the workshop to relevant stakeholders at the
national level.
5. Analyse laws, decrees, legal acts, procedures, etc.
The issues under the organizational point of entry are: weak horizontal coordination and
information sharing between departments, lack of coordination between the head of the
executive and departments, lack of clear reporting lines within departments, lack of
alignment and overlap of department’s functions to the services the municipality has to
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provide, limited transparency and understanding of the financial management process
within the municipality, and lack of coordination and information sharing between the
regional and local administrations. Some of the short‐, medium‐ and long‐term activities
under this point of entry are the following:
1. Conduct a functional analysis in collaboration with CEGSTAR.
2. Conduct a study on existing practices and impediments to coordination and
information sharing.
3. Develop guidelines on why and how information sharing between departments can
occur.
4. Organize briefing workshop on the draft guidelines.
5. Develop guidelines on why and how coordination should occur.
6. Organize briefing workshop on the draft guidelines.
7. Codify lessons drawn from functional analysis.
8. Implement in remaining five municipalities.
9. Organize workshop with all the Kvemo Kartli regional municipalities on the findings
on mapping and proposed changes.
10. Implement changes in department structure and functions in two municipalities.
11. Organize workshop with all the Kvemo Kartli regional municipalities on findings of
functional analysis and proposed changes.
12. Implement changes in two municipalities.
13. Organize workshop with all Kvemo Kartli regional municipalities on findings study
and positions.
14. Implement changes in all municipalities in the Kvemo Kartli region.
15. Document and disseminate best practices and lessons learned from pilot
experience.
16. Implement the process mapping across municipalities.
External accountability: Some of the issues under this section are lack of knowledge and
understanding of Georgian language for many citizens; municipalities’ weak communication
culture concerning consultation with and dissemination of information to communities;
weak system among the municipalities to receive feedback from the community; lack of
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horizontal accountability between the executive and representative bodies; and weak
citizen participation in accountability mechanisms.
The enabling environment point of entry does not have any short‐ and long‐term activities.
One of the medium‐term activities is the following:
Preparation of an information package on citizens’ rights and responsibilities in
languages other than Georgian and distribution across the Kvemo Kartli region.
Under the organizational point of entry, some of the short‐, medium‐ and long‐term
activities are the following:
1. Develop a draft communication strategy for two municipalities concerning
consultation and information dissemination (including budget process and result).
2. Prepare analytical study on strengths and weaknesses of current feedback
mechanism.
3. Conduct a presentation by municipalities to citizens on communication strategy.
4. Select a public information focal point within municipalities and implement the
communication strategy.
5. Hold a workshop with pilot municipalities concerning findings of analytical report
and other citizen feedback mechanisms.
6. Select and implement new/improved citizen feedback mechanisms.
7. Conduct study on existing practices in two pilot municipalities, document strengths
and weaknesses of system and provide recommendations for improvement.
8. Discuss findings of study with two municipalities and implement agreed upon
recommendations.
9. Support community in self‐organization efforts through provision of
examples/models utilized in other countries and elsewhere in Georgia.
Strategic planning: Different issues under this section are the following:
1. Lack of central government issued methodology/guidelines for data collection,
storage and analysis.
2. Lack of planning methodology and guidelines from the central government for the
municipalities.
3. Lack of proper participatory planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation
mechanisms for projects and activities.
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4. Lack of practice to share information with other municipalities within the Kvemo
Kartli region in relation to strategy development and planning.
5. Lack of technical and experienced staff to carry out the planning and budgeting
activities.
Under the enabling environment point of entry, the short‐, medium‐ and long‐term
activities are the following:
1. Conduct a review of current municipal, line ministry and statistics department
practices in the area of data collection, etc. and provide recommendations for
improvement.
2. Hold a workshop for relevant central and regional government authorities and
municipalities to present findings and recommendations for review.
3. Conduct a study on current planning methodologies in use and provide
recommendations on a comprehensive planning methodology for consideration by
the national government.
4. Establish a working group at the national level on local level data collection, sharing,
storage and analysis.
5. Conduct pilot testing in two or three municipalities based on recommendations
made in the review.
6. Hold a workshop for relevant national and local stakeholders to discuss findings of
the study and endorse a standardized planning methodology.
7. Conduct training of trainers of relevant national government staff to ensure that
local level staff will be trained in new methodology.
Under the organizational point of entry, the Kvemo Kartli region plans to have series of
initiatives under the strategic planning cluster. Some of the short‐, medium‐ and long‐term
activities are the following:
1. Conduct stakeholder analysis, form working groups, and provide training on
participatory planning.
2. Conduct data collection to analyse the situation.
3. Conduct study on the best practices in inter‐municipal cooperation in Georgia and
new EU member states and accession countries.
4. Hold a symposium for interested municipal stakeholders on study findings.
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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5. Train departments on participatory planning, budgeting, implementation, and M&E
methodology.
6. Implement selected pilot projects.
7. Implement selected pilot projects with criteria that will encourage inter‐municipal
cooperation in terms of planning and implementation.
8. Document and disseminate lessons learned and best practices from the pilot
projects to other municipalities.
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1. Introduction
During the “Rose Revolution” of November 2003, many Georgians—spurred on by a state
failing to deliver basic services and rampant corruption—took to the streets to demand
reform. A new government was formed and, utilizing an amended constitution, began to
undertake a series of dramatic governance reforms targeting combating corruption,
improving macro‐economic stability, attracting foreign direct investment, balancing the
budget, and re‐structuring governance with an increased focus on municipalities and their
role in providing basic services. The results of this first wave of reforms have been
impressive in terms of economic growth, though this has not translated into broader human
development gains.
In terms of economic performance, growth has averaged five percent from 2004 to present.
General data on development within the country denotes a middle income level of a per
capita GDP of USD 3,365 annually, a high life expectancy of 70.2 years, and a 76.3 percent
combined gross enrolment ratio for primary, secondary and tertiary education. Other data,
however, illustrates the depth of human poverty with 61.9 percent of the population living
on less than USD 4 a day (according to 2004 data), a low expenditure per person on public
health (USD 171), a decrease in the percent of the population using improved sanitation
(from 97 percent in 1990 to 94 percent in 2004), and a relatively high infant mortality rate
(41 per 1,000 live births). Poverty in the rural areas and unemployment remain chronic
issues which have been exacerbated by the recent Russian embargo on Georgian
agricultural products.
Within this context, the Georgian government began a second wave of reforms in 2005 and
2006 to create a solid legal basis for self‐governance. Numerous laws were passed outlining
the broad responsibilities of the regional and municipal levels of government and
attempting to delineate their functions. Following the 2006 elections, and as a result of
subsequent studies and analysis, it became clear that the local government (both regional
and municipal levels) was having difficulties in fulfilling its functions according to law.
2. Context
The project aims to strengthen the local and regional governance structures in the Kvemo
Kartli region of Georgia. Through a combination of capacity development tools, the project
tries to enhance the seven municipalities and the region’s ability to become both better
governed and to deliver services to the full spectrum of local citizens, thus counteracting
poverty and disadvantage in the region.
The project provides the necessary assistance to new municipalities in assuming their new
roles and responsibilities while, at the same time, overseeing the delivery of local services in
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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an effective and efficient manner. Currently, very few local government officials (an
estimated 30 percent) have experience in local government. Even those that do have such
experience are operating in a completely different environment to that of the pre‐election
environment of October 20061. Consequently, the proposed project is essentially a capacity
development assistance project which focuses on the following objectives:
Improved regional governance: Increased capacity of the regional government to coordinate and facilitate the formulation and implementation of the regional development strategy and plans.
Improved local governance: Improved capacity of municipality officials to streamline administrative procedures and systems for efficient delivery of public services.
Secure policy mainstreaming of the project’s experience: Policy experience of the project is documented. Attempts taken in ensuring that the experience of the project is utilized by other districts in the country, as well as by policymakers at the national level.
UNDP, with support from SIDA, started a series of projects in Georgia in the area of Democratic Governance. One of these projects was Strengthening Local and Regional Governance in the Kvemo Kartli Region.
The Kvemo Kartli project will contribute to the achievement of the United Nations
Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) outcome, which is related to strengthening
the efficiency and accountability of governance structures at the central and local levels to
build an inclusive and participatory decision‐making process. This is translated into the
UNDP Country Programee Action Plan (CPAP) outcome as “increased capacities of regional
and local governments in line with national decentralisation strategy and efforts. Local
government institutions stregthened and able to undertake new responsiblities once
decentralisation actions (including fiscal decentralisation) are carried out.” On the outcome
level, this involves increasing the capacity of the local administration to perform new
competencies. It will contribute to poverty reduction by strengthening the local and
regional governance structures in the Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia. Through a
combination of capacity development responses, the project will enhance the seven
districts’ and region’s ability to become both better governed and to deliver services to the
full spectrum of local citizens, thus counteracting poverty and disadvantage in the region.
The project is providing the necessary assistance to new municipalities in assuming their
new roles and responsibilities while, at the same time, overseeing the delivery of local
services in an effective and efficient manner. The Kvemo Kartli project is essentially a
capacity development investment which focuses on the following themes:
1 “Strengthening regional and local governance in the Kvemo Kartli region (Project Document), UNDP, 2007
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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Capacity development of newly elected officials not only to understand fully their duties and responsibilities, but to develop appropriate policies and oversee the delivery of the full palette of local government services.
Capacity development to design and put in place the new organizational structure (departments, companies, links to central government and other players, etc.) consistent with the new remit of districts, customized to the nature of the locality.
Capacity development of the mayors and their civil servant staff. These are expected to become permanent and, as such, will represent a key focus of project support.
Capacity development of local citizens to engage with the governance structures and, in particular, to assist vulnerable groups to access local government services.
Capacity development of the governors and their offices to coordinate regional development, thus fulfilling a critical regional governance function.
The project started its operation in September 2007.
3. Methodology and process
3.1 UNDP’s approach to Capacity Development and Capacity Assessment
UNDP defines capacity as “the ability of individuals, institutions and societies to perform
functions, solve problems, and set and achieve objectives in a sustainable manner.”
Capacity Development is thereby the process through which the abilities to do so are
obtained, strengthened, adapted and maintained over time. Capacity development is seen
by UNDP as a primarily endogenous and domestically driven process.2
A capacity assessment is integral to the planning and programming process. The insights
into capacity assets and needs serve as key inputs into the formulation of capacity
development response strategies, and the indicators used to measure capacity assets serve
as a foundation for the subsequent monitoring and evaluation of capacity development.3
The Capacity Assessment Framework4 is composed of three dimensions:
Points of Entry: UNDP recognizes that a country’s capacity resides on different
levels—enabling environment, organizational and individual—and thus needs to be
addressed across three levels.
Core Issues: These represent issues that UNDP is most often called upon to address.
Not all of these issues will necessarily be analysed in any given assessment, but they
provide a comprehensive set of issues a capacity assessment team may consider as it
defines its scope:
2 Capacity Development practice note, UNDP, September 2007 3 Capacity Assessment practice note, UNDP, September 2007 4 Capacity Assessment Framework, UNDP, September, 2007
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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o Institutional arrangements and incentives
o Leadership
o Education, learning and knowledge
o Mutual accountability
Functional Capacities: Specific functional capacities are necessary for the successful
creation and management of policies, legislations, strategies and programs. UNDP
has chosen to prioritize the following functional capacities, which can be applied to
all three points of entry and core issues.
o Engage with stakeholders
o Assess a situation and define a vision and mandate
o Formulate policies and strategies
o Budget, manage and implement
o Monitor and evaluate
UNDP Georgia and the Kvemo Kartli project decided to use UNDP’s capacity development
framework for the regional and local governance reform in the Kvemo Kartli region. The
capacity development framework of UNDP suggests that the capacity development process
should go through five steps:
1. Engage stakeholders on CD process
2. Assess capacity assets and needs
3. Formulate capacity development strategies
4. Implement capacity development strategies
5. Monitor and evaluate capacity development strategies
UNDP’s capacity development framework also suggests a capacity assessment methodology
and a practice tool to diagnose capacity assets and needs at three levels where a country’s
capacity resides: individual, organizational and enabling environment. The Kvemo Kartli
project adapted the capacity assessment tool to factor in local requirements. According to
the CA methodology, three sources of information were used to collect data, namely
interviews with beneficiaries and stakeholders (using open ended questions), self‐
assessment questionnaires and focused group discussions.
3.2 Process followed
The capacity assessment process started with an institutional baseline mapping exercise
having the following objectives:
1. to understand the “current situation” and “state of affairs” of different layers of government, starting from the regional office of the governor, local level municipalities,
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community members—especially from women and vulnerable communities and other stakeholders such as the private sector, civil society and international organizations.
2. to have better understanding of the requirements of the regional and local governments and vulnerable communities (such as Azeris, Greeks and Armenians)
3. to collect more information on the existing players in the region already active or interested in any future collaboration
4. to modify the targets (end of 2008 and end of 2009) already mentioned in the results and resources framework of the project
5. to prioritize needs of the regional, local governments and vulnerable communities to be reflected in the action plan or annual work plan of the project
6. to fix indicators against each area of work mentioned below to measure the success of the project during the midterm and final project evaluation.
7. to find out sources and availability of information for regional development strategy
The institutional baseline mapping exercise covered the following thematic areas:
1. Organizational and human resource management issues
2. Planning and coordination
3. Budgeting and financial management
4. Procurement and service delivery
5. Monitoring and evaluation
6. Communication and implementation There is also a separate chapter of questionnaires covering issues and challenges related to the representative body (Sakrebulo). In the inception phase of the project, the Kvemo Kartli project built rapport with the regional and local administration and each municipality nominated one person each from the executive and representative bodies as focal points to work closely with the project. Before starting the institutional baseline mapping exercise, the project introduced the concept of the exercise and clarified different issues with the local and regional administration. All the focal points were asked to extend full support to the project in undertaking this exercise. At the project level, the Capacity Development Advisor developed the questionnaires, which were translated into Georgian and discussed with all the staff for feedback before they were finalized. Because of the technicality of the questions, the Kvemo Kartli project decided to complete the questionnaires using the project officers rather than hiring volunteers or external contractual staff. Two project officers were given the responsibility of three to four municipalities each to explain the questionnaires, work closely with focal points and different departments, ensure accurate filling of information and compilation. First of all, the questionnaires were circulated to all the departments of the executive and different committees of the representative body, and the procedures for filling in the questionnaires were explained to them. The departments and committees organized a series of meetings
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to discuss different issues and to fill in the questionnaires. All the information received through these questionnaires was compiled by the project officers, and a single filled in questionnaire was prepared for each municipality. Although it took up to two months, in retrospect, the project feels that it was a good decision to do it internally using the project officers. It was very important for the Kvemo Kartli project to get an idea of the responses of the
community about service delivery. Two villages in each municipality were selected on a
random sampling basis, where project officers conducted focused group discussion and
raised a series of issues, which were prepared by the capacity development advisor. These
discussions were compiled into reports by the project officers.
All information gathered through the questionnaires and focused group discussions was
handed over to the capacity development advisor, who compiled them into an institutional
baseline mapping report.
After this, with support from UNDP Bratislava Regional Centre, training on a UNDP capacity
development framework was organized for the project staff, and on the job training was
provided to all the project staff in two municipalities and the regional development unit of
the regional office of governor. A self‐assessment questionnaire was designed and
circulated to a few departments of the two municipalities and regional development unit on
a pilot basis and then circulated to selected departments in all the municipalities. Analysis
of the questionnaires, focused group discussions and results of the self‐assessment
questionnaires were reviewed and made available for the preparation of the capacity
development response strategy.
The process of designing the capacity development response strategy went through all the
steps prescribed in the capacity assessment methodology user’s guide5.
1. Engage partners and build consensus: Just after the beginning of the project in
September 2007, the entire project team went to the regional office of the governor and
all seven municipalities to introduce the project and explain that the capacity
development approach will be used to implement all the activities. Presentations were
also made to explain and provide more information about this approach. The
municipalities and the regional office of the governor showed interest for this approach,
and steps were discussed to carry this activity forward.
2. Assess capacity assets and needs: Under this step, as mentioned above, the objectives
and expectations of this exercise were explained to the clients. The team was
formulated, which consisted of the project officers from the project, focal points from
the municipality and a representative of the regional office of the governor. The default
capacity assessment was studied properly and adapted to the local needs. Under the
core issues, it was decided to cover:
5 Capacity Assessment Methodology, User’s Guide, UNDP, May 2007
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a. Institutional arrangements and incentives
i. Human resources
ii. Business processes
iii. ICT and physical resources
iv. Mission and strategy
b. Leadership
c. Mutual accountability.
Similarly, under functional capacities, the following functions were agreed to be covered:
a. Assess a situation (visioning and stakeholder mobilization)
b. Formulate policy and strategy
c. Plan, budget and implement
d. Monitor and evaluate
e. Communicate and coordinate
f. Procurement and service delivery
Through the institutional baseline mapping exercise and self‐assessment questionnaires, the
project conducted the capacity assessment.
3. Summarize and interpret results: Through the capacity assessment process, the Kvemo
Kartli project identified a set of capacity assets and capacity gaps. While summarizing
and interpreting results, the project deliberately started with capacity assets, which built
confidence among the local and regional administration. Both the project and regional
and local administrations agreed to build upon the capacity assets and address the
capacity gaps. For each of the activities, the Kvemo Kartli project worked very closely
with the regional and local administrations. In the beginning of this step,
representatives of the local administration were asked to group different gaps under
different core and sub‐core issues and under different functional capacities. In a
workshop organized by the Kvemo Kartli project, they were divided into different groups
and asked to prioritize the capacity gaps under each core issue. Then, they (all
participants together) were asked to prioritize the capacity gaps from the municipality
requirement point of view across all the core issues. The representatives from the
municipalities identified eight priority areas (please refer annex V for details). A similar
exercise was repeated for the regional administration.
4. Formulate Capacity Development Response Strategies: As mentioned above, all those
capacity gaps (mentioned in annex V) were grouped into four following clusters:
a. Human Resources
b. Organizational Arrangements
c. External Accountability
d. Strategic Planning
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At this stage, the Kvemo Kartli project got support from the UNDP Bratislava Regional
Centre to design a capacity development response strategy matrix (Please refer to annex IV
to see four matrix). In separate consultations with the municipal and regional
administrations, Kvemo Kartli facilitated formulation of strategies from those clustered
gaps, having short‐, medium‐ and long‐term activities. For each of the agreed activities,
responsible parties were also chosen to implement or support the activities. Each activity
was linked to outputs and output indicators, which will help the local, regional
administration and the project to monitor the progress made on implementation.
4. Summary of capacity assets and gaps
By using the tools mentioned above, the Kvemo Kartli project collected all the information,
which consisted of capacity assets and gaps for both the regional and municipal
administrations.
4.1. Regional administration
Organization and human resource management
Some of the capacity assets under organization and resource management are:
1. Function and responsibilities are clearly defined by presidential decree and the law
on state supervision, and most of the departments under the Kvemo Kartli regional
administration are clear about their roles and responsibilities.
2. Almost all the staff have graduated from universities, and fifty percent of the staff
have more than ten years of work experience.
3. The regional office of the governor has good physical and technical (computers,
telephones etc) infrastructure. They also have a website.
Some of the capacity gaps are the following:
1. The regional office of the governor does not have clear and appropriate Human
Resources Management practices (recruitment, performance assessment and
promotion).
2. Some of the staff do not have well defined job descriptions.
3. There is a clear lack of gender balance in different departments under the regional
office of governor. Only six out of twenty‐three staff are females. None of the
female staff are in senior positions.
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4. Even though most of the staff are graduates from the universities, they do not have
enough technical and functional capacity to carry out their daily business.
Planning and coordination
Under the planning and coordination component, the following capacity assets were
identified:
1. During the institutional baseline mapping exercise, it was discovered that there is an
existence of informal horizontal and vertical coordination mechanisms within
different departments of the regional office of the governor and between the
regional office of the governor and municipalities.
2. The regional office of the governor has prepared a draft regional development
strategy with support from UNDP, EC, ACH and OSCE.
3. According to the law, the regional development unit within the regional office of the
governor has been created, which is responsible for preparation of the regional
development strategy.
4. It was also learned during the institutional baseline mapping exercise that a
mechanism within the regional administration office exists to collect information
from municipalities (done separately by different departments), compile the
information and send it to the central government.
Some of the capacity gaps are the following:
1. Even though horizontal and vertical coordination mechanisms exist within different
departments of the regional office of the governor or between the regional and local
administration, they need substantial improvement.
2. Similarly, a basic system of coordination and information sharing between the local
and regional administration exists.
3. Even though the regional development unit has been created according to the law,
there is insufficient organizational structure in the regional administration office for
strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, and implementation.
4. The central government has not issued any methodology for data collection, storage
and analysis. That is why the regional office of the governor finds it difficult to
systematize the process.
5. During the institutional baseline mapping exercise, it was observed that planning at
the regional office of the governor happens on an ad hoc basis and is not supported
by systematically collected socioeconomic data.
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6. The regional office of the governor does not have the formal structure to involve
different stakeholders in preparing a long‐term strategy.
7. Lack of supporting documents or regulations regarding strategic planning (such as a
manual, methodology, or guidelines for approval and formation of a working group)
Budgeting and financial management
Some of the capacity assets under budgeting and financial management are:
1. According to the law, the regional office of the governor supervises activities as well
as financial activities, including budget expenditure of activities at the municipal
level supported by central government.
2. The regional office of the governor participates in defining priorities of municipalities
for the annual budget plan and also receives analysed information on municipal
revenues and expenditures every month. But, the regional office of the governor
does not have any power or authority over the finances of municipalities.
3. There is a system in the central government which regularly undertakes an audit of
the finances of the regional office of the governor.
Some of the capacity gaps are the following:
1. The regional office of the governor does not receive any budget from the central
government to implement the socioeconomic development strategy.
Communication and implementation
Some of the capacity assets under communication and implementation are the following:
1. During the institutional baseline mapping exercise, it was learned that the regional
office of the governor has a basic system in place to share information with
community.
2. The regional office of the governor has a basic paper filing system to store official
information.
Some of the capacity gaps are the following:
1. Even though the regional office of the governor has basic systems in place for
communication within community, it needs substantial improvement.
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4.2. Municipal administration
The project has identified some capacity assets and gaps for the local administration
through the institutional baseline mapping and self‐assessment questionnaires. They have
been summarized in the following paragraphs.
Organization and human resource management issues
The following organizational/human resource management issues have been documented:
Organization structure
Functional responsibilities
Staffing and qualifications
Training and development
Job descriptions
Recruitment, appraisal and promotion
Office equipment/facilities
Some of the capacity assets can be summarized as follows:
1. Organic law of local self‐government defines and regulates legal, financial and
economic foundations for local self‐government, state guaranties and rule of
establishing self‐government bodies, their authority, responsibilities, accountabilities
and relationships with state bodies. The roles and responsibilities of each
department in a municipality have been clearly defined by the statute of the
representative body.
2. During the institutional baseline mapping exercise, it was learned that there is a
smaller number of contractual staff and vacant positions in the municipalities. Most
of the staff are at least graduate and above, which reflects the high standard of the
workforce in the civil service.
3. The staffing structure and number is decided by the local administration, which gives
a lot of scope to manoeuvre assignments of staff depending on the priorities of a
particular municipality.
4. A few ministries, such as the Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment and Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs
provided some training to different municipalities. Some departments organize
trainings on their own and do not require support from any private training provider
at the municipal level.
5. According to Georgian law, all staff must have job descriptions. Job descriptions are
derived from the functions of departments, which are defined in the statute of the
executive. While conducting the baseline mapping exercise, it was learned that
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some of the departments within the municipalities have completed job descriptions
for individual staff, although they need substantive improvement.
6. Sometimes, the community members express their dissatisfaction or satisfaction
regarding a particular project or service through the representative of executive.
But, they are not sure whether or not that information is communicated to the right
authorities.
Some broad conclusions on gaps can be made based on the above:
The structure and number of staff within departments vary in each municipality.
Names and functions of departments in different municipalities are not clarified
regarding provision of service delivery. Even if the roles and responsibilities of
departments are clearly defined by law, it is not clear to most of the departments.
The functions of the regional administration are defined in law in very general terms.
The governance system of the region and municipalities as a whole is based on a
strong upward accountability. Efficiency in administration and ultimately in service
delivery is compromised as there is considerable degree of lack of clarity of
functional responsibilities. Civil servants are occupied with ad hoc activities given by
the head of the executive.
The ratio of civil servant and population is 1:891, and most of the civil servants are
young, having between one to 10 years of experience. The percentage of minority
staff to the total staff is very low, even though the minority population in particular
municipalities is very high. Local authorities decide their staffing structure and cover
the salary cost.
There is significant training focused on the dissemination of information about new
rules, regulations and policies. There is not, however, a sequenced program of
training targeting a broad base of staff that is linked to wider policy objectives.
Moreover, training is also not systematically provided on the basis of identified
training needs. Rather, levels of training vary annually depending upon the
availability of funding (including external project related funding).
In a significant number of departments reviewed, staff had not received the required
technical training (for example in the use of computers or in financial management).
There does not appear to be any performance orientation in the current training
system, which means that none of the training is organized systematically to
enhance the skills and increase the performance of the staff.
The decree of Sakrebulo (representative body) defines functions of departments,
which determine individual job descriptions. But some of the departments within
different municipalities do not have individual job descriptions.
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There is no formalized system of recruitment, promotion and performance
evaluation of civil servants. Recruitment of civil servants is done by the head of the
executive6 with recommendations from the heads of different departments.
Performance of the civil servants is measured by the head of the executive.
However, there are no formalized procedures or criteria for evaluation. The
recruitment of civil servants is done by the head of the executive. According to law,
the recruitment of staff is the exclusive responsibility of the head of the executive
body. However, the heads of departments also give their recommendations for the
person who is seeking for the job. In most of the cases, personal recommendations
are taken into consideration by the head of the executive.
Planning and coordination
This section reviews the current planning process at municipal level.
Some of the municipalities, such as Tetritskaro, Dmanisi and Rustavi are in the
process of developing their strategies. While this attempt is worth mentioning here,
it is also important to mention that substantial improvement is required regarding
the process and the content of the document.
At the regional level, long‐term strategic plans are being prepared. Initially, it was
supported by EC, OSCE and ACH. UNDP joined this process from 2007 onwards.
It was observed that the process followed to prepare the annual plans is ad‐hoc in
nature. The representative of executive speaks to the community and collects the
information regarding their requirement in an informal manner. This information
collection at the community level is not done in a participatory fashion.
The Ministry of Finance reviews the municipal plans and discusses with
municipalities directly in case they have any questions before allocating the money
for implementing the annual plan.
In municipalities like Dmanisi and Tsalka, the executives receive reports from the
village at least once every month. Most of the municipalities mentioned during the
baseline mapping exercise that they send regular reports to the regional office of the
governor.
The head of the executive of most of the municipalities calls for weekly meetings
among various departments to discuss different issues, which are considered the
main coordination mechanism at the municipality level. The regional office of the
governor invites the head of the executive and sometimes a few heads of other
departments for a coordination meeting.
6 In this document Gamgeoba will be referred as executive
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Some of the capacity gaps are listed below.
All municipalities mentioned the lack of a short‐, mid‐, or long‐term socioeconomic
development strategy or plan, except Tetriskaro, Dmanisi and Rustavi, where they
have recently started this process; however, in the municipalities where it has
started, the process does not follow a particular methodology.
Municipal plans are prepared on an ad‐hoc basis. The primary purpose of the
municipal annual planning process is to define financial priorities as a part of the
annual budgeting process. During the baseline mapping exercise, it was mentioned
that work plans are prepared in order to submit information about future intentions
to central and regional authorities.
In some municipalities the Decree of the Representative Body on the Regulation of
the Activities of Executive does not define clearly exactly which department is
responsible for the development and implementation of annual, medium‐ and long‐
term socioeconomic development plans.
The problems in the planning process can be summarized as a lack of legislation and
supporting decree or documents to enable local authorities to prepare their
socioeconomic development plans; a lack of linkage between planning and
budgeting processes; and a lack of authentic data for the analysis and lack of
involvement of all stakeholders.
No formal coordination mechanism exists within the municipalities. The head of the
executive calls for weekly meetings among various departments to discuss a variety
of issues. Most of the time, different departments try to coordinate with other
departments informally rather than by sending formal letters.
Budgeting and financial management
The following elements of budgeting and financial management have been documented:
The budget preparation process
Accounting and financial reporting systems
Internal audit mechanisms
Arrangements for cash management
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Some of the capacity assets under this section are the following:
Most of the municipalities follow the planning and budgeting cycle described in the
law on local self‐government unit budget and law on budget system. The budgeting
process starts at the end of February every year. The department of finance
coordinates all the budgeting activities at the municipal level under the responsibility
and guidance of the head of the executive. In February and March all the
departments and organizations at the municipal level are asked to prepare their own
budget for the next year and submit it to the department of finance for compilation.
While designing the budget for the departments, the opinion or the need of the
community is also taken into consideration through the executive representatives at
the community level.
Local authorities decide their staffing structure (number of staff and positions) and
they also cover the salary costs of the local staff from the local revenue.
In practice, the executive has some discretion to move funds between budget lines
(up to five percent of the total budget) but cannot exceed the total level of funding.
Capital funds are held at the municipal level, and payments are released when
certification is given that works have met the required standards defined in the
contract between the executive and the implementer.
All departments within a municipality send their financial reports related to the
project status to the department of finance. The department of finance compiles
and submits them to the head of the executive on a monthly basis. The office of the
executive compiles all the information in a comprehensive report and submits it to
the regional office of the governor and central ministries on a quarterly basis.
In most municipalities, cash is managed by a commercial bank, and civil servants
have their individual bank accounts and receive their salaries through a bankcard.
However, there are also exceptions to this. In Tetriskaro municipality, cash
management and salary transactions are not done by a commercial bank.
In most of the municipalities, they have three kinds of audit mechanisms:
o Inbuilt audit, which is done by the department of finance by tracking the
expenditures within the different departments in a particular municipality.
o External audit, hired by the representative body to review finances within
different executive departments in the municipality, and
o Central audit from the state chamber of control to audit special projects and
programs undertaken by the different municipalities.
The review highlights a series of weaknesses in the current system, in relation to
procedures, reporting and capacity issues. For example:
Weak linkages between capital and recurrent expenditure systems and
misclassifications of capital and recurrent schemes;
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A significant degree of central control combined with lack of local funds
In some municipalities recurrent expenditure is very high. This gives very little scope
to the municipal administration to plan for their developmental activities.
The current internal auditing mechanism looks strong, having three types of auditing
practices: inbuilt audit, which is done by the department of finance; external audit,
which is done by external auditors hired by representative body; and finally, central
audit from state chamber of control, which audits special projects.
Procurement and service delivery
This section is concerned with the procurement and service delivery processes at both the
regional and municipal levels. Some of the capacity assets in this section can be
summarized as follows:
In Bolnisi municipality, they have additional regulations in addition to the law on
state procurement for social assistance activities.
Some of the public services of the municipality, which are delivered with support
from the private sector, are electricity, gas, water supply, road construction, garbage
collection, public health, sport, cultural and youth services.
In some municipalities, oversight of the public service provision is done by a special
unit established in the office of the executive, which controls the quality of the
services provided to the community.
The capacity gaps under the procurement and service delivery section are mentioned
below:
There is considerable misunderstanding and misinformation concerning present
procurement practices.
Some municipalities have established permanent committees, and some of the
municipalities have temporary committees having no permanent members.
Private sector capacity is variable across the region. Some of the public services,
which are delivered with support from private sector, are electricity, gas, water
provision, road construction, garbage collection, public health, sport, cultural and
youth services. Some of the public services are provided by organizations (LTDs),
which are established by municipalities.
Existing operation and maintenance of services by the regional and municipal
administrations is limited. Some operations and maintenance expenditures are
budgeted under capital projects, which are not assured or regular. There is no
scheduling of operations and maintenance. All municipalities are using an ad‐hoc,
reactive approach in this.
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Communication strategy and implementation
The following are some of the highlights under the capacity assets under communication
strategy and implementation:
The formal sharing of information is done via regular meetings with the head of the
executive and by official letters
Sharing of information between the municipality and local population is done by:
o Representatives of executive within the community
o Local newspaper, television or radio, promotional posters
o Members of representative body
Future municipal plans are delivered to the population by regular meetings and
discussions. Community members can receive information from different
departments of the executive by paying a nominal fee.
The maintenance of collected information and data is ensured by the organization of
municipal archives. All official letters as well as requests received from citizens are
archived on annual basis.
In Dmanisi municipality, Concor limited, a private company, provides updated
information regarding government laws and decrees to different departments within
a municipality.
The capacity gaps under this section can be summarized as follows:
The information among different departments of the executive is shared formally
and informally. The formal sharing of information is done via regular meetings with
heads of the executives and by official letters. Information from the community is
collected by the executive representatives based within the community.
It is not a common practice to share information with other municipalities.
Sharing of information between a municipality and the local population is done by
representatives of the executive within the community; local newspaper, television,
radio, and/or promotional posters; and by members of representative body.
Information sharing practices of municipalities are reactive and not proactive in
nature. According to the law, information is open for public. Citizens can write an
official request to municipalities or the regional office of the governor and collect
information. However, they have to pay a nominal fee for this.
Monitoring and evaluation
The capacity assets and gaps under the monitoring and evaluation section are the following:
In general, there is no special mechanism in place for monitoring and evaluation.
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Some of the activities, which are monitored at the municipal level, are the following:
o A contract is signed between the executive and different organizations to
undertake certain service delivery activities. Standards and conditions
towards project or service delivery are clearly defined in these contracts. A
special commission of the executive inspects and assesses implemented
works, conducts field visits, and prepares reports. The commission
recommends the department of finance to release payment after monitoring
the performance of the project.
o Each department prepares an annual work plan and implements activities on
the basis of that. The departments report to the head of the executive on a
monthly basis, and the head of the executive monitors different activities
undertaken by the departments. This report also gives enough scope to
different heads of departments to monitor performance of individual staff
members.
Some of the indicators used by municipalities to monitor results are time, quality
and opinion of local population.
Representative body of local self‐government
The capacity assets and gaps of representative body of municipalities can be summarized as
follows:
Within a local self‐government, a representative body is the final approving
authority. Different departments within the executive prepare plans, which are
compiled and sent to the representative body for approval. In case the
representative body does not have any suggestions/clarifications, the plan is
approved. The representative body signs the document and sends a copy to the
regional office of the governor or central ministries and one copy back to the
executive for implementation.
Lack of knowledge of Georgian language is an impediment.
Members of the representative body do not have even the basic equipment to make
their work efficient and effective.
The understanding of local self‐governance was very low among representative body
members.
Members also find it difficult to visit the community regularly due to lack of budget
to cover their travel expenses.
Lack of high qualification and understanding the nuances of law.
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Support of the regional office of the governor for the executives makes the
representative much weaker.
In order to address some of the gaps, the project, in consultation with the local and regional
administrations, has come up with capacity development response strategies. These
strategies have been categorized as short‐, medium‐ and long‐term activities (Please refer
annex I for details). The Kvemo Kartli project will try to address some of the short‐ and
medium‐term capacity development response strategies within its project duration of two
years and initiate a few long‐term capacity development response strategies, which will be
undertaken and completed by the regional and local administration in future.
5. Capacity Development Response Strategy
As mentioned above, all the capacity gaps were grouped into four clusters for both the
regional and municipal administrations such as:
1. Human resources 2. Organizational arrangements 3. External accountability 4. Strategy and planning
For each of the clusters, the Kvemo Kartli project in consultation with other stakeholders
came up with short‐, medium‐ and long‐term strategies at three levels: enabling
environment, organizational and individual.
The capacity development response strategy will be described separately for both the
regional and local administrations. During the formulation of the capacity development
response strategy for the Kvemo Kartli region, it was realized that it is very difficult for one
project to implement all the activities during the shorter duration of the project. Capacity
Development Strategies require broad partnerships with a variety of actors and go beyond
the mandate of the project alone. The project endeavours to act as a catalyst to spur others
to support the local and regional administration.
5.1 Regional Administration
5.1.1 Human Resources
Some of the issues under this section are the following:
1. Unclear or inappropriate HR regulations and rules, which are necessary to
implement functions properly
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Enabling Environment:
Under this section, the project tries to support some activities in the short‐term and
midterm to strengthen the processes related to recruitment, performance assessment and
promotion. Although, the number of staff to be recruited is clearly mentioned by the
central government, there are no clear guidelines on the processes to be followed. Under
the short‐term activities, the project will try to map the existing practices and discuss
suggested improvements with the regional administration. These suggestions will be
implemented as midterm activities.
Short‐term activities Mid‐term activities Long‐term activities
i) Map the processes related
to recruitment, performance
assessment and promotion,
and suggest improvements
i) Support implementation
of recommendations
related to recruitment,
performance assessment
and promotion
There are no long‐term
activities
Short‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Map the processes related
to recruitment, performance
assessment and promotion,
and suggest improvements
i) Increase stakeholders
awareness of the HR
deficiencies of the regional
office of the governor
i) Key stakeholders attend
awareness raising workshop
and demonstrate increased
knowledge through pre‐ and
post‐workshop questionnaires
Mid‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Support implementation of
recommendations related to
recruitment, performance
assessment and promotion
i) Recommendations
discussed and implemented
i) Clear recruitment,
performance assessment and
promotion criteria document
produced and applied
There are no long‐term activities.
Organizational
There are no activities under this section.
Individual
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There are no activities under this section
5.1.2 Organizational Arrangements
Some of the issues under this section are the following:
1. Weak horizontal coordination and information sharing between departments
2. Lack of coordination and information sharing between regional and local
administrations
3. Inappropriate organizational structure for strategic planning, monitoring and
evaluation
4. Lack of central government issued methodology/guidelines for data collection,
storing and analysis.
Enabling Environment:
Under this point of entry, the project tries to address the issues of data collection,
storage and analysis mechanisms. The project envisages conducting a review under the
short‐term activities, followed by a discussion on the recommendations of the study
with both regional and local administrations as midterm activities. As one of the
objectives of the project is to influence central level policy, under the long‐term
activities, the project plans to formulate a working group to share the experiences of the
Kvemo Kartli region and discuss with relevant central ministries for necessary changes in
the policies.
Short‐term activities Mid‐term activities Long‐term activities
i) Conduct review of current
municipal and regional offices
of the governor, line ministry
and statistics department
practices in the area of data
collection, etc. and provide
recommendations for
improvement
ii) Organize workshop for
relevant central and regional
government authorities and
municipalities to present
findings and
recommendations for review
i) Discuss the
recommendations of the
study with the regional
administration and support
implementation
i) Establish a working group
at the national level on local
level data collection, sharing,
storage and analysis
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UNDP | 37
Short‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Conduct a review of current
municipal and regional offices
of governor, line ministry and
statistics department
practices in area of data
collection, etc. and provide
recommendations for
improvement
ii) Organize workshop for
relevant central and regional
government authorities and
municipalities to present
findings and
recommendations for review
i) Increased stakeholder
awareness of existing data
collection, sharing, storage
and analysis practices
i) Key stakeholders attend
awareness raising workshop
and demonstrate increased
knowledge through pre‐ and
post‐workshop
questionnaires
Mid‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Discuss the
recommendations of the
study on the current practice
of data collection with the
regional administration and
support implementation
i) Recommendations from
the study are implemented
i) Recommendations from the
study are clearly documented
and implemented
Long‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Establish a working group at
the national level on local
level data collection, sharing,
storage and analysis
i) National policy
concerning data collection,
sharing, storage and
analysis influenced
i) Formal instructions on the
formation of the working
groups issued by the relevant
ministry
ii) At least two meetings of
the working group are
organized and minutes are
documented.
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Organizational:
Under the organizational point of entry, the Kvemo Kartli region will try to address issues of
communication, coordination and the appropriate organizational framework for strategic
planning. The UNDP project will support the regional administration in undertaking a study
to find out the right organizational framework for the Kvemo Kartli region on the basis of
experiences that exist within Georgia or from international experiences from Europe and
the CIS region. These recommendations will be discussed with the appropriate authorities
as midterm activities and the experiences from the Kvemo Kartli region will be documented
and shared with other regions and central ministries under the long‐term activities.
The UNDP project plans to undertake a functional analysis and business process
reengineering to strengthen the communication and coordination mechanisms within
different departments of regional administration, between regional administration and
municipalities.
Short‐term activities Mid‐term activities Long‐term activities
i) Functional Analysis and
business process mapping
and reengineering on
communication and
coordination
ii) Study to find out the
appropriate organizational
framework
i) Develop guidelines on
why and how information
sharing between
departments can occur
ii) Organize briefing
workshop on the draft
guidelines
iii) Implementation of the
recommendations on data
collection, analysis and
storage
i) Documentation and
dissemination of best
practices and lessons learned
from the Kvemo Kartli
experience
Short‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Functional Analysis and
business process mapping
and reengineering on
communication and
coordination
ii) Study to find out the
appropriate organizational
i) Awareness of
departments on the need
for improved
communication and
information sharing
increased
ii) Awareness of the
departments on the need
i) At least one workshop was
organized to raise awareness
ii) At least one workshop was
organized to raise awareness
on coordination
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
UNDP | 39
framework for improved coordination
increased
iii) Stakeholder awareness
on issues concerning
coordination and
information sharing
between municipal and
regional administrations
increased.
iv) Increased awareness of
the regional office of the
governor on the
appropriate organizational
framework for the regional
strategy for development,
monitoring, and evaluation.
Mid‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Develop guidelines on why
and how information sharing
between departments can
occur
ii) Organize briefing workshop
on the draft guidelines
iii) Implementation of the
recommendations on data
collection, analysis and
storage
i) Improved coordination
and information sharing
between departments in
the regional office of the
governor
ii) Guidelines endorsed and
applied by the regional
office of governor
iii) Recommendations on
data collection is endorsed
by the regional office of
the governor
i) At least two coordination
meetings organized with the
recommendations and
minutes documented.
ii) Key stakeholders attend
briefing workshop on
guidelines and demonstrate
increased knowledge through
pre‐ and post‐workshop
questionnaires
iii) Experience of
implementation of the
recommendations on data
collection, analysis and
storage documented.
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Long‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Documentation and
dissemination of best
practices and lessons learned
from the Kvemo Kartli
experience
i) Endorsement and
application of guidelines
by the regional
administration scaled up
across Georgia
i) Experience of application of
guidelines documented
There are no activities under the individual level.
4.1.2 External Accountability
The issues under this cluster are the following:
1. The regional office of the governor has a weak communication culture concerning
consultation with and dissemination of information to communities.
2. The regional office of the governor has a weak system to receive feedback from the
community.
There are no activities under enabling environment section.
Organizational:
Under the organizational point of entry, the Kvemo Kartli region will try to address the
communications issues between the regional administration and community and vice versa.
The UNDP project will try to address the communication issue by undertaking a business
process mapping exercise as a short‐term activity. The findings of the mapping exercise will
be discussed and implemented as midterm activities.
Short‐term activities Mid‐term activities Long‐term activities
i) Functional analysis and
business process mapping and
reengineering on
communication
ii) Preparation of analytical
study on strengths and
weaknesses of current
feedback mechanism
i) Implement the
recommendations on the
reengineered processes
ii) Hold workshop
concerning findings of
analytical report and other
citizen feedback
mechanisms
iii) Select and implement
new/improved citizen
There are no long‐term
activities
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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feedback mechanism
Short‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Functional analysis and
business process mapping and
reengineering on
communication
ii) Preparation of analytical
study on strengths and
weaknesses of current
feedback mechanism
i) Strengthened external
communication system of
the regional office of the
governor
ii) Increased stakeholder
awareness of issues
related to existing
community feedback
mechanism
i) External communication
system established and
functioning within two pilot
municipalities
ii) Key stakeholders attend
workshop on existing
community feedback
mechanisms and demonstrate
increased knowledge through
pre‐ and post‐workshop
questionnaires
Mid‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Implementation of the
recommendations on the
reengineered communication
processes
ii) Hold workshop concerning
findings of analytical report
and other citizen feedback
mechanisms
iii) Select and implement
new/improved citizen
feedback mechanisms
i) Recommendations
agreed and implemented
ii) Suggested community
feedback mechanism
implemented
i) Current communication
practices of (regional office of
governor) between
departments and with the
community improved
ii) Key stakeholders attend
workshop on existing
community feedback
mechanism and demonstrate
increased knowledge through
pre‐ and post‐workshop
questionnaires
There are no long‐term activities under this section
There are no activities under individual categories of the external accountability cluster.
4.1.3 Strategy and Planning
Different issues under this section are the following:
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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1. Lack of technical and experienced staff to carry out the planning and budgeting
activities
2. Lack of formal structure for involving different stakeholders in strategy preparation
3. Lack of supporting document or regulations to prepare strategic document (such as
a manual, guidelines of approving strategic documents and formation of working
groups for the preparation of strategic documents)
4. Lack of appropriate methodology to design the strategic plan
5. Inappropriate organizational structure for strategic planning, monitoring and
evaluation (addressed above under organizational arrangements)
Enabling Environment:
Under the enabling environment point of entry, the Kvemo Kartli project plans to
conduct a study on the current planning methodologies in use as a short‐term activity
and to provide recommendations on a comprehensive planning methodology for
consideration by national government. Some of the organizations working in Georgia
have already come up with manuals on “How to Prepare a Regional and Municipal
Strategy.” If there is a need, the UNDP project plans to support the regional and local
administration in the preparation of such a manual, which will be helpful for them in the
future to prepare such strategies without any external assistance.
Short‐term activities Mid‐term activities Long‐term activities
i) Conduct study on current
planning methodologies in use
ii) Provide recommendations
on a comprehensive planning
methodology for
consideration by national
government
i) Preparation of the
manual on “How to
Prepare a Regional
Strategy”
There are no long‐term
activities
Short‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Conduct study on current
planning methodologies in
use
ii) Provide recommendations
on a comprehensive planning
i) Increased stakeholder
understanding of current
planning methodologies in
use
ii) Increased stakeholder
i) Key stakeholders attend
workshop and demonstrate
increased knowledge through
pre‐ and post‐workshop
questionnaires
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
UNDP | 43
methodology for
consideration by the national
government
understanding on
impediments to strategy
implementation
iii) Increased
understanding of the
supporting documents
required for preparation of
a long‐term strategy by the
regional office of the
governor
Mid‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Preparation of the manual
on “How to Prepare a
Regional Strategy”
i) The need of a manual on
“How to Prepare a
Regional Strategy” with
the regional
administration discussed
i) Manual on “How to Prepare
a Regional Strategy”
discussed and prepared.
There are no long‐term activities under this section.
Organizational:
Activities under this point of entry are linked to activities under organizational
arrangements.
Short‐term activities Mid‐term activities Long‐term activities
i) Conduct study on the
organizational framework on
strategic planning including
involvement of different
stakeholders (linked to the
activity mentioned above)
i) Implement the agreed
recommendations
There are no long‐term
activities
Short‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Conduct study on the
organizational framework on
strategic planning including
involvement of different
i) Stakeholders increased
understanding of the
advantages of having a
formal structure of
i) Key stakeholders attend
workshop and demonstrate
increased knowledge through
pre‐ and post‐workshop
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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stakeholders (linked to the
activity mentioned above)
involving different
stakeholders in the
strategic process.
questionnaires
Mid‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Implement the agreed
recommendations
i) Recommendations of the
study with the regional
administration discussed
i) Document prepared
capturing the experience of
the implementation of the
recommendations.
There are no long‐term activities under this section.
Individual:
There are no short‐term activities under this section. Most of the activities under the
individual point of entry will be implemented by the regional administration with support
from the UNDP project as midterm activities. According to the law, the regional
development unit is responsible for the preparation and implementation of the long‐term
strategies. The regional office of the governor, with support from the UNDP project, plans
to organize a training program on strategic and participatory planning and to organize an
exposure visit to a country in this region which has similar experiences.
Short‐term activities Mid‐term activities Long‐term activities
There are no short‐term
activities
i) Organize trainings for
staff of regional
development unit on
strategic and participatory
planning
ii) Organize exposure visit
to one of the European
countries having similar
experiences
There are no long‐term
activities
Mid‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Organize training for staff of
regional development unit on
i) Generic and specific
trainings for the staff of
i) Key staff attend training and
demonstrate increased
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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strategic and participatory
planning
ii) Organize exposure visit to
one of the European
countries having similar
experiences
regional development unit
designed
knowledge through pre‐ and
post‐training questionnaires
ii) At least one workshop
organized after the exposure
visit to share the experiences
with other regional and
municipal administration staff
and to agree upon a plan of
action to change at least two
ongoing activities based on
the lessons learned from the
experience in the other
country.
There are no long‐term activities under this section.
5.2 Municipal Administration
5.2.1 Human resources
A robust human resources management system and the requisite policies are
essential for all organizations. Ensuring that the workforce is motivated, that the
right person is doing the right job and that the learning and career growth for the
best and brightest are available are the cornerstones to the effective performance
and relevancy of all organizations. Some of the capacity issues and corresponding
activities are mentioned below.
Enabling environment
Under this level, some of the capacity issues are:
Unclear or inappropriate criteria in municipalities for staffing structure (level
and number) – referring to executive
Lack of enforcement of the civil service code (permanent staff being forced
out when there are political changes)
No criteria for determining which recruitment process to use (professional vs.
short term) and lack of awareness at the municipal level of the recruitment
procedures
Promotion criteria not clearly defined in civil service code
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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Performance evaluation criteria not explained
Under this point of entry, the Kvemo Kartli region plans to implement activities to
streamline the human resource management system. As a short‐term activity, with support
from UNDP, the project will provide technical assistance in undertaking functional analysis
for two of the municipalities to develop guidelines for the staffing structure of the
municipalities and organize a workshop to raise awareness on the current civil service code
and existing practices related to human resources management. Under the midterm
activities, the Kvemo Kartli region plans to implement a functional analysis in two
municipalities, apply the recommended guidelines for recruitment in two municipalities and
provide technical support to municipal authorities on performance assessment and
promotion of civil servants. Most of the activities under the long‐term strategy are related
to influencing policy by organizing workshops on all aspects of human resources
management and sharing experiences on the basis of the pilot experience in the two
municipalities.
Short‐term activities Mid‐term activities Long‐term activities
i) Functional analysis in
collaboration with CEGSTAR
ii) Design guidelines for
staffing structure of
municipalities
iii) Workshop organized for
municipal staff members,
specialized governance
organizations, and Ministry of
Regional Development,
Governor’s office
iv) Workshop on current
status/difficulties in
enforcement of the civil
service code
v) Workshop with municipal
and regional authorities to
increase understanding of
recruitment procedures
i) Develop criteria for
selection of municipalities
and subsequent selection
of the two pilots
ii) Application of guidelines
in the two pilots
iii) Codify process and
make recommendations
for improvement
concerning the application
of guidelines
iv) Provide advice to
municipal authorities on
how to improve civil
service code, experiences
from new EU member
states on civil service code
reform and best practices
v) Define criteria for
application of appropriate
i) Develop criteria for
selection of municipalities,
and subsequent selection of
the two pilots
ii) Application of staffing
structure guidelines in the
two pilots
iii) Codify process and make
recommendations for
improvement concerning the
application guidelines
iv) Pilot test suggested civil
service code improvements as
noted by consultant
v) Organize workshop and
present results to other
municipalities, regional
authorities and minister of
regions and NALA
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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recruitment processes
(whether to choose
permanent recruitment or
short‐term recruitment)
vi) Conduct research on
promotion policies
relevant to the Georgian
context
vi) Support preparation of
decree on scaling up and
application of criteria
vii) Apply guidelines in
remaining municipalities in
the Kvemo Kartli region
viii) Organize workshop and
present municipal
perspectives and results of
research on different
promotion policies to national
stakeholders
ix) Organize workshop to
present experiences of pilot
municipalities in applying
performance evaluation
criteria
Short‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Functional analysis in
collaboration with CEGSTAR
ii) Design guidelines for staffing
structure of municipalities
iii) Workshop organized for
municipal staff members,
specialized governance
organizations, and Ministry of
Regional Development, and
Governor’s office
iv) Workshop on current
status/difficulties in
enforcement of the civil service
code
v) Workshop with municipal and
regional authorities to increase
understanding of recruitment
i) Increased stakeholder
understanding of staffing
structure deficiencies
ii) Appropriate staffing
structure for
municipalities defined
iii) Generic/template job
descriptions developed
for department heads
and two key staff in eight
department in two pilot
municipalities
i) Key stakeholders attend
awareness raising workshop
and demonstrate increased
knowledge through pre‐ and
post‐workshop
questionnaires
ii) Model/template for
municipal staffing structure
elaborated
iii) 24 job descriptions
including competency profiles
developed (three per
department x eight
departments)
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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procedures
Med‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Develop criteria for
selection of municipalities and
subsequent selection of two
pilots
ii) Application of guidelines in
two pilots
iii) Codify process and make
recommendations for
improvement concerning the
application of guidelines
iv) Provide advice to
municipal authorities on how
to improve civil service code,
experiences from new EU
member states on civil service
code reform and best
practices
v) Define criteria for
application of appropriate
recruitment processes
(whether to choose
permanent recruitment or
short‐term recruitment)
vi) Conduct research on
promotion policies relevant to
Georgian context
i) Staffing structure
guidelines implemented in
two municipalities
ii) Experience of pilot tests
of staffing structure
implementation codified
and lessons learned
documented
iii) Increased stakeholder
awareness of options and
best practices for civil
service code reform
iv). Recruitment criteria
defined and piloted in two
municipalities.
v) Increased stakeholder
knowledge concerning
different options of
promotion policies.
i) Two municipalities apply
staffing structure guidelines
with impact upon number
and placement of staff in
departments.
ii) Concise and reader‐friendly
document produced outlining
process and lessons learned
iii) Stakeholders demonstrate
increased knowledge in this
area through a pre‐ and post‐
information provision
questionnaire
iv) Clear recruitment criteria
document produced and
applied in the two pilot
municipalities with positive
impact upon recruitment
procedures
v) Key stakeholders attend
workshop and demonstrate
increased knowledge through
pre‐ and post‐workshop
questionnaires
Long‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Develop criteria for i) Experience of functional i) Five municipalities of the
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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selection of municipalities,
and subsequent selection of
the two pilots
ii) Apply staffing structure
guidelines in two pilots
iii) Codify process and make
recommendations for
improvement concerning the
application guidelines
iv) Pilot test suggested civil
service code improvements as
noted by consultant
v) Organize workshop and
present results to other
municipalities, regional
authorities and minister of
regions, NALA.
vi) Support preparation of
decree on scaling up and
application of criteria
vii) Apply guidelines in
remaining municipalities in
the Kvemo Kartli region
viii) Organize workshop and
present municipal
perspectives and results of
research on different
promotion policies to national
stakeholders
ix) Organize workshop to
present experiences of pilot
municipalities in applying
performance evaluation
criteria
analysis scaled up to other
municipalities and regions
ii) National policy and
guidelines influenced
iii) Civil service code
amendment influenced
iv) National policy
concerning promotion in
civil service influenced
v) Policy dialogue based on
pilot experiences
influenced
Kvemo Kartli region piloted
functional analysis
ii) At least one central level
workshop organized to share
the findings on the guidelines
on recruitment, promotion,
and civil service code
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Organizational
The issues learned under this section are the following:
Lack of job descriptions and standardized format (coverage, quality and
inconsistency in format)
Lack of standardized and transparent recruitment guidelines for short‐term posts
(duration of advertisement, what details are required in a ToR, where advertised,
selection panel)
Fiscal and non‐fiscal incentives are subjective – no objective criteria that
determine which staff will receive them nor specification of type/amount of
incentive
Performance criteria for staff are not yet defined nor linked to annual work plans
(which are subsequently linked to department work plans)
Under the organizational point of entry, the Kvemo Kartli region focuses on streamlining the
number of departments and review functions of each of those departments, develop job
descriptions for all the civil servants working in two pilot municipalities as short‐term
activities. Most of the activities under the mid‐term range are related to preparation for up
scaling job descriptions, such as the development of a training manual and organization of a
workshop to train municipal administration. Under the longer‐term activities, training will
be organized for the civil servants of the remaining five municipalities to develop job
descriptions for all the staff in the municipalities on their own.
Short‐term activities Mid‐term activities Long‐term activities
i) Functional analysis in
collaboration with CEGSTAR
(LINKED)
ii) Develop job descriptions in
cooperation with relevant
municipal HR focal points
based on accurate description
of the post's functions
i) Develop training manual
on job description
formulation
ii) Hold workshop to train
municipal administration in
two pilots and regional
administration on job
description formulation
iii) Conduct study on current
incentives being offered and
range of options based on
staff feedback and best
practices in new EU member
i) Organize workshop to
train administration in five
other municipalities on how
to formulate job
descriptions
ii) Document best practices
and lessons learned from
pilot and disseminate to
relevant stakeholders
iii) Pilot testing of
performance evaluation in
one municipality
iv) Documentation and
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states
iv) Hold workshop for
municipal executive and
legislative representatives to
gain buy‐in on application of
policy
v) Implement the pilot
testing
vi) Conduct study on current
practices in performance
assessment in Georgia and
new EU member states
dissemination of lessons
learned
Short‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Functional analysis in
collaboration with CEGSTAR
(LINKED)
ii) Develop job descriptions in
cooperation with relevant
municipal HR focal points
based on accurate description
of the post's functions
i) Improved understanding
within departments in two
pilot municipalities on need
for enhanced
communication and
information sharing
ii) Increased awareness of
departments and head of the
executive in two pilot
municipalities on need for
improved coordination
iii) Mapping of existing
reporting lines conducted in
all departments in two
municipalities
iv) Mapping existing
department functions vis‐à‐
vis services in two pilot
municipalities conducted
v) Mapping of existing
i) Key stakeholders show
increased knowledge
through fielding of pre‐ and
post‐ activity questionnaires
ii) Key stakeholders show
increased knowledge
through fielding of pre‐ and
post‐ activity questionnaires
iii) Reporting line diagrams
and descriptions formulated
for 16 departments (eight
departments x two
municipalities)
iv) Functions mapped to 16
departments (eight
departments x two
municipalities)
v) Budgeting and financial
management processes
mapped and analyzed
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budgeting conducted and
financial management
process documented in all
departments in two
municipalities
within 16 departments
(eight departments x two
municipalities)
Mid‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Develop training manual on
job description formulation
ii) Hold workshop to train
municipal administration in
two pilots and regional
administration on job
description formulation
iii) Conduct study on current
incentives being offered and
range of options based on
staff feedback and best
practices in new EU member
states
iv) Hold workshop for
municipal executive and
legislative representatives to
gain buy‐in on application of
policy
v) Implement the pilot testing
vi) Conduct study on current
practices in performance
assessment in Georgia and
new EU member states
i) Capacity of
Administration Unit
developed to formulate
job descriptions
ii) Fiscal and non‐fiscal
incentive policy
developed, and criteria
for application of these
incentives mechanisms in
the executive established
iii) Incentive policy tested
in one municipality
targeting executive and
administrative unit of
Sakrebulo
iv) Performance
evaluation guidelines and
procedures developed
i) Training manual developed
ii) Administration Unit staff
attend workshop and
demonstrate acquisition of
knowledge in this area through
a pre‐ and post‐workshop
questionnaire
iii) Incentive policy developed
and mechanisms established
iv) Incentive policy applied in
one municipality as
demonstrated through staff
survey
v) Guidelines developed and
disseminated to relevant
stakeholders
Long‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Organize workshop to train i) Training on job i) At least one training having
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Individual
Some of the issues under the individual level are the following:
i). Lack of technically skilled staff in certain sectors (no response in short‐, medium‐ and
long‐term as this is beyond scope of project) related to education reform and other factors.
5.2.2 Organizational arrangements
Enabling environment
Some of the issues under this cluster are the following:
Lack of alignment of local priorities and budget allocation provided by the central
government
Information fragmentation: Municipalities lack access to and/or understanding of
key guidelines issued by the central government (including budgeting, procurement,
public expenditure management/accounting and reporting, financial control, audit,
laws and decrees, and delegated responsibilities)
There are no short‐term activities under this section. Under the mid‐term activities, the
Kvemo Kartli region plans to hold a workshop on BDD and MTEF processes for municipalities
to raise awareness and develop an inventory of all applicable laws. Most of the initiatives
under the long‐term activities are related to dissemination of results of the study and
workshop at national level.
administration in five other
municipalities on how to
formulate job descriptions
ii) Document best practices
and lessons learned of pilot
and disseminate to relevant
stakeholders
iii) Pilot testing of
performance evaluation in
one municipality
iv) Documentation and
dissemination of lessons
learned
descriptions to five other
municipalities organized
ii) National policy and
guidelines influenced
iii) National policy
influenced based on
experience from the pilot
iv) Policy on performance
evaluation influenced
representatives of five
municipalities organized
ii) At least one workshop
organized at the national level
to influence the policies and
guidelines
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Short‐term activities Mid‐term activities Long‐term activities
There are no short‐term
activities
i) Hold workshop on BDD and
MTEF processes for
municipalities in the Kvemo
Kartli region to ascertain
impediments to their
participation and
understanding and to increase
dialogue between national
stakeholders and municipalities
in the Kvemo Kartli region.
ii) Develop an inventory of all
applicable laws, decrees,
processes/procedures relevant
to municipal functions and
responsibilities.
iii) Establish physical and e‐
library of information
i) Disseminate findings/results
of workshop to relevant
stakeholders at the national
level
ii) Analyse laws, decrees, legal
acts, procedures, etc.
Mid‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Hold workshop on BDD and
MTEF processes for
municipalities in the Kvemo
Kartli region to ascertain
impediments to their
participation and
understanding and to increase
dialogue between national
stakeholders and
municipalities in the Kvemo
Kartli region.
ii) Develop an inventory of all
applicable laws, decrees,
processes/procedures
relevant to municipal
i) Increased awareness of
municipal and central
level stakeholders on lack
of alignment and its
impact on development at
the local level
ii) Establish a
clearinghouse of
information related to
municipal functions,
responsibilities, and
processes/procedures
i) Key stakeholders attend
workshop and demonstrate
knowledge acquisition
through a pre‐ and post‐
workshop questionnaire
ii) Inventory listing all
applicable laws, decrees,
processes, procedures
iii) Physical and/or e‐library
containing the inventory in an
easily searchable format.
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Organizational
The following issues were learned under this section:
Weak horizontal coordination and information sharing between departments
Lack of coordination between the head of the executive and departments
Lack of clear reporting lines within departments
Lack of alignment and overlap of department’s functions to the services the
municipality has to provide
Limited transparency and understanding of financial management process within the
municipality
Lack of coordination and information sharing between regional and local
administrations
Under the organizational point of entry, the Kvemo Kartli region, with support from the
UNDP project, plans to undertake a functional analysis and business process mapping for
coordination among different municipal departments as short‐ and midterm activities.
Under the long‐term activity, the Kvemo Kartli region plans to document the experience of
the business process mapping, implementation of the proposed recommendations in two
municipalities and discuss with central ministries for influencing policy at national level.
functions and responsibilities.
iii). Establish physical and e‐
library of information
Long‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Disseminate findings/result
of workshop to relevant
stakeholders at the national
level
ii) Analysis of laws, decrees,
legal acts, procedures, etc.
i) National policy
influenced concerning
BDD and MTEF processes
vis‐à‐vis municipalities
ii) Functions,
responsibilities,
procedures and processes
of municipalities clearly
defined
i) At least one national level
workshop to influence national
policy concerning BDD and
MTEF
ii) At least five municipalities
define functions,
responsibilities, procedures
and processes clearly
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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Short‐term activities Mid‐term activities Long‐term activities
i) Functional analysis in
collaboration with CEGSTAR
ii) Conduct study on existing
practices and impediments to
coordination and information
sharing
i) Develop guidelines on why
and how information sharing
between departments can
occur
ii) Organize briefing workshop
on the draft guidelines
iii) Develop guidelines on why
and how coordination should
occur
iv) Organize briefing
workshop on the draft
guidelines
v) Codification of lessons
drawn from functional
analysis
vi) Implementation in
remaining five municipalities
vii) Workshop with all the
Kvemo Kartli regional
municipalities on the findings
of the mapping and the
proposed changes
viii) Implement changes in
department structure and
functions in two
municipalities
ix) Workshop with all the
Kvemo Kartli region
municipalities on findings of
functional analysis and
proposed changes
x) Implement changes in two
municipalities
i) Documentation and
dissemination of best
practices and lessons
learned from pilot
experience
ii) Implement the process
mapping across
municipalities
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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xi) Workshop with all the
Kvemo Kartli region
municipalities on findings
study and positions
xii) Implement changes in all
municipalities in the Kvemo
Kartli region
Short‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Functional analysis in
collaboration with CEGSTAR
ii) Conduct study on existing
practices and impediments to
coordination and information
sharing
i) Improved understanding
within departments in two
pilot municipalities on need
for enhanced communication
and information sharing
ii) Increased awareness of
departments and head of the
executive in two pilot
municipalities on the need for
improved coordination
iii) Mapping of existing
reporting lines conducted in
all departments in two
municipalities
iv) Mapping of existing
department functions vis‐à‐vis
services in two pilot
municipalities conducted
v) Mapping of existing
budgeting conducted and
financial management
process documented in all
departments in two
municipalities
vi) Increased stakeholder
awareness on issues
i) Key stakeholders show
increase in knowledge
through fielding of pre‐
and post‐activity
questionnaires
ii) Key stakeholders show
increase in knowledge
through fielding of pre‐
and post‐activity
questionnaires
iii) Reporting line diagrams
and descriptions
formulated for 16
departments (eight
departments x two
municipalities)
iv) Functions mapped to 16
departments (eight
departments x two
municipalities)
v) Budgeting and financial
management processes
mapped and analyzed
within 16 departments
(eight departments x two
municipalities)
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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concerning coordination and
information sharing between
municipal and regional
administrations
vi) Key stakeholders attend
awareness raising
workshop and
demonstrate increased
knowledge through pre‐
and post‐workshop
questionnaires
Mid‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Develop guidelines on why
and how information sharing
between departments can
occur
ii) Organize briefing workshop
on the draft guidelines
iii) Develop guidelines on why
and how coordination should
occur
iv) Organize briefing
workshop on the draft
guidelines
v) Codification of lessons
drawn from functional
analysis
vi) Implementation in
remaining five municipalities
vii) Workshop with all the
Kvemo Kartli regional
municipalities on the findings
on mapping and proposed
changes
viii) Implement changes in
department structure and
functions in two
i) Guidelines on information
sharing developed
ii) Guidelines endorsed and
applied by two municipalities
leading to improved
coordination
iii) Guidelines on coordination
mechanisms and information
sharing developed
iv) Guidelines on improved
coordination endorsed and
applied by two municipalities
leading to improved
coordination between the
head of executive and
departments in two
municipalities
v) Lessons learned from
functional analysis codified
vi) Guidelines implemented in
the five remaining
municipalities
vii) Functions of departments
rationalized with the services
to be provided
i) Concise and pragmatic
guidelines for information
sharing produced in
Georgian language
ii) 16 departments in two
municipalities respond
positively to a pre‐ and
post‐guideline
questionnaire concerning
improved coordination
iii) Guidelines on executive
department coordination
produced in the Georgian
language and
disseminated
iv) Two municipalities
apply guidelines with a
positive result as
illustrated through pre‐
and post‐process
questionnaires
v) Codification document
produced and
disseminated
vi) Five municipalities
apply guidelines and
demonstrate the positive
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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municipalities
ix) Workshop with all the
Kvemo Kartli regional
municipalities on the findings
of the functional analysis and
proposed changes
x) Implement changes in two
municipalities
xi) Workshop with all the
Kvemo Kartli regional
municipalities on findings
study and positions
xii) Implement changes in all
municipalities in the Kvemo
Kartli region
viii) Improved transparency
and understanding of financial
management processes within
departments in two pilot
municipalities
ix) Improved coordination and
information sharing between
municipal and regional
administration in the Kvemo
Kartli region.
impact of the process
through pre‐ and post‐
process questionnaires
vii) Functions of
departments aligned with
the services provided by
municipality with clear
areas of responsibility and
lines of accountability
vii) Sixteen departments
demonstrate positive
changes and improved
understanding of
processes through pre‐
and post‐process
questionnaires
viii) Key stakeholders in
municipal and regional
administrations
demonstrate improved
coordination processes
through a pre‐ and post‐
implementation
questionnaire
Long‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Documentation and
dissemination of best
practices and lessons learned
from pilot experience
ii) Implement the process
mapping across municipalities
i) Endorsement and
application of guidelines by
municipalities across Georgia
scaled up
ii) Process mapping in other
five municipalities in the
Kvemo Kartli region replicated
iii) National level stakeholders
influenced to endorse and
replicate coordination and
i) At least five
municipalities apply the
guidelines
ii) Five municipalities of
the Kvemo Kartli region
replicate process mapping
exercise
iii) At least one workshop
organized to influence the
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5.2.3 External accountability
Some of the issues under this section are the following:
Lack of knowledge and understanding of the Georgian language for many citizens
Municipalities have weak communication culture concerning consultation with and
dissemination of information to communities
Weak system among the municipalities to receive feedback from the community
Lack of horizontal accountability between executive and representative bodies
Weak citizen participation in accountability mechanisms
Enabling Environment
This section does not have any short‐term or long‐term activities. During the institutional
baseline mapping exercise, it was learned that a number of people in the different
municipalities in the Kvemo Kartli region do not communicate in Georgian. So under the
midterm activities, the Kvemo Kartli region plans to prepare an information package on
citizens’ rights and responsibilities in languages other than Georgian.
information sharing practices national level stakeholders
Short‐term activities Midterm activities Long‐term activities
There are no short‐term
activities
i) Prepare information
package on citizens’ rights and
responsibilities in languages
other than Georgian and
distribute across the Kvemo
Kartli region
There are no long‐term
activities
Mid‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Prepare information package
on citizens’ rights and
responsibilities in languages
other than Georgian and
i) Increased awareness of
municipal stakeholders to
provide unofficial translation
of documents for those who
i) At least five key documents
are translated into other
languages and disseminated
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No long‐term activities.
Organizational
Under the organizational point of entry, the Kvemo Kartli region plans to develop
communication strategies for two municipalities on a pilot basis as short‐term activities.
Under the mid‐term activities, the Kvemo Kartli region will implement the communication
strategy, especially those that will strengthen the feedback mechanism between the
community and the local administration. The UNDP project plans to bring in experiences
from the region on similar issues, which will be discussed with local administration for
consensus and implementation.
distribute across the KK region do not speak or read Georgian
Short‐term activities Mid‐term activities Long‐term activities
i) Develop a draft
communication strategy for
two municipalities concerning
consultation and information
dissemination (including
budget process and result)
ii) Prepare an analytical study
on strengths and weaknesses
of current feedback
mechanism
i) Presentation by
municipalities to citizens on
communication strategy
ii) Select public information
focal point within
municipalities
iii) Implement
communication strategy
iv) Hold workshop with pilot
municipalities concerning
findings of the analytical
report and other citizen
feedback mechanisms
v) Select and implement
new/improved citizen
feedback mechanism
vi) Conduct study on existing
practices in two pilot
municipalities, document
strengths and weaknesses of
system and provide
recommendations for
i) Document experiences of
two pilot municipalities and
share strategy and lessons
learned
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
UNDP | 62
improvement
vii) Discuss findings of study
with two municipalities and
implement agreed upon
recommendations
viii) Support community in
self‐organization efforts
through provision of
examples/models utilized in
other countries and
elsewhere in Georgia
Short‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Develop draft
communication strategy for
two municipalities concerning
consultation and information
dissemination (including
budget process and result)
ii) Prepare analytical study on
strengths and weaknesses of
current feedback mechanism
i) External
communication system of
municipalities
strengthened
ii) Stakeholder awareness
of issues related to
existing community
feedback mechanism
increased
i) Two communication
strategies for two
municipalities developed
ii) At least one workshop
organized to raise awareness
on existing community
feedback mechanism
Mid‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Presentation by
municipalities to citizens on
communication strategy
ii) Select public information
focal point within
municipalities
iii) Implement communication
strategy
i) Communication
strategy approved and
implemented by two
pilot municipalities
ii) New/improved citizen
feedback mechanism
pilot tested in two
municipalities
iii) Oversight mechanism
i) Communication strategy
developed, approved and
distributed in Georgian
language
ii) Two public information focal
points selected in municipality
iii) Pilot mechanism developed,
tested and evaluated in two
municipalities through
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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iv). Hold workshop with pilot
municipalities concerning
findings of analytical report
and other citizen feedback
mechanisms
v) Select and implement
new/improved citizen
feedback mechanism
vi) Conduct study on existing
practices in two pilot
municipalities, document
strengths and weaknesses of
system and provide
recommendations for
improvement
vii) Discuss findings of study
with two municipalities and
implement agreed upon
recommendations
viii) Support community in
self‐organization efforts
through provision of
examples/models utilized in
other countries and elsewhere
in Georgia
strengthened and
operationalized
iv) Increased citizen
participation in
accountability
mechanisms
community survey
iv) Current oversight
mechanism improved and
operationalized as
demonstrated through positive
citizen feedback gathered
through a questionnaire
v) Increase in the number of
citizens (including an increase
marginalized citizens)
participating in the
accountability mechanism as
illustrated in a pre‐ and post‐
activity survey
Long‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Document experiences of
two pilot municipalities and
share lessons learned and
strategy
i) Raised awareness
among other
municipalities in Georgia
on the need for a
communication strategy,
new community
mechanism, new
oversight mechanism and
community self‐
i). At least one workshop
organized to increase
awareness on need for a
communication strategy, new
community mechanism, new
oversight mechanism and
community self‐organization
efforts.
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5.2.4 Strategic planning
Different issues under this section are the following:
Lack of central government issued methodology/guidelines for data collection,
storage and analysis
Lack of planning methodology and guidelines from the central government for the
municipalities
Lack of proper participatory planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation
mechanisms for projects and activities
Lack of practice to share information with other municipalities within the Kvemo
Kartli region in relation to strategy development and planning
Lack of technical and experienced staff to carry out the planning and budgeting
activities
Enabling Environment
Under this point of entry, as a short‐term activity, the Kvemo Kartli region plans to review
the current municipal, line ministry and statistics department practices in the area of data
collection, etc. and provide recommendations for improvement. This review will be done at
the local, regional and central levels (Please find reference to similar activity under the
strategic planning section and the regional administration capacity development response
strategy). Other than this, the Kvemo Kartli region plans to conduct a study on the current
planning methodologies in use and provide recommendations on a comprehensive planning
methodology for consideration by national government as a short‐term activity. All the
recommendations of the above studies will be implemented as midterm activities with
support from the UNDP project. If some of the recommendations work well in the
municipalities, then the Kvemo Kartli project plans to influence the national policy.
organization efforts
Short‐term activities Mid‐term activities Long‐term activities
i) Conduct review of current
municipal, line ministry and
statistics department
practices in the area of data
collection, etc. and provide
recommendations for
i) Establish a working
group at the national level
on local level data
collection, sharing, storage
and analysis.
i) Conduct training of trainers
of relevant national
government staff to ensure
that local level staff will be
trained in new methodology
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
UNDP | 65
improvement
ii) Workshop for relevant
central and regional
government authorities and
municipalities to present
findings and
recommendations of review
iii) Conduct study on current
planning methodologies in
use and provide
recommendations on a
comprehensive planning
methodology for
consideration by the national
government.
ii) Pilot testing in two or
three municipalities based
on recommendations
made in the review
iii) Workshop for relevant
national and local
stakeholders to discuss
findings of study and
endorse a standardized
planning methodology.
Short‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Conduct review of current
municipal, line ministry and
statistics department
practices in area of data
collection, etc. and provide
recommendations for
improvement
ii) Workshop for relevant
central and regional
government authorities and
municipalities to present
findings and
recommendations of review
iii) Conduct study on current
planning methodologies in
use and provide
recommendations on a
comprehensive planning
methodology for
i) Increased stakeholder
understanding of existing
data collection, sharing,
storage and analysis
practices
ii) Increased stakeholder
understanding of current
planning methodologies in
use
iii) Increased stakeholder
understanding of
impediments to strategy
implementation
i) Key stakeholders attend
awareness raising workshop
and demonstrate increase in
knowledge through pre‐ and
post‐workshop survey
ii) Key stakeholders attend
awareness raising workshop
and demonstrate increase in
knowledge through pre‐ and
post‐workshop questionnaire
iii) Key stakeholders attend
awareness raising workshop
and demonstrate increase in
knowledge through pre‐ and
post‐workshop
questionnaires
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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Organizational
The Kvemo Kartli region plans to have a series of initiatives under the organizational point of
entry under the strategic planning cluster. To start with, as short‐term activities, the Kvemo
Kartli region plans to conduct stakeholder analysis and form working groups followed by
data collection and situation analysis at the municipal level, which will lead to a longer term
strategy. Some of the activities, like roads, cannot be implemented by one municipal
administration. There is a need for strong inter‐municipal cooperation, which can be
consideration by the national
government.
Mid‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Establish a working group at
the national level on local
level data collection, sharing,
storage and analysis.
ii) Pilot testing in two or three
municipalities based on
recommendations made in
the review
iii) Workshop for relevant
national and local
stakeholders to discuss
findings of study and endorse
a standardized planning
methodology.
i) National policy
influenced concerning
data collection, sharing,
storage and analysis
ii) National policy
influenced concerning
standardized planning
methodology
i) Working group established
and functioning at national
level producing at least two
key recommendations on how
to improve national policy
towards data collection,
sharing and analysis.
ii) Workshop held with key
stakeholders and
standardized planning
methodology endorsed
Long‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Conduct training of trainers
of relevant national
government staff to ensure
that local level staff will be
trained in new methodology
i) Standardized planning
methodology across
Georgia applied
i) At least five municipalities
applied the standardized
planning methodology
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
UNDP | 67
initiated by undertaking a study as a short‐term activity and coming up with
recommendations for implementations later on.
Short‐term activities Mid‐term activities Long‐term activities
i) Conduct stakeholder
analysis and form working
groups
ii) Provide training for
working groups on
participatory planning
iii) Data collection and
situation analysis
iv) Conduct study on best
practices in inter‐municipal
cooperation in Georgia and
new EU member states and
accession countries
v) Hold symposium for
interested municipal
stakeholders on findings of
study
i) Train departments on
participatory planning,
budgeting,
implementation, and M&E
methodology
ii) Implementation of
selected pilot projects
iii) Implement selected
pilot projects with criteria
that will encourage inter‐
municipal cooperation in
terms of planning and
implementation
i) Documentation and
dissemination of lessons
learned and best practices
from the pilot projects to
other municipalities
Short‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Conduct stakeholder
analysis and form working
groups
ii) Provide training for
working groups on
participatory planning
iii) Data collection and
situation analysis
iv) Conduct study on best
practices in inter‐municipal
cooperation in Georgia and
i) Increase stakeholder
awareness concerning
participatory planning
implementation guidelines
and need for/purpose of
monitoring and evaluation
ii) Introduce concepts of
inter‐municipal
cooperation and
partnership to facilitate
more effective and
efficient strategy
i) Key stakeholders attend
awareness raising workshop
and demonstrate increase in
knowledge through pre‐ and
post‐workshop questionnaires
ii) Key stakeholders attend
awareness raising workshop
and demonstrate increase in
knowledge through pre‐ and
post‐workshop questionnaires
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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new EU member states and
accession countries
v) Hold symposium for
interested municipal
stakeholders on findings of
study
development, planning
and implementation
Mid‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Train departments on
participatory planning,
budgeting, implementation,
and M&E methodology
ii) Implementation of selected
pilot projects
iii) Implement selected pilot
projects with criteria that will
encourage inter‐municipal
cooperation in terms of
planning and implementation
i) Participatory planning,
implementation, and M&E
culture introduced in at
least two municipalities
and regional government
ii) Inter‐municipal
cooperation established in
regards to strategy
development and project
implementation
i) Two municipalities and
regional government have
operational participatory
planning, implementation and
M&E system in place by the
end of 2010
ii) At least two inter‐municipal
cooperation projects
developed and in initial stages
of implementation
Long‐term activities Outputs Output indicators
i) Documentation and
dissemination of lessons
learned and best practices
from the pilot projects to
other municipalities
i) Experience of
participatory planning,
budgeting,
implementation, and M&E
methodology scaled up
i) Scaling up of four to five
other municipalities in the
Kvemo Kartli region
Appendices
Appendix‐ I
Capacity Development Response Strategy Matrix (Regional Administration)
Clu
ster
Issues CD Level Short-Term responses Short-Term activities Respons-ible parties
Medium-Term responses
Medium-Term activities
Responsible parties
Long-Term responses
Long-Term activities
Responsible parties
Enabling Environment
i) Increase stakeholders awareness on HR deficiencies of regional office of governor
i) Map the processes related to recruitment, performance assessment and promotion and suggest improvements
KK project team and CEGSTAR advisors
i) Discussion and implementation of the recommendations
i) Support implementation of recommendations related to recruitment, performance assessment and promotion
KK project team
No long-term responses
No long-term activities
Organizational No short-term response No short-term activities
No medium-term response
No medium-term activities
HR
i) Unclear or inappropriate HR regulations and rules, which are necessary to implement functions properly
Individual No short-term response No short-term activities
No medium-term response
No medium-term activities
No long-term responses
No long-term activities
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Org
aniz
atio
nal
Arr
ang
emen
ts
i) Weak horizontal coordination and information sharing between departments ii) Lack of coordination and information sharing between regional and local administrations iii) Inappropriate organizational structure for strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation iv) Lack of central government issued methodology/guidelines for data collection, storage and analysis
Enabling Environment
i). Increase stakeholder awareness of existing data collection, sharing, storage and analysis practices
i) Conduct review of current municipal, regional office of governor, line ministry, and Statistics Department practices in area of data collection, etc. and provide recommendations for improvement ii) Organize workshop for relevant central and regional government authorities and municipalities to present findings and recommendations of review
Consulting firm and KK project team
i) Implementation of recommendations through the study
i) Discuss the recommendations of the study with the regional administration and support implementation
KK project team
i) Influence national policy concerning data collection, sharing, storage, and analysis
i) Establish a working group at the national level on local level data collection, sharing, storage, and analysis
i) UNDP CO and UN Country team, relevant national government stakeholders ii) KK Project team
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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Organizational
i) Increase awareness of departments on need for improved communication and information sharing ii) Increase awareness of departments on need for improved coordination iii) Raise stakeholder awareness on issues concerning coordination and information sharing between municipal and regional administrations iv). Increase awareness of the regional office of the governor on the appropriate organizational framework for regional strategy development, monitoring and evaluation
i) Functional analysis and business process mapping and reengineering on communication and coordination ii) Study to find out the appropriate organizational framework
KK project team and CEGSTAR advisors and consultant
i) Improve coordination and information sharing between departments in the regional office of the governor ii) Guidelines endorsed and applied by the regional office of the governor iii) Recommendations on data collection is endorsed by regional office of governor
i) Develop guidelines on why and how information sharing between departments can occur ii) Organize briefing workshop on the draft guidelines iii) Implementation of the recommendations on data collection, analysis and storage
KK project team
i) Scale up endorsement and application of guidelines by regional administration across Georgia
i) Documentation and dissemination of best practices and lessons learned from Kvemo Kartli experience
i) Central government, NALA
Individual No short-term response No short-term activities
No medium-term response
No medium-term activities
No long-term responses
No long-term activities
Ext
ern
al
Acc
ou
nt
abili
ty i). The regional office of
the governor has weak communication culture concerning consultation with and dissemination of
Enabling Environment
No short-term response No short-term activities
No medium-term response
No medium-term activities
No long-term responses
No long-term activities
March 1, 2008 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE STRATEGY
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Organizational
i). Strengthen external communication system of the regional office of the governor ii) \Increase stakeholder awareness of issues related to existing community feedback mechanism
i) Functional analysis and business process mapping and reengineering on communication (linked to other activities) ii) Prepare analytical study on strengths and weaknesses of current feedback mechanism
KK project team and CEGSTAR advisors
i). Agreement on the recommendations and implementation ii) Implementation of suggested community feedback mechanism
i) Implementation of the recommendations on the reengineered processes ii) Hold workshop concerning findings of analytical report and other citizen feedback mechanisms iii) Select and implement new/improved citizen feedback mechanism
KK project team
No long-term responses
No long-term activities
information to communities ii) Weak system at the regional office of the governor to receive feedback from the community
Individual No short-term response No short-term activities
No medium-term response
No medium-term activities
No long-term responses
No long-term activities
Str
ateg
y an
d P
lan
nin
g
i) Lack of technical and experienced staff to carry out the planning and budgeting activities ii) Lack of formal structure for involving different stakeholders in strategy preparation iii) Lack of supporting document or regulations to prepare strategic document (such as manual, guidelines for approving strategic documents and formation of working groups for the preparation of strategic documents) iv) Lack of appropriate methodology to design the strategic plan v) Inappropriate organizational structure for strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation (addressed above under organizational arrangements)
Enabling Environment
i). Increase stakeholder understanding on current planning methodologies in use ii) Increase stakeholder understanding on impediments to strategy implementation iii) Increase regional office of governor's understanding on the supporting document required for preparation of long-term strategy
i) Conduct study on current planning methodologies in use ii.) Provide recommendations on a comprehensive planning methodology for consideration by national government
Consultant and KK project team
i) Discuss the need for a manual on “How to Prepare a Regional Strategy" with the regional administration
i) Preparation of the manual on "How to Prepare a Regional Strategy"
Consultant and KK project team
No long-term responses
No long-term activities
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Organizational
i) Increase stakeholders understanding on the advantages of having a formal structure of involving different stakeholders in the strategic planning process
i) conduct study on the organizational framework on strategic planning including involvement of different stakeholders (linked to the above activity)
Consultant and KK project team
i) Discuss the recommendations of the study with the regional administration
i) Implement the agreed recommendations
KK project team
No long-term responses
No long-term activities
Individual No short-term response No short-term activities
i) Design generic and specific training for the staff of regional development unit
i) Organize training for staff of regional development unit on strategic and participatory planning ii) Organize exposure visit to one of the European countries having similar experiences
KK project team
No long-term responses
No long-term activities
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Appendix ‐II
Capacity Development Response Strategy Matrix (Local Administration)
CD Response Table
CD Response and Activities
Clu
ster
Priority Issue
(Description)
CD
Lev
el
Short-Term Responses (by end
2008)
Short-Term Activities
Short-Term Responsible
Parties
Short-Term Costs
Short-Term Indi-
cators
Medium-Term
Responses (2009 & 2010)
Medium-Term
Activities
Medium-Term
Responsible Parties
Med- Term Costs
Med- Term Indi-
cators
Long-Term Responses
(2011 and up)
Long-Term Activities
Long-Term Responsible
Parties
Long-Term Costs
Long-Term
Indicators
Hum
an R
esou
rces
i) Unclear or inappropriate criteria at municipalities for staffing structure (level and number) - referring to executive
Ena
blin
g E
nvir
onm
ent
i) Increase stakeholder awareness of staffing structure deficiencies ii) Define appropriate staffing structure for municipalities
i) Functional analysis in collaboration with CEGSTAR (LINKED) ii) Design guidelines for staffing structure of municipalities iii) Workshop organized for municipal staff members, specialized governance organizations, Ministry of Regional Development, Governor’s office
i) KK Project in partnership with CEGSTAR, NALA and municipal authorities ii) KK Project in cooperation with NALA iii) KK project in cooperation with municipal government, NALA
i) Pilot testing implement-ation in two municipalities ii) Codification of pilot tests and documenting of lessons learned
i) Develop criteria for selection of municipalities, and subsequent selection of the two pilots ii) Application of staffing structure guidelines in two pilots iii) Codify process and make recommenda-tions for improvement concerning the application guidelines
i) KK Project in collaboration with office of the governor and minister of regions, NALA ii) Municipali-ties with support from KK project iii) NALA with support of KK project
i) Scale up to all municipalities in KK region ii) Scale up to municipalities in other Regions iii) Influence national policy and guidelines
i) Organize workshop and present results to other municipalities, regional authorities, and minister of regions, NALA ii) Support preparation of decree on scaling up and application of guidelines iii) Apply guidelines in remaining municipalities in KK region
i) KK project ii) CEGSTAR and NALA iii) KK Project in collaboration with NALA and CEGSTAR
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ii) Lack of enforcement of civil service code (permanent staff being forced out when there are political changes)
i) Increase stakeholder awareness of civil service code and labour regulations
i) Workshop on current status/difficulties in enforcement of civil service code
i) KK project in partnership with CEGSTAR and NALA
i) Increase stakeholder awareness on options and best practices for civil service code reform
i) Provide advice to municipal authorities on how to improve civil service code, experiences from new EU member states on civil service code reform, and provide project with best practices
i) KK project in cooperation with independent expert(s)
i). Influence amendment of civil service code
i). Pilot test suggested civil service code improvements as noted by consultant
i). KK project in cooperation with NALA and CEGSTAR
iii) No criteria for determining which recruitment process to use (professional vs. short-term) and lack of awareness at municipal level of the recruitment procedures
i) Increase stakeholder awareness on recruitment procedures as defined in civil service code
i)\ Workshop with municipal and regional authorities to increase understanding of recruitment procedures
i) NALA in cooperation with KK Project, CEGSTAR, and central level authorities
i) Pilot testing of criteria in two municipalities
i) Define criteria for application of appropriate recruitment process (whether to choose permanent recruitment or short-term recruitment)
i) KK project in cooperation with NALA, CEGSTAR, independent experts
i) Scale up testing of criteria to all municipalities in KK Region ii) Influence national policy
i) Organize workshop and present results to other municipalities, regional authorities, and minister of regions, NALA ii) Support preparation of decree on scaling up and application of criteria iii) Apply guidelines in remaining municipalities in KK region
i) KK project ii) CEGSTAR and NALA iii) KK Project in collaboration with NALA and CEGSTAR
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iv) Promotion criteria not clearly defined in civil service code
No response in short term.
No activities in short term.
N/A
i) Increase stakeholder awareness concerning different options of promotion policies
i) Conduct research on promotion policies relevant to Georgian context ii) Prepare advocacy materials to be shared with relevant stakeholders
i) KK project in cooperation with municipali-ties, NALA, CEGSTAR, independent experts
i) Influence national policy concerning promotion in civil service
i) Organize workshop and present municipal perspectives and results of research on different promotion policies to national stakeholders
i) KK project in cooperation with municipalities, NALA, and CEGSTAR
v) Performance evaluation criteria not explained No response in
short term. No activities in
short term. N/A No response in medium-
term.
No activities in medium-term. N/A N/A N/A
i) Influence policy dialogue based on pilot experiences
i) Organize workshop to present experiences of pilot municipalities in applying performance evaluation criteria
i) KK project in cooperation with municipalities, NALA, and CEGSTAR
i) Lack of job descriptions and standardized format (coverage, quality and inconsistency in format)
Org
ani
zatio
nal
i) Develop generic/template job descriptions for department heads and two key staff per department in two pilot municipalities
i) Functional analysis in collaboration with CEGSTAR (LINKED) ii) Develop job descriptions in cooperation with relevant Municipal HR focal points based on accurate description of the post's functions
i) KK project in partnership with municipalities, and CEGSTAR
i) Administration unit capacity developed to formulate job descriptions
i) Develop training manual on job description formulation ii) Hold workshop to train municipal administration in two pilots and regional administration on job description formulation
i) KK Project and CEGSTAR ii) KK Project, NALA, CEGSTAR
i) Scale up training to remaining five municipalities in KK region ii) Influence national policy and guidelines
i) Organize workshop to train administration in five other municipalities on how to formulate job descriptions.
i) KK project, NALA, CEGSTAR
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ii). Lack of standardized and transparent recruitment guidelines for short-term posts (duration of advertise-ment, what details are required in a ToR, where advertised, selection panel)
Addressed at enabling environment level
Addressed at enabling
environment level
N/A N/A N/A
Addressed at enabling
environment level
Addressed at enabling
environment level
N/A N/A N/A
Addressed at enabling
environment level
Addressed at enabling
environment level
N/A N/A N/A
iii) Fiscal and non-fiscal incentives are subjective - no objective criteria that determine which staff will receive them, nor specification of type/amount of incentive No response in
short term. No activities in
short term. N/A N/A N/A
i) Develop fiscal and non-fiscal incentive policy and criteria for application of these incentives in the executive ii) Pilot testing of incentives policy in one municipality targeting executive and administrative unit of sakrebulo
i) Conduct study on current incentives being offered, and range of options based on staff feedback and best practices in new EU member states ii) Hold workshop for municipal executive and legislative representa-tives to gain buy-in on application of policy iii) Implement the pilot testing
i) KK project, independent experts, NALA, and municipalities ii) KK Project, NALA iii) KK Project and municipality
i) Influence policy based on experiences of pilot
i) Document best practices and lessons learned of pilot, and disseminate to relevant stakeholders
i) KK Project, NALA
iv) Performance criteria for staff are not yet defined. Not linked to annual work plans (which are subsequently linked to department work plans)
No response in short term.
No response in short term.
N/A N/A N/A
i).- Develop performance evaluation guidelines and procedures
i) Conduct study on current practices in performance assessment in Georgia and new EU member states
i) KK Project, independent experts, CEGSTAR
i) Influence policy on performance evaluation
i) Pilot testing of performance evaluation in one municipality ii)Documentation and dissemination of lessons learned
i).CEGSTAR, KK project, and independent consultants. Ii) KK Project
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i) Lack of technically skilled staff in certain sectors In
divi
dua
l
No response in the short term. Beyond scope of project -
related to education reform, and other
factors.
No response in short term.
N/A N/A N/A No response in medium-
term.
No activities in medium-term.
N/A N/A N/A No response in long term
No activities in long term
N/A N/A N/A
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CD Response Table
CD Response and Activities
Clu
ster
Priority Issue (Description)
CD
Lev
el
Short-Term Outputs (by end 2008)
Short-Term
Activities
Short-Term Responsible
Parties
Short-Term Costs
Short-Term Indi-
cators
Medium-Term
Outputs (2009 & 2010)
Medium-Term
Activities
Medium Term
Responsible Parties
Med- Term Costs
Med- Term
Indica-tors
Long-Term Outputs
(2011 and up)
Long-Term Activities
Long–Term Responsible
Parties
Long-Term Costs
Long-Term Indi-
cators
Org
ani
zatio
nal
Arr
ang
emen
ts
i) Lack of alignment of local priorities and budget allocation provided by central government
Ena
blin
g E
nviro
nme
nt
No short-term
responses
No short-term
activities N/A N/A N/A
i) Increase awareness of municipal and central level stakeholders on lack of alignment and its impact on development at the local level
i) Hold workshop on BDD and MTEF processes for municipalities in KK Region to ascertain impediments to their participation and understanding and to increase dialogue between national stakeholders and municipalities in KK region
i) KK Project and Ministry of Finance
i) Influence national policy concerning BDD and MTEF processes vis-à-vis municipalities
i) Disseminate findings/ results of workshop to relevant stake-holders at national level.
i) Ministry of Finance
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ii) Information fragmentation. Municipalities lack access to and/or understanding of key guidelines issued by central government (including budgeting, procurement, public expenditure management/ accounting and reporting, financial control, audit, laws and decrees, and delegated responsibilities)
No short-term
responses
No short- term
activities N/A N/A N/A
i) Establish clearing-house of information related municipal functions, responsibili-ties, processes/ procedures
i) Develop an inventory of all applicable laws, decrees, processes/ procedures relevant to municipal functions and responsibili-ties ii) Establish physical and e-library of information.
i) CEGSTAR and NALA
i) Clearly define functions, responsibilities, procedures and processes of municipalities.
i) Analysis of laws, decrees, legal acts, procedures, etc.
i) Central government
i) Weak horizontal coordination and information sharing between departments
i) Increase awareness of depart-ments in two pilot municipali-ties on need for improved communica-tion and information sharing
i) Functional analysis in collabora-tion with CEG-STAR (LINKED)
i). KK Project in cooperation with CEGSTAR
i) Improve coordination and information sharing between departments in two municipali-ties ii) Guidelines endorsed and applied by two municipali-ties
i) Develop guidelines on why and how information sharing between departments can occur ii) Organize briefing workshop on the draft guidelines
i) KK project and independent consultants
i) Scale up endorsement and application of guidelines by municipalities across Georgia
i) Documen-tation and dissemina-tion of best practices and lessons learned from pilot experience
i). Central government, NALA
ii) Lack of coordination between head of executive and departments
Org
aniz
atio
nal
i) Increase awareness of depart-ments and the head of the executive in two pilot municipali-ties on need for improved coordination
i) Functional analysis in collabora-tion with CEG-STAR (LINKED)
i) KK Project in cooperation with CEGSTAR
i) Improve coordination between executive and departments in two municipali-ties Ii) Guidelines on improved coordination endorsed and applied by two municipali-ties
i) Develop guidelines on why and how coordination should occur ii) Organize briefing workshop on the draft guidelines
i) KK project and independent consultants
i) Scale up endorsement and application of guidelines by municipalities across Georgia
i) Documen-tation and dissemina-tion of best practices and lessons learned from pilot experience
i) Central government, NALA
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iii) Lack of clear reporting lines within departments
i) Mapping of existing reporting lines in all depart-ments in two munici-palities
i) Functional analysis in collabora-tion with CEG-STAR (LINKED)
i) KK Project in cooperation with CEGSTAR and two municipalities
i). Scaling up of application of guidelines to other munici-palities in KK Region
i) Codification of lessons drawn from functional analysis ii)Implemen-tation in five remaining municipalities
i) KK Project
i) Scale up endorsement and application of guidelines by municipalities across Georgia
i) Documen-tation and dis-semination of best practices and lessons learned from pilot experience in KK Region
i) Central government, NALA
iv) Lack of alignment and overlap of departments' functions to the services municipality has to provide
i). Mapping existing department functions vis-à-vis services in two pilot municipali-ties
i) Functional analysis in collabora-tion with CEG-STAR (LINKED)
i). KK Project in cooperation with CEGSTAR and two municipalities
i) Rationalize functions of departments with the services to be provided
i) Workshop with all KK Regional municipalities on findings on mapping and proposed changes ii) Implement changes in department structure and functions in 2 municipalities
i) KK Project ii) Two pilot municipalities, and office of governor at regional level
i) Replicate process in other five municipalities in KK region
i). Documenta-tion and dissemina-tion of best practices and lessons learned from pilot experience in KK Region ii) Implement the process across municipali-ties.
i) KK Project with independent consultants ii) Municipalities and regional administration
v) Limited transparency and understanding of financial management process within municipality
i) Mapping of existing budgeting and financial management process in all depart-ments in two municipali-ties
i) Functional analysis in collabora-tion with CEG-STAR (LINKED)
i) KK Project in cooperation with CEGSTAR and two municipalities
i) Improve transparency and understand-ing of financial management processes within departments in two pilot munici-palities
i) Workshop with all KK regional municipalities on findings of functional analysis and proposed changes ii) Implement changes in two municipalities
i) KK Project ii) Two pilot municipalities, and office of governor at regional level
i) Replicate process in other five municipalities in KK region
i) Documenta-tion and dissemina-tion of best practices and lessons learned from pilot experience in KK Region ii) Implement the process across municipali-ties.
i) KK Project with independent consultants ii) Municipalities and regional administration
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vi) Lack of coordination and information sharing between regional and local administrations
i) Raise stakeholder awareness on issues concerning coordination and information sharing between municipal and regional administrations
i) Conduct study on existing practices and impedi-ments to coordina-tion and informa-tion sharing
i) KK Project
i) Improve coordination and information sharing between municipal and regional administra-tion in KK Region
i) Workshop with all KK Region municipalities on findings study and propositions ii) Implement changes in all municipalities in KK Region
i) KK Project ii) Municipalities, and office of governor at regional level
i) Influence national level stakeholders to endorse and replicate coordination and information sharing practices
i) Documenta-tion and dissemina-tion of best practices and lessons learned from pilot experience in KK Region ii) Implement the process across Georgia
i) KK Project with independent consultants ii) Municipalities and regional administration
No issues to address at this
level
Indi
vid
ual
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
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CD Response Table
CD Response and Activities
Clu
ster
Priority Issue (Description)
CD
Lev
el
Short-Term Responses
(by end 2008)
Short-Term Activities
Short-Term Responsible
Parties
Short-Term Costs
Short-Term
Indica-tors
Medium-Term
Responses (2009 & 2010)
Medium-Term
Activities
Medium-Term
Responsible Parties
Med-Term Costs
Med-Term
Indicat-ors
Long-Term Responses
(2011 and up)
Long-term Activities
Long-Term Responsibl
e Parties
Long Term Costs
Long Term
Indica-tors
i) Lack of knowledge and understanding of Georgian language for many citizens
En
ablin
g E
nvi
ron
men
t
No short-term responses
No short-term activities
N/A N/A N/A
i) Increase awareness of municipal stakeholders to provide unofficial translation of documents for those who do not speak or read Georgian
i) Prepare information package on citizen rights and responsibilities in languages other than Georgian and distribute to across KK Region
i) KK Project, NGOs, municipalities
No long term responses -
heavily politically influenced
No long term activities
N/A N/A N/A
Ext
ern
al A
cco
un
tab
ility
i) Municipalities have weak communication culture concerning consultation with and dissemination of information to communities
Org
aniz
atio
nal
i) Strengthen external communication system of municipalities
i) Develop draft communica-tion strategy for two municipalities concerning consultation and information dissemination (including budget process and result)
i). KK Project and two pilot municipalities
i) Approval and implementa-tion of strategy by two pilot municipalities
i) Presentation by municipalities to citizens on communica-tion strategy ii) Select public information focal point within municipalities iii) Implement communication strategy
i). KK Project, municipalities ii). Municipalities iii) Two pilot municipalities
i) Raise awareness amongst five other municipalities in KK Region on need for communication strategy
i) Document experiences of two pilot municipalities and share strategy and lessons learned
i). KK Project
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ii) Weak system among the municipalities to receive feedback from the community
i) Increase stakeholder awareness of issues related to existing community feedback mechanism
i) Prepare analytical study on strengths and weaknesses of current feedback mechanism
i) KK Project
i) Pilot test new/improved citizen feedback mechanism in two municipalities
i) Hold workshop with two pilot municipalities concerning findings of analytical report and other citizen feedback mechanisms ii) Select and implement new/improved citizen feedback mechanism
i) KK Project and municipalities ii) KK project and municipalities
i) Raise awareness amongst other municipalities in Georgia on need for new/improved community mechanism
i) Document experiences of two pilot municipalities and share lessons learned
i) KK Project, NALA
iii) Lack of horizontal accountability between executive and representative body
No short-term responses
No short-term activities
N/A N/A N/A
i) Strengthen and operationa-lize oversight mechanism
i) Conduct study on existing practices in two pilot municipalities, document strengths and weaknesses of system, and provide recommenda-tions for improvement ii) Discuss findings of study with two municipalities and implement agreed upon recommenda-tions
i) KK project and municipalities ii) KK Project and municipalities
i) Raise awareness amongst other municipalities in KK Region on need for new/improved oversight mechanism
i) Document experiences of two pilot municipalities and share lessons learned
i) KK Project, NALA
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iv) Weak citizen participation in accountability mechanisms
No short-term responses
No short-term activities
N/A N/A N/A
i) Increased citizen participation in accountability mechanisms
i) Support community in self-organization efforts through provision of examples/ models utilized in other countries and elsewhere in Georgia
i) KK project, selected communities in two2 pilot municipalities
i) Raise awareness amongst other municipalities and communities on community self-organization efforts
i) Document experiences and share lessons learned
i) KK project
No issues at this level
I nd i v i dua l
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
CD Response Table
CD Response and Activities
Clu
ster
Priority Issue (Description)
CD
Lev
el
Short-Term Responses
(by end 2008)
Short-Term Activities
Short-Term Responsible
Parties
Short-Term Costs
Short-Term
Indica-tors
Medium-Term Responses
(2009 & 2010)
Medium-Term
Activities
Medium-Term
Responsible Parties
Med-term
Costs
Med-term
Indica-tors
Long-Term Responses
(2011 and up)
Long-Term Activities
Long-Term Responsibl
e Parties
Long-Term Costs
Long-Term
Indica-tors
Str
ateg
y an
d P
lan
nin
g
i) Lack of central government issued methodology/guidelines for data collection, storage and analysis
En
ablin
g E
nvi
ron
men
t
i) Increase stakeholder awareness of existing data collection, sharing, storage and analysis practices
i) Conduct review of current municipal, line ministry, and Statistics Department practices in area of data collection etc. and provide recommendations for improvement ii) Workshop for relevant central and regional government authorities and municipalities to present findings and recommendations of review
i) KK Project, CEGSTAR, Statistical Department ii) KK Project
i). Influence national policy concerning data collection, sharing, storage, and analysis
i) Establish a working group at the national level on local level data collection, sharing, storing, and analysis ii) Pilot testing in two or three municipalities based on recommenda-tions made in the review
i) UNDP CO and UN Country team, relevant national government stakeholders ii) KK Project
No long-term
responses No long-term
activities N/A N/A N/A
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ii). Lack of planning methodology and guidelines from the central government for the municipalities
i) Increase stakeholder understanding on current planning methodologies in use ii). Increase stakeholder understanding on impediments to strategy implementation
i) Conduct study on current planning methodologies in use ii) provide recommendations on a comprehensive planning methodology for consideration by national government
i). KK Project, donors ii) other partners who have developed other planning methodologies
i) Influence national policy concerning standardized planning methodology
i) Workshop for relevant national and local stakeholders to discuss findings of study and endorse a standardized planning methodology
i) UNDP CO, other donors who have developed planning methodolo-gies, relevant national government stakeholders
i) Apply standardized planning methodology across Georgia
i)Conduct training of trainers of relevant national government staff to ensure that local level staff will be trained in new methodology
i) To be determined
i) Lack of proper participatory planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation mechanism for projects and activities
Org
aniz
atio
nal
i) Increase stakeholder awareness and capacity concerning participatory planning, implementation guidelines, and need for/purpose of monitoring and evaluation
i) Conduct stakeholder analysis and form working groups ii) Provide training for working groups on participatory planning iii) Data collection and situation analysis
i) KK project ii) local coordinators
i) Introduce participatory planning, implementation, M&E culture in two or three municipalities and regional government
i) Train department(s) on participatory planning, budgeting, implementa-tion, M&E methodology ii) Implementa-tion of selected pilot projects
i) KK Project
i) Scaling up to four or five other municipalities in KK Region
i) Documenta-tion and dissemination of lessons learned and best practices from the pilot projects to other municipalities
i). KK Project
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ii). Lack of practice to share information with other municipalities within Kvemo Kartli region in relation to strategy development and planning
i) Introduce concepts of inter-municipal cooperation and partnership to facilitate more effective and efficient strategy development, planning and implementation
i) Conduct study on best practices in inter-municipal cooperation in Georgia and new EU member states and accession countries ii) Hold symposium for interested municipal stakeholders on findings of study
i) KK Project
i) Facilitate inter-municipal cooperation in regards to strategy development and project implementation
i) Implement selected pilot projects with criteria that will encourage inter-municipal cooperation in terms of planning and implementa-tion
i) KK Project
No long-term
responses No long-term
activities N/A N/A N/A
i). Lack of technical and experienced staff to carry out the planning and budgeting activities
Ind
ivid
ual
Addressed at organizational
level and through
functional analysis
Addressed at organizational
level and through functional analysis
Appendix III
Executive Summary of Institutional Baseline Mapping Report
Strengthening Regional and Local Governance in the Kvemo Kartli region project started its
implementation by UNDP in September 2007 with financial assistance from SIDA. The
project has the following objectives:
Improved regional governance: Increased capacity of the regional government to coordinate and facilitate the formulation and implementation of the regional development strategy and plans.
Improved local governance: Improved capacity of municipal officials to streamline administrative procedures and systems for efficient delivery of public services.
Secure policy mainstreaming of the project’s experience: Documented policy experience of the project. Attempts taken to ensure that the experience of the project is utilized by other districts in the country as well as by policy makers at the national level.
Through a combination of capacity development tools, the project tries to enhance the
seven municipalities and the region’s ability to be both better governed and to deliver
services to the full spectrum of local citizens, thus counteracting poverty and disadvantage
in the region.
In order to implement these objectives, the Kvemo Kartli project initiated a capacity
assessment by undertaking an institutional baseline mapping exercise to find out capacity
strengths and weaknesses. The institutional baseline mapping exercise has covered the
following thematic areas:
1. Organizational and human resource management issues
2. Planning and coordination
3. Budgeting and financial management
4. Procurement and service delivery
5. Monitoring and evaluation
6. Communication and implementation
There is also a separate chapter of questionnaires covering issues and challenges related to
the Sakrebulo (representative body)7.
Organization and human resource management issues
The following organizational/human resource management issues have been documented:
Organizational structure
7 In this document, Sakrebulo will be referred to as the representative body
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Functional responsibilities
Job descriptions and appraisal
Staffing and qualifications
Recruitment, appraisal and promotion (human resource management system)
Training and human resource development
Office equipment/facilities
Based on these management issues, some broad conclusions can be made:
The structure and number of staff within departments vary in each municipality.
Even if the roles and responsibilities of departments are clearly defined by law, it is
not clear to most of the departments.
Functions of the regional administration are defined in the law in very general terms.
The governance system of the region and municipalities as a whole is based on a
strong upward accountability. Efficiency in administration, and ultimately in service
delivery, is compromised as there is a considerable lack of clarity of functional
responsibilities. Civil servants are occupied with ad hoc activities given by the head
of the executive.
The ratio of the civil servant to the population is 1:891. Most of the civil servants are
young and have one to ten years of experience. The ratio of minority staff to the
total staff is very low, even though the minority population in the particular
municipalities is very high. Local authorities decide their staffing structure and cover
the salary costs.
There is significant training focused on the dissemination of information about new
rules, regulations and policies. There is not, however, a sequenced program of
training linked to wider policy objectives that targets a broad base of staff.
Moreover, training is not systematically provided on the basis of identified training
needs.
There does not appear to be any performance orientation in the current training
system.
The decree of the Sakrebulo (representative body) defines the functions of
departments, which determine individual job descriptions. But some of the
departments within different municipalities do not have individual job descriptions.
There is no formalized system of recruitment or of promotion and performance
evaluation of civil servants. Recruitment of civil servants is done by the head of the
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executive8 with recommendations from heads of different department.
Performance of civil servants is measured by the head of the executive.
Planning and coordination
This section reviews the current planning process at both the regional and municipal levels.
Some of the important issues in this sector have been explained below:
Almost all municipalities mentioned the lack of a short‐, mid‐ or long‐term
socioeconomic development strategy or plan. The exceptions are Tetritskaro,
Dmanisi and Rustavi, who have recently started this process, but they do not follow
a particular methodology.
At the regional level, long‐term plans are being prepared with support from UNDP,
EC, OSCE and ACH.
Municipal plans are prepared on an ad hoc basis. The primary purpose of the
municipal annual planning process is to define financial priorities as a part of the
annual budgeting process.
Some municipalities' Decrees of the Representative Body on the Regulation of
Activities of the Executive do not define clearly which department is responsible for
the development and implementation of annual, medium and long‐term
socioeconomic development plans.
The problems in the planning process can be summarized as: lack of legislation and
supporting decrees or documents that enable local authorities to prepare their
socioeconomic development plans; lack of linkage between the planning and
budgeting processes; lack of authentic data for analysis; and lack of involvement of
all stakeholders.
No formal coordination mechanism exists within the municipalities. The head of the
executive calls for weekly meetings among departments to discuss various issues.
Most of the time, different departments try to coordinate with other departments
informally rather than by sending formal letters.
Budgeting and financial management
The following elements of budgeting and financial management have been documented:
The budget preparation process
Accounting and financial reporting systems
8 In this document Gamgeoba will be referred as executive
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Internal audit mechanisms
Arrangements for cash management
The review highlights a series of weaknesses in the current system in relation to procedures,
reporting and capacity issues. For example:
Weak linkages between capital and recurrent expenditure systems and
misclassifications of capital and recurrent schemes;
A significant degree of central control combined with a lack of local funds
Recurrent expenditures are very high in some municipalities. This gives very little
scope to the municipal administration to plan for their developmental activities.
Current internal auditing mechanisms look strong having three types of auditing
practices: inbuilt audit, which is done by the department of finance; external audit,
which is done by external auditors hired by the representative body; and finally,
central audit from the state chamber of control, which audits special projects.
Procurement and service delivery
This section is concerned with the procurement and service delivery processes at both the
regional and municipal levels. Some of the findings in this section can be summarized as
follows:
There is considerable misunderstanding and misinformation concerning present
procurement practices.
Some municipalities have established permanent committees, and some of the
municipalities have temporary committees with no permanent members.
Private sector capacity varies across the region. Some of the public services, which
are delivered with support from the private sector, are electricity, gas, water
provision, road construction, garbage collection, public health, sport, and culture
and youth services. Some of the public services are provided by organizations (LTDs)
established by municipalities.
Existing operations and maintenance of services by regional and municipal
administrations are limited. Some operations and maintenance expenditures are
budgeted under capital projects, which are not guaranteed or regular. There is no
scheduling of operations and maintenance. All municipalities are using an ad hoc,
reactive approach to operations and maintenance needs.
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Communication strategy and implementation
The following are some of the highlights of this section:
The information among different departments of the executive is shared formally
and informally. The formal sharing of information is done via regular meetings with
the head of the executives and by official letters. Information from the community is
collected by the executive representatives based within the community.
Information is not commonly shared with other municipalities.
Information sharing between the municipal and local population is done by
representatives of the executive within the community; local newspaper, television,
radio, or promotional posters; and by members of representative body.
Information sharing practices of municipalities are reactive and not proactive in
nature. According to the law, information is open to the public. Citizens can write
an official request to municipalities or to the regional office of the governor and
collect information. However, they have to pay a nominal fee for this service.
Monitoring and evaluation
In general, there is no special mechanism in place for monitoring and evaluation.
Some of the activities, which are monitored at the municipal level, are the following:
o A contract is signed between the executive and different organizations to
undertake certain service delivery activities. Standards and conditions
towards the project or service delivery are clearly defined in these contracts.
A special commission of the executive inspects and assesses implemented
works, conducts field visits and prepares reports. The commission
recommends the department of finance to release payment after the
evaluation of the performance of the project.
o Each department prepares an annual work plan on the basis of that plan and
implements activities. They report to the head of the executive on a monthly
basis, and the head of the executive monitors different activities undertaken
by the departments. This report also gives enough scope to different heads
of departments to monitor the performance of individual staff members.
Some of the indicators used by municipalities to monitor results are time, quality
and opinion of the local population.
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Representative body of local self‐government
The issues and challenges of the representative body of municipalities can be summarized
as follows:
Lack of knowledge of Georgian language is an impediment.
Lack of basic equipment for the members of the representative body to make their
work efficient and effective.
Low understanding of local self‐governance among representative body members.
Lack of budget to cover travel expenses makes it difficult for members to visit the
community regularly.
Lack of high qualifications and understanding of the nuances of the law.
Perceived closeness of the regional office of the governor to the executive body of
municipalities makes the representative body much weaker.
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Appendix IV
Prioritized Capacity Gaps (In consultation with the stakeholders)
1. Lack of formalized HRM (recruitment, promotion, incentive, performance
evaluation and community feedback mechanism) system.
- Mismatch of functions and skills
- Lack of job descriptions (coverage, quality and inconsistency in format)
- Unclear or inappropriate criteria at municipalities for staffing structure (level
and number)
2. Inappropriate or inadequate organizational set up (overlapping of functions, lack
of clarity in roles and responsibilities among staff of different departments,
inappropriate horizontal coordination, lack of clearly defined reporting lines)
- Lack of service orientation, while designing functions of departments at
municipality level
- Inefficient and ineffective service delivery by the local administration
3. Inadequate practice in the assignment of powers, functions and responsibilities for
representative body
- Limited understanding of local self governance among representative body
members
4. Lack of short‐, medium‐, and long‐term strategies
- Lack of methodology for designing strategies
- Lack of clarity on responsibility of any particular department to design
strategy for municipality
- Lack of proper participatory planning, implementation, monitoring and
evaluation mechanism for projects and activities
- Lack of planning methodology and guidelines from the central government
for the municipalities
- Limited scope for responding to local priorities
- Lack of technical and experienced staff to carry out the planning and
budgeting activities
5. Lack of weak communication culture
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- Dissemination of information with community
- Lack of access to information for the municipalities (civil servants) regarding
the revision of law and decree by the central government
- Lack of knowledge and understanding of Georgian language for many civil
servants and representative body members in some of the municipalities
- Inappropriate system among the municipalities to receive feedback from the
community
- Lack of practice to share information with other municipalities within the
Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia
- Lack of dialogue between local and central government
6. Accountability
- Lack of downward accountability (executives towards community members)
- Lack of motivation to form village development committee in most of the
villages
- Strong upward accountability mechanisms to central government (e.g.
present procurement procedures force local self government to be more
accountable to central government than the local population)
- Lack of horizontal accountability between line departments staff and elected
representatives (municipal council and representative body)
7. Lack of specific methodology/guidelines for data collection, storage and analysis
- Uncoordinated effort among municipal departments and the regional office
of the governor for data collection
- Inconsistency in data at municipal level
8. Lack of common understanding of guidelines issued by central government for
budgeting, procurement, public expenditure management (accounting and
reporting, financial control and audit)
- Limited transparency of budgeting and financial management process
- Lack of linking budgetary planning with socioeconomic development plans
ppendix‐V
Sample questionnaire for planning and coordination component
Baseline mapping
Strengthening local and regional governance in the Kvemo Kartli region
Department/Organisation
Interviewer
Date
2. Planning and Coordination
2.1 What is the current status of regional development strategy and municipality action plans?
Approved Completely finished Partially finished Not started yet
Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes No
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2.2 Which donor/donors supported preparation of the regional development strategy and municipality action plans?
Sl No Name of the donors
1
2
3
4
2.3 Does the municipality have any other long‐term and short‐term strategies?
Yes No
2.4 If yes, then what are they?
1
2
3
4
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2.5 Does the municipality have any specific methodologies to develop strategy/action plans?
Yes No
2.6 If yes, then what are those methodologies?
1
2
3
2.7 Name of the stakeholders involved in preparing the municipality strategy or action plans?
1
2
3
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