Local Government
11
Large Cities
0
Capital Cities
0
Regional or State Governments
0
National Government
0
Other Institutions
0
Local Government
11
Large Cities
0
Capital Cities
0
Regional or State Governments
0
National Government
0
Other Institutions
0
Community
Capital
Tbilisi
Population
3 731 000
Language
Georgian
Currency
Georgian Lari
Indexes
Democracy
89
Hybrid Regime
Democracy
Democracy
89
Hybrid Regime
Democracy
Corruption Perception
41/180
Corruption Perception
Corruption Perception
41/180
Corruption Perception
Human Development
70
High
Human Development
Human Development
70
High
Human Development
World Happiness
119/156
World Happiness
World Happiness
119/156
World Happiness
Legislation Regarding the Regulation of Participatory Budgeting Experiences
There is no regulation at the national/governmental level. Usually, PB is implementing at the local level, based on the mayor’s (executive power) order every year. However, a group of the nongovernmental organization started to work on developing legislation at the national level regarding the regulation of Participatory Budgeting experiences.
Participatory Budgeting Experiences Promoted by the Local Government
Started in 2018 and continue this year: Gori, Tskaltubo, Akhaltsikhe, Kutaisi; First edition this year: Zugdidi, Signagi, Mestia, Ozurgeti, Batumi, Chokhatauri; Start preparation this year: Khelvachauri.
Outstanding Innovation
The participatory budget in Georgia is influenced by the specificity of the self-government structure, still undergone decentralization processes. Other problems are low activities of residents and weak civil society, multiculturalism, multiethnicity, low rural development and limited access to electronic tools. That is why it is difficult to talk about innovation here. The introduction of PB in 2015 was an innovation. PB is considered the most effective tool of democracy, which is becoming more and more interested in the central authorities. In Georgia, it is very important, not only the development of technology and digital system, but direct involvement of residents, mechanisms of dialog, meetings, and discussions. From the beginning, the emphasis on the inclusion of PB in the budgeting system and strategic documents of the local government was very important. In 2019, an additional element of the process is being developed:
- Including residents at the stage of implementing projects selected in the BP process.
Principal Tendencies Detected
- Increase in participatory budgets in cities (so far, they have been carried out mainly on a scale of the municipality, which included several dozens, sometimes more than one hundred villages);
- Even though the use of electronic tools is low in Georgia, it is observed a growth of digital practices;
- Emphasis on smaller projects.
Other Information
There is no specific model of PB. Since the regions differ so much from each other, the PB process is different in each municipality too. For example, the selection of projects is performed either by consensus or voting system (mostly in cities). Because of that, it was very important the preparation Standards of PB as a result of multiple-year efforts to introduce the Participatory Budget (PB) mechanism in Georgia. Standards have been developed by a group of Georgian activists and municipalities under the umbrella of Polish-Georgian cooperation, jointly implemented by Solidarity Fund PL and Polish experts. Based on Standards, the process of PB Certification in municipalities is currently being prepared by local consortium and international organizations. This is to ensure the preservation of the Standards and also be an indicator and to the development of processes in the municipalities.
