Transparency International Georgia

Strategy 2016-2020
Towards a Mature Democracy and Society
Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) is a national chapter of the global anti-corruption
movement, Transparency International. Our vision is to make Georgia a country which is free of
corruption in all parts of society. A country where people are involved in the policymaking process. We
aim to make Georgia a place where transparency and openness in government and the private sector
are the rule rather than an exception. This includes supporting an engaged citizenry and a vibrant and
fair democratic environment.
To achieve this, we have undertaken a mission to support building and empowering state institutions,
develop good governance and the rule of law and ensure the transparency and direct accountability of
the state institutions.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Transparency International Georgia
Strategy 2016-2020
INTRODUCTION
ABOUT THE STRATEGY
CONTEXT
Structure
Our profile
Lessons learnt
DELIVERING CHANGE
Guiding principles
Stakeholders
Interventions
EXTERNAL PRIORITIES
INTERNAL PRIORITIES
Resources and capacity
Financial sustainability
MONITORING IMPACT

ABOUT THE STRATEGY

This strategy has been written to provide a framework for TI Georgias actions in 2016-2020. It is TI
Georgias second strategy document. The first was the 2011-2015 Strategic Plan. This strategy reflects
the changes that have taken place in Georgia, as well as the impact our team has made in Georgia so far.
The strategy clearly articulates TI Georgias guiding principles and the link between our mission and
areas of activity. It is thus a reference for future decision making, project planning and implementation.
Improving governance is a very complex process. The goals articulated here will not be achieved during
this strategy period. Moreover, should they be achieved it will not be based solely on the work of TI
Georgia. As such, the strategy and the supporting monitoring framework does not make claims of
attribution for any goals, objectives or outcomes. Development is slow, there will be many hurdles along
the way. However, the work that we will undertake within this period will lay important groundwork
necessary for building a mature, robust and democratic Georgia.
The strategy builds on the vast experience that TI Georgia has in mitigating risks and dealing with
pressure. It provides an overview of major lessons that we have learnt during earlier periods of work.
Thus, strategic planning ensures continuity of our work: it both helps us learn from the past and ensures
sustainability of our priorities in the future.
Our areas of focus have broadened over the past few years. We have gained a very high reputation for
it. This has resulted in both external and internal pressure to respond to a vast array of developments in
the country. Some of these developments may be outside our mandate. Strategic planning and guidelines
help us remain focused on our core mandate. It sets boundaries within which we will engage, and
clarifies where we will not engage. The strategy brings coherence to our priorities and projects,
ensuring they align under our core principles.
As we engage with multiple stakeholders, the strategy also serves as a primary document for our
partners and the general society to understand our mandate, and priorities.
The strategy was developed as a result of internal and external consultation. TI Georgia program staff
participated in a series of workshops to develop the Theory of Change which guides this document. The
TI Georgia Board also provided vital guidance, for which we would like to thank them.

CONTEXT
The past several years have seen significant changes in Georgia. After the Rose Revolution, President
Saakashvilis United National Movement (UNM) government introduced important reforms to achieve
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economic growth, developed infrastructure and virtually eradicated low-level corruption (e.g. bribery in
public services). However, the UNM government failed to deliver on promises to create strong
democratic institutions and strengthen the rule of law. While a number of reforms were successful,
concentration of power within a narrow group of officials comprising the President and his closest
associates occurred, making it possible for this group to exercise near-total control over all key public
institutions (including Parliament and the judiciary) and some important non-state actors (such as the
countrys most influential media outlets). This resulted in a low level of transparency and a virtual lack of
accountability at the highest tiers of government and created extensive possibilities for abuse of power.
Alleged elite corruption, the 2008 war with Russia, personality politics and patronage networks
undermined much of the progress by, and popular support for, the UNM.
A peaceful and democratic handover of power in 2012 following parliamentary elections demonstrated
the growing maturity of the electoral system. The Georgian Dream (GD) Coalition, led by billionaire
Bidzina Ivanishvili, won the election on a promise of democratic reform. Following the parliamentary
elections, the presidential and local government elections were also fair and democratic, resulting into
election of an overwhelming majority of GD candidates at the central and local government level.
Ivanishvili resigned from his position as Prime Minister in 2013, but remains a figure of influence even as
a private citizen. Informal rule by a private citizen is one of many concerns about the state of democracy
and democratic institutions in Georgia.
During the two years that the Georgian Dream government has been in power, however, Georgians
have seen many setbacks. We have been concerned with the weakness of institutions that make up a
democratic society.
In 2013 a new constitution came fully into effect, moving the center of power from the president to the
prime minister. The public argument for the change was to share power more within government, to
improve the checks and balances on any individual office and, thus, improve accountability and
governance. The prime minister has more formal responsibility and power but the president is not
simply a rubber stamp or figurehead position the Constitution provides the president with powers in
foreign policy, makes her/him the commander-in-chief and gives the office the power to schedule
elections. The division of power between the offices of the prime minister and the president is still not
settled, and jostling for both symbolic and actual power is on-going, posing a potential threat to the
quality of democratic governance in Georgia. In the 2015 State of the Nation address, President
Margvelashvili noted the problems that arise from this lack of clarity as it weakens the institutions of
state and undermines accountability.
Georgia signed an Association Agreement and a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement
(DCFTA) with the EU in 2014. This brings the need for more reforms to harmonize with EU standards
across a wide range of sectors all branches of government and all levels. Thus far, changes have been
poorly handled and implemented due to a lack of consultation, opacity in the processes and low
capacity.
Over the last three years, Georgia has seen some gains in international rankings and surveys about
democratic freedoms and corruption. Freedom Houses Nations in Transit index for 2014 gives Georgia
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an overall democracy score of 4.68, based on improvements in electoral processes and independent
media (with 1 being the most democratic, and 7 the least) . This is part of a fairly consistent, although
slow improvement since 2009. Georgias improvements in fighting corruption have been noted, with the
Corruption Perception Index 2014 ranking Georgia 50th globally in terms of corruption, with a score of
52 a slight improvement from the 2013 score of 49 . While the National Integrity Systems (NIS) for
2014 found overall improvements in legislation around integrity, and some improvements in practice.
Despite these impressive moves to improve the rule of law, citizens access to government,
transparency and accountability, there are still many obstacles undermining good governance in Georgia.
The controversial investigations and prosecution of former government officials (including
unconstitutionally extended pre-trial detentions) are evidence of a lack of respect for the central thesis
of the rule of law. Moreover, major concerns still exist over concentration of power and wealth in the
hands of the elite; lack of public trust in government and state institutions; the failure to establish an
independent and professional civil service; low levels of citizen engagement and public dialogue; lowlevels of capacity in the media; and poor representation of women, linguistic and ethnic minorities.
It is our strong belief that effective governance and inclusive policy-making will help eliminate all forms of
corruption, ensure that the principles of representative democracy are followed and improve Georgians
lives. In order to achieve sustained change, however, the public needs to be engaged. This is why the
focus of this Strategy is advocacy and engagement with the public and with government.

Structure
TI Georgia is an independent non-governmental organization based in Tbilisi, Georgia. We are a
member of the Transparency International (TI) movement, which is made up of over 100 independent
National Chapters, approximately 30 Individual Members and an International Secretariat in Berlin. We
are the TIs national chapter in Georgia.
Staff and organizational capacity
TI Georgia recruits staff for permanent and project based positions. We are an equal opportunity
employer, striving to achieve a diversity among personnel. These staff are engaged in four offices in
Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi and Zugdidi. Tbilisi office staff focus both on Tbilisi local-issues and national issues
of concern. Kutaisi office staff focus on Kutaisi-local issues and parliamentary programs. The offices in
Zugdidi and Batumi focus on regional concerns only.
Staff are supported by dedicated volunteers and interns. The internship program is used to build
activism and skills among young Georgians, to extend the impact of TI Georgias work, and as a means
to engage with prospective future staff members. As of September 2015, TI Georgia has a full-time staff
of more than 45 people.
TI Georgia has well-established human resources practices and policies which include rules for conduct,
evaluation and promotion, recruitment, benefits and training.

Board
The Board is the highest governing body of TI Georgia. It sets the main directions of TI Georgias
activities. In addition, the Board oversees the work of the Executive Director. As of December 2015, TI
Georgia has five members on its Board:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Akhalkatsi, George (Georgia), Chair

Bancroft, Justin (United States)
Forestier, Paul-Henri (France)
Kochladze, Manana (Georgia)
Mullen, Mark (United States)

Any updates to the composition of the Board are reflected in the official registration records published
by the National Agency of Public Registry and the TI Georgia Charter which is published on the
organizations website.

Our profile
Founded in 2000, TI Georgia is one of the leading and most reputable non-governmental organizations in
the country. TI Georgia worked hard to place and maintain anti-corruption reforms, transparency and
accountability high on the governments agenda. We have gained very high visibility due to our quality
research and advocacy. We emerged as a civil society leader. We have pioneered the use of civic tech
and citizen engagement platforms in Georgia. These were the goals of our Strategic Plan 2011-2015 and
we were successful in attaining most of them.
TI Georgia is committed to eradicating all forms of corruption in Georgia. To do this we have
monitored the government, advocated on a range of issues at a high level, mobilized the public and
worked to empower citizens. In all of our activities we undertake to represent interests of those
who have been or could be mistreated due to poor governance. This includes vulnerable social
and minority groups, business companies, civil servants, journalists -- anyone who is affected by
government policies and practices that have been poorly developed or unfairly implemented.
The past five years have been eventful for Georgia and TI Georgia has successfully adapted and
positioned itself to maximize its impact. Our ability to perform as a watchdog, think-tank, civil society
leader and expert has helped us seize an opportunity as it appeared and push for change. These four
roles will be relevant and help TI Georgia achieve its goals during the period of the next strategy.
1. Watchdog
TI Georgia had been operating as a watchdog for years and we strengthened our capacity in this area as
more and more concerns emerged in policy and decision-making. We played a critical role in the final
years of the outgoing United National Movement (UNM) government, when we closely monitored its
activities. We served as a credible information source for the public, media and independent observers.
Our watchdog work on political finance and monitoring of the electoral environment contributed to a
free and fair election.

In discussions with civil society and the wider community in Georgia, this role of watchdog has been
highlighted as being of particular value and importance.
2. Think-tank
The election of the Georgian Dream Coalition (GD) to power in 2012 marked a fresh beginning in the
policymaking arena. During the first years of the new government, we have been able to contribute to
the political agenda to a significant extent. We have successfully advocated for reforms in some of the
most vulnerable areas; significantly this includes in the judiciary, and anti-monopoly regulations. New
strategic areas of work emerged as the new government started dismissing public servants and changing
laws that would affect the countrys investment environment. We were able to foresee these as
problematic issues and quickly offered solutions through strategic litigation, researching and writing
new legislative amendments, and monitoring and reporting. We were able to provide quality research,
analysis and recommendations in these areas within our think-tank capacity.
3. Civil society leader
At the same time, the new government was resistant to change in other critical areas, such as
depoliticizing law enforcement and protecting civil liberties. TI Georgia emerged as a civil society leader
and campaigned around these causes. We successfully mobilized other civil society organizations, media
and active citizens, for example in This Affects You campaign. We have also been training media and civil
society organizations in open data and research techniques. In this way we have assisted them to
strengthen their own capacity.
4. Expert
We are often approached for help by various public institutions to provide assistance in drafting action
plans and amendments. The fact that public institutions request our assistance is due to a range of
factors, including insufficient internal expert capacity, lack of resources, and lack of institutional memory.
Moreover, it demonstrates the public services view of TI Georgia as a fair and professional organization.
When requests for assistance align with our mandate and knowledge, we provide expertise and
technical support. We also found that developing staff capacity and cooperation with public institutions
can support other activities we engage in to achieve change.

Lessons learnt
During 2011-2015 TI Georgia has learnt many lessons that will influence how we implement future
activities and how we operate.

1. Working in a personality-driven policy environment

As large areas of the bureaucracy are still strongly personality driven, we have learnt that it is necessary
to work with individuals not just institutions. This translates to a need to identify champions within
ministries and within different branches of government. These relationships with key figures and
individuals are facilitated by TI Georgias offices in regions and in the Parliament buildings in Tbilisi and

Kutaisi. By working with these allies we have been able to achieve change that would not have
necessarily been possible otherwise.
Equally, we have learnt to identify when the structures or personalities are particularly resistant to
change. With these organizations we use public pressure, monitoring and reporting to encourage them
to open to us.
2. Responsiveness and flexibility
In a complex and polarized political environment we have learnt that responsiveness is often decisive.
As a civil society organization, we are accountable to the public. We are often expected to act on
concerning developments in the country if they are within in our mandate, even if these are not within
our project plans. The scope for our future work, therefore, needs to be broad, allowing us to act
where and when we see opportunity, and not have overly prescribed areas of interaction. Having a
national and regional presence with our multiple offices allows the organization to react swiftly and
appropriately to events as they occur.
As such, when we design future activities and projects we need to ensure that we have flexibility within
contracts to react to emerging issues and a rapidly changing operating environment.
3. Not overstretching our resources
TI Georgia works on a large range of issues related to transparency and accountability across all
branches and all levels of government. This is important because accountability requires full systems of
integrity that are mutually reinforcing. Even though responsiveness is vital, we need to prioritize and
make sure our work remains relevant to our core mandate. Working broadly is a strength but we need
to be sure that we work comprehensively across the range of activities we implement, and do not only
shallowing touch on issues.
While this may appear to contradict the previous point, it is necessary as an organization for TI Georgia
to be both flexible and targeted. The lesson we have learnt is that untargeted activities may overstretch
our resources without it translating to significant impact within our areas of focus.
4. Local legitimacy
For any civil society organization to be able to influence the public discourse on issues of importance, it
needs to be seen as legitimate. For TI Georgia we have multiple audiences for our work and multiple
groups we aim to influence to achieve good governance outcomes. This means that we must maintain
our legitimacy with a wide range of actors.
Among our international partners, legitimacy is maintained by the high quality of our analysis. The quality
of advice we provide on a range of issues within our mandate is critical. For the government, it is again
about providing sound, realistic and workable recommendations based on solid research and evidence.
With the Georgian public it is about addressing issues of governance that are a concern to them.
In the upcoming years, we must make sure that our high level policy work does not prevent us doing
grassroots community organizing. We cannot succeed as an organization without local support, just as
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we cannot succeed without high level reform. This balance in our work and our outlook needs to be
maintained.
5. Incremental change and backsliding
Change is not constant. Development does not progress at a steady rate. Improvements in the situation
in the country is often slow, and often small. But these changes build to a large and significant reform
agenda. Equally, there have been areas we have had early successes and then some reverse. We need to
understand that reverses are not necessarily a sign of failure. It often means that different institutions
appetite for change is not equal.
We will work with partners to try to capture early enthusiasm. We will also engage as necessary to
prevent backsliding entirely eclipsing the earlier gains.

DELIVERING CHANGE
Transparency International defines corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. A
corruption-free environment is the guiding ideal for TI Georgia. We have identified poor governance - abuse of power, lack of public oversight and weak institutions -- as the primary impediment to
achieving a corruption-free society. Good governance is an essential precondition for sustainable
development as a strong democracy requires transparent and accountable institutions across all
branches of government, along with a capable media and civil society to monitor, report and encourage
citizen engagement.
Accountability, in turn, is essential for good governance. In order for accountability to be achieved,
citizens need to be able to access information about the activities of their government. Thus,
transparency is a necessary precondition for accountability. Transparency, however, on its own is
insufficient to achieve a government free of corruption and truly accountable to the people. For this
reason, to improve governance, TI Georgia works to encourage change in the operating
environment, culture, processes, institutions and mechanisms. Finally, for our work to have long-lasting
impact, we will need to engage the public in delivering this change.

Guiding principles
In the years to come, TI Georgia will be dedicated to help Georgia build on past achievements in public
administration to enable continuous improvements in governance, the democratic environment and
quality of life for all Georgians. Our work will be guided by our key principles, which are articulated in
our vision and mission.
Vision
TI Georgia seeks to make Georgia a country which is free of corruption in all areas of public society. A
country where people are a part of the policymaking process. A country where transparency and
openness in government and the commercial sector are routine rather than rarities. TI Georgia seeks to
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support an engaged citizenry, and a vibrant and fair democratic environment.

Mission
TI Georgia's main aim is to support state institutions that empower the people, and develop good
governance and the rule of law. To do this, TI Georgia seeks to ensure the transparency and direct
accountability of state institutions, and support fair and democratic elections. The organization aims to
protect universally recognized human rights.

Stakeholders
To make our governance work more effective, we recognize we need to work with people, as
individuals and as part of collective action, and encourage them to engage in anti-corruption efforts.
As we operate in a highly politicized environment, we ensure that we never take sides and remain
objective and neutral. TI Georgia undertakes to be open, honest and accountable in its relationships
with everyone we work with.
1. Government
Implementation of our 2011-2015 Strategic Plan demonstrated to us the importance of engaging and
working collaboratively with the government when and where there are opportunities. This helps us
push for reforms and advocate for improved practices.
As a watchdog, however, TI Georgia will not refrain from criticizing government actions when it
exercises poor judgment in policy areas. We have found various ministries are especially sensitive to our
criticism and react impulsively. In all of our interactions, we aim at maintaining a professional and
constructive relationship with all government agencies, as well as all political parties.
We are often invited by various governmental agencies and commissions and our contribution is usually
welcome because of its high quality. We often deliver training and capacity building to civil servants,
upon request or at our initiative. This once again proves that government recognizes us as an important
partner.
2. General public
In order to achieve real change, TI Georgia recognizes it needs to change behavior of individuals and
institutions involved in governance. This, in turn, requires public support. Without informed citizens
acting to protect their interests, our efforts will be unsustainable. In the past years, TI Georgia has
advocated around issues by first gaining public support. We have started conducting public opinion
surveys which have been helpful for us in measuring public perception of the success of these efforts.
We have found that the young are especially motivated to engage, as are citizens living outside the
capital. TI Georgia, therefore, plans to put even more emphasis on people in the years to come.
We plan to do so through regular community consultations, civic engagement campaigns, promoting
volunteerism and crowdsourcing opportunities.
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3. Political parties
As a government watchdog, TI Georgia is an important reference for opposition parties. We realize we
need to be careful that we are not seen to be affiliated with any individual party. For that reason, we
dont provide any training to political parties.
We work with political parties mostly in the context of elections. We monitor if the ruling party and/or
incumbent candidate misuse administrative resources or intimidate other candidates. We also monitor
political party finances and if there are any kickbacks for donations. In all instances where irregularities
are noted, we report on them, advocate for improvements in law and practice as well defend interests
of those whose rights have been violated.
4. Civil society, academia and the private sector
To achieve our mission, TI Georgia will continue working with all interested parties to identify sectors
in Georgia where a lack of transparency is especially problematic. We aim to engage with groups who
are committed to promoting transparency and accountability in Georgia. Such groups may include
national and local civil society organizations, academia, private sector representatives, the diplomatic
community and international organizations.
We will work as part of, and engage our partners, through networks and coalitions, meetings, training,
mentoring and awareness raising.
5. Media
During the last strategy period TI Georgia made very close ties with media organizations operating in
Georgia. Media outlets are important for us in delivering our messages to the government and the
general public. We constantly provide support and training to the media outlets about various research
tools and methods, as well as journalistic standards.
Editorial independence is vital for a functioning democracy. It is, therefore, one of our main priorities to
defend reporters from undue government interference. TI Georgia will continue monitoring and
reporting on the freedom of media and the environment it operates in. We expect this to be one of our
main directions of work ahead of the 2016 elections.

EXTERNAL PRIORITIES
Over the past decade, TI Georgia has been a leading civil society organization engaged in policy analysis
and advocacy in the broad field of democracy and good governance. The organization has further
expanded its activities during the last three years and now covers most of the key areas of public policy
and the majority of main public institutions. As a result, TI Georgia continuously generates up-to-date
and in-depth information and expert knowledge in multiple fields. These include anti-corruption policy,
judicial reform, parliamentary democracy, local government, elections, political and campaign finance,
media, economic policy, and healthcare.
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The 2016-2020 period will be critical for Georgias political development, as the country faces
parliamentary, presidential and local government elections; on-going decentralization reforms;
Association Agreement and DCFTA implementation requirements and deadlines; and a growing
influence from pro-Russia groups in society. These are issues that we will have to grapple with both as
they influence our operating environment and as areas of concern to monitor and report on.
TI Georgia has elaborated a Theory of Change (ToC) which identifies areas of focus and priorities.
Activities that TI Georgia will engage in for the period of this strategy will align with and support the
outcomes identified in the ToC (please see ANNEX I).

TI Georgia has previously focused much of its attention in these areas. There has been a good deal of
progress across all branches of government, however continued focus is needed to ensure backsliding
does not occur. Activities under each objective area will be identified and prioritized based on rigorous
and on-going needs assessments, horizon scanning and identification of opportunities. The objectives and
outcomes have been further elaborated in the appendix.
Some expected areas to be prioritized include:
Strengthening the transparency and accountability of judicial and law enforcement processes;
Monitoring the implementation of DCFTA and Association Agreement reforms;
Social policy and social welfare processes (education, health and urban planning)

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Interventions
Types of actions taken to achieve the above objectives include:
1. Conduct objective, insightful and comprehensive analysis
Thorough, objective, insightful analysis is our core institutional strength. It provides the evidence-base
for our other activities. Over the next five years, TI Georgia will work to further improve the impact of
the research and analysis it produces.
TI Georgia is dedicated to provide reliable, fact-based and fair analysis that has a level of depth and detail
necessary to influence and shape policy debates. At the same time, we aim to communicate our work so
that interested non-experts can easily follow and understand our research and recommendations.
2. Effectively employ pro-active and re-active advocacy to ensure increasing transparency
and accountability of state and private sector
TI Georgia effectively employs advocacy to ensure that past success in increasing transparency are
solidified and future goals are achieved. This is done in part by responding to new initiatives and policy
proposals coming out of the Parliament or the executive.
As we foster engagement with larger groups of society, we seek to represent more voices and more
people with our advocacy efforts. We, therefore, also work to focus on pro-active advocacy on
important policy issues. We aim to trigger and shape discussions about political accountability and
strengthening democratic institutions in Georgia. During the previous strategy period we found it
effective to submit our own legislative proposals and plan to continue this practice. When possible,
these will be followed by public advocacy campaigns around them to gain support and raise awareness.
We have also found that strategic litigation is an effective tool to influence government. When within its
mandate, TI Georgia will undertake legal action to defend the rights of those who have been abused by a
lack of legislation; the poor quality of laws as they exist; and/or poor enforcement of existing laws.
3. Promote broad public engagement in TI Georgias work so that TI Georgias activities
reflect the needs and interests of parties from all parts of Georgian society
We strive to promote broad public engagement in our work. This ensures that TI Georgias activities
reflect the needs and interests of the public from all parts of Georgia. We have employed new ways of
engaging people and communicating in a way that makes our research and analysis interesting and
relevant for larger audiences. These range from technical solutions, to tours of regional Georgia for
community consultations.
At the same time, we try to ensure that our communication is not a one-way channel - we want citizens
to share their views with us. We aim to engage with the public, to work together towards a positive
impact in communities.
4. Support TI Georgias activities with innovative uses of technology, recognizing that new
technologies offer increasingly powerful ways of improving the scope, reach, and impact of
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our work
We seek to support all of our activities with innovative uses of technology. We recognize that new
technologies will allow our work to be more collaborative. New technology, thus, offers increasingly
powerful ways of improving the scope, reach, and impact of our work. TI Georgia extensively uses new
tools and technologies to monitor government and processes, share its work, engage in discussions,
receive information and feedback, and connect groups of individuals who care about similar issues. At
the same time, new technological tools allow us to initiate new forms of communication between
citizens and authorities. It can create a sphere that allows individuals to make their voices heard and
their concerns be taken seriously.

INTERNAL PRIORITIES
Resources and capacity
1. Institutional memory
The relatively high turnover rate observed in recent years has demonstrated the need for strengthening
the organizations institutional memory. Based on exit memos, this turnover is not a sign of
dissatisfaction with the organization as an employer, rather it is frequently due to staff seeking
educational opportunities abroad.
As such, TI Georgia is improving internal systems. Important long-term documents, such as this Strategy
and various program proposals, will ensure that our goals are followed in the future as well. Moreover,
TI Georgia will develop IT solutions that will help us maintain record of all correspondence with its
stakeholders, program files, and financial documents and so on.
2. Staff capacity
As the organization continuously takes on new initiatives and new problematic areas of governance
emerge, there is often the need to renew knowledge. When funding allows, TI Georgia will bring on
new staff members with expertise in relevant fields. Such a need will be determined on a realistic
estimation of staff hours required for each activity.
Equally, TI Georgia will invest in retraining and professional development of its existing staff from its
core funds. This will encourage professional growth among staff, encourage longevity of employment and
assists the organization.
3. Regional reach and influence
TI Georgia will aim to extend its capacity and support in the regions of Georgia. This may include
increasing the number of regional offices, should funding allow for it.
4. Organizational culture
TI Georgia recognizes the importance of team spirit and at least once a year holds a staff retreat, the
goal of which is to evaluate our work, plan for the future and foster the team spirit.
Working at TI Georgia, other than professional research and analysis, also entails civic activism. We will
continue valuing our staff and their individual goals. We will support their activism for various causes as
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long as they do not contradict our mission and vision, or undermine universally recognized human
rights.
TI Georgia currently is one of the most desirable employers locally, proven by the vast numbers of
applications for any given vacancy. In the years to come, TI Georgia will commit to further solidifying its
culture of honesty, fairness and transparency, and encourage self-development and the sense of
belonging and ownership among staff.
Workplace relations are important for supporting organizational culture. As such, TI Georgia
encourages a good work/life balance among its staff. This includes maximum work hours per week, a fair
and good leave policy, and flexibility when needed. We will look to strengthen and clarify human
resources policies as needed.
4. Public relations
TI Georgia has a strong media presence. We do, however, recognize that complicated policy issues are
not always understandable to the general public. The media is not always effective in explaining these
issues, either. We will strengthen our ability to demonstrate and communicate our findings, as well as
the results concerning the impact of our work. Thus our work will be better understood, and more
attractive to the community and relevant stakeholders.
5. Gender mainstreaming
Gender awareness and gender inclusiveness in Georgia in civil society and in government remains
weak. Gender assessments of legislation are not conducted, and the understanding of differential impacts
of policy design and implementation is minimal. TI Georgia itself does not have the skills internally to
conduct gender assessments of programs or program implementation. Therefore this cross-cutting issue
of our ToC will involve developing our internal capacity, and inviting other civil society organizations and
interested members of government to participate in training.

Financial sustainability
The major part of TI Georgias revenue is grants from international donor organizations. The current
financing model contains risks to the sustainability of the organization, which we are aware of. To
improve financial sustainability and expand its funding base TI Georgia has been investigating different
funding sources and methods: service contracts, a wider group of international donors, and private
donors.
TI Georgia will seek to widen and diversify its fundraising. Over the next five years, we will develop
close relationships with companies that strive to practice and promote integrity in their sectors. We will
try to seek a number of enterprises who could become regular financial contributors to TI Georgia. We
believe that foreign-owned and publicly listed companies might be potential supporters of TI Georgia.
Companies that are subject to Western compliance rules and European and American anti-corruption
legislation tend to be less affected by political pressure.

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TI Georgia works closely with foreign embassies, and international donors in-country and with
international organizations to identify funding opportunities. We participate in competitive grant
processes, whenever they are relevant to our areas of work. In addition, we submit unsolicited
proposals to those donors we know are open to such submissions and when projects align with donor
strategies.
There are a number of multi-chapter TI projects that we have some stake in. These include programs on
health transparency, improving TI chapter-to-chapter communication, the National Integrity Systems
surveys and others. TI Georgia engages with these initiatives when they are useful and relevant to our
situation and context. These allow for access to a different group of donors, foundations, funds and the
private sector.

MONITORING IMPACT
TI Georgia will carefully and consistently monitor and evaluate the impact of the 2016-2020 Strategy, in
order to be accountable to the public, our Board and learn for the future.
By focusing on our impact, we will increase knowledge about what works and what does not. The
nature of our work makes it challenging to assess its impact. Advocacy takes time and is complex. Not
only does this make data collection challenging but it also makes it difficult to attribute impact. This
means we need a holistic approach, one that captures incremental changes and our contribution to
those changes, as well as the wider impact.
To achieve this, we will:
1. Carry out a baseline assessment of the political situation in Georgia. The NIS survey will be used
to inform this.
2. Collect ongoing information, semi- and annually, on the scope of our work using an impact
monitoring and evaluation framework.
3. With the assistance from the Board, conduct small-scale internal reviews of our work to better
understand occurring challenges to our work and reaffirm relevance of our strategic priorities.
4. Commission a mid-term review of the Strategy to assess whether we are on track to achieve
impact.
5. At the end of the Strategy period, evaluate our main assumptions about improving governance
and assess what works and what does not.
ANNEX I
Theory of Change Purpose
During 2015 TI Georgia has developed the new strategy for 2016-2020. As part of this process, it was
determined that the organisation as a whole needed to clarify how it understood change to occur, and
how it best identified and prioritised areas of activities. While these were instinctively understood by
staff and management, it was considered a useful idea to outline intervention logic for future
management decisions, donors and to ensure clear communication between the organisation and its
board.

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In addition, TI Georgia has been encouraged to look at more complex monitoring and evaluation
frameworks that allow for reporting beyond simple output level. A theory of change was considered a
useful step in the development of a strategy-wide monitoring and evaluation framework. This was
considered appropriate in light of the wide body of literature that argues for the use of theory-based
evaluations in complex programmes (Pawson, 2004, among others).
To do this, it was determined that a series of workshops to define opportunities and barriers, areas of
focus and types of activities were held. These brainstorming sessions helped identify how and where TI
Georgia wished to engage in the future. Following these brainstorming sessions, organised Theory of
Change workshops were facilitated by the then-Project Manager. These workshops were conducted
with management, staff, the board and key informants.
Theory of Change - narrative:
The scope of the strategy and the Theory of Change is ambitious, and beyond any claims of attribution.
It is based on extensive consultation, and should be understood as being targeted across the realms
defined and understood as being part of the integrity system: public sector governance institutions,
implementation and enforcement agencies (law enforcement, audit bodies, etc) and the media. It is
informed by a holistic approach to integrity as understood and defined by the National Integrity Systems
survey.
Strong democratic systems are made up of a web of interdependent agencies, legislation and policies.
These are mutually reinforcing (both for positive and for negative). As such, any intervention designed to
improve governance must include consideration of the full range of actors in the governance space and
how they interact. Any gains in one area will support improvements in other areas, while equally any
weaknesses in one agency can undermine progress across the sector.
It is understood that the achievement of the overarching goal cannot and will not be the result of solely
TI Georgias work, and this Theory of Change does not define all aspects of activities needed for their
achievement.
In each area of focus, the theory of change considers how to achieve not just improved policies on
paper, but actual behaviour change within the organisations. As such, the theory of change includes
consideration of behavioural models, with a focus on an information-deficit model. This model
understands that without sufficient information actors cannot improve or change their behaviour.
However, knowledge alone will not result in systematic organisational and individual behaviour change.
Therefore across all objectives, the strategy aims to build the capacity of key champions of change and
decision-makers to act in a more accountable and transparent manner, while systematically reducing
corruption vulnerabilities. In addition, across all pillars there is the need to incentivise change. This
comes from public scrutiny and the media (a cross-cutting theme) and from breaking down patronage
networks that encourage and embed corrupt practices within government.
At the highest level, the Theory of Change looks at key weaknesses across the executive, legislative and
judicial branches of the national government; and the entirety of local government in one outcome. The
reasoning behind this being that at the national level there is the opportunity to engage with all three
branches separately and independently of projects occurring in other branches. While this work would
be mutually reinforcing, weaknesses at the national level need to be considered both as part of the
whole, and within pillars. In contrast, at the local government level all branches of government are
considered within one outcome this is because informal ties at the local government level cross
branches more frequently and in more complex webs than at the national level; it would not be feasible
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or appropriate to engage with one branch of local government without engaging with the others.
Equally, it would be unhelpful to engage with local legislatures as part of engagement with national
legislature (or with local executive, as part of engagement with national) as the opportunities and risks
are not identical, and specific tailored responses and engage processes are needed.

Cross-cutting issues are identified thus, as they are issues that need to be considered in engagement
with all branches of government and at all levels.
Objective 1: Executive Branch
The logic of the Theory of Change is based in an understanding of the role of the separation of power as
one of the main checks and balances in accountable government. The most significant challenges for
transparency and accountability in Georgia remain in the concentration of power in the executive
branch, which undermines political competition and oversight. Increased independence of the legislative
branch would support its ability to act as a check on the power of the executive branch. It is for this
reason that the bulk of outcomes focus around these areas.
Key weaknesses identified by the 2014 NIS for the executive branch, and by the Nations in Transit
report include poor implementation in practice of sound rules covering integrity and transparency,
informal influence, the highly politicized civil service and low capacity across the civil service. Based on
these findings, and expert knowledge the Theory of Change has focussed on relevant remedies and
pathways of change that might be activated.

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Outcome 1.1 covers the rules of behaviour for the executive branch. As noted above, the rules as they
currently exist are well developed, and cover integrity, accountability and anti-corruption in an
appropriate manner. The weakness here is in compliance. Therefore each of the intermediate outcomes
focus on removing barriers to compliance, and providing motivation for compliance. One of the key
identified barriers is the unconstitutional influence currently being exerted by key individuals outside of
government, and patronage networks within political parties and the public service.
Outcome 1.2 builds on outcome 1.1 by focussing on the weaknesses within the organisations
ministries, legal entities under public law (LEPLs) and agencies that sit under the jurisdiction of various
ministries. As noted above, the NIS identified low capacity as one of the major obstacles to transparency
and accountability within the public service. Thus there is a focus on staff capacity and systems to
improve governance within the public service.
During research for the Theory of Change, law enforcement agencies were identified as a specific
priority area for the period of strategy. Government reform processes within the ministry of justice
provides a clear window of opportunity to engage for lasting and significant changes in the transparency,
accountability and governance of the law enforcement agencies.
Outcome 1.3 has a specific focus on ministers and public officials. As the senior decision-makers of the
executive branch their conduct as individuals and as representatives of their organisations sets the tone
for appropriate public disclosure, accountability, transparency and anti-corruption. While leaders act
with impunity, changing the culture within the executive branch towards systematic accountability is
difficult. Currently, experts have noted the weakness of legislation and regulation on conflict of interest,
anti-corruption and government business relations. Moreover, where regulation exists the poor levels
of compliance has been emphasised. For this reason, engagement at a policy-level and then at an
enforcement level is needed for the achievement of this outcome and to support the achievement of
other outcomes under the executive branch.

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Outcome 1.4 covers the range of government bodies that under the constitution and under good
democratic practice ought to act as oversight and constraint on the power wielded by the executive
branch. This outcome is the stick to encourage behaviour change throughout the executive. However,
weaknesses in practice has resulted in this group of actors being an ineffective control. Therefore, the
strengthening of these actors through improved capacity and knowledge and the removal of obstacles
will support objective 1.
Objective 2: Legislative Branch

The parliament under the Georgian Constitution is both the law-making body of the country and holds a
wide array of powers to oversee and investigate government activities, override a presidential veto and
remove government. The parliament is unicameral, with members elected through a mixture of a party
list and single member constituencies.
The legislative processes are complex, and there are many opportunities for them to be managed poorly
and to undermine accountability. In the research and development of the theory of change, it was noted
that in many instances the committee hearings are held in such a way as to undermine public
participation and oversight. For this reason, outcome 2.1 works to improve the processes of the
legislature.
Outcome 2.2 deals with the lack of enforcement of anti-corruption and integrity mechanisms covering
MPs conflict of interest and attestations. There is a lack of a body with the mandate to investigate and
enforce anti-corruption rules and procedures. This results in missing or incomplete pecuniary interest
documentation, or false and misleading documentation. As it stands, members of civil society, including
Transparency International Georgia have been investigating published attestations, and raising awareness
on this issue. But while the Civil Service Bureau has no mandate to investigate the honesty and
completeness of the documents they publish, there is a serious corruption vulnerability and questionable
transparency in this space.

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Outcome 2.3 deals with the range of committees in parliament that have specific functions, and
sometimes operate more as a rubber stamp than as a form of review.
Elections are an important method of ensuring the accountability of parliament. While they are managed
by the executive branch, their purpose is to hold the elected officials of the legislature to account.
Therefore outcome 2.4 covers the role of elections as tools of accountability. In Georgia, frequent
changes in electoral legislation, weaknesses in electoral management and lack of transparency in
electoral processes and finances risk undermining this important tool. Improvements have been made in
regulation for managing complaints, although in practice complaints are still poorly handled. There have
also been improvements with financial oversight of electoral funds being moved to the State Audit
Office, however the misuse of state resources for campaigning is remains a concern.1 TI Georgia
supported this move, as during earlier elections we raised concerns over the power of incumbency and
the misuse of public funds for political purposes.
Objective 3: Judicial Branch

The judicial branch here is dealt with in lesser detail than the other branches. This is because there are
fewer entrances and levers for engagement. Outcomes 3.1 and 3.2 deal with the management of the
judiciary and the processes of case progression.
Objective 4: Local Government
Local government is a reflection of the work we undertake at a national level, but with a reduced scope.
This reflects both the comparatively weaker power and institutions of the local governments, and TI
Georgias capacity to engage at the local government level.
The logic of the intervention revolves around ensuring the entire system of integrity is promoted, across
the different branches of government at the local level. This is done through improved public
engagement, transparency and accountability. As above, a range of levers are identified regulation,
1

CSOs concerned over screening to children of a violent film in four Samegrelo cities
http://transparency.ge/en/post/general-announcement/csos-concerned-over-screening-children-violent-film-foursamegrelo-cities

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capacity and public scrutiny. There will be a focus on improving public engagement particularly in
relation to social policy (including education, health and urban development).

Cross-cutting issues
Citizen engagement, empowerment and oversight provides the demand for good governance, and is an
important aspect of accountability. Evidence from a range of transparency, accountability and open
government evaluations have shown that without bottom up advocacy, strong civil society and engaged
citizens, government will not take necessary steps to improve its performance.2 It is for this reason that
citizen engagement and oversight has been noted as a cross-cutting issue for TI Georgia.
Media is also an important agent of accountability. It informs and engages the citizenry in the actions of
government and influential interest groups, including big business and powerful individuals; this in turn
builds social demand for democratic checks and balances, and accountable governance. The poor media
environment, including unwarranted interference from external sources, and insufficient transparency
were highlighted as issues of concern. This undermines citizen oversight of government, and thus
democratic and accountable governance in the country.
Gender awareness and gender inclusiveness in Georgia in civil society and in government remains
weak. Gender assessments of legislation are not conducted, and the understanding of differential impacts
of policy design and implementation is minimal. TI Georgia itself does not have the skills internally to
conduct gender assessments of programs or program implementation. Therefore this cross-cutting issue
will involve developing our internal capacity, and inviting other civil society organizations and interested
members of government to participate in training.

Open Government: Top-down needs bottom-up on http://www.makingallvoicescount.org/blog/opengovernment-top-needs-bottom/ on 26/01/2015

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Conclusion and next steps

This theory of change is the initial step in the development of a robust monitoring and evaluation
framework for the 2016-2020 strategy. It outlines the understood logic of TI Georgias interventions. It
can provide guidance on how, where and when to engage with government and civil society actors. And
allows for monitoring along expected pathways of change.
It is necessary for TI Georgia to build in this theory of change in developing a monitoring and evaluation
framework. With the support of a monitoring and evaluation expert, it would be advisable for the
organisation to identify credible and usuable indicators at the intermediate outcome and outcome level.
This process should include both quantitative and qualitative indicators with clear and useful data
sources.
As far as is practicable, TI Georgia should consider using the range of international research on the
country to assist in the monitoring of the impact of the strategy. These include : Freedom Houses
Nations in Transit; World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Index; World Bank Government
Effectiveness score; Freedom Houses Freedom in the World score; Transparency Internationals
Corruption Perception Index (conducted by the TI Secretariat, independently of TI Georgia) and
National Integrity Systems survey (conducted by TI Georgia with oversight from a panel of experts). In
addition there are a range of available regular domestic surveys, including National Democratic Institute
polls, International Republican Institute polls and the Caucasus Research Resource Centre (CRRC)
Caucasus Barometer. By using existing monitoring data it would significantly reduce the cost of
monitoring and evaluation for the programme.
It would be advisable for the organisation to conduct an evaluation at the halfway point of the strategy,
to confirm that change is happening as expected. This evaluation could also assist in any reorienting that
might be needed, due to changes in the operating environment.
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