Economic development of the municipalities (outside capital) is one of the key sustainable development challenges in Georgia. The capital city of Tbilisi, while accounting for nearly 1/3 of the country’s population generates 50% of GDP and keeps expanding, whereas the municipalities, with few exceptions, are losing population and suffering from high incidence of poverty, unemployment, and slow and weak economic development.

The project, Development of Methodology for Child-Rights-Based Budget Analysis, funded by UNICEF, aims to create a systematic approach for analyzing public budgets in Georgia through the lens of child rights. Its objective is to ensure that public financial decisions prioritize children’s needs, promote equity, and align with international standards such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

ReforMeter and the USAID Economic Governance Program hosted yet another public-private dialogue dedicated to assessing progress in regulatory impact assessment (RIA) institutionalization reform.

Under the project "Develop Advocacy Capacity of CSOs and PSAs," which is funded by the USAID Economic Governance Program, ISET Policy Institute continues its mentorship activities. The aim of this project is to enhance the capabilities of CSOs and PSAs in various areas such as policy-making, advocacy, research, and outreach so that they can actively participate in the policy decision-making process and contribute to local community development, policy design, and implementation.

The majority of those of us who work in the media, and I am probably not being biased if I say particularly those of us who work in the business media, were eagerly awaiting the implementation of the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) mechanism in our country.