
In January, several significant events marked Georgia's political landscape: journalist Mzia Amaghlobeli's arrest and subsequent hunger strike, an assault on Giorgi Gakharia, Donald Trump's inauguration, the European Union's suspension of visa-free travel for Georgian diplomatic passport holders, and Georgian Dream's withdrawal from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Political polarization remained at high levels, showing no improvement from previous years.

This is a working note outlining the initial processes behind the SME Test Methodology. It is a notable deliverable part of the Developing an RIA SME Test Methodology for Georgia, while strengthening the capacity of the Government of Georgia to utilize SME RIA tools in practice Project, as funded by the UNDP and led by ISET Policy Institute.

ISET Policy Institute’s Lead Economist Mariam Lobjanidze participated in the Eighth CAREC Think Tank Development Forum on August 27-28, 2024, in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Organized by the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Institute (CI), this annual event serves as a flagship knowledge exchange platform under the CAREC Think Tank Network (CTTN).

Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) is a process of evidence-based policymaking, which helps in designing better regulations. This process creates evidence for political decision-makers on the advantages and disadvantages of proposed policies by assessing their potential impacts. The results are summarized and presented in the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) report.

On March 19, ReforMeter and the USAID Economic Governance Program hosted a third public-private dialogue dedicated to assessing the progress of the RIA institutionalization reform that aims to integrate the execution of RIAs into the routine practice of policymaking and implementation.