The UK Government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) have supported the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) to make Georgian public services more accessible and inclusive.
This two-year initiative focused on two service providers operating under the Ministry – the Service Agency and the Unified Service Centre of the Patrol Police.
In partnership with GEC Consulting and the Innovations and Reforms Centre, the UK and UNDP provided both agencies with support that included:
- Assistance in reforming and improving various public services.
- Adapting a call center to the needs of people with hearing impairments.
- Training over 150 police officers and the MIA staff in disability service and communication.
As part of this support, the Unified Service Centre conducted ‘user journey mapping’ to reveal areas for improvement in service delivery. The Centre used this data to introduce standardized procedures and an up-to-date system of service quality monitoring, introduced guidelines for frontline officers, developed an Accessibility Plan, and adapted its premises for people with vision impairments.
The UK and UNDP also helped the Unified Service Centre to introduce a new quality management instrument for the public sector, called the Common Assessment Framework (CAF), which is successfully used by more than 4,500 public agencies in EU Member States.
“The Ministry of Internal Affairs is one of the key public agencies to provide citizens with essential services. The ongoing reform will ensure inclusive and effective service delivery that benefits people and builds public trust in public institutions,” said Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs.
“The UK’s Good Governance Fund is proud to support more inclusive and accessible public services in Georgia. We support the Ministry of Internal Affairs and welcome the successes that have already been achieved,” said Ellen Wichmann, Head of Programs, British Embassy in Georgia.
“Leaving no one behind must be a guiding principle for all public agencies tasked with protecting and serving citizens. Our support equips the Ministry of Internal Affairs with the tools and approaches it needs to fulfil its duties,” said Anna Chernyshova, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Georgia.
This assistance to the Ministry of Internal Affairs is part of the UK’s 10.4 million USD (7.9 million GBP) program (phase 1 and 2) to support public administration reform in Georgia. UNDP is implementing this initiative in partnership with the Administration of the Government of Georgia, line ministries and public agencies.