Public trust in Georgia’s civil service is strong but challenges remain – UNDPR research

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has published a new study, according to which, the public remains broadly satisfied with the quality of the services delivered by Georgian national institutions. Nevertheless, the report also shows several troubling patterns, like growing concerns about the politicization of decisions and appointments – both on the part of the general population and among civil servants themselves.

The previous research, similar to the new one was conducted in 2016. The new research consisted of representative surveys of 2,400 citizens each in 2016 and 2019, and self-administered surveys with the participation of 831 civil servants in 2016 and 571 civil servants in 2019. In both studies, interviews and focus group discussions complemented the survey work.

Public trust in the civil service remains high at 67 percent, although it has declined from the 71 percent reported in 2016 by four percentage points.

“A robust 80 percent of civil servants are proud of their work. Institutional reforms introduced as part of the support to public administration reform provided by UNDP and the UK – performance appraisals, for example – are seen as welcome improvements,” the study found.

Yet, confidence seems to be declining in the civil service's integrity and impartiality. The proportion of public survey respondents who acknowledged that "civil service employs professionals" fell significantly, from 74% in 2016 to 58% in 2019 (16% decline).

Another troubling finding is that respondents who believe that "decisions in state agencies are based on political directives" grew from 34% in 2016 to 56% in 2019.

While, the proportion of civil servants surveyed claiming that "decisions in public agencies are based on public interest" dropped from 67% to 59% in 2019, and the share of those who believed that "civil service employs professionals" declined from 50% to 41%.

The study has also found that there’s an apparent lack of awareness on the reforms related to public administration and open governance, citizens claiming that they are aware of the reforms are at 38 and 22 percent respectively.

UNDP Head Louisa Vinton said efforts need to be stepped up to counter troubling patterns in order to shield public administration from political pressure.

“Impartiality and professionalism are crucial building blocks of civil service reform,” said Vinton. “Our research shows that Georgia’s public administration reform is delivering admirable results in some areas but falling short in others. This means efforts needed to be redoubled to reverse negative trends and ensure the public administration is sheltered from political pressures,” she added.

British Ambassador H.E. Justin McKenzie Smith noted that the study showed the importance of the reform of the public administration and expressed willingness to continue to support the efforts of Georgia to build an impartial civil service.

“Survey data such as this show why public administration reform is such an important issue; public trust in the civil service is a vital component of democracy,” said H.E. Smith. “These findings paint a mostly positive picture and also help to identify areas for improvement. It is crucial to keep up the momentum. The UK, together with other partners, is ready to continue to support Georgia’s efforts to build a strong, professional and impartial civil service.”

Georgia's current Public Administration Reform (PAR) roadmap sets a comprehensive conceptual framework and implementing tools up to 2020, targeted towards a transparent, predictable, accountable, and efficient public administration that would meet the demands of society and meet European standards.

The PAR Roadmap 2020 affirms public finance management reform as a priority of the fiscal discipline, while transparent and open governance is stated under various policy directions such as European integration, judiciary, economic policy, legislation development, public procurement, defense, etc.

The Roadmap also recognizes effective civil service as the most important pillar for the European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

PAR identifies six Policy Areas: Policy Development and Coordination; Human Resources Management (HRM); Accountability; Service Delivery; Public Finance Management; and Local Self-Government.

With funds from the UK aid from the UK Government and in close cooperation with the national partners, UNDP assists the Government of Georgia to carry out the PAR. The project echoes three out of six policy areas identified in the PAR Roadmap 2020: Policy Development and Coordination, Human Resources Management and Civil Service Reform, and Public Service Delivery.

The research on public administration reform was commissioned by UNDP with funding from the UK Government and was carried out by the Georgian research agency ACT between April and September 2019. Quantitative data is already available at the UNDP website and a full analytical report will be published in December 2019.