At the beginning of May, the Solidarity Fund PL in Georgia launched an innovative component of the Participatory Budget project aimed at local residents’ involvement in the investment process.

Representatives of local authorities from Tskaltubo, Gori and Ozurgeti, along with experts and representative of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia (MRDI) took part in an interactive workshop run by the Solidarity Fund PL in Georgia.

The main objective of the meeting was to develop a mechanism for the involvement of local residents in the decision-making process in projects that had been selected for implementation last year (with support from the Solidarity Fund PL).
The workshop participants had a chance to share their hands-on experience on tender and procurement processes at the local level, but they were also engaged in an animated discussion over where local residents could actually be involved. It was concluded that even though the legal framework lays the foundation of how the investment process should be executed, local variances also exist regarding when and whom to consult over the projects’ implementation.

The heated discussion initiated a process of defining the stage at which the engagement of local residents is possible, for the benefit of both the local community and the municipality. At the end of the workshop, participants elaborated recommendations for the subsequent phases of the component.

The Solidarity Fund PL in Georgia expresses its gratitude to all the attendees and looks forward to supporting local authorities in what seemed to be impossible – open and inclusive tender and procurement processes with the participation of local residents.

The Project is co-financed by the Polish development cooperation programme of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.