Under the DG Analytical Services IQC, Democracy International conducted an evaluation of Georgia Public Administration Reform Program (PAR) to provide USAID with an assessment of the performance and impact of PAR and provide guidance to inform possible future USAID programming in Georgia.

In October 2009, DI’s team conducted interviews in Washington, DC and in Georgia, and reviewed pertinent background documents relating to PAR and the broader civil service context in Georgia. The team conducted over forty qualitative interviews, engaging close to eighty individuals from USAID (Tbilisi and Washington), the implementing partner, the Academy for Educational Development, the government of Georgia, the government of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, donors as well as a representative sample of CSOs, and other stakeholders in Tbilisi and Batumi, Georgia.

DI found that while PAR was unable to directly address broad civil service reforms in Georgia due to political constraints and lack of a credible counterpart, the program was able to adapt well to the realities on the ground and focus on more discrete areas of intervention. Overall the program addressed some aspects of civil service reform and certainly enhanced performance in targeted Georgian agencies. Based on the team’s review of program deliverables and observations on the ground, DI judged the PAR program to be well executed, adequately staffed, coordinated with other donor programs, adequately engaged civil society, and appreciated by the cooperating Georgian counterparts.