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Ministry of Justice of Georgia
Georgia

The Problem

Perfection and efficiency enhancement of the public sector has long been identified as one of the top priorities of the Government of Georgia (GoG). Critical themes were access to services, quality and reliability of services, transparency in service provisions like disclosure of service quality, standards and norms, and costs incurred in using a service including such as bribes. Corruption in public service delivery included both monetary and non-monetary benefits. Common forms of corruption were bribery, extortion, influence peddling, nepotism, fraud, and opportunism. It is important to mention that corrupted practice involved petty bureaucratic corruption (i.e. low-level administrative corruption) and state officials’ level corruption, where corrupted activities included strategies aimed self-serving asset stripping by state officials. It is important to mention the concrete examples on passport issuance and property registration. For instance, in case of passport issuance, citizen was obliged to pay more than 100 USD as a bribe and submit more than 10 types of documents in order to receive a passport. As for the property registration, 20 types of documents from various governmental structures and up to 300 USD were needed. Furthermore, it was absolutely common totally demotivated staff at extremely uncomfortable offices with no minimum IT support.

Solution and Key Benefits

 What is the initiative about? (the solution)
Before establishment of PSH, Ministry of Justice made dramatic changes in public service delivery process and established One-Stop-Shop principle in all its structural units who were delivering public services. However, it was obvious that such type of service delivery was not enough for rapid changes in the public service efficiency. Hence, it was decided to go further and make much more simplification of service delivery process and make it more customers oriented. Founded on a client-centric philosophy, MoJ aimed to help public services become more flexible and cater better to individual needs. In particular, this shift toward a delivery-based philosophy has been aimed to encourage changes that would move the civil service from being a body giving policy advice to one that assures the availability of quality public goods and services.

This has dramatically affected the Georgian citizens and the government structures alike by providing safe, less time and resource consuming service. Comparing to previous experience, consumers have a possibility to submit the applications without dozens of required documents. Aiming to accommodate the public will in the information age in the most efficient way the Ministry of Justice introduced absolutely new concept of public service delivery – “Everything in One Space” principle through Public Service Hall, implying not only mechanical unification of several structural entities under one roof, but ideological and systemic unification of service-oriented institutions, thus providing the customers with cross-enterprise one-stop-shop service.
Creation of Public Service Hall, so called “Georgian Innovation”, helped Ministry’s policy makers to see citizens as customers and perceived the benefits of applying marketing tools and strategic marketing planning in order to ‘sell’ policies to citizens. PSH combined all its structural units delivering more than 250 services to citizens, from the following MoJ structural units: Civil Registry Agency, National Agency of Public Registry, National Archive of Georgia, National Bureau of Enforcement and Notary Chamber of Georgia. Furthermore, appropriate agreements were made with MOF Service Agency and Revenue Service of Georgia in order to include services from above mentioned institutions at PSH. Since the establishment of PSH, online services are extremely encouraged by MoJ. Hence, customers have possibility to access PSH via web page www.house.gov.ge and get diverse services in online regime, therefore saving their time and financial resources.
Impact of PSH creation is daily measured quantitatively, by a special queue electronic monitoring system (i.e. average customer waiting time is 0.48 min; average service delivery time is 6 min) and qualitatively, by a special service quality management tools, such internal monitoring groups (weekly visits per branch), also by actively conducting mystery shopper (twice a year in each branch) research, and customer satisfaction survey (once a year in each branch). In addition special Quality Committee has been established consisting MoJ departments, MoJ structural units, HR staff, Marketing division team, PSH branch managers and internal monitors aiming to monitor branch’s efficiency and timely solve all possible obstacles and difficulties that might appear at PSH.

Actors and Stakeholders

 Who proposed the solution, who implemented it and who were the stakeholders?
Solution was designed at Ministry of Justice of Georgia, during the senior management retreat, involving various managing persons from the MoJ and its structural units. Strategic development document has been worked out by IPM experts with EU Human Dynamics Program’s generous financial support.
As it was mentioned earlier, marketing division was created within the Ministry in order to identify, anticipate and satisfy customer demand profitably. Furthermore, in order to better implement the PSH strategy, MoJ actively involved its structural unites to simplify documents preparation process and make it less time consuming. Additionally, foreign experts from US based company “Senteo” were involved into the process of service area planning and interior design that made service hall itself extremely comfortable, attractive and easy perceivable. Interior design and service area division is similar at each PSH throughout the country in order to maintain single feel touch of the brand everywhere. Furthermore, corporate attributes were added, such as corporate scent, music and uniform. In order to deliver effective service, qualified service personnel was needed and therefore Training Center of the MoJ has actively trained PSH staff in effective service methods, conflict management and stress management, additionally staff was taught English and Russian languages in order to serve foreign citizens arriving at PSH.

(a) Strategies

 Describe how and when the initiative was implemented by answering these questions
 a.      What were the strategies used to implement the initiative? In no more than 500 words, provide a summary of the main objectives and strategies of the initiative, how they were established and by whom.
The main strategy during the implementation process was to ensure delivering of effective, fast and available public services and to streamline regulatory and licensing processes for the citizens and businesses. Consequently to use the service delivery strategies common in the private sector: financial incentives to improve performance and the elimination of bureaucratic silos and paperwork. Furthermore, MoJ has set its own goal to increase the level of service standards in Georgian society and accordingly to comply with the set standards.

Furthermore, two extremely important parts of service delivery were foreseen. The first is institutional performance. The focus here was improved performance in the application of policies, efficient systems, processes, organization, technology, infrastructure and resources. The second part was at the individual performance level. Here, there has to be accountability that is linked to job descriptions and delegation of authority, education and training, commitment to delivering services, ethical conduct, effective placement in both back and front office, and appropriate performance management in areas of rewards and discipline.

(b) Implementation

 b.      What were the key development and implementation steps and the chronology? No more than 500 words
Firstly MoJ draw the PSH’s development detailed action plans. Chronological list of action steps has been established and assigned responsibility to specific MoJ departments for accomplishing each of those action steps. Furthermore, MoJ set a due date and estimated the resources required to accomplish each action steps. As for the key development steps, it is crucial to mention following: Conducting Needs Analysis, Setting concrete timeline for the implementation of PSH strategy, establishment of brand umbrella, planning of construction and design timelines. Additional, it was important to develop effective training process in order to ensure implementation of service standards at PSH.

(c) Overcoming Obstacles

 c.      What were the main obstacles encountered? How were they overcome? No more than 500 words
Regarding the challenges and difficulties on the way of strategy implementation, it is essential to mention the motivation of structural units who were included in the PSH structure (CRA, NAPR, NBE, Notary Chamber and National Archive). Because of having already developed “One Stop Shop” principle within the units, also having its independence, originality and corporate identity, it was challenging for MoJ to motivate them to become parts of PSH. Hence, MoJ actively involved all structural units into the process of PSH strategy development and implementation.

(d) Use of Resources

 d.      What resources were used for the initiative and what were its key benefits? In no more than 500 words, specify what were the financial, technical and human resources’ costs associated with this initiative. Describe how resources were mobilized
Financial resources, used for the PSH strategy implementation was allocated by all structural unites of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia who have their own income (According to Georgian Legislation, Civil Registry Agency, National Agency of Public Registry, National Archive of Georgia, National Bureau of Enforcement, and Notary Chamber of Georgia are special type semi-governmental institutions, so called Legal Entities of Public Law (LEPL), enabling them to have their own income by selling services, thus having own budget independent from Ministry’s budget).

Sustainability and Transferability

  Is the initiative sustainable and transferable?
Initiating concept of PSH, MoJ totally made a straightforward revolution in service delivery in Georgia. Creation of service hall according to the principle “Everything in One Space” made it absolutely different from the well-known attitude “One Stop Shop” principle. Consequently, it can be called as “Georgian know-how” due to its unique characteristics of service delivery process. Thus, concept is absolutely transferable and can be used in every developed and developing country.

Moreover, Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance of Georgia and Tbilisi City Court decided to track the PSH experience and establish customer oriented services within their offices. Hence, it can be stated that above mentioned practice is absolutely useful and implementable at different governmental institutions.

Lessons Learned

 What are the impact of your initiative and the lessons learned?
Currently, MoJ has four PSHs offering individuals and businesses a range of services, and 16 more PSHs are scheduled to open by the end of 2013. At four PSHs, each serving 2 000 customers per day in average, the main goal was achieved that is to help visitors to receive services in less than 15 minutes with a maximum comfort. For instance, customers have a choice and it is up to them whether accelerate service or no, particularly customer chooses service terms in accordance to his/her preferences (i.e. Passport issuance in 1 hour or 10 days; business/property registration in 1 hour or 4 days, etc.). Operations are enabled by a technology platform built over a unified database, so citizens need not fill out multiple government forms. Consequently, customers’ satisfaction surveys show dramatic increase of satisfied customers, starting from 80% up to 92%.
Furthermore, hundreds of delegations from all over the world are visiting MoJ and PSH daily in order to better understand the key points of Georgia’s success in service delivery improvement (Up to date 1000 delegates have visited PSH from 50 Countries). Additionally, numerous international organizations, such as EBRD, TI and World Bank are reporting following rankings and conclusions on service delivery to Georgia: 1st Place in Official Documents Issuance (Life in Transition Survey, EBRD); 2nd Place in Customer Service Efficiency (Life in Transition Survey, EBRD); 92% of Citizens are Satisfied with the Procedures of Official Documents Issuance (Life in Transition Survey, EBRD); Corruption Perception among Citizens is the Lowest – 4% (Life in Transition Survey, EBRD); Only 2% of Citizens Experienced Bribery (Life in Transition Survey, EBRD); Only 3% of Users Paid Bribe (Global Corruption Barometer – TI); 77% of Citizens Perceive Government’s Actions Toward the Fighting Corruption as effective (Global Corruption Barometer – TI); 78% of Citizens Think that Corruption Level decreased Significantly for the last 3 Years (Global Corruption Barometer – TI); 1st Place in Property Registration (World Bank); 16th Place in Ease of Doing Business (World Bank).
In the sense of successful elements of the initiative, it definitely seeks to protect customer’s rights and enhance the relationship between the public service and its customers (citizens). Furthermore, it seeks to transform the public service from bureaucracy to a results-driven organization delivering on the government’s social contract with the people. In today’s more transparent and accountable Georgia, the standard of service delivery strengthened the credibility of Government. It was one of the key public determinants of effectiveness in the use of resources. More importantly, it increased trust between the Community and the Public Servant and by extension the Government. Improved service effects for the Community contributed to a better standard of governance, building credibility and trust. Service Delivery directly impacted how GoG’s performance is seen by the citizens. PSH totally demolished previous perception of service delivery, made service delivery as a way of thinking rather than a way of just doing and established itself as an independent self-sustained body with the high sense of responsibility toward the Customer.

Contact Information

Institution Name:   Ministry of Justice of Georgia
Institution Type:   Government Agency  
Contact Person:   Giorgi Vashadze
Title:   Deputy Minister of Justice  
Telephone/ Fax:   995 322 405870
Institution's / Project's Website:   www.justice.gov.ge www.house.gov.ge
E-mail:   info@house.gov.ge  
Address:   gvashadze@justice.gov.ge
Postal Code:   0114
City:   Tbilisi
State/Province:  
Country:   Georgia

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