The OECD held a first meeting of a public-private working group on 15 February 2018 in Tbilisi, Georgia, which focused on the monitoring system as a key aspect of an effective implementation of the country's SME Development Strategy. The meeting was part of the EU4Business project ‘From Policies to Action’.
The purpose of the Working Group meeting was to discuss Georgia’s current monitoring system and to propose tools for better monitoring and reporting on implementation of strategies and action plans, including the design of result-oriented key performance indicators. An initial assessment of the implementation status of Georgia’s SME strategy was presented, and priorities for the Action Plan 2018-2020 were highlighted.
Janez Sustersic, an expert in the field of monitoring and evaluation, provided good practice tools to better monitor and report on the implementation of strategies and action plans, and gave comments on Georgia’s current monitoring process. He also presented Key Performance Indicators which Georgia could consider to better asses the results and impact of implemented policies and develop result-oriented indicators based on the overall targets set in the SME strategy and available data.
The afternoon session focused on discussing the government's achievements in implementing Georgia’s SME strategy, which recorded important progress in all its strategic directions. This includes building strong institutions for SME support and public-private dialogue (Enterprise Georgia, GITA, Private Sector Development Advisory Council), improving access to finance for SMEs, specifically through the programme 'Produce in Georgia', including entrepreneurship topics in all new modular VET programmes, iniaitiating an FDI-SME linkage programme, and improving the legal framework to support innovation.
The meeting was attended by the key stakeholders involved in the implementation and monitoring of Georgia’s SME Strategy and Action Plan, including the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, other line ministries, Enterprise Georgia, the Georgian Innovation and Technology Agency, the National Statistics Office, as well as the EU Delegation, and business associations (European Business Association, Business Association of Georgia, Women in Business Association).
The EU4Business project ‘From Policies to Action’ is implemented by the OECD across all the countries of the Eastern Partnership region. The project supports competitiveness and business environment reforms, working both at country and regional level. At country level, the OECD provides tailored support in the design, monitoring and upgrading of strategies and programmes to support private sector development, evidence based policy making and broader business environment reforms. At regional level, the OECD stimulates reform implementation through peer reviews and regional policy dialogue. The OECD also monitors progress in the implementation of policy reforms, benchmarks performance and identifies future priorities for SME development.