The National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (NALAG), in cooperation with the UNICEF and the LEPL Youth Agency, held the 8th National Conference of the Best Practice Programme (BPP).

One of the panel discussions of the event was dedicated to discussing inter-municipal cooperation programmes.

The discussion was moderated by public administration expert Koka Kighuradze, who delivered a presentation and spoke about the modern challenges of public administration — limited financial resources, the complexity of problems, and the need to increase the effectiveness of services. According to his explanation, one of the most effective tools in response to these challenges is inter-municipal cooperation, which helps municipalities increase the effectiveness, quality, and accessibility of services under conditions of limited resources.

During the presentation, special attention was paid to Georgian legislation, which grants municipalities the right to cooperate with each other, create joint legal entities, services, or conclude agreements on the pooling of budgetary funds.

The following participated in the panel discussion: Nikoloz Janiashvili – Mayor of Dedoplistskaro Municipality; Bakar Giunashvili, Head of the Shida Kartli Stray Animal Management Agency; Gvantsa Iremashvili, Deputy Leader of HELVETAS’s Local Economic Development Project; and Nikoloz Rosebashvili, Head of the Department of Local Self-Government Development and Policy of the Ministry of Regional Development of Georgia. The participants discussed how inter-municipal cooperation can be encouraged and what tools can be used to strengthen it.

During the discussion, examples of good practice were presented, including inter-municipal cooperation implemented in the field of stray animal care in the Kakheti and Shida Kartli regions. Special attention was paid to improving the legislative framework and new mechanisms for promoting inter-municipal cooperation.

As noted at the meeting, the NALAG cares about the development of inter-municipal cooperation and, for this purpose, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), a full package of draft legislative amendments was prepared in active cooperation with experts. According to the expert, the panel discussion on this topic at the conference also served exactly this purpose.