Reinforcing the Capacities of the Georgian Government in Border and Migration Management, 2017

13 Oct 2017

The goal of the study was to evaluate the outcomes and relevance of the project “Reinforcing the Capacities of the Georgian Government in Border and Migration Management”.

The objectives of this evaluation were the following:

1) To assess, based on interviews with stakeholders, as well as reports and other documentation available, as to whether the project has achieved its objectives; 2) To evaluate the implementation of the project in terms of its efficiency and effectiveness; 3) To assess whether the project has achieved the desirable sustainability; 4) To provide recommendations to IOM and project counterparts concerning effective implementation of project activities in the future in the field of border and migration management.

To meet the above-mentioned objectives, Qualitative Study was carried out using the methods of focus groups, group interviews, expert interviews and in-depth interviews. 7 expert interviews, 7 group interviews, 3 in-depth interviews and 4 focus group discussions were conducted within the framework of the study.

Focus groups, group interviews, in-depth interview and expert interviews were conducted with the representatives from state agencies involved in the project, the employees of Tbilisi and regional offices of IOM mission (organization implementing the project) and the reintegration program beneficiaries.

About the project

The project’s overall objective was to reinforce the capacities of the Georgian government in integrated border and migration management, in accordance with the agreements and action plans (especially, the Visa Liberalization Action Plan) between the EU and Georgia1.

The project covered four thematic areas:

• Reinforcing capacities in integrated border management, which includes purchase of specialized equipment for purposes identified in advance;
• Reinforcing capacities to reduce illegal migration and transnational crime, including human trafficking;
• Reinforcing capacities of the Georgian government in strategy and program development necessary for sustainable reintegration of the Georgian returnees;

Development of an inter-agency system of migration data management.