Social Audit Manual

Within the framework of the project "Development of civil audit practice among the youth of Kharagauli municipality", representatives of the European-Georgia Institute and the Regional Sustainable Development Institute, Giorgi khidesheli, Shalva Chkheidze and Zura Gamtenadze, developed a manual for Social audit.

The central and local governments are responsible for regulating various spheres of public life and implement relevant projects. For example, they build roads, create healthcare programs, build sports complexes, renovate recreational spaces, and so on.

Each program implemented by Government institutions has its own purpose, budget and impact on the welfare of society. However, sometimes the purpose, budget and impact of such projects are missalined and require pointing out. It is to detect such shortcomings that social audit is needed. It is an oversight mechanism available to the public, which verifies whether the project responds to the interests of the people it is intended to benefit, how well the idea of the project corresponds to its purpose, how appropriate is its budget, and how well it was executed. A civil audit serves one simple purpose. Through it, the public controls the activities of the government, makes it transparent and participates in the reasonable disposal of the budget. Ultimately, society makes the government more accountable, which has a positive impact on public life.

This manual contains comprehensive and easily digestible instructions on how to conduct a social audit from start to finish and serves to encourage interested citizens in taking a more active role in their local decision-making process.

Social Audit Manual was published with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Georgia. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the organisations listed above. The project is implemented with the support of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Georgia.