October 19-20 witnessed the largest and most high-profile event of ISET’s year: the international conference on gender economics entitled ‘Gender Equality and Women’s Economic Empowerment in Time of Crisis’. The two-day event, hosted by ISET and the FREE Network (the Forum for Research on Eastern Europe and Emerging Economies), attracted academics from 15 countries, including Australia, India, the USA, the countries of the South Caucasus, Eastern and Western Europe.

The conference began with an opening address from Dr. Tamar Sulukhia, Director of ISET, who thanked ISET partners and the conference’s main sponsor, the Swedish government, for its support and commitment to the issues of women’s empowerment in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, Ms. Eva Atterlöv, Deputy Head of Development Cooperation, and Ms. Kaori Ishikawa, UN Women’s Country Representative to Georgia, also addressed the guests in attendance highlighting the importance of the topic.

The conference participants were addressed by two keynote speakers, Prof. Dr. Elizabeth Brainerd, Susan and Barton Winokur Professor of Economics and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Brandeis University, and Prof. Dr. Maria Floro, Professor Emerita Economics, American University in Washington, DC. They both drew attention to gender inequality in the world, with working women still earning 36% less than men on average. The ISET Policy Institute presentation which followed complemented the points made by the two speakers. In particular, Davit Keshelava of the ISET Policy Institute’s research team presented ISET’s recently launched regional Gender Equality Index, a new policy product of the ISET Policy Institute, which monitors the progress on gender equality in the South Caucasus and beyond, and in this way contribute to evidence-based policymaking.

The conference also featured a high-profile Policy Panel moderated by Tamar Sulukhia of ISET Policy Institute and represented by Nino Okribelashvili, Vice-Rector for Research, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University; Nino Chelidze, Women’s Initiative for Security and Equity (WISE), Program Director, Mercy Corps; Nani Bendeliani, Project Analyst, UN Women; and Nino Lortkipanidze, Women in Tech Ambassador for Georgia, Chief Innovation Officer, The Crossroads. The discussion focused on the regional challenges to gender equality in the South Caucasus as a whole and policy solutions to address these challenges.

On 24 October, Tamar Sulukhia, Director of ISET’s Policy Institute, participated in a panel discussion at an event hosted by the United Nations. This discussion covered numerous critical topics, such as creating decent jobs within the inclusive labor market, the importance of ensuring effective decentralization, etc.

The panel discussion was a part of an event, “From Economic Growth to Universal Prosperity: Post-Sustainable Development Goals Summit and Vision for the Future”, organized by the UN to celebrate United Nations Day on 24 October.

The discussions included in the event covered the various economic and social issues associated with decentralization at the national and local levels and the key aspects of maintaining decent jobs and an inclusive labor market.

On 18 October, Tamar Sulukhia, Director of the ISET Policy Institute, took part in a panel discussion dedicated to the launch of the Systemic Country Diagnostic (SCD) Update for Georgia during an event organized by the World Bank. The report, entitled “Georgia: Keeping the Reform Momentum”, provides a comprehensive analysis of the developmental challenges and opportunities that the country requires to accelerate progress toward a reduction in poverty alongside shared prosperity in a sustainable manner.

At the event, the panel speakers discussed topics including increasing labor force participation; improving access to finance, digitalization, and innovation; investing in energy efficiency; supporting renewable energy development; and enhancing the enforcement and predictability of laws and regulations.

The study itself was developed based on consultations with various representatives from the Georgian government, the private sector, development partners, civil society organizations, and academia.

On July 27th, a training session was organized by the ISET Policy Institute for ISET students, focusing on the topic "Business Models for Implementing Climate Technologies in the Buildings and Agriculture Sectors of Georgia". 

The training was conducted in cooperation with the Sustainable Development Center – Remissia, within the framework of the project Climate Technology Needs Assessment of Georgia and the Roadmap for the Preparation, the Distribution of Priority Technologies, and TNA, as sponsored by the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

During the meeting, presentations were given by representatives from the ISET Policy Institute, Remissia, Oxygenia, and Esco-S. The following topics were discussed:

• Financial instruments and structure of business models used by the Green Climate Fund 
• Modern energy-efficient and renewable technologies for buildings in the sector
• Forestry and agrotourism
• Financial instruments and business model structure used by the Green Climate Fund

The training was concluded with group work that gave participants the opportunity to calculate the internal rate of return for the implementation of the discussed climate technologies.

Training participants were awarded certificates.

A memorandum of cooperation has recently been signed between ISET Policy Institute, the Georgian National Energy and Water Supply Regulatory Commission (GNERC), and the Elizbar Eristavi Energy Training Center.

The agreement was signed by the director of the ISET Policy institute, Tamar Sulukhia, the Chairman of GNERC, Davit Narmania, and the Director of the ENTC, Nugzar Beridze.

The goal of such cooperation is to implement joint educational research and other projects in the electricity, natural gas, and water supply sectors - those which raise public awareness of relevant issues, and plan and implement other joint activities.

GNERC's chairman, Davit Narmania, kindly gave a public lecture to ISET students on issues of energy and water supply regulation.

Mr. Narmania introduced the students to various results and perspectives of ongoing activities, discussed current processes in regulated sectors, and then focused on the current reforms in the field of electric energy, tariff regulation, and the protection of consumer rights.

On 18 May, representatives from the ISET Policy Institute visited Kutaisi International University to introduce ISET Policy Institute’s core activities, products and ongoing projects to students and university staff.

The meeting was opened by Tamar Sulukhia, Director of ISET and ISET Policy Institute. Ms. Sulukhia introduced Policy Institute, its goals and objectives and presented core products, regular indexes and projects.

ISET-PI lead economist Yaroslava Babych focused on current developments and spoke about impacts Ukraine’s invasion will have on Georgia.

During the final part of the meeting ISET Policy Institute’s senior researcher, Ana Burduli introduced university representatives to the Reformeter, a platform for assessing economic reforms, supported by the USAID Economic Governance Program. Ana discussed the target reforms, each assessed, reported, and published by the Reformeter team.

The event concluded with Q&A and discussion where participants emphasized ISET's current projects and research activities.

After months of thorough research and hard work, followed by an intensive testing phase, the ISET Policy Institute is delighted to launch its newly redesigned website. 

ISET PI is a think-tank with a core mission to deliver policy analyses to the public, and so having the best platform possible is a must. We hope you like the fresh new look of the site, as well as the improved navigation that allows you to find our Research Reports, Policy Briefs, and RIAs, go through our Policy Research, and read our Blogs. You can also follow our News and Events and check our Indexes – including our celebrity publication the Khachapuri Index. 

Please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. what you think of our new website - all comments and any feedback is

ISET Policy Institute would also like to extend its gratitude to Lemons for developing the new website.

ISET Policy Institute is an active member of the CAREC Think Tank Network. This year, the fifth CAREC Think Tank Development Forum, held on November 23-24, gathered leaders from the CAREC Institute, Asian Development Bank, other international organizations, leading regional think tanks, experts, alongside various academics to discuss economic corridors as drivers of fiscal growth and regional integration. One of the core forum sessions, which mapped the role of think tanks and knowledge platforms in the development of these economic corridors, was moderated by Tamar Sulukhia, ISET Policy Institute Director. This meeting focused on examining knowledge exchanges and the development of knowledge platforms for regional research and policy dialogue, drawing on the exceptional expertise of think tank networks, including the role of the CAREC-led CTTN and South-South Exchange, while also contextualizing new global challenges and innovations.

ISET is very proud of the fact that every single one of its students has walked into meaningful employment after graduation, but it is both pleasing and special when ISET graduates are hired to work for the institute itself. Their contributions and efforts help inspire the next generations, as well as continue to drive the ISET Policy Institute's research.

From September, the Policy Institute will be employing a further three ISETers, all of whom graduated as part of the Class of 2020. Among these is valedictorian Guram Lobzhanidze, who will now work as a Junior Researcher for the Energy and Environment Policy Research Center (EEPRC). Guram has a particularly diverse educational background, having attended university in both Georgia and China, and studied International Relations, Economics, and the Chinese language. Before beginning his role for Policy Institute, Guram taught first-year Master's degree students in both microeconomics and econometrics.

ISET is proud to welcome Mr. Luc Leruth, a professional of considerable academic experience who has worked for many years in financial institutions, to the ISET Policy Institute as one of its Lead Economists. A native of Belgium, Mr. Leruth previously worked as the Director of a number of the IMF's Technical Assistance Centres in Africa and the Pacific region. He has also enjoyed a career in academia, having spent time at the Indian Statistical Institute in Delhi, and the universities of Liege, Brussels, and Essex, with his work being published in a number of scientific journals.