USAID: Republic of Georgia

Practice Areas
Certification
Business Development

Dates
2004

Plexus Consulting Group, LLC
1620 Eye Street, NW
Suite 210
Washington, DC 20006
Phone:  202-785-8940
Fax:      202-785-8949
Email:   info@plexusconsulting.com

Situation:

Plexus Consulting Group, LLC was recruited to work with GEGI under a USAID-BearingPoint contract designed among other things to promote business development in Georgia. Plexus worked with GEGI from August to October 2004 as self-certification consultants assisting business associations to develop self-certification programs for their respective industries. Plexus consultants conducted needs assessments, provided formal training, and on going individualized technical assistance for the business associations. The initial work was so well received that Plexus returned to Georgia in March and April 2005 for follow-on work.

Action:

During this subsequent visit, the number of associations requesting assistance went from five to nine. The industries that they worked with included accounting, auditing, real estate, marketing, export, agriculture, alternative dispute resolution and insurance. Additionally several USAID staff relied directly on their expertise in standards and certification to consult with them on other projects. The Advisor to the State Minister of Economic Reform personally requested Plexus’s assistance in helping him design a governmental template for a system of personnel regulation that would cross all employment sectors.

Result:

Plexus’s work in Georgia resulted in several tangible products that will continue to support the development of industry standards and certifications. They include helping several associations create individualized self-certification business plans, a national Summit on Self-Certification, the creation of a resource library of materials for the GEGI website, and the development of an informal networking forum for associations that can lead to a sustainable local support system. Another important product created was a consensus (government-private sector) designed template for the government and private sector to use to define criteria and models for creating an internationally recognized personnel regulatory continuum from self-regulation through shared regulation and government regulation across all industry sectors.