Georgia's public-service innovation lab ran a design-thinking process with the Union of Deaf of Georgia to rebuild the national 112 emergency line, producing a free 24/7 SMS/video-relay service that won a 2016 EENA award for disability inclusion.
Details
Maturity
Established
Promoter
Public Service Development Agency (PSDA) Service Lab, with UNDP Georgia and the Union of Deaf of Georgia
Period
2014–2015 design and launch; service ongoing
Keywords
emergency services, digital government, service design, disability inclusion
Context
Since 2014, Georgia's Public Service Development Agency has run an internal 'Service Lab' to redesign public services; it ran a seven-month process with UNDP Georgia to rebuild the national 112 emergency line for Deaf and hard-of-hearing citizens.
Activities
112 staff studied accessible emergency-response models in Ireland, then ran a three-day design-thinking workshop with the Union of Deaf of Georgia using a step-by-step simulation of a real emergency call.
Results
The redesigned service launched nationwide in March 2015 — a free, 24/7 SMS and video-relay channel connecting Deaf callers to operators trained in Georgian Sign Language — and won the European Emergency Number Association's 2016 award for Best Innovative Efforts in Disability Support.
Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k) — Swedish government-supported UNDP partnership; specific implementation cost not published.
Time to results
Short (< 1 year) — Seven-month design process; nationwide launch March 2015; EENA award 2016.
Staffing & skills
PSDA Service Lab designers, Union of Deaf of Georgia co-design partners, 112 centre operators trained in Georgian Sign Language
Conditions for success
staff study visit to Ireland for accessible emergency-response models
three-day design-thinking workshop simulating real emergency calls with Deaf community members
Common failure modes
no independent usage or satisfaction study published
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Data sources
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