Moldova Partnerships for Sustainable Civil Society Quarterly
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Moldova Partnerships for Sustainable Civil Society Funding provided by: United States Agency for International Development Cooperative Agreement AID-117-A-14-00002 Quarterly Progress Report No: 8 April 1 – June 30, 2016 July 29, 2016 Chisinau, Republic of Moldova Submitted to: Lucia Martinenco Agreement Officer’s Representative USAID/Regional Mission in Moldova 57/1, Banulescu-Bodoni str. Chisinau, Moldova MD 2005 [email protected] This report was prepared with funds provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development under Cooperative Agreement AID-117-A-14-00002. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Agency for International Development. Quarterly Progress Report No. 8: April 1 – June 30, 2016 1 Moldova Partnerships for Sustainable Civil Society (MPSCS) TABLE OF CONTENTS ACRONYMS .................................................................................................................................. 3 I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 4 OBJECTIVE 1: CSOS MORE EFFECTIVELY REPRESENT THEIR CONSTITUENCIES ................................................... 5 OBJECTIVE 2: INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIES OF STRATEGIC PARTNERS DEVELOPED .............................................. 6 OBJECTIVE 3: ENABLING ENVIRONMENT MORE CONDUCIVE TO LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF CIVIL SOCIETY ...... 6 II. MPSCS PROGRESS APRIL 1 – JUNE 30, 2016, BY OBJECTIVE ..................................................... 6 OBJECTIVE 1: CSOS MORE EFFECTIVELY REPRESENT THEIR CONSTITUENCIES ...................................................... 6 CSO ADVOCACY AND GOVERNMENT OUTREACH ................................................................................................ 7 PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY RIGHTS ADVOCACY .............................................................................................. 10 YOUTH INTEGRATION .................................................................................................................................. 13 ADVOCACY INDEX AND COMMUNITY SCORECARD ............................................................................................ 15 CIVIL SOCIETY STAKEHOLDERS’ COORDINATION ................................................................................................ 16 COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA ..................................................................................................................... 16 OBJECTIVE 2: INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIES OF STRATEGIC PARTNERS DEVELOPED ............................................ 17 CAPACITY BUILDING ................................................................................................................................... 17 TA TO MPSCS PARTNERS AND OTHER CSOS .................................................................................................... 20 OBJECTIVE 3: ENABLING ENVIRONMENT MORE CONDUCIVE TO LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF CIVIL SOCIETY ... 21 ENHANCING LOCAL EXPERTISE ON THE ENABLING LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR CSOS ............................................... 21 SUPPORTING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY ................................................. 22 REVISING LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK AND IMPROVING IMPLEMENTATION ........................................................... 23 MOBILIZING DOMESTIC RESOURCES FOR CSO FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY ............................................................ 24 CIVIL PARTICIPATION IN POLITICAL DECISION-MAKING (COST-SHARE COUNCIL OF EUROPE) ..................................... 25 CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITIES ............................................................................................................... 25 GENDER INTEGRATION ................................................................................................................................ 25 MEDIA CAMPAIGN AGAINST FALSE AND BIASED INFORMATION .......................................................................... 26 III. CHALLENGES ....................................................................................................................... 27 IV. HIGHLIGHTS OF PLANNED ACTIVITIES FOR MPSCS NEXT QUARTER ....................................... 27 OBJECTIVE 1: CSOS MORE EFFECTIVELY REPRESENT THEIR CONSTITUENCIES ................................................. 27 OBJECTIVE 2: INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIES OF STRATEGIC PARTNERS DEVELOPED ........................................... 28 OBJECTIVE 3: ENABLING ENVIRONMENT MORE CONDUCIVE TO LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF CIVIL SOCIETY .... 28 ATTACHMENTS .......................................................................................................................... 28 Quarterly Progress Report No. 8: April 1 – June 30, 2016 2 Moldova Partnerships for Sustainable Civil Society (MPSCS) ACRONYMS API Asociatia Presei Independente (Association of Independent Press) APT Asociatia Psihologilor Tighina (Association of Psychologists from Tighina) ASD Autism Spectrum Disorder ATVJI Asociatia “V.I.P.” a Telejurnalistilor Independenti din Republica Moldova (Association of Independent TV Journalists) CB Capacity Building CJI Centrul pentru Jurnalism Independent (Independent Journalism Center) CJU Clinica Juridica Universitara (University Legal Clinic) CICO Centrul de Informare si Consultanta Organizationala (Center for Organizational Consultancy and Training) CNTM Consiliul National al Tineretului din Moldova (National Youth Council of Moldova) CPD Centrul Parteneriat pentru Dezvoltare (Center Partnership for Development) CRJ Centrul de Resurse Juridice (Legal Resources Centre) CSC Community Scorecard CSO Civil Society Organization ECNL European Center for Not-for-Profit Law EP Engage Program FCPS Femeia si Copilul – Protectie si Sprijin (Woman and Child – Protection and Support) FDRM Fundatia pentru Dezvoltare din RM (Foundation for Advancement of Moldova) FRF Financial Revenues Forms HR Human Resource GoM Government of Moldova LPA Local Public Authority MoE Ministry of Education MoJ Ministry of Justice MoF Ministry of Finance MPSCS Moldova Partnerships for Sustainable Civil Society OD Organizational Development ODA Organizational Development Assessment PWD People with Disabilities SCG Southern Consultative Group SP Support Program TA Technical assistance TDP Training and Development Plan TDV Tinerii pentru Dreptul la Viata (Youth for the Right to Life) TsL Centrul de Resurse Tineri si Liberi (Young and Free Resource Center) USAID United States Agency for International Development WG Working group Quarterly Progress Report No. 8: April 1 – June 30, 2016 3 Moldova Partnerships for Sustainable Civil Society (MPSCS) I. INTRODUCTION This report covers the tenth quarterly reporting period (April 1 – June 30, 2016) of the Moldova Partnerships for Sustainable Civil Society (MPSCS) project. MPSCS is a five-year (2013-2018) project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by FHI 360 and its partner the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL). The purpose of the project is to improve the capacity of Moldovan civil society to represent citizens’ interests, influence policymaking, and sustain the sector’s democratic role for the future. MPSCS accomplishes this goal by meeting three objectives: Objective 1: Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) more effectively represent their constituencies Objective 2: Institutional capacity of strategic partners developed Objective 3: Enabling environment more conducive to long-term sustainability of civil society Due to the steep devaluation of Moldovan lei over the last couple of years, and partly due to the anticipated de-obligation of funds to MPSCS grantee Centrul de Resurse Juridice – CRJ (Legal Resource Center), which is expected to receive direct USAID funding in the coming months, MPSCS identified a surplus of about $500,000 in its budget. As approved by USAID, these funds will be used to extend the period of performance of the Engage Program (EP) and Support Program (SP) grantees and to expand their scopes of works. EP and SP grantees are updating their project descriptions and the revised project descriptions and budgets will be sent to USAID for review and approval in the next few quarters. At the mid-point of the project’s 5-year implementation, the MPSCS activities have intensified and are producing expected results. The reports details most significant achievements registered in the last quarter. Under Objective 1, 21 MPSCS Engage Program (EP) and Support Program (SP) partners continued to carry out citizen engagement and advocacy programs, and to strengthen the linkages between civil society and government at both the local and national levels. MPSCS partners worked with central public authorities on development of cooperation mechanisms, such as the National Participation Council, as well as on improving of the legal framework affecting their constituents. National CSO Council (an informal association of leading Moldovan CSOs supported by MPSCS) carried out several meetings with the Government and Parliament to institutionalize the CSO-authorities’ policy dialog. It is expected that a solution will be devised by the end of 2016 according to the Government of Moldova (GoM) action plan. To protect the citizens’ right to information, three MPSCS partners continued implementing the STOP FALS! campaign aimed at countering propaganda and manipulative information disseminated