Moldova Partnerships for Sustainable Civil Society Annual Report No
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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 Annual Report No: 3 October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016 October 28, 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. Annual Progress Report No. 3: October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016 1 Moldova Partnerships for Sustainable Civil Society (MPSCS) TABLE OF CONTENTS ACRONYMS .................................................................................................................................. 3 I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 4 II. MPSCS KEY ACHIEVEMENTS, YEAR 3 ...................................................................................... 5 OBJECTIVE 1: CSOS MORE EFFECTIVELY REPRESENT THEIR CONSTITUENCIES ................................................... 5 OBJECTIVE 2: THE INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIES OF STRATEGIC PARTNERS DEVELOPED ........................................ 6 OBJECTIVE 3: ENABLING ENVIRONMENT MORE CONDUCIVE TO LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF CIVIL SOCIETY ...... 6 III. MPSCS PROGRESS YEAR 3, BY OBJECTIVE ............................................................................... 6 OBJECTIVE 1: CSOS MORE EFFECTIVELY REPRESENT THEIR CONSTITUENCIES .................................................. 6 CSO ADVOCACY AND GOVERNMENT OUTREACH .............................................................................................. 7 PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES RIGHTS GRANT PROGRAM ...................................................................................... 11 YOUTH INTEGRATION ................................................................................................................................. 14 ADVOCACY INDEX CUSTOMIZATION AND COMMUNITY SCORECARD ................................................................... 14 CIVIL SOCIETY STAKEHOLDERS’ COORDINATION .............................................................................................. 15 COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA .................................................................................................................... 16 OBJECTIVE 2: THE INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIES OF STRATEGIC PARTNERS DEVELOPED ...................................... 16 CAPACITY BUILDING ................................................................................................................................... 17 SUPPORT TO A LOCAL MARKET FOR CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICES AND PROVIDERS ...................................... 20 TA TO MPSCS PARTNERS AND OTHER CSOS ................................................................................................. 20 OBJECTIVE 3: ENABLING ENVIRONMENT MORE CONDUCIVE TO LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF CIVIL SOCIETY .... 22 ENHANCING LOCAL EXPERTISE ON ENABLING LEGAL ENVIRONMENT FOR CSOS .................................................... 22 SUPPORTING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY ................................................. 23 REVISING LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK AND IMPROVING IMPLEMENTATION ........................................................... 24 CSO FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY .................................................................................................................. 25 CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITIES .............................................................................................................. 26 GENDER INTEGRATION................................................................................................................................ 26 MEDIA CAMPAIGN AGAINST FALSE AND BIASED INFORMATION ......................................................................... 27 IV. PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND EVALUATION PLAN (PMEP) RESULTS ............................. 28 V. CHALLENGES ....................................................................................................................... 29 VI. HIGHLIGHTS OF PLANNED ACTIVITIES FOR MPSCS YEAR 4 .................................................... 30 OBJECTIVE 1: CSOS MORE EFFECTIVELY REPRESENT THEIR CONSTITUENCIES ................................................. 30 OBJECTIVE 2: THE INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITIES OF STRATEGIC PARTNERS DEVELOPED ...................................... 30 OBJECTIVE 3: ENABLING ENVIRONMENT MORE CONDUCIVE TO LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF CIVIL SOCIETY .... 30 ATTACHMENTS .......................................................................................................................... 31 Annual Progress Report No. 3: October 1, 2015 – September 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) CAJPD Centrul pentru Asistenta Juridica pentru Persoane cu Dizabilitati (Center for Legal Assistance for Persons with Disabilities) 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 CTO Consultancy and Training Organization E&E Bureau for Europe and Eurasia 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 GoM Government of Moldova LPA Local Public Authority MoE Ministry of Education MoJ Ministry of Justice MPSCS Moldova Partnerships for Sustainable Civil Society OD Organizational Development ODA Organizational Development Assessment PC Public Council PWD People with Disabilities 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 USG U.S. Government WG Working Group Annual Progress Report No. 3: October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016 3 Moldova Partnerships for Sustainable Civil Society (MPSCS) I. INTRODUCTION This report covers the period October 1, 2015–September 30, 2016, of the Moldova Partnerships for Sustainable Civil Society (MPSCS). MPSCS is a five-year 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 overall goal of MPSCS is to build a more professional and sustainable civil society sector that is responsive to constituent needs and influences policymaking, and to foster an enabling legal framework. MPSCS accomplishes this goal by meeting three objectives: Objective 1: 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 Objective 1 Under Objective 1, MPSCS continued strengthening the capacities of 21 MPSCS Engage Program (EP) and Support Program (SP) partners to formulate policy recommendations, provide better services, and more efficiently represent their beneficiaries’ interests. In the reporting period these partners conducted 44 advocacy campaigns; developed recommendations to amend four draft laws (the Law on Access to Information, the 2% Law, the Law on Non-Commercial Organizations, and the Law on Social Entrepreneurship); and influenced the adoption of 27 decisions of the regional and local authorities that improved the situation of the elderly, children, and rural communities, and helped to solve citizens’ problems at the local level. Over the past two years, the Moldovan currency has depreciated significantly and MPSCS has registered over USD 500,000 as a budget surplus. Therefore, as approved by USAID, in April 2016, MPSCS provided our EP and SP partner CSOs the opportunity to propose additional activities in line with their program’s objectives, increase their grant awards by approximately MDL 450,000, and extend the period of performance of their grants until March 31, 2018. MPSCS worked with 18 beneficiary CSOs to expand their scopes of work and to revise their budgets. By October 1, 2016, USAID had provided concurrence for 14 of these project modifications. Four remaining project modifications will be submitted for USAID concurrence by the end of 2016. In the reporting period, Asociatia Presei Independente – API