There is no clear mechanism for inter-ministerial collaboration in drafting regional development policy. That is one of the findings of the study conducted by CONTACT Center during November 2014 – January 2015 on the implementation of the National Strategy for Regional Development 2013-2015.
The analysis belongs to the independent expert Valerian Tăbârţă, developed under the Regional Development Coalition in Moldova. The study addressed the normative-legal, the institutional and strategic framework of regional development. The study was based on interviews with representatives of the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction, representatives of RDA, NGOs and LPA.
It was noted that the strategy was adopted for the period 2013-2015 and a full analysis of the strategy could only be made at the end of 2015, and that some agencies/institutions were not open for conducting interviews.
‘The key finding of the study was that the National Strategy for Regional Development was an operational document rather than a strategic one and that we could not see positive changes‘, the expert said, noting that the document did not provide a clear vision of the ultimate goal of implementing this strategy.
It is also highlighted that for some of the implemented regional development projects there are no clearly defined criteria or indicators of efficiency/economic recoverability or of the economic impact of the project on development in the region and regional statistics were also lacking.
Also, the expert Valerian Tăbârţă found that the National Fund for Regional Development (NFRD) did not meet the real development needs, thus recommending increasing and attracting other external sources.
It was also found that a greater involvement of civil society was needed in the implementation of NSRD, as direct beneficiaries and as actors who can help strengthen the capacities for the LPAs.
This study is very important for identifying the degree of involvement of civil society in the implementation of this strategy, said Aleona Veselovscaia, program coordinator at Contact Center.
The project is implemented through a grant provided through the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe under the SECTOR project. This project is funded by the Government of Sweden, the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe. The Swedish Government assumes no liability, express or implied, for damage that may occur to activities of its beneficiaries. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent the policies or opinions of donors.
