Victor Guzun
Liberal Reforms for
Public Administration
in Moldova
2015
Victor Guzun
Liberal Reforms for Public Administration in
Moldova.
Sibiu
2015
Liberal Reforms for Public Administration in
Moldova
Author: Victor Guzun
October – December 2015
© European Liberal Forum asbl
Published by the European Liberal Forum with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation
for Freedom, Sofia.
Funded by the European Parliament.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 5
2. WHY SHOULD WE HAVE LOCAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONS OPERATING BY
LIBERAL PRINCIPLES? ............................................................................................................... 8
FROM PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION TO PUBLIC MANAGEMENT ................................... 8
3. MOLDOVA LOCAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, REALITIES AND PROBLEMS ............ 10
FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION .......................................................................................... 12
4. ESTONIA – AN EXAMPLE OF REFORM FOR THE LOCAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA. GENERAL CONTEXT .................................................. 14
SEPARATION OF POWERS IN ESTONIA ........................................................................... 15
THE TAX SYSTEM IN ESTONIA.......................................................................................... 16
E-ESTONIA. DIGITALIZED PUBLIC SERVICES ............................................................... 18
5. EXAMPLES OF SOLUTIONS FROM ESTONIA WHICH CAN BE IMPLEMENTED BY THE
LOCAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA ........................ 19
5.1. DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DMS) .......................................................... 19
5.2. DELTA............................................................................................................................... 21
5.3. SIGMA ............................................................................................................................... 22
5.4. KOVTP – THE WEB PORTAL FOR MUNICIPALITIES .............................................. 23
5.5. KOVMEN – AUTOMATION MODULE FOR LOCAL SERVICES .............................. 24
5.6. VOLIS – The IT system of city councils ........................................................................... 26
5.7. VOLIS KE – PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING .............................................................. 27
5.8. VOLIS RR – REFERENDUM AND SURVEY ................................................................ 28
5.9. ANNA TEADA – NOTIFY ME!....................................................................................... 28
5.10. eKOOL – e-SCHOOL...................................................................................................... 30
5.11. NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH .......................................................................................... 33
Why NHW in the Republic of Moldova? ................................................................... 34
Perspectives for the development of the NHW model in the Republic of Moldova .. 34
5.12. PREPARATION FOR THE LEADER RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. ......... 36
5.13. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF LAGS (LOCAL ACTION GROUPS)............................. 38
5.14. IMPLEMENTATION OF SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR DOCUMENTS AND
OF UNIQUE DATABASES ........................................................................................... 40
5.15. EACH LPA ENTITY SHALL HAVE A RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT OF ASSISTANCE AND EXTERNAL
PROJECTS (PREFERABLY AN ENGLISH SPEAKER). ............................................ 41
5.16. THE ROLE OF THE LOCAL LIBRARY MUST BE MORE COMPLEX. ................... 42
5.17. CONTACT DETAILS AND DUTIES OF ALL CITY HALL EMPLOYEES SHOULD
BE PUBLIC AND EASILY ACCESSIBLE. .................................................................. 43
5.18. LOCAL NGOS ARE VERY IMPORTANT. .................................................................. 44
5.19. BUILDING A DISTINCTIVE IDENTITY FOR EACH LOCALITY ........................... 45
5.20. PERMANENT SHARE OF EXPERIENCES AND ESTABLISHMENT OF
EXTERNAL RELATIONS WITH FOREIGN PARTNERS. ......................................... 46
5.21. LET’S DO IT! .................................................................................................................. 47
Annex 1. SEVERAL EUROPEAN FINANCING MECHANISMS FOR PROJECTS IN RURAL
AREAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA ........................................................................... 48
Annex 2. APPLYING FOR PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE ESTONIAN MINISTRY OF
FOREIGN AFFAIRS THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION MECHANISM
(PRACTICAL GUIDE) ................................................................................................................. 53
6. CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................ 57
Annex ................................................................................................................................................. 58
Note on the author .............................................................................................................................. 59
5
Participants and moderators of the workshop in Nisporeni, sporting and planning activities.
1. INTRODUCTION
Two workshops have been organized by the European Liberal Forum, with the
support of the “Friedrich Naumann” Foundation and in Chisinau and Nisporeni
between the 5th and the 8th of October 2015, to which local liberal officials from the
Chisinau municipality and the Nisporeni rayon were invited. The workshops have
been coordinated by the Foundation and experts from Estonia and focused on
identifying the main operational issues of the city halls and local councils represented
by the participants, a closer look at the activities carried out by the local public
administration entities in the Republic of Moldova and on finding solutions to the
identified issues, based on examples from Romania (Sibiu City), Estonia (Elva
municipality and Jogeva region), Germany, as well as the benchmarking analysis in
the European context. The workshops had an interactive format, in which Mr. Daniel
Kaddik, Program Manager for Southeastern Europe of the “Friedrich Naumann”
Foundation, made a presentation of the objectives and the expected results, followed
by the panel dedicated to an efficient public administration and local development
based on the example of the Romanian city of Sibiu, moderated by the Project
Coordinator of the Foundation in Romania, Mr. Raimar Wagner. The next interactive
exercise moderated by Mr. Daniel Kaddik focused on the motivation of the workshop
participants to take part to the politic activity and local elections, their role in the
public administration, weaknesses and strengths of the local public administration to
which they belong. The session went on with the presentations of the Estonian
experts, who highlighted the experience of two Estonian LPA entities: Mr. Viktor
Svjatosev, the current governor of the Estonian region of Jogeva and former mayor of
Jogeva city presented the multiple legislative, technical and attitudinal reforms
6
implemented in the above mentioned regions, while Mr. Heiki Hansen, councilor of
Elva City and former vice-mayor, focused his module on the best practices regarding
the operation of a local public administration entity comparable in size with the
entities represented by the participants. The sessions were interactive, offering
answers to numerous questions. Next came a presentation of the best e-governance
solutions in Estonia that need to be implemented in the Republic of Moldova, a
presentation made by Mr. Victor Guzun, former Ambassador of the Republic of
Moldova in Estonia.
The World Cafe exercise was subsequently organized, where the participants and the
moderators debated on the main issues that the LPA entities represented by the
participants are up against and, at the end of the workshops, the participants and
coordinators identified a number of propositions and activity projects for the
upcoming 6 months, each of the participants assuming responsibility for their
implementation.
The main identified problems and solutions include:
- solving the lack of transparency within city halls by placing information boards,
creating and updating the city halls websites, providing specialized training for a
number of employees, publication of all public related information on the city hall
website etc.;
- increasing the service range provided by the institutions under the authority of the
city hall
- launching initiatives that would employ as many local people as possible, involving
the local NGOs and active citizen groups;
- using digital signature and the available e-governance services;
- encouraging the establishment of new NGOs, staff training so as to increase the
fund accessing capacity;
- establishing points of single contact and publication of specific forms on the
available electronic platforms;
- drawing up urban plans.
- performance of sanitation and repair work.
- organizing events that would contribute to the co-participation of the community
members and increase the sense of community involvement in public life etc.
The foundation will analyze the implementation degree of the assumed projects
within 6 month and the coordinators shall provide the required assistance and advice.
This book aims at highlighting the main problems identified during the workshops
and to provide solutions thereto, based on the Estonian local public administrations
experience, so as to ensure their implementation by as many city halls in the Republic
of Moldova as possible.
7
This book contains some data from public studies carried out by the Congress of
Local Authorities from Moldova, the e-Governance Center, Transparency
International, public opinion surveys, websites of public institutions in Estonia, the
Expert-Grup think tank, Estonian IT companies developing e-governance solutions,
the Neighborhood Watch Moldova project, the LEADER European program, the
Moldova Social Investment Fund, GIZ, cross-border cooperation programs, the Prime
Minister of Moldova’s Economic Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia.
Photos belong to the authors.
8
2. WHY SHOULD WE HAVE LOCAL PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATIONS OPERATING BY LIBERAL PRINCIPLES?
FROM PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION TO PUBLIC MANAGEMENT
The administration of local public administration entities, as any other mechanism, is
constantly changing and requires new performance standards, decision making
transparency, adjusting to new conditions and innovative solutions. Administration
based on the centralized principle is becoming obsolete and the results of the local
officials activities will depend to an increasingly larger extent on the training of the
municipality administration teams, the interaction with as many local actors as
possible from various fields, the quick adjustment to new conditions and the
acceptance of new solutions, zero tolerance for corruption factors, the development of
an “ownership” sense for city inhabitants and their active involvement in the
administration process and the establishment of an active social dialogue.
A local governance operating by liberal principles changes the attitude towards its
citizens from city hall service “users” to active participants to the community life and
is a proactive governance, does not disturb the common citizens, does not become a
burden for them and lets the citizens decide.
The liberal governance model will introduce the principle of subsidiarity in the
administration of public activities, aiming to get closer to the citizen, believing that
the most efficient solution to municipality problems will be provided to the closest
level possible. The liberal local governance will make each community member
responsible, so that each local actor is informed of his rights and obligations and
participates to the resolution of the existing problems.
Traditionally, the liberal principle means to be open to new approaches and, in the
age of information and innovation, failure to accept modern management solutions
will play a critical role in the management (in)efficiency. There must be a significant
reorganization of the local administration principles, of the employees’ job
descriptions, of the study programs that they will attend in order to deal with the new
requirements, rescheduling the available resources. A local entity failing to adapt to
the new requirements will be forced by circumstances to do so sooner or later and the
delay in accepting reforms will only block the achievement of the desired results. The
best moment to start these reforms is today.
Liberal administration also means the privatization of many public services,
contracting such services, innovative co-production solutions in order to provide
quality services at the lowest prices. It will also encourage and promote a long-term
sustainable economic development of their city and community members.
The liberal principle states that the best democracy is the local democracy. Local
planning, recreation, promotion of local values falls under the direct responsibility of
9
the local councils. Liberal governance is oriented towards serving people and the way
it operates brings it closer to the people, is focused on a service that pleases the
people and changes their perception on the authorities.
A liberal governance is constantly fighting all forms of corruption, knowing that zero
tolerance towards this scourge is one of the most important prerequisite for local
administration efficiency, increases the attractiveness of city halls for potential
investors and external and internal financial supporters. Any respectable institution
will prefer working with such LPA entities and the positive results will soon emerge.
The clerks of a modern city hall must be oriented towards its citizens and must adopt
clear, transparent and quick solutions for all administrative problems. The European
experience clearly proves that the most successful local public entities are also the
most open minded.
10
3. MOLDOVA LOCAL PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, REALITIES
AND PROBLEMS
The Constitution of the Republic of Moldova acknowledges the principle of local
autonomy and stipulates that all local problems should be solved and treated by local
authorities, operating independently according to the law. Two laws in the legislative
framework of the Republic of Moldova state the local authorities responsibilities
related to service provision: the Law on administrative decentralization and the Law
on local public finance.
The basic competences of the local public authorities include the organization of
social services, social protection of elderly people, provision of dwellings and
municipal services, water supply and sewage services, performance of public
services, spatial planning, public transport and maintenance of local roads and streets.
Typical for LPAs in the Republic of Moldova are high budgetary expenses in the
education field and most of the other public services under the responsibility of the
local public authorities are co-financed and traditionally insufficiently managed, a
situation caused by the central authorities strict control of public expenses required
for the provision of certain public services. This reduces the capacity of the local
authorities to function as independent and autonomous bodies.
The share of the local authorities’ revenues to the general public revenues is less than
30%. The revenue tax for natural persons accounts for 24% of the local authorities’
total revenues. Among all taxes, the real estate tax has a small share of 3%. Revenues
achieved from local taxes account for only 3% of the local budget.
In total, the share of local taxes, own revenues and the breakdown of revenues from
general state taxes is very small in most of the local public administrations budgets,
except for big city halls, such as Chisinau and Balti. City halls depend to a great
extent on transfers from the state budget (58% with Chisinau and Balti and 70%
without these two municipalities), which makes them financially weak in exercising
their responsibilities. The expenses of local authorities accounted for approximately
24% of the general consolidated expenses of the authorities in the last few years.
Most of the local authorities’ expenses are aimed towards the education sector.
Local authrities in Moldova have a limited direct influence on local economic
development. The only tools available to them for investment stimulation and the
creation of a competitive environment are the setting of local taxes and fees (with a
maximum threshold set by the Parliament), the provision of facilities, land or
buildings, the promotion of strategies or the planning and spatial planning tools.
Since the share of local revenues to the budget is small, the fiscal and financial
decentralization is limited and transfers from central authorities are subject to
conditions, meaning that they must be spent only for the provision of certain public
services (education, social security etc.).
11
The Internet penetration level is high in the Republic of Moldova, which can be a
prerequisite for the development of numerous e-governance solutions, including in
the rural areas. Thus, according to the data provided by the e-Governance Center in
the Republic of Moldova, 62% of domestic households are connected to the Internet
via ADSL network, optical fiber, 3G connection or wi-fi. 76% of the respondents said
that they were using the Internet on a daily basis, 90% of them accessing the Internet
from their home. The percentage of those who use the Internet for chat or social
networks is very high (88% and 82% respectively) or for entertainment and news
websites (62% and 68%), but there are serious deficiencies concerning the
performance of online banking operations, requesting information from public
institutions or their delivery (less than 10% of all respondents, in some cases even
under 2%).
Studies show that the desire for European integration is greatly supported by local
officials in the Republic of Moldova and the main expectations are the development
of the local infrastructure, a greater financial support for the implementation of local
reforms, better medical care and social security, a more performant education system.
Furthermore, most of the local officials think that the current support is limited and
inadequate for the needs of the city halls.
During the workshops organized in Chisinau and Nisporeni, the participants were
asked to specify the main operational issues of the city halls they were representing;
the following problems were underlined: financial difficulties (the lack of necessary
resources for the development of the infrastructure projects, insufficiency of the
public services provided, dysfunctional water supply, sewage, waste management,
street lighting systems etc.). Moreover, most of the highlighted problems did not
require any financial resources or relatively small financial resources.
For example, the participants to the Nisporeni workshop only mentioned 3 major
problems (out of the 26 enunciated) requiring financial resources for their resolution
(insufficient budgeted financial resources, water supply and street lighting) and 23
operational problems, such as the high level of corruption, lack of trust among the
inhabitants assigned to the city halls in the activity of local officials, destabilizing
actions of some local officials directed towards other representatives, crony-like
support of some projects, the acute lack of communication between local officials and
citizens etc.
12
FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION
A major problem is the
feeling that local public
institutions are corrupt and
things do not seem to
change. According to
Transparency International
studies, the Republic of
Moldova ranks 103 of the
174 states mentioned in the
report for 2014, with a
score of 35 points (0 means
very corrupt and 100 – zero
corruption).
For
comparison
purposes,
Estonia ranks 27 in the
same report, with a corruption index of 69 points. Romania ranks 69 in the report,
with a corruption index of 43 points.
All national opinion barometers point at corruption among the 5 major problems of
the Republic of Moldova. Over 65% of citizens are not satisfied with the results of
the fight against this scourge and 47% of the respondents believe that fighting
corruption could improve the social and economic status of the country.
Citizens think that the main reasons leading to corruption are the ineffective control
of the state powers and the political involvement in the legal system. In spite of some
legislative efforts and initiatives, the results of the fight against corruption are
insufficient. Corruption is a very serious setback in the efforts of modernizing the
Republic of Moldova and, implicitly, the local public authorities. Fight against
corruption is a process that requires a long-term commitment from the public
institutions, local public administrations and civil society. As far as the local public
administrations are concerned, all key actors and LPA partners must clearly state
their commitment for a long term fight against corruption and support of the anticorruption initiatives. Everything must be done to raise the public awareness and
drive small changes, which, in time, could completely turn the systems around, as
well as the working methods of institutions and individuals. The best contribution to
the fight against corruption will be a “leading by example” attitude, demonstrating
the most professional standards in their daily activity.
Fight against corruption includes:
- educating citizens on the responsibility of authorities to refrain for corrupt actions.
In this regard, the fair treatment of all individuals is crucial for the stability and
economic growth of a country and supports the fight against crimes;
13
- informing citizens about the costs a corrupt system bears, particularly for key
services such as medical and educational services.
- engaging as many local young people as possible in trainings and giving examples
of correct ethical behavior, in order to find out what corruption is and what its
consequences are.
- reporting all corruption cases and zero tolerance for corruption acts and corrupt
officials.
- refusing to participate in any illegal or non transparent activity.
- development of an incorrupt business community promoting economic stability and
zero tolerance towards acts of corruption etc.
The experience of Estonia and of the European states clearly shows that the most
effective LPA entities are those that promote zero tolerance towards corruption.
Corruption drives investors away, cancels all efforts to promote the city, increases the
population discontent, decreases the quality of all public services and increases
tensions within the community.
14
4. ESTONIA – AN EXAMPLE OF REFORM FOR THE LOCAL
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA.
GENERAL CONTEXT
Tallinn city view
Estonia may serve as a perfect example for the reform of many public entities in the
Republic of Moldova, including the local public administration, for many reasons. As
is the case with our country, Estonia was part of the Soviet Empire that imposed the
same undemocratic rules, legislation, functioning of economic mechanisms,
repression of the freedom of expression, inhibition of national sentiments,
denationalization and centralization of the entire decision making mechanism. Both
countries are small, with comparable territories. While both countries started from
approximately the same performance indicators after the Republic of Moldova
declared and Estonia redeclared its independence, today the Baltic state is the most
successful of all former Soviet republics, a state completely integrated into all the
European Union structures (including the Schengen area, Eurozone, OECD) and
NATO.
The nominal gross national product per capita is USD 17,425 (estimated for 2015),
10 times higher than that of the Republic of Moldova (1,725 estimated for 2015).
Estonia is known as one of the most successful European economies, with minimum
public debts, that successfully dealt with the global economic crisis. It is a digitalized
state, where the e-governance solutions are widely used in all areas of public life, and
for this reason, a great part of the described solutions are the digital ones. Estonia is a
country that fights corruption in an effective manner, an example of freedom of
expression and fundamental human freedoms.
Estonia reached this high level of quality in a very short period of time and many
individuals behind the implementation of the above mentioned reforms are still in
office. Estonians have a very friendly and cooperative attitude towards the Republic
15
of Moldova and our country is a priority for external assistance. In the last chapter of
this document, we will attach an application guide for the Moldovan-Estonian project
financing.
SEPARATION OF POWERS IN ESTONIA
Estonia is a unitary parliamentary republic under the Constitution adopted in 1992,
with a single-chamber Parliament of 101 members, directly elected for a 4-year term.
The Parliament influences the state government by adopting the national budget and
setting the taxes. The Parliament appoints a number of senior officials, including the
President of Estonia (for a 5-year term). The laws are adopted exclusively by the
Parliament.
The government members are appointed by the Prime Minister and approved by the
Parliament; it is responsible for conducting the domestic and foreign policy
established by the Parliament. The Ministry of the Interior coordinates the activities
of the governors’ institutions. The government is responsible for the justice, foreign
affairs, national defense, public finance, industry and commerce policies, supervisory
powers, ensuring the development and functionality of the infrastructure, education,
labor market policy, healthcare and highways management.
The state consists of 227 local authorities, of which 194 municipalities (Vald) and 33
urban municipalities or towns (Linn) or regions (Maakond). The municipalities can
be very different in size, the largest being the city of Tallinn with over 436,000
inhabitants and the smallest, Ruhnu (island) with 103 inhabitants.
Municipalities are the only
form of local government in
Estonia. Administratively,
Estonia is divided into 15
regions, but there is no
regional
level
of
government.
The
Government appoints the
governors of the regions
who, together with their
office, represent the regional
agencies of the government
administration.
The
Governor institution does
Map of the regions and the largest cities in Estonia
not coordinate, but only
supervises the activities of the local government. However, the regions still have a
number of responsibilities: environmental management, economic and spatial
development, supervision of a number of acts of local governance and coordination
of emergency or crisis situations.
16
Local self-government is a right guaranteed by the Constitution of Estonia, which
states that "all local public aspects will be coordinated and solved by the local public
administration that must operate independently under the law" (Article 154). The
municipalities manage their own budgets and are responsible for the education (preschool, primary and secondary schools), the management of public areas, provision
of social services for people of all ages, activities for the youth, sports and recreation,
public services, household management and related services, the management of
water supply and sewage, local planning, management of local roads, local transport,
libraries and museums.
THE TAX SYSTEM IN ESTONIA
The Estonian tax system is considered to be a simple and liberal system.
Direct taxes are automatically withheld from the salary by the employer. Direct taxes
(2015) are the income taxes (20%, 21% in 2014), unemployment insurance (1.6%)
and, if the employee opted for the optional pension system, a pension tax is charged
(2%). The sum of EUR 154 of the monthly salary is not subject to income taxes for
residents of Estonia, upon the employee request. There is no charge for transportation
costs during the official visits, accommodation and daily allowance, if they observe
the limits set by the law.
The social tax is paid by the employees (33% of all payments for remunerated work
and 0.8% for the unemployment insurance). 13% of the social taxes are directed
towards the Social Security Fund and 20% to the pension system.
Land taxes differ from one municipality to another and are paid by the owner
according to the notification received from the Tax Department.
The most important indirect taxes are the VAT (20% for most goods, 9% for some
services and goods such as books, drugs etc.), taxes on gambling, alcohol and tobacco
products. There are also customs duties, excise duties (fuel, alcohol, electricity,
tobacco, packaging, newspapers, hotel services) and heavy vehicle tax.
The local public administration may levy the following taxes: advertising taxes, taxes
for closing of roads and access ways, for motorized vehicles, livestock tax,
entertainment tax and parking fee. 11.6% of tax revenues are directed towards LPA
(deductions are not taken into account).
The Estonian state budget tax revenue in 2014 (chart source - Ministry of Finance of
Estonia). Total tax revenue – 6,559.8 million EUR; total revenue -7,880.9 million
EUR.
17
The expenses of the local budget of a rural area in Estonia (Kohila municipality,
2014, chart source – Statistical Office of Estonia)
Education – 49%, free time, culture, religion – 13%, economic growth – 19%,
general public services – 6%, social protection – 7%, other expenses – 5%
18
E-ESTONIA. DIGITALIZED PUBLIC SERVICES
Estonia’s success in providing digitalized public services is due to the partnership
between the central and the local visionary government, a proactive ICT sector and a
highly technologized population, open to the implementation of new ideas and
technologies.
The Estonians may choose to use hundreds of electronic public services on
government and local level, such as: tax returns can be filled in in 5 minutes, online,
Estonia has the most developed system of ID cards in the world, in 2005, the
electronic vote was introduced for parliamentary, European Parliament and local
elections, 99% of all bank transactions are carried out online, 50% of all drivers in
Tallinn pay for parking via their mobile phone, 95% of the tax returns are filled in
online, all schools and institutions are equipped with computers, 97% of
businessmen, 80% of households, free wi-fi is widespread. The Internet has a social
right status in Estonia.
The Estonian ID card can be
used as a national travel
document in the EU states
and Schengen area, a social
security and healthcare card,
a document for accessing the
online banking system, for
digital
signature
of
documents, electronic vote,
access to the government
databases,
medical
prescriptions, E- School etc.
Locally, there are hundreds of
online public services, such
Estonian ID card and the reader
as: online registration of
individuals from the respective municipality, requests for information about land
registration, buildings, properties etc., companies register, first grade registration,
pre-school institutions, exam results, request for education allowance, refusal of
waste disposal, permit for fountain construction, request for event organization,
request for contestation of fines, request for funeral services, registration of a pet,
weapons licence, compensations for incapacity of work, various compensations,
official documents and forms of addressing institutions and city halls.
19
5. EXAMPLES OF SOLUTIONS FROM ESTONIA WHICH CAN
BE IMPLEMENTED BY THE LOCAL PUBLIC
ADMINISTRATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
5.1. DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (DMS)
AMPHORA KOV https://www.amphora.ee/
Amphora KOV is a document management leader in the Estonian municipalities.
Currently, the system is used by about 110 municipalities (out of 213). The
application package has been directly designed and developed for local public
authorities and subordinated agencies. The institutions subordinated to the local
public authorities may use this package even if the municipality uses a different
document management software.
Amphora KOV includes a separate module "Viewing of internal documents and
proactive participation to the development of the local public administration
capacities", financed by EU structural funds. This module increases the transparency
of the decision making process and encourages the society to get involved in local
development.
Municipalities and subordinated institutions carry out several operations in the
system:
- Registration and processing of documents, regulation, order, decision drafts and
conduct of meetings;
- Registration and processing of the correspondence, supervision of execution
deadlines;
- Publication of documents according to the Law on Public Information;
- See Civil – submitting a request for public information, to comment on the local
authorities documents, an identity card and mobile phone with authentication;
- Schedule;
- Interface and integration with MS Outlook – allows for the accessing of e-mail
messages and sending messages, schedule synchronization;
- Digital signature of documents;
- Searching for the whole text of scanned documents or the content of the uploaded
files .
20
GUIDE PRICES
NUMBER OF USERS
up to 10 users
11-24 – each additional user
25-49 - each additional user
50-99 - each additional user
100-249 - each additional user
250 and more
MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION/USER
fixed monthly subscription of € 63.91
€ 2.88
€ 2.56
€ 2.24
€ 1.92
€ 1.60
Example:
10 users - € 63.91/month
15 users - 63.91 + 5*2.88 = € 78.31/month
25 users - 63.91 + 15*2.56 = € 102.31/month
100 users – 63.91 + 100*1.92 = € 255.91/month
AMPHORA is also included in other packages: Start – with reduced functionalities,
Standard – with standard functionalities or Premium – with enhanced functionalities.
These packages are not configured for the needs of the municipalities and follow
another pricing policy.
21
5.2. DELTA
http://smit.ee/releases/delta/delta.html
DELTA is an online document management solution implementing the entire
document processing flow within an organization over its entire lifecycle. DELTA
solution was originally developed for processing of documents of the Ministry of the
Interior and the Ministry of Justice and meets the specific requirements of these
ministries. Without substantial changes, this system has been adapted to the needs of
22
the local public administrations. Currently, Delta is being implemented for all
regional governments and in 21 municipalities.
DELTA provides the storage capacity, versioning, metadata, security, indexing and
quick documents retrieval, thus ensuring:
- document traceability and versioning of the organization documents;
- centralized storage of all electronic key documents for the organization;
- unitary backup for all the organization’s documents;
- shaping, control and monitoring of documents flow within the organization;
- Electronic archiving of documents;
Electronic documents are divided into following categories:
- documents drawn up in text editors (text processor such as Microsoft Word,
Microsoft Excel, Open Office);
- electronic copies of paper documents (scanned - e.g. invoices from suppliers,
issued invoices, protocols, agreements);
- source or binary files obtained by the organization staff in course of their activity
(e.g. program files, graphic application files, executable files (exe). Any other file
type falls into this category.
5.3. SIGMA
SIGMA manages the digital assets of an organization (documents, procedures, drafts,
plans, projects, source codes, how-to), images of paper documents (scanned
documents), the organization’s internal workflows and registration management.
The documents path in the SIGMA system may imply following the below steps:
- approvals;
- notifications;
- assignments;
- resolutions;
- sequential organization;
- parallel organization;
- collaboration.
23
5.4. KOVTP – THE WEB PORTAL FOR MUNICIPALITIES
KOVTP is a web platform for the configuration of a customized online page for
public and private institutions, including a fixed monthly price, a distinctive concept
and enables simple content management. The platform was developed to improve
public access to information and electronic services provided by the municipalities.
The information published on this platform is evenly positioned (predefined menu
structure) and easily accessible.
The advantages of KOVTP:
- Distinctive concept - the entire information structure and navigation menus
architecture are based on the principles of transparent governance and on a
detailed analysis of the local authorities’ page access statistics. The information
architecture was developed based on the needs and habits of target users
(inhabitants of municipalities, tourists, businessmen etc.).
- Interconnection with other applications (for example, http://www.visitestonia.com,
http://www.peatus.ee, Facebook, Twitter, etc.). The web portal is integrated with
all the national registers through the interoperability platform.
- Simple management of content in Estonian and other languages. Special
knowledge is not required for the integration of external services.
24
- Fixed monthly subscription: the local public administration pays a monthly fee of
EUR 31.89, VAT included. The monthly subscription includes the web page
hosting, page administration and users assistance.
Currently, the KOVTP portal is used by over 165 municipalities.
A recent study designated the Padise municipality website - http://www.padise.ee/ as
the most transparent and efficient web page. This page has been developed based on
the KOVTP platform.
Note: It is important to know that it is not the technological solution that matters the
most, but the information organization principle in order to facilitate search and
identification of the information for all visitors. The Padise municipality web page
can be taken as an example of an efficient information architecture.
5.5. KOVMEN – AUTOMATION MODULE FOR LOCAL SERVICES
http://kov.riik.ee/menetluste-infosusteem/
KOVMEN is a KOVTP module/extension developed for the automation of processes
and activities based on simple flows, interaction with other information systems and
service applicants. KOVMEN enables citizens to avoid unjustified requirements of
formal presentation of applications on paper, should the required data be available in
the national or local databases, to which the local authorities already have access. The
module includes the application reception functionality, examination, approval,
notification of applicants. Citizens can follow the progress of the procedures and
request feedback regarding their applications.
As soon as the application is submitted via the official webpage (KOVTP), the
municipality employees can:
- notify and consult the applicant;
- consult their colleagues, including those from other municipalities;
- coordinate the application and the attached documents together with other coexecutors.
KOVMEN has the following functionalities:
1. Involvement of all subordinated services in the application processing procedure.
2. Full automation of the application reception process by the municipalities through:
a.
b.
c.
d.
full application processing;
standardization of applications and transforming information into data;
monitoring the status of the applications by all parties involved;
interaction of co-executors throughout the procedure using KOVMEN
25
3. Establishing procedures for statistical data collection. This functionality is an
important prerequisite for the subsequent optimization of processes and resources
planning.
4. Display of document procedures for public viewing (process charts, application
templates, regulations etc.).
5. Configuration of role-based processes and flows adjustment ensure an intuitive
use by each local public authority.
26
Participation at local level
5.6. VOLIS – The IT system of city councils
https://www.volis.ee/
The VOLIS IT system follows the best e-governance practices and facilitates the
administration of local authorities in Estonia. The software is available for all
municipalities in Estonia. Besides Estonia, VOLIS has also been implemented in
Sweden and is currently in the pilot-stage in the Netherlands.
http://kov.riik.ee/volikogu-infosusteem/
The activity of municipalities and city councils must be transparent and accessible on
the Internet to the general public, and the population, in turn, must be allowed to
involve in the decision making process at the local level.
VOLIS:
1. allows the general public to view the decision drafts, distributed materials, to
monitor the agenda of the sessions, to watch the meetings of the local council on
the Internet, as well as to get involved during the meetings by submitting
proposals, suggestions, etc.;
2. sets up an online working environment where the city councils representatives and
regional government members can watch all previous meetings and plan future
meetings;
3. ensures the efficient conduct of the council meetings and voting process;
4. allows the city councils representatives and regional government members to
attend online meetings, to access internal messages and decision drafts, to interact
with the citizens by means of a secured channel.
27
VOLIS can be configured based on the specific needs of the municipality, from the
electronic documents flow automation (no hard copies) up to the organization of the
online council meetings.
VOLIS can still be used even if only a part of the council members is willing to use
this computerized work method.
VOLIS was developed within a project funded by the European Fund for Rural
Development implemented in the period April 2009 - April 2010.
5.7. VOLIS KE – PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING
http://kov.riik.ee/volis-kaasav-eelarve/
Volis KE is a separate module of the VOLIS IT system. This module allows the local
public administrations to collect and distribute the votes regarding the related
municipal budget proposals. The functionality is known as the “Participatory
budgeting”.
The participatory budgeting is a process in which citizens get to decide how to
allocate a public budget (or part thereof). It may be the budget for a public service
(social service, sanitation service or public lighting service), the budget for
investments in a particular domain or area, the budget for capital repairs or
maintenance of schools and hospitals. Basically, people say what the administration
should do with an amount of money and where the money should/could come from.
Leader in the use of this module is the Tartu city hall. Since 2012, Tartu has been
planning its budget also by consulting its citizens through VOLIS KE.
28
5.8. VOLIS RR – REFERENDUM AND SURVEY
http://kov.riik.ee/volis-referendum-rahvakusitlus/
VOLIS EE is another module that extends the functionality of the VOLIS system.
This module adds new functionalities for consulting the citizens in the municipality
through opinion surveys or direct consultation regarding the text of a decision of
particular importance or a situation with local significance. Thus, the e-Referendum
implemented through VOLIS RR allows the exercising of a direct democracy.
5.9. ANNA TEADA – NOTIFY ME!
http://www.anna-teada.ee/
29
This IT system allows all people to report all issues under the competence of the local
public administrations. The person who reports a particular issue does not need to
know the boundaries between municipalities or the contact details of the local public
administration or local services. The location of the detected issue is automatically
determined using the GPS coordinates and the people responsible for solving the
issue are automatically contacted by the system without delay. The system also sends
a notification to the central government, so that the central authorities may have a
clear image of the regional and local issues.
The notification may be initiated on the application central page, on the
municipality's website or from the mobile app. The ANNA TEADA solution makes it
easy to report issues, especially when people do not know exactly who to contact on a
certain issue or if, after looking for the people responsible or contact details, they
cannot remember the exact location where the issue was detected.
30
Education
5.10. eKOOL – e-SCHOOL
https://www.ekool.eu/index_en.html
eKOOL is an IT system for school management through which students, parents,
school management and supervision bodies get together in a single online space. This
system increases the students’ success, the awareness of parents on the progress their
children are making and enables the authorities to have a better overview regarding
the processes that take place in a school.
Advantages of eKOOL:
• For students – simple and easy access for studying coherent information and a
tool for communicating with teachers and parents:
a. Communicating with teachers – all school-related discussions in one place.
b. Information resources and documentation in eKool - 24/7 access to learning
materials and homework created or selected by the teacher.
c. Grades and absences – quick access to grades and absences.
d. mKOOL brings eKOOL to the mobile phone / smartphone - mKOOL provides
access to the timetable, absences, homework and school notices.
e. Timetable, lesson description, homework and more – everything a student
needs to know, when to turn up and how to prepare, at any moment.
31
• For parents - eKOOL is an easy and safe way to monitor their children’s
progress:
f. Learning resources in the eKOOL e-store – recommended
reading/bibliography and other digital books.
g. Absences, notices on absences – information on absences reaches the parents
in due time so they may take actions, if required. Parents may send
explanations to the teacher concerning the child’s absence.
h. Quick discussions with the teacher and other parents – a separate, unique and
convenient communication space for the management of all school-related
communications and contacts.
i. Timetable, lesson description and homework – parents can consult the child’s
timetable, learn about the lessons, class assignments or homework. Very useful
if the child was ill!
j. Weekly report – provides a synthesis of the week the child spent at school. The
report is sent to the e-mail inbox of each parent every Friday.
k. Warnings for skipping classes – it is a service dedicated to parents who wish to
make sure their children did attend classes. The parent will receive a SMS on
his/her mobile phone when the child skipped classes.
l. Grades – parents can check all grades, observations related to the child,
praises, approvals, recognitions, etc.
m. mKOOL as a smartphone application - mKOOL allows parents to access
grades, homework, school schedule, as well as notifications of the school
council. Parents can view all information and send notifications via their
mobile phone.
• For teachers – simple solution to enter grades and to manage learning
information, as well as to communicate with parents and students:
n. Always accessible – lesson description and homework are viewed by the
teacher, students and parents first time they access the system.
o. Development reports – apart from the confidential storage of interview
records, eKOOL allows for a part of the preparation and evaluation process to
be carried out by means of online questionnaires.
p. Grades and observations – instant notification of students and parents
regarding the results or conduct at school.
q. Reporting to school management – generation of reports regarding the student
grades, ill students, students with unreasoned absences, the teacher’s workload
etc.
r. Lesson description and homework – always available and viewed by the
teacher, students and parents first time they access the system.
s. Storage and distribution of learning materials. The eKOLL database provides
the teacher and designated user groups access to the uploaded learning
resources, regardless of the time and place.
t. Absences and delay management - eKOOL records the delays, absences and
their reasons.
32
u. Quick communication with students and parents – a confidential, convenient
and separate space for communicating with students and their parents.
• For schools – an efficient tool for managing school activities and facilitating
communication with teachers and parents:
v. Management of the learning process.
w. Management of the school year - creation, management and completion of the
school year, students' progress to the next grade etc.
x. Statistics and reports – statistics required for the evaluation and planning of
the training activities, for example the average grade per student, class or
lesson.
y. Timetable – the schedule is available 24/7 to all authorized persons.
z. Archiving and storage of history data.
• For the supervision authorities/government – a tool for the management of the
schools network.
a. collection of mandatory reports and statistics;
b. problem solving and prevention;
c. instant data transfer to state central electronic registers;
d. registration to schools and allocation of funds;
33
5.11. NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH
Neighborhood Watch is
a cost effective and
efficient model, based
on the sense of
community solidarity
and mutual assistance,
designed to increase
safety and to prevent
crime at the community
level. Estonia is an
example of successful
implementation
and
development of this
concept for more than a
decade
(www.naabrivalve.ee).
The model is also
NHW logo in the Republic of Moldova
proving its efficiency in
Canada (Block Parent
Program), UK (Neighborhood Watch), Germany, Austria (proNACHBAR), Norway
and the Netherlands.
NHW is a joint action that involves neighbors, police, local public administration and
civic organizations concerned. It is designed to help people protect themselves, their
families, neighbors and other owners, as well as their property. NHW is also aimed at
reducing the feeling of fear, distrust and insecurity of residents and to prevent
delinquency, violence of any kind, by monitoring and reporting suspicious situations
to the police and close persons, thus protecting themselves and sharing the sense of
care for family and other members of the community. In the case of the Estonian
Neighborhood Watch Association, about 1,200 families representing 520 sectors
mobilized voluntarily to promote, replicate and develop this practice. This has
contributed to the increase of public trust in the police activity (around 80%).
In a wider perspective, the NHW model is also called „Crime Watch” or “Crime
watch in the neighborhood” and is applied by civic organizations that want to prevent
crime in the community. Such an organization is not viable if its
members/community members are not directly involved in preventing possible acts
of delinquency and violence in their neighborhood. Therefore, the experience of
Estonia, a former Soviet country that managed to accede to the European Union, is
extremely valuable in order to replicate this practice in the Republic of Moldova, thus
engaging citizens in voluntary actions to ensure community safety.
34
Why NHW in the Republic of Moldova?
The citizens’ lack of confidence in the police (only 5% of the population has full
confidence in the police, according to the Public Opinion Barometer in 2011), the
increasing number of serious criminal offences, general dissatisfaction of citizens,
indifference and isolation argue for the need to immediately implement the NHW
concept in the Republic of Moldova too. Few citizens think of themselves as part of
the society and participate to community actions and decision-making process. The
lack of trust in the justice system and the police is more obvious in rural areas, where
social-economic problems, corruption and local authorities incompetence are more
severe.
Currently, the Republic of Moldova is in an ample process of accession to and
alignment with the European values. The modernization of the Ministry of the
Interior is one of the actions meant to bring this vision to reality. The strategic
objectives of national and local reference structures include actions designed to
ensure a safe environment, modern management and high quality standards for every
citizen. And the police mission is to provide services aligned with the European
standards in order to restore trust and respect between the community and the police,
thus making the police officer “the citizen’s friend”. Neighborhood Watch is focused
precisely on this prerogative and can complement the authorities’ efforts by
inexpensive means and sustainable mechanisms. The social, economic and political
crisis that seriously affected the Republic of Moldavia in the last few years has
greatly influenced the relationships between public institutions and civil society, but
also between the community members themselves.
Perspectives for the development of the NHW model in the Republic of Moldova
NHW area in Răzeni village, Ialoveni Rayon
35
The initiative to replicate the NHW model in the Republic of Moldova was launched
in April 2012, when, with the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Moldova to
Estonia, a meeting was held between the representatives of the Public Association
“Eco Răzeni” in the Republic of Moldova (www.ecorazeni.wordpress.com) and the
representatives
of
the
Estonian
Neighborhood
Watch
Association
(www.naabrivalve.ee). The “Societal Security and Safety: Engaging Rural
Communities” project was launched following this meeting.
The project is implemented by the “Eco Răzeni” Association from the village of
Răzeni, Ialoveni Rayon, in partnership with the Estonian Neighborhood Watch
Association and the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Moldova. The project
aims at ensuring societal safety in the Republic of Moldova, which is affected by the
limited number of community police officers, low interest and insufficient
involvement of the civil society and local authorities in actions regarding the citizens’
safety.
The implementation of the “Neighborhood Watch” program in Estonia had the
following results:
– 70% less crimes in the supervised areas;
– improved communication between neighbors, local public administration
authorities and the police;
– enhanced sense of security for community members;
– greater knowledge about how to ensure safety at home and in the community;
– increased level of trust and a more positive image about police work among
citizens.
36
5.12. PREPARATION FOR THE LEADER RURAL DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM.
The European LEADER Program logo
LEADER is an innovative approach within the EU rural development policy and a
program aiming at improving the quality of life in rural areas, both for farmers’
families and, more broadly, the rural population. The LEADER initiative influenced
national, regional and local administrations and policies in most EU states because of
its capacity to tackle development problems through new forms of partnerships and
related actions. The project was launched in 1991 and will be indispensable for the
Republic of Moldova in the context of European integration. The faster the LEADER
networks will be established in the regions, the more prepared they will be for further
actions.
The LEADER actions can activate and mobilize local resources, supporting predevelopment projects, studies of feasibility and local capacity building, which will
improve the ability of these areas to access and use not only LEADER funds, but also
other sources for financing their development (bigger EU rural development
programs at national or regional level). LEADER also supports sectors and categories
of beneficiaries that are usually not supported or given limited resources through
other programs such as cultural activities, rehabilitation of architecture and heritage
buildings, enhancement of the natural environment, rural tourism, improvement of
relationships between producers and consumers etc. LEADER encourages the local
social and economic factors to work together in order to produce and promote high
quality goods and services in their local area.
37
The seven key aspects of LEADER approach
Area-based local
development
strategies
Development and
implementation of
“bottom-up”
strategies
Local public-private
partnerships
LAGs
LEADER
Approach
Integrated and
multi-sectoral
Networking
actions
Cooperation
Innovation
The LEADER program is based on seven key approach features, as described in the
above chart, and the fundamental concept behind the project approach is that, given
the diversity of rural areas, the development strategies will be more effective and
efficient if decided and implemented at local level by local actors using clear and
transparent procedures and benefiting from the appropriate public administration
support and the technical assistance required to transmit the best practices. Note:
several LEADER networks in Estonia are interested in cooperating with similar
initiatives in the Republic of Moldova if the stakeholders in this country show
willingness and desire to cooperate
38
5.13. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF LAGS (LOCAL ACTION GROUPS).
Windmill turned into a cultural center by local LAGs in the town of Kostivere, Estonia, with
LEADER support.
A prerequisite for accessing more funds, including LEADER funds, is the
establishment of local partnerships, known as LAGs (Local Action Groups). In
Estonia, in the period preceding the accession to the European Union, there has been
the Kodukant movement (action movement in rural areas), which was subsequently
converted into LEADER networks.
The newly established LAGs will seek to identify and implement a rural development
strategy, to take decisions on the allocation and management of financial resources.
These groups can effectively support sustainable development as they:
– Aggregate and combine available human and financial resources from the
public sector, private sector, civic and voluntary sector;
– Associate local actors around collective issues and multi-sectoral actions in
order to achieve synergies, joint ownership and the critical mass needed to
improve the area’s economic competitiveness;
– Strengthen the dialogue and cooperation between different rural actors, who
often have little collaboration experience, by reducing potential conflict and
facilitating negotiated solutions through consultations and discussions.
A LAG should associate public and private partners, be well-balanced and
representative of the existing local stakeholders coming from different socio39
economic sectors in the town or area. At the decision-making level, the private
partners and the associations should make up at least 50% of the local partnership.
The experience of Estonia and other EU countries shows that the most active and
sustainable initiative GAL groups are those that have the following representatives:
– Professional
organizations and unions
representing farmers, small
and medium enterprises,
other professionals;
Local institutions
and
administration
Cultural and
community
service providers
Environmental
Associations
External
networks and
research
and unions
– Local organizations
of citizens and residents;
– Local
political
representatives at all levels;
LAG (Local
Action Group)
Professional
organizations
– Trade associations of
the locality or area;
Citizens and their
local
organizations
– Environmental
associations;
– Cultural, community,
sports and media service
providers;
– Women associations;
– Young people.
Local Action Groups must:
– aggregate relevant stakeholders in the specific region or area around a project,
idea or common initiative;
– be autonomous in decision-making and have the ability to consider the local
resources from an original point of view (often these resources exist, but they
are not properly channeled or their existence is simply not known);
– correlate various measures and opportunities and be open to innovative ideas.
Innovation shall be understood in a broader sense, such as introducing a new
product or service, process, a new organization or new market. In rural areas,
innovation may involve the transfer and adaptation of innovations developed in
other regions or countries (for example, the transfer of electronic solutions
from Estonia, described above), the modernization of traditional knowledge or
finding new solutions to persistent rural problems, which any other
interventional policies could not settle in a sustainable and systemic way (for
example, the implementation of the Neighborhood Watch program in rural
areas);
– be able to network and integrate different sectoral approaches.
40
5.14. IMPLEMENTATION OF SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR
DOCUMENTS AND OF UNIQUE DATABASES
Without
an
unique
database
that
would
include information of
interest to local residents,
many human and financial
resources and the time of
the city hall employees
and of those looking for
information will be spent.
The LPA experience in the
Republic of Moldova
shows that most of the
documents that could be
issued or processed in a
digital format are issued
manually, thus causing
discomfort for citizens and significant effort for employees, an effort that can be
directed towards achieving other goals. To this end, it is very important to implement
the Single point of contact for documents. It is a city hall office (Secretariat) that
will receive all applications from citizens and institutions in electronic format and, if
received in paper format, they will be scanned and entered into the electronic
database of the City Hall. With all the applications in electronic format, the
documents flow of the institution will be fast, remotely-operable, transparent and
very easy to operate, including in the long term. High ranking officials will be able to
follow the processes and the implementation state of decisions more efficiently.
Implementation of City Hall databases. Inevitably, all databases will be digitally
stored in the future. Many documents are routine documents and their issuance does
not involve a complex decision-making process. Digital databases are still in the
development process within government institutions in the Republic of Moldova and
very little developed at the LPA level. The databases must be unique in order to avoid
double or misleading information, the entered data are the final data, in order to avoid
a situation where the citizens are requested additional information and thus the
problem perpetuates. The databases must be stored on special servers and not on the
employees’ computers. The development process may seem complicated at first, but
it is very effective after their completion.
41
5.15. EACH LPA ENTITY SHALL HAVE A RESPONSIBLE FOR THE
IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT OF ASSISTANCE AND
EXTERNAL PROJECTS (PREFERABLY AN ENGLISH SPEAKER).
The school in the municipality of Olustvere (total population of 660 inhabitants). Most of the school
facilities were built thanks to the participation in multiple external projects.
Currently, there are many ways to apply for financing various projects for local
public administration entities in the Republic of Moldova, both domestic and
external. The process is meticulous, requiring special training of employees,
bureaucratized but very coherent, clearly defined, with strict rules and regulations.
Estonian municipalities have also dealt with the lack of staff trained to write project
applications, to manage and report such projects, but they obviously learned that a
municipality that does not apply for assistance projects on a regular basis, sooner or
later it will have to start doing it and, without their own project management
specialists, the likelihood of success is very low.
Therefore, most municipalities in Estonia trained a city hall employee or hired a
person interested in the appropriate field. An initial investment in this employee can
help achieve great results in the medium- and long-term, thus creating premises for
an even greater involvement of a growing number of people in similar projects. Most
projects of this type also set up rewards for their management, thus solving the
problem of compensation for competent persons. A good specialist will draw the
attention of foreign donors on the respective city hall, donors who want to establish a
clear and coherent cooperation based on mutual trust. The implementation of the
electronic solutions described above can decrease the workload of several specialists
in the city hall and these saved resources can be redirected to attract projects.
42
5.16. THE ROLE OF THE LOCAL LIBRARY MUST BE MORE COMPLEX.
Library in Estonia
Libraries in the 21st century must align themselves with the realities of this century.
Thus, they need to become active social centers providing much more services than
book rental or lecture halls. The activity of most libraries in Estonia has been
reformed and currently they fulfil a wide range of functions and services. All libraries
are connected to the internet and have free wi-fi access points for all registered
persons. Thus, the citizens will be able to access public services online, to learn about
the activity of the city hall and to take part in the community life. It is also possible to
provide library service to readers in their own homes, for people with reduced
mobility or elderly people. In Estonia, several mobile libraries operate as library
buses.
Libraries are often used for organizing exhibitions, conferences and meetings. The
most important new function, however, is the educational function. The librarians can
thus provide specialized training for citizens in the following areas:
- the use of the municipalities websites, Internet basics (search, access), the use of
digital documents and digital signature, job search for unemployed persons,
training in social media, how to use a tablet or a smartphone, how to create and
use email addresses and how to access local and state e-governance solutions.
- Libraries can also contribute to their self-financing by offering various paid
services, such as training for groups of stakeholders, lease of premises or
technology, organization of events.
43
5.17. CONTACT DETAILS AND DUTIES OF ALL CITY HALL
EMPLOYEES SHOULD BE PUBLIC AND EASILY ACCESSIBLE.
One of the problems that came up often during the workshops was the lack of
communication or the fact that contact details of city hall officials are not accessible.
In the citizens’ opinion, this may lead to a lack of clarity in the decision-making
process, seeking faster solutions to solve problems and, as a consequence, to
increased corruption risk, low labor productivity, citizens dissatisfaction, time wasted
both by people seeking to solve problems and the city hall officials, etc. Thus, contact
details and the responsibilities of all public officials must be made public on the
official website of the local public administration entity in a single format (for
example, email addresses: [email protected]). The functional duties of each
employee must be clearly presented, including their working hours.
This is how the contact page of the Sõmeru town hall (1700 inhabitants) looks like:
44
5.18. LOCAL NGOS ARE VERY IMPORTANT.
Estonians have quickly learned that
the formation of as many local
NGOs as possible is only for the
benefit of small communities. Local
NGOs implement various social,
educational and cultural projects,
promote local culture, etc. By
promoting these projects, more
people are involved in activities,
more financial resources are raised
in the locality, local infrastructure
develops better and more diversely,
more people will visit the locality
and chances of promotion and
positive results will increase
accordingly. A municipality which
doesn’t support the formation of
local NGOs has a lot to lose, given
the conditions of very limited
financial resources and skilled
workforce.
The Kodukant movement logo, Tartumaa region
The most significant nongovernmental organization in the area is Kodukant (The
Rural Movement in Estonia). It is in fact an association of local NGOs in Estonia,
structured on three levels: local, regional and national. It was established in 1990 as a
result of the serious problems faced by rural communities and people’s wish to take
part to changes in their municipalities. Estonians were inspired by the similar
movement in Sweden, called “All Swedes must live well”, which aimed to mobilize
rural population to improve things and to share experiences. Today, Kodukant has
over 5,000 members and it is a very important player in shaping policies that impact
rural life, but it also provides many services such as promoting communication and
cooperation, technical consultancy, organising trainings and thematic workshops,
supporting local initiatives, lobbying for the interests of localities at national level,
etc. The organization has offices in all regions and the board is in direct contact with
state authorities in charge with cooperation with LPA.
Each year, Kodukant organizes a national congress attended by representatives from
all municipalities that debate matters of mutual interest, in terms of civil society in
rural areas.
45
5.19. BUILDING A DISTINCTIVE IDENTITY FOR EACH LOCALITY
Promoting the image of
smaller localities has always
been a concern of Estonian
municipalities. Without an
effective promotion, tourists
wouldn’t visit the locality,
investors wouldn’t know
about the possibilities and
advantages
of
placing
investments and Estonian
residents wouldn’t even
know about that locality.
The logo of Tartu – “Tartu, the city of beautiful thoughts
Building an identity is also
an important concern for
LPA in the Republic of Moldova and there is no need to be based on distinct
architectural elements, natural or historical monuments. For example, the city of
Tartu, through the motto “The city of beautiful thoughts,” promotes the authorities’
openness for cooperation, support for any positive initiatives and a good perception
concerning its inhabitants.
Smaller localities promote cultural or
historical traditions by organizing many
festivals and cultural events specific to
their region. Each Estonian municipality
tries to develop special events, even with
the risk that the initiatives are criticized
at first. For example, the town of
Rakvere organizes a punk festival with
all inhabitants virtually participating.
Initially criticized, the festival has
become a massive tourist attraction, from
Estonia and many other countries, and it
is impossible to find available
accommodation during the festival. The
town of Rakvere also installed a less
traditional Christmas tree in 2014. Later,
it was listed as one of the ten most
original Christmas trees in the world and
thousands of people visited the city to
see it. Don’t be afraid to experiment!
Christmas tree in the town of Rakvere, 2014
46
5.20. PERMANENT SHARE OF EXPERIENCES AND ESTABLISHMENT OF
EXTERNAL RELATIONS WITH FOREIGN PARTNERS.
No state has managed to develop really well on its own. In the modern world, it’s
hard to imagine local authorities not involved in cooperation projects with foreign
partners. Such cooperation develops an ongoing exchange of experience and
solutions for the most important matters, which are similar for all the localities of any
state. We suggest that each municipality launches initiatives for cooperation with
municipalities from Estonia and other countries, including for the reason that both
entities would benefit from them. Moreover, the organizations that finance crossborder projects specify under their specific conditions of application that they must
benefit from the participation of partners from several states. As you will see in the
chapter on Estonian foreign assistance, cooperation in rural area is a priority.
We suggest to you to start cooperation for simple things that will approach the
localities you represent to the potential partners: exchange of cultural groups, school
exchanges both with the participation of teachers and students, mutual visits of
businessmen from the localities to promote goods and services and sightseeing. It’s
more efficient to schedule smaller but successful actions rather than big actions that
will never become reality.
Artistic band from Criuleni at the Sea Festival in Estonia
47
5.21. LET’S DO IT!
The logo of “Let’s do it, Moldova!” (“Cleaning the whole country in only one day!”)
Unfortunately, in our localities there are many poorly maintained places where the
garbage needs to be disposed. The authorities’ actions will not bring the expected
result by themselves. It requires a mobilization of as many people as possible to
develop a sense of ownership and the Estonian experience is very relevant in this
regard.
The global civic campaign Let’s Do It began in Estonia in 2008, when more than
50,000 Estonians, which means 4% of the population, came out of their homes to
participate in the biggest environmental cleaning event. In 2011, this became a global
movement which currently includes 112 countries worldwide and approximately 13
million people involved. The campaign also took place in Moldova under the name
“Let’s do it, Moldova!”
Estonia’s experience shows that participants in this campaign remain in contact after
the event, knowing each other better and involving into solving other problems of the
community. Proactive people must be together for their ideas to be promoted more
and become reality.
We mention that almost all the above solutions have been or are being
successfully implemented in most municipalities in Estonia, including the
regions represented by moderators, namely the town of Elva and Jogeva region.
In order to develop similar solutions for the entities from the Republic of
Moldova, close cooperation with foreign partners mentioned, who showed their
availability, is necessary. Friedrich Naumann Foundation is open to developing
these types of partnerships with Estonian colleagues within the European
Liberal Forum (ELF).
48
Annex 1.
SEVERAL EUROPEAN FINANCING MECHANISMS FOR PROJECTS IN
RURAL AREAS OF THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
1. Moldova Social Investment Fund (MSIF). Objective: to contribute to the
implementation of National Development Strategies in Moldova by empowering poor
communities and their institutions in managing priority development needs.
In addition to technical and financial assistance, MSIF represents for the communities
also a mechanism dedicated to learning new principles of local governance. The
community actors (LPA, NGOs, associations of beneficiaries, etc.) learn different
ways of working with the community such as: involvement in the decision-making
process, ways of identifying priority issues, strategic planning, monitoring of project
implementation, maintenance and ensuring the sustainability of renewed objects,
financial management, institutional development of local public administration and
NGOs.
MSIF works with the beneficiary communities on partnership principles. MSIF role
is to support financially 70%-85% of the cost of subproject proposals and to facilitate
and monitor community groups wishing to implement subprojects. The community is
responsible for preparing subproject proposals, for collecting the investment
representing at least 15% of the proposed subproject cost, for organizing
competitions for contractor and local inspector selection, for supervising the
implementation of subprojects in the community and signing of payment documents,
ensuring the sustainability of the social infrastructure renovated objects.
MSIF goal is to create better conditions for the poor population to overcome poverty.
This involves social mobilization and participation of the poor population in initiating
and implementing development initiatives. Thus MSIF is focused on active
involvement and participation of communities in the identification and
implementation of the subprojects urgently needed for the financial management
capacity of community groups and encourages the partnership between various
community actors in the sustainable development of the community.
The Benefits of MSIF Project
Long-term benefits: improvement of education, healthcare and economic indicators
through improved social services; developed institutional capacity and long-term
sustainability of community organizations; empowerment of communities and social
capital development; improved accountability and transparency of local public
administration.
Short-term benefits: improved quality of social services within the community;
improved planning and management of social services; gains in temporary and
permanent job creation in the community; job opportunities for designers and
contractors. (Source: fsim.md).
49
2. German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ) implements development
projects on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and
Development (BMZ), other federal ministries and other institutions and international
organizations. GIZ supports complex reforms and change processes in developing
countries and countries in transition. All GIZ activities are oriented to sustainable
improvement of living conditions and perspectives of people. The cooperation
between the Government of Germany and the Government of the Republic of
Moldova began in 1994. Since then, there have been implemented a number of
important development projects, which were aimed at facilitating the transition from
a planned to a market economy. The main areas and programs of GIZ in Moldova are
regional development by improving healthcare services, governance and democracy
by developing associations’ networks of local public administration in Moldova and
modernization of public services and regional development, as well as the fight
against unemployment by improving the quality of agricultural products and the
development of small producers.
Municipalities can apply to one of these four priorities for regional development:
water and sanitation, energy efficiency of public buildings, solid waste management,
regional and local roads. (Source: GIZ Moldova).
3. Moldova – Ukraine Territorial Cooperation Program
The activities of projects funded under the program may be implemented within the
eligible program area: Ukraine: Chernovtsy, Odessa, Vinnytsia Oblast; Moldova: the
whole country
Specific objectives: Moldova – Ukraine Territorial Cooperation Program is focused
on local development needs and covers the following three operational objectives and
corresponding eligible measures: Operational objective 1. – Improving the living
conditions of local communities in the border region through the implementation of
joint projects for economic and social development; Operational objective 2. –
Addressing common challenges; Operational objective 3. – Culture, Education and
Sports. (Source: State Chancellery).
4. Moldova – Romania Operational Program 2014-2020.
Eligible area: Romania, the counties of Botoşani, Iaşi, Vaslui, Galaţi; Republic of
Moldova: the whole country.
The program budget: 89.1 million euro (89.1 million total budget – of which 81
million funded by the EU under the European Neighborhood Policy – ENI and 8.1
million euro co-financing provided by the partner states)
50
Goals and priorities of the program

Thematic Objective 2: Support
development and innovation
for education, research, technological
o Priority 1.1 – Institutional cooperation in education in order to increase
access to education and quality of education
o Priority 1.2 – Promotion and support for research and innovation

Thematic Objective 3: Promotion of local culture and protection of historical
heritage
o Priority 2.1 – Promotion and preservation of cultural and historical
heritage

Thematic Objective 7: Improving access in the regions, development of transport
and transport networks and common systems (Source: Ministry of Regional
Development and Public Administration of Romania).
5. Start-up Funds (Source: Economic Council of the Prime Minister of Moldova)
Name of the program
Type of
funding
Available
through
Financer
Project
Implementation
Unit of the
Competitiveness
Enhancement
Project of The
World Bank
(UIPAC)
Agency for
Interventions and
Payments in
Agriculture
(AIPA)
Agency for
Interventions and
Payments in
Agriculture
(AIPA)
UNDP Moldova
International
Development
Association
(IDA)
European
Union,
UNDP
Moldova
European
Union
COMPETITIVENESS
ENHANCEMENT PROJECT
CEP-2 (the grant component for
co-financing)
Grants/
Subsidies
COMPETITIVE
AGRICULTURE PROJECT
(MAC-P); “Increasing soil
productivity through sustainable
land management” (MDT)
COMPETITIVE
AGRICULTURE PROJECT
(MAC-P); “Facilitating access to
markets”
Grants/
Subsidies
SUPPORT TO MOLDOVA’S
NATIONAL CLIMATE
CHANGE ADAPTATION
PLANNING PROCESS
SUPPORT TO CONFIDENCE
BUILDING MEASURES
PROGRAM
Grants/
Subsidies
Grants/
Subsidies
UNDP Moldova
COMMERCIALIZATION OF
BIOMASS BOLIERS
PROGRAM
COMPETITIVE
AGRICULTURE PROJECT
(MAC-P); “Compensation for
sales support”
Grants/
Subsidies
Energy Efficiency
Agency
Grants/
Subsidies
Agency for
Interventions and
Payments in
Agriculture
(AIPA)
Grants/
Subsidies
51
Budget
million
USD
3.0
million
World Bank,
Global
Environment
Fund (GEF)
3.0
million
World Bank,
The Swedish
Government
7.0
million
The Austrian
Development
Agency
0.2
million
World Bank
Budget
million
EUR
3.4
million
12.0
million
Budget
million
MDL
SUBSIDIZING FARMERS IN
2015
Grants/
Subsidies
INNOVATIVE BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT FOR LOCAL
SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC
GROWTH
INCLUSIVE RURAL
ECONOMIC AND CLIMATE
RESILIENCE PROGRAMME
(IFAD VI) –
INFRASTRUCTURE
INCLUSIVE RURAL
ECONOMIC AND CLIMATE
RESILIENCE PROGRAM
(IFAD VI) – CONSERVATIVE
AGRI-CULTURE AND VALUE
CHAINS
STATE PROGRAM FOR
STIMULATING
PARTICIPATION IN FAIRS
AND EXHIBITIONS
HORIZON-2020 PROGRAM OF
EUROPEAN UNION
COSME PROGRAM OF
EUROPEAN UNION
THE SMALL BUSINESS
SUPPORT TEAM IN
MOLDOVA
Grants/
Subsidies
PUBLIC-PRIVATE
PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM
Grants/
Subsidies
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
PROJECT COMPETITION
Grants/
Subsidies
AGRICULTURE
COMPETITIVENESS
PROJECT IN MOLDOVA –
HORTICULTURE
Grants/
Subsidies
AGRICULTURE
COMPETITIVENESS
PROJECT IN MOLDOVA –
CONSERVATIVE PRACTICES
Grants/
Subsidies
NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR
YOUTH ECONOMICAL
REHABILITATION
Grants/
Subsidies
Agency for
Interventions and
Payments in
Agriculture
(AIPA)
UNDP Moldova
Grants/
Subsidies
UCIP – IFAD
Grants/
Subsidies
UCIP – IFAD
Grants/
Subsidies
Organization for
SME
Development
(ODIMM)
Online
submission
Online
submission
European Bank
for
Reconstruction
and Development,
the Kishinev
Office
The Austrian
Development
Agency Office in
Moldova
Agency for
Innovation and
Technology
Transfer
Grants/
Subsidies
Grants/
Subsidies
Grants/
Subsidies
Agency for
Interventions and
Payments in
Agriculture
(AIPA)
Agency for
Interventions and
Payments in
Agriculture
(AIPA)
MoldCredit SRL
BC ”MoldovaAgroindbank“ SA
52
The
Government
of Moldova
The Ministry
of Foreign
Affairs of
Norway
International
Fund for
Agricultural
Development
(IFAD)
IFAD,
Global
Environment
Fund (GEF)
610.0
million
1.6
million
3.8
million
4.6
million
National
Public
Budget
European
Union
European
Union
The Swedish
Government,
European
Union
80.0
million
2.3
million
The Austrian
Development
Agency
Academy of
Science of
Moldova
(from the
National
Public
Budget)
World Bank,
The Swedish
Government
Global
Environment
Fund, World
Bank
Ministry of
Finance of
Moldova,
European
Union, IFAD
10.0
million
7.0
million
3.0
million
100,0
million
RURAL FINANCIAL
SERVICES PROGRAM AND
AGRIBUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT FOR YOUNG
ENTREPRENEURS
(PSFRDBA)
Grants/
Subsidies
Preferentia
l loans
BC “MoldovaAgroindbank”
SA, BC
“Victoriabank“
SA
The
International
Fund for
Agricultural
Development
MOLDOVAN SUSTAINABLE
ENERGY FINANCING
FACILITY – MOSEFF
Grants/
Subsidies/
Preferentia
l loans
BC
“Mobiasbanca”
SA, Groupe
Societe Generale
MOLDOVAN RESIDENTIAL
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
FINANCING FACILITY –
MOREEFF
Grants/
Subsidies
Preferentia
l loans
BC
“Mobiasbanca”
SA, Groupe
Societe Generale
BC
“Moldoindconban
k” SA
European
Bank for
Reconstructi
on and
Development
, European
Union
European
Bank for
Reconstructi
on and
Developmint,
European
Union, The
Swedish
Government
2.2
million
42.0
million
35.0
million
47.4
53
162.7
720.0
Annex 2.
APPLYING FOR PROJECTS FUNDED BY THE ESTONIAN MINISTRY OF
FOREIGN AFFAIRS THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION
MECHANISM (PRACTICAL GUIDE)
Every year since 1998, Estonia has been financing projects through the Development
Cooperation Program, which is an effective instrument of Estonian foreign policy in
the cooperation with other states. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia manages
the funds of the Development Cooperation Program, each year selecting interesting
and useful projects for bilateral cooperation.
The four priorities of the program for the Republic of Moldova are:
1. Modernization of health sector
The projects will aim to improve access of population to medical services, the health
insurance system development, efficiency and sustainability of the health care
system.
2. The development of democratic state structures through the Estonian experience
exchanges
The actions will focus on developing reforms of state institutions (in your case, the
Municipalities), public services, legal norms and the rule of law; facilitating
European aspirations of the Republic of Moldova through the transfer of Estonian
experience in various fields; introducing mechanisms and opportunities of egovernance as an ongoing priority.
54
3. Enhancing the capacities of civil society
The actions will focus on Estonian exchanges of experience and know-how through
NGOs in your locality in such a way that they can create better conditions for human
rights and social equality; creating platforms for self-accomplishment of youth, with
the intended effect of lowering emigration of the working age population, especially
young people.
4. Development of rural areas
Projects will focus on regional development through bilateral cooperation projects,
new e-governance services at local level, enhancing the capacity of LPA to manage
development projects, enhancing competitiveness and export capacity for farmers in
your area.
Estimated budget for 2014-2015: EUR 1.6 million
The mechanism of applying for micro-projects (request up to 15,000 euros):
1. The proposal and project description are sent to the Estonian Embassy in
Moldova, based in Bucharest (a newly opened Embassy; the contacts will be
available shortly but for now can be sent to Estonian Embassy in Kiev,
responsible for Moldova until recently).
2. The Embassy of Estonia analyses the project proposal together with the
Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; if the project is accepted, the Embassy
will send back a special form for application; if the special form is not sent,
this means that the project has shown no interest;
3. The filled in form will be sent again to the Embassy and in turn, the Embassy
will forward the project file to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tallinn.
4. Development Cooperation Department of Estonian MFA finally approves the
project and informs you about the financing methods.
The mechanism of applying for annual projects:
1. The announcement of the annual projects shall be made public in January/
February.
2. A partnership with a similar institution in Estonia (2 municipalities, schools,
NGOs, professional associations, etc.) is required for application.
3. The partners shall agree the project theme, terms of reference, the stages of
project implementation, the responsibilities of partners etc.
55
4. The application shall be submitted by the Estonian partner and the partner in
Moldova shall be the direct beneficiary of the project.
5. The implementation period can be up to 2 years.
6. The maximum project amount is not specified. The minimum amount of the
projects shall be at least 10,000 Euro.
7. At least 5% of the project shall be own contribution.
8. The projects’ applications will be submitted by the Estonian party to the MFA
in Estonia: Tallinn, Islandi Valjak 1, 15049 (in writing) or via e-mail:
[email protected].
Examples of projects funded and completed in 2013 and 2014:
1. Estonian Research Council and the Academy of Sciences of Moldova
aimed at increasing the capacities of researchers, entrepreneurs and
managers of Moldova and their participation in Horizon Plus 2020.
Budget: EUR 29,029
2. Implementing Information System to monitor the progress of Action Plan
for the Implementation of the Association Agreement. Budget EUR
13,480
3. Practical education through construction of educational fields in schools
of Moldova Budget: EUR 49,145
4. Development of civil society by increasing economic and cybernetic
security. Budget EUR 47,169.
5. Improving accessibility to healthcare advisory services being provided by
telephone (telemedicine). Budget: EUR 65,894.
6. Promoting environmental education by monitoring biodiversity with the
participation of young people in the nature reserve “Plaiul Fagului”.
Budget: EUR 34,405.
7. Feasibility study for introducing E-services for family doctors.
Budget: EUR 42,637.
8. Preparing the IT reform in the agricultural sector of Moldova. Budget:
EUR 37,184.
9. The development of entrepreneurship education in Moldova. Budget:
EUR 36,230.
56
10. Cooperation in helping sexually abused children in Moldova. Budget:
EUR 24,527.
11. Estonia – Moldova technology transfer. Budget: EUR 44,842.
12. Integrating the principles of good governance in the curriculum of the
Moldovan Academy of Public Administration. Budget: EUR 44,120.
13. The development of good governance as a mechanism for economic
development in the universities of Moldova. Budget: EUR 42,923.
14. Restarting debate in Moldova. Budget: EUR 35,907.
57
6. CONCLUSIONS
The workshops have shown that some problems of Moldovan public administration
units don’t necessarily require large investments to address them but rather a new
approach to key stakeholders. There are very common situations when the problem is
perpetuated simply because there is no openness to discuss it, because of the
deliberate blocking of decisions or simply because of the unwillingness to notice
some obvious things, and delayed adoption of decisions occurs because of the lack of
mutual trust. The ability of the society to aggregate in solving the problems of the
community is underestimated; often there are no institutions or persons who would
launch such initiatives; sometimes it is applied the straitjacket principle “nothing is
likely to change” or “we don’t have any influence on decision-making processes.”
The reluctance of some local officials to the reforms is immediately transmitted to the
community; therefore problems remain unsettled for very long periods of time. In
other instances, pre-election promises don’t correspond to the actual actions of the
local officials, thus creating unrealistic expectations that become a source of even
higher deception among population towards the local governance and local officials.
Our suggestion for the LPA representatives is to set ambitious but realistic objectives
on short, medium and long term, to appropriately appreciate the internal and external
capabilities, to use new opportunities at maximum level and to be consistent in
subsequent actions. Many solutions are less costly but can achieve the objective of
aggregating efforts in order to get much greater results. We also suggest launching
joint projects between several LPA entities, and thus the creation of platforms for
effective governance can be less expensive and the success of a group of entities can
serve as a good example for others. Estonia’s experience shows clearly: not all the
problems shall be solved quickly, some of them may be very difficult to overcome,
but a climate favorable to the reform process is undoubtedly a first precondition for
making major changes.
58
Annex
Participants at the seminar in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova. Personal archive of the participants)
Participants at the seminar in Nisporeni, Republic of Moldova. (Personal archive of the participants)
59
Note on the author:
Victor Guzun is a Moldovan teacher and diplomat. Previously, Victor held the
position of director of Foreign Relations and European Integration Department,
Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure, Director of Centre for European
Studies, lecturer of geopolitics at International Institute of Management, deputydirector and teacher at “Gheorghe Asachi” high-school in Chisinau and Ambassador
of the Republic of Moldova to Estonia.
60
What is the European Liberal Forum?
Founded in the fall of 2007, the European Liberal Forum, asbl (ELF) is the non-profit
European political foundation of the liberal family. ELF brings together liberal think
thanks, political foundations and institutes from around Europe to observe, analyse
and contribute to the debate on European public policy issues and the process of
European integration, through education, training, research and the promotion of
active citizenship within the EU.
The role of the European Liberal Forum is to:
• Serve as a framework for think tanks, national political foundations, institutes,
academics and leading liberal personalities to work together at European level.
• Develop close working relationships with and among its member organisa tions, the
national parliamentary groups, the ALDE Party in the European
Parliament, Liberal International (LI), the world federation of liberal political parties,
and the European liberal youth (LYMEC), the youth organisation of the ALDE Party.
• Observe, analyse and contribute to the debate on European public policy issues and
the process of European integration, through education, training, research and the
promotion of active citizenship within the European Union, particularly with regard
to young Europeans.
• Strengthen the liberal, democrat and reform movement in the European Union and
throughout Europe.
• Seek a common position, as a transfer of experience gained from the contracting
Members, on all important matters affecting the European Union.
• Support liberal democracy throughout Europe and its neighbourhood.
• Inform the public and involve it in the construction of a united European
democracy.
• Support and cosponsor European seminars, conferences and studies on such issues
between the aforementioned stakeholders.
Adress:
Rue des Deux Eglises 39
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Phone:
+32 (0)2 669 13 18
E-Mail:
[email protected]
http://www.liberalforum.eu/
61
The Project Office for Southeast Europe, The Friedrich Naumann
Foundation for Freedom
The major tasks of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) are the
promotion of democracy, human and civil rights, pluralism and market economy. To
achieve our goals, we use the classic instruments of political education, political
consultancy and political dialogue, such as conferences, workshops, publications and
exchange programs. In our projects we cooperate with liberal-minded networks of
political parties, citizens’ initiatives, human rights organizations, think tanks and
scientific institutions. The Project Office for Southeast Europe in Sofia coordinates
activities in four countries: Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Moldova. The
activities in Moldova were launched in the late nineties.
62
Victor Guzun
Liberal Reforms for
Public Administration
in Moldova
2015