Tetra Tech supports Moldovan communities to improve public service delivery and infrastructure through capacity building and inclusive planning.
Moldova recently conferred candidate status for the European Union (EU) and must implement a number of good governance, anti-corruption, economic development, and public infrastructure development reforms to advance its EU negotiations. Concurrently, Moldova faces an unprecedented influx of Ukrainian refugees and increasing fears of Russian military aggression associated with the ongoing Russian war on Ukraine. To help balance responding to the urgent needs of Ukrainian refugees and their own Moldovan constituents, the Moldova Comunitatea Mea (My Community in English) project pivoted to expand support to local governments. Comunitatea Mea, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is an eight-year activity managed by the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX) with subcontract support from Tetra Tech. With IREX, we are working to strengthen local governments in Moldova to become more effective, transparent, and accountable to citizens.
Benefits
- Supported more than 85 LPAs to assess internal capacity needs and develop action plans
- Installed over 100 kilometers of lighting on public streets
- Supported 8 communities to digitize administrative services used by 12,000 citizens
- Increased revenues in 115 target communities by 48 percent
Tetra Tech supports 115 Moldovan municipalities, helping local governments to implement citizen-driven strategies to improve local service delivery and administrative services. Our team also supports local governments to invest in services for the most vulnerable populations—including many refugee host communities—and improve public financial management practices. Our impact includes:
- Establishing citizen information and service centers to provide more accountable and efficient administrative services to more than 25,000 citizens
- Improving infrastructure and communal services for more than 250,000 Moldovans
- Providing training and mentorship to local public administrations (LPA) to improve services to citizens
- Increasing locally owned LPA revenues by integrating financial management best practices, improving their asset management, and diversifying their revenue base
- Engaging youth input in civic life and local-level decision-making
Comunitatea Mea works with LPAs to integrate good governance tools and approaches including service improvement and action plans, functional organizational capacity assessments, e-democracy digital platforms, and GIS-Local into their best practices. Further, we are helping institutionalize their use in partnership with Government of Moldova agencies and other actors.
Tetra Tech integrates inclusive governance into all project activities to stimulate innovation and increase responsiveness to the needs of all citizens. At least 90 citizen oversight groups, 40 civic groups, and 6 civil society organizations are contributing to the sustained promotion of transparency and accountability of local government. Together these activities ultimately help local governments serve their critical role in advancing democratic reforms, supporting community recovery from COVID-related impacts, and swiftly addressing the needs of all community members.