Institute for Development and Social Initiatives IDIS Viitorul, which implements the Increasing the Integrity of Public Procurement in Moldova project together with Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF), had new meetings with representatives of public institutions in Chisinau in order to strengthen and coordinate cooperation efforts to promote the reform of the procurement system. IDIS met with the Centre for Centralised Public Procurement in Health (CAPCS) on October 19, with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Moldova (CCIRM) on October 23, and with the Court of Accounts of the Republic of Moldova (CCRM) on October 24.

Carolina Ungureanu, Deputy Director of IDIS Viitorul, thanked the leadership of the three institutions for their openness to discuss opportunities for collaboration and in particular the creation of a multi-stakeholder platform. She also explained the purpose of the Increasing the Integrity of Public Procurement project, reviewed the activities carried out so far and those to be implemented, including the creation of the National Platform for Public Procurement (PNAP), for which IDIS Viitorul has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Ministry of Finance.

Carolina Ungureanu invited the three institutions to become members of the Platform, which will be a national discussion forum, a permanent communication and dialogue mechanism for all actors in the public procurement sector. Within the Platform, members will have the opportunity to address priority issues, adopt common positions on the problems and challenges of the public procurement system, as well as formulate recommendations to overcome the challenges discussed.

Gheorghe Gorceag, Director of CAPCS, thanked IDIS for having the initiative to launch such a platform, saying that the institution he heads is open to cooperate with all actors in the system. He also said that CAPCS plays an important role in the functioning of the entire health system in the country, as it manages annual purchases worth about two billion lei (~$429,701,000), and this volume is increasing year by year. Similarly, the list of goods (medicines and medical devices) procured centrally by CAPCS for the 400 or so medical institutions across the country is also expanding.

Mihai Bîlba, Deputy Director of CCIRM, mentioned that the institution he represents participated in the committee on the implementation of the MTender system. At the same time, the CCI organized capacity building activities for economic operators on participation in public procurement, including those conducted electronically through MTender. Mihai Bîlba also said that CCIRM is interested in participating in the Platform, as economic operators always have questions about the public procurement process.

For his part, Marian Lupu, President of the CCRM, said that the launch of the Platform is an absolutely necessary idea, but reiterated that there will be many difficulties in its functioning, as the participating actors will come with diametrically opposed points of view, sometimes even interests. According to Marian Lupu, the CCRM is open to collaboration with civil society and is interested in better analyzing audit reports and taking action on recommendations. Marian Lupu also underlined that the CoRCA attaches great importance to small value procurement and believes that this topic should be put on the agenda of the Platform's discussions. The CoR was open to signing a cooperation agreement with IDIS Viitorul.

The draft rules on the functioning of the Platform will be sent for consultation to all those who agree to become members that actively participate in the Platform's activities. It will be possible to discuss the rules at the first meeting of the Platform, which will take place before the end of the year.

On October 16 2023, IDIS Viitorul had its first two meetings with the management of the Public Procurement Agency and the National Agency for Dispute Resolution in order to strengthen and coordinate cooperation efforts to promote the reform of the procurement system.

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The Increasing the Integrity of Public Procurement in Moldova is implemented by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) Viitorul, in partnership with the Partnership for Transparency Fund. The project aims to support public procurement reforms in Moldova that will increase transparency and fairness in public procurement by empowering citizens to hold relevant institutions accountable.

IDIS Viitorul is an independent think tank established in 1993 that combines social, political and economic research with strong advocacy components. The institution conducts applied monitoring research in several areas: economics, social policy, EU policies, regional development, but also security and foreign policy risks.

Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) is based in Washington DC and its mission is to promote innovative civil society-led approaches to improving governance, increasing transparency, promoting the rule of law, and reducing corruption in developing and emerging countries. Since 2000, PTF has supported over 250 projects aimed at promoting NGO involvement in decisions, processes and laws that enforce transparency and accountability in public procurement.