Background and short information about the Project

The Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul" in partnership with the US-based Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) is implementing the project "Increasing Integrity in Public Procurement". The goal of the project is to support public procurement reforms in Moldova, which will increase the transparency and fairness of public procurement by empowering citizens to hold relevant institutions accountable. The project includes a grant program aimed at monitoring public procurement at all levels, identifying red flags and formulating recommendations for public authorities and policymakers. Ultimately, the aim is to foster integrity of public procurement and efficiency in the use of public money.

The selection process for award of sub grants was organized in an open and transparent manner considering:

- the score obtained (based on the evaluation criteria used by the evaluation committee formed by IDIS and PTF) and

- the available amount of USD 200,000, based on which 8 civil society and media organizations were awarded Grants.

The projects have the following geographical distribution and implementation period:

*all contracts have been signed - middle of April 2022

TERMS OF REFERENCE:

The object of the audit:

The objective of the audit is to obtain a professional auditor opinion on the financial statements of 8 Grants offered within the aforementioned project. The cumulative financial value of the Grants is USD 185,608. The accounting records for the Grants are established to reflect the financial transactions in respect of the project, providing the basis for financial statements preparation.

Scope

The audit will be conducted in accordance with national and international auditing standards. Those standards require that the auditor plans and performs the audit to obtain reasonable assurance as to whether the financial statements pertaining to each of the different Grants are free of material misstatements. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements pertaining to the different Grants. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statement pertaining to the Grants.

According to the National and International Standards on Auditing, the auditor is expected to carry out tests to confirm that:

1. All Grant funds have been used in accordance with the conditions of the relevant Grant Agreement.
2. Goods, works, and services financed out of the Grant have been procured in accordance with national legislation; the auditor should perform any necessary physical inspections based on risk considerations.
3. All necessary supporting documents, records, and accounts have been maintained in respect of all Grant activities and expenditures.

The internal control evaluation should include testing the effectiveness of control in the procurement process under the Grant and payment for goods, works, and services for the period reviewed, based on a representative sample for purposes of reducing audit risks. 

Period of activity performance

Each audit report, electronic version (in pdf and word format) will be presented within maximum 2 months after the end of each project.

The audit reports (the auditor’s opinion) must comply with the provisions of national and international standards. The audit will examine the financial statements prepared in accordance with the National Accounting Standards.

Also, during the audit, the observance of the fiscal legislation in force within the activities of the Organization will be verified.

Technical tasks:

The audit opinion must be in accordance with International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 700/705. The audit report must contain the financial statements, including the notes (audit opinion) by Grant and the letter to management when one was issued.

The audit report, verified, dated, and signed by the responsible auditor (the name, surname, and position of the qualified and licensed auditor, not only the name of the company) must be submitted to IDIS and PTF according to this RFP.

The audit report will be presented in two copies in English, as well as their electronic version (in pdf and word format).

The auditor will have access to all documents and accounting documents regarding the procedure for allocating, managing and reporting the Organization’s Grant, in compliance with the principles of confidentiality. If will be necessary, IDIS can provide the necessary support and space for the auditor to facilitate the audit process.

In addition to the audit opinion, the auditor will prepare a Management Letter in which the auditor will:

1. provide comments and observations on the accounting records, systems, and controls that were examined during the course of the audit;
2. record lack of supporting documents quantified in exact numbers, if any;
3. identify specific deficiencies and areas of weakness in systems and controls and make recommendations for their improvement;
4. report on instances of noncompliance with the terms of the corresponding Grant Agreement;
5. quantify and report expenditures that are considered to be ineligible and/or paid out of the designated account or claimed;
6. communicate matters that have come to light during the audit that might have a significant impact;
7. bring attention to any other matters that the auditor considers pertinent.
8. bring auditor’s recommendations to address identified deficiencies (recommendations will be presented in order of priority);

If none of the above applies, and a management letter is therefore not prepared, the auditor will issue a letter stating that during the audit nothing has come to their attention that the auditor considers pertinent to be brought to the attention of IDIS and PTF. The audit report or extracts from it may be made public by IDIS and PTF without any limitation, provided that the meaning of the findings is not distorted.

General

The auditor is entitled to unlimited access to all information and explanations considered necessary to facilitate the audit, including legal documents, project preparation and supervision reports, reports of reviews and investigations, correspondence, and credit account information. The auditor may also seek written confirmation of amounts disbursed and outstanding in the Grants records.

The auditor is encouraged to meet and discuss audit-related matters with IDIS, PTF and Grant’s team in every CSO.

CONTENT OF THE OFFER:

Offers to be made by firms participating in this tender will cover all 8 audits for all 8 Grants. Only 1 audit services contract for all 8 Grants will be awarded to one participating firm.

Only complete files will be accepted for participation in the tender.

The selection of the company will be made based on the fulfillment of all the obligatory requirements and the lowest price.

The offer must include the following documents (obligatory requirements):

1. Audit license (scanned copy);
2. Company profile, including information about the audit company, management, contact details.
3. Experience in the field – interested audit companies must have experience in auditing non-profit organizations in the Republic of Moldova (minim 3 years);
4. Qualification of the team that will perform the audit (minimum 3 years of experience for the audit manager and minimum 2 years for the other team members);
5. CV of the persons / auditors who will be directly involved in the audit;
6. Recommendation letter (at least 1)
7. The financial offer, indicating the price of audit services in USD (please indicate per 1 unit and also for 8 units, i.e., all Grants). 

Submission deadline

The deadline for submitting the file is October 25, 2022, at 18.00 Moldova time. Please indicate in the title of the email the following:  "Submission application_select audit firm". The file will be sent to the following addresses mihai.turcanu@viitorul.org and ungureanu.carolina@gmail.com

Questions

Participants should send clarification questions to the email address mihai.turcanu@viitorul.org before October 17, 2022. The answers to all questions asked will be published on October 20, 2022.

Evaluation process

Administrative verification

The following aspects will be examined in the administrative verification process:

1. if the deadline for submitting the file has been met;
2. if the file includes all the required documents and the application is complete;

If any of the requested information is missing or incorrect, the file may be rejected. Files that pass the administrative verification will be accepted for the next stage of evaluation.

The examination of tenders will be carried out by the Evaluation Committee on the basis of the criteria listed above.

Communication of results

The selected company will be published on the IDIS website www.viitorul.org by November 2022. 

This announcement is launched by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) Viitorul and the Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) under the project "Increasing Integrity in Public Procurement". The project aims to support procurement reforms in Moldova that will increase transparency and fairness of public procurement through empowering citizens to hold relevant institutions accountable.

 

Journalistic investigations, TV shows, trainings, informative materials and infographics regarding the public procurement process. They are part of the results of civil society organizations receiving grants in the framework of the project "Increasing the integrity in public procurement", which is implemented by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul" in collaboration with the Partnership for Transparency Fund. In this respect, civil society representatives and the project implementation team met online on August 17, 2022 to exchange experience and share the progress of their initiatives in the first three months of their implementation.

Public associations "Localinvest", "Prospect", "Media-Guard" (in partnership with Ziarul de Gardă), "LEX XXI", "Centrul Contact Cahul" (in partnership with "Cahul 2030"), "AGER", "Parents" Solidari" and the media project "CU SENS" are civil society organizations in Moldova that benefit from grants totaling more than 185 thousand dollars for monitoring public procurement. The grant program carried out by IDIS "Viitorul" aims to formulate recommendations in order to improve the level of communication with the relevant authorities, the integrity of public procurement, the efficiency of public procurement, public budgets and the capacity for good governance.

"We are committed within the project to support reforms in public procurement, which will increase the transparency, efficiency and fairness of procurement, through the involvement of civil society and investigative journalists. Our central objective is to improve the situation in the field of transparency, and recommendations for improving the legal framework or for strengthening the capacities of civil society, contracting authorities and economic operators. I would like to thank the organizations that are part of the sub-granting program for openness, involvement, great work and I am happy for the unique activities carried out", stated Carolina Ungureanu, deputy director of IDIS "Viitorul" and Manager of the project "Increasing of integrity in public procurement".

In his turn, Hady Fink, the project director at PTF, specified "This exchange of information is very welcome and it is great to know the achievements of each organization, to learn from the experience of others and to use different methodologies".

The organizations, selected on the basis of a competitive process, benefit from financial support of between 17 and 25 thousand dollars, assistance and expertise in the procurement monitoring process. Grantees implement procurement monitoring projects carried out by public authorities, such as town halls and district councils, enterprises with public capital or other state entities. The monitoring results are reflected in reports, analytical materials, journalistic investigations, infographics, trainings and public events.

Thus, from the journalists of the "CU SENS" media project, who monitored over 50 public procurement procedures, we can find out through the video materials who and how can contest public tenders and why a cleaning company continues to take about 60% of public money contracts for cleaning services within the "Clean - Dirty" investigation. "We want to put pressure on the authorities and certain interest groups that are behind acts of corruption and to increase the degree of intolerance to corruption in society", emphasized journalist Sergiu Ipatii.

În același timp, Asociația „Media-Guard" a monitorizat 67 de proceduri de achiziții publice în ultimele luni și a realizat o serie de investigații jurnalistice în domeniu, cum ar fi Dependența antigrindină de Rusia și Dosarele licitațiilor trucate: Ședințe amânate, zero condamnări cu executare și firme „abonate” în continuare la banii publici.

At the same time, the "Media-Guard" Association monitored 67 public procurement procedures in the last months and carried out a series of journalistic investigations in the field, such as Anti-Hail Dependence on Russia and Rigged Tenders Files: Postponed Meetings, Zero Convictions enforcement and companies still "subscribing" to public money.

For its part, the "Parents Solidari" Association proposed to keep an eye on the public procurements carried out by the Ministry of Education and Research and nine other institutions subordinate to the Ministry during the period April 2022 - January 2023. In this sense, the organization monitored in the last on Monday seven procurement procedures carried out at the relevant Ministry, the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Education and Research (ANACEC), the National Agency for Curriculum and Evaluation (ANCE) and the Center for Information and Communication Technologies in Education (CTICE).

Also, from the materials developed by the Association for Efficient and Responsible Governance (AGER) within the project, we can learn more about sectoral public procurement, such as the ANSC practice in cases related to the application of Law no. 74/2020 on procurement in the energy, water, transport and postal services sectors. "We chose the field of sectoral procurement because it is a newer one and there are many gaps that we want to understand better and come up with recommendations", says Olga Diaconu, AGER project coordinator.

At the regional level, the Association for Human Rights "LEX XXI" from the municipality of Balti is proud of a campaign to inform citizens about public procurement procedures, but also a public dialogue about the transparency of public procurement procedures in the municipality, organized in July "We want citizens to know public procurement procedures better and get involved because public money is our money," said Diana Grosu, president of the association.

Several reports and press articles on the conduct of public procurement in the Cimișia district were developed by the Public Association "Prospect", and the public procurement carried out by the District Council and the District Hospital of Rîșcani are monitored within the project implemented by A.O. "Localinvest".

In Cahul district, for example, public procurement is monitored by citizens and the local press with the support of A.O. "Contact-Cahul" Center. Thus, two public procurement procedures of the Cahul Municipality were analyzed and a working group formed by citizens was created which will monitor four public procurement procedures carried out by the local authorities, directly at the contract execution stage.

Subsequently, the investigations, findings and recommendations formulated by civil society representatives after the procurement monitoring process will be sent to the decision-makers to be examined and actions taken to improve the situation, thus holding the authorities involved accountable. The expected result would be achieving efficiency in the use of public money, minimizing the risks of public authorities, and finally, quality public goods, works and services for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

For more information, contact the Press Officer of the project, Ana - Maria Veverița: ana.veverita@viitorul.org/veverita.maria@gmail.com  or at the phone number (0 22) 221844.

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

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

Based in Washington, DC, the Partnership for Transparency's (PTF) mission is to advance innovative civil society-led approaches to improve governance, increase transparency, promote the rule of law, and reduce corruption in developing and emerging countries.

 

Public procurement is an area vulnerable to fraud and corruption. Addressing these risks requires the improvement of systems: management systems, integrity systems and processes to strengthen the public system, motivate public officials, and create conditions, laws, processes, and regulations that are clear, easy to apply, and do not lead to misinterpretation.

Find out in the May 22 edition of the "Monitoring Moldova's public procurement" newsletter what are the benefits and risks involved in the draft amendment to the Public Procurement Act registered in Parliament, how many procurements were concluded in 2021, what are the most frequent violations in terms of public procurement and the conditions to be respected  in the case of works procurement.

Also in this issue, you will discover the following topics:

NEWS: IDIS "Viitorul" presents the updated edition of the Public Procurement Monitoring Guide
NEWS: Values of public works contracts adjusted by new mechanisms
OPINION: Vadim Turcan: "Technical and professional capacity essential for determining similar experience in public works procurement"
LEGISLATION: Benefits and risks of the draft amendment to the Law on Public Procurement registered in Parliament
ANALYSIS: Procurement of more than 8 billion lei concluded by Moldovan public authorities in 2021
INTEGRITY: Diana Enachi: "Where there is a lack of transparency, sanctions, and control, public procurement risks fraud"
CONTROL: Who checks the legality of public procurement and what are the most common violations
PUBLIC MONEY: "Dedicated" purchases: Car dealers' one-off bids for municipalities' indigo requirements

More information can be found in the full version of the Newsletter

This newsletter is prepared within the project “Increasing the integrity in public procurement”, implemented by Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", in partnership with Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF)

 

Integrity Pacts ensure transparency in all stages of the procurement process, from needs assessment to contract management and payment. They can enhance participation, competition, and accountability, ultimately contributing to greater trust, believes Wayne Wittig, Project Adviser, at the Partnership for Transparency Fund.

Find out in the February 22 edition of the "Monitoring Moldova's public procurement" newsletter what the role and impact of integrity pacts is, how the salary of construction workers in public works procurement is calculated, what challenges include the Mtender system and other interesting articles.

Also in this issue, you will discover the following topics:
NEWS: The public procurement system evaluation report according to World Bank's MAPS methodology was publicly presented
ANNOUNCEMENT: IDIS "Viitorul" announces $ 25,000 grant award for civil society in the field of public procurement monitoring
LEGISLATIVE NEWS: Violations in the procurement process are sanctioned, but not adjusted to current legislation
TRANSPARENCY: The public procurement information portal of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova was launched - achizitii.parlament.md
PUBLIC POLICIES: Government priorities in the field of public procurement in 2022
PROCUREMENTS OF WORKS: How the salary of construction workers is calculated within the procedures for public procurement of works
OPINION:  Wayne Wittig "Integrity Pacts: Just the Facts”
ELECTRONIC PROCUREMENT: Electronic procurement: news and the future of the MTender electronic system
RED FLAGS: Red flags in the public procurement of the Transport Department

More information can be found in the full version of the Newsletter

This newsletter is prepared within the project “Increasing the integrity in public procurement”, implemented by Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", in partnership with Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF)

 

 

Under the project "Increasing Integrity in Public Procurement" the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul" in partnership with the Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) is launching a competition for grant funding to monitor public procurement. The goal of the project is to support public procurement reforms in Moldova, which will increase the transparency and fairness of public procurement by empowering citizens to hold relevant institutions accountable. This can be achieved by training civil society organizations (CSOs) and investigative journalist organizations to be watchdogs in monitoring public procurement, and by supporting their work for a period of time with grant funding.

Grants (between US $ 5,000 and US $ 25,000) will be awarded to Moldovan civil society organizations and investigative journalist organizations based on a competitive selection process to support them in responsible and effective monitoring of public procurement.

Civil society organizations and investigative journalist organizations interested in conducting procurement monitoring can apply for a grant by submitting a proposal for monitoring.

Objectives of the grant program

1. Monitoring procurement at the national, local, or municipal level by CSOs and investigative journalists utilizing a variety of tools.
2. Strengthening the capacity of Moldovan Civil Society (CSO) organizations and investigative journalist organizations to effectively and responsibly monitor procurement by notifying relevant authorities about identified risks and irregularities, and seeking resolution of such issues.
3. Facilitating access to open data on public procurement by developing various tools, including digital ones.
4. Improving legislation, regulations, policies and procedures by making recommendations to contracting and regulatory authorities, based on findings from the public procurement monitoring process.

Who can apply?

Public associations (civil society organizations and investigative journalist organizations) registered in the Republic of Moldova (from all localities and regions of the country).

Eligibility criteria

Public associations may apply individually or partnerships may be established among several non-governmental organizations.

What should the project proposal include?

The objective of the project proposal will be to focus on monitoring of public procurement, and it should specify the monitoring actions to be undertaken. Monitoring of ongoing procurement procedures is mandatory.

Important: Completed procurement procedures cannot be included in the project as an objective of monitoring.

Ineligible activities

The following (or similar) activities are ineligible

1. activities seeking either exclusively or specifically, individual sponsorships for participation in workshops, seminars, conferences, congresses;
2. activities specifically seeking individual scholarships for studies or training courses;
3. activities involving the elaboration of theses (Bachelor's, Master's or PhD);
4. activities aimed at financing a single conference. Conferences can only be funded if they are part of a series of activities to be implemented during a given monitoring project and would have to be pre-approved by IDIS and PTF;
5. monitoring projects seeking economic profit or non-profit projects that serve the interests of very limited target groups;
6. activities that support political parties.
7. policy and legal analysis not related to a specific procurement monitoring proposal.

Value and duration of projects

The total amount available for grants is US $ 200,000. Civil society associations registered in the Republic of Moldova can apply for and apply for grants of at least US $ 5,000 and up to US $ 25,000. The implementation period of the project must not exceed 12 months.

Project proposals will be evaluated by the Evaluation Committee on the basis of an evaluation grid. After evaluation of all proposals, grants will be awarded within the available budget.

The evaluation schedule of the project proposals and all the conditions of application can be found in the Funding Guide.

Application procedure

The application file must include the following documents:

1. Copy of the organization's registration certificate.
2. Application form. The form can be completed in Romanian or in English. Only applications that comply with this form template will be accepted.
3. Profile of the organization (description of the organization), including its experience with monitoring of public procurement.
4. CVs of the implementation team and experts.
5. Project budget.
6. In case of a partnership among organizations, the partnership agreement signed by all parties must be attached.

Only fully-completed applications will be processed and accepted in the grant competition.

Deadline

The deadline for submitting the file is March 17, 2022, at 23.00, indicating "Application for grants for monitoring public procurement". The file will be sent to mihai.turcanu@viitorul.org and ungureanu.carolina@gmail.com.

The list of beneficiary organizations will be published on the IDIS "Viitorul" website www.viitorul.org in mid-April 2022.

Questions for clarification can be addressed to the email address mihai.turcanu@viitorul.org until March 10, 2022. For interested organizations, IDIS "Viitorul" will organize two information sessions on the application procedure on March 2 and 4, at 10.00 (For registration, go to this link.) The answers to all the questions asked will be published on March 11, 2022 on www.viitorul.org.

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The project “Increasing the integrity in public procurement” is implemented by Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", in partnership with Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF). It aims to support procurement reforms in Moldova that will increase transparency and fairness of public procurement through empowering citizens to hold relevant institutions accountable. This will be accomplished through training civil society organizations to serve as watchdogs by monitoring public procurement.

 

Public procurements of works are probably the most complex procedures in terms of awarding documentation. According to the 2020 report of the Public Procurement Agency, the procurement of works represents over 4.5 billion lei, which constitutes approximately 50% of the total value of awarded contracts. The conduct of public procurement of works requires rigorous additional planning and the involvement of construction specialists. At the same time, a specific area that is not covered are the consulting services and here we talk about advising the beneficiary's representative, namely the technical manager and copyright controller, believes Vadim Turcan, Public procurement expert.

Find out from the December issue of the "Monitoring Moldova's public procurement" newsletter what needs to be improved in terms of public works procurement in Moldova, what are the challenges of the new functionalities of the MTender system, what risks threaten the integrity of public procurement, how you can monitor purchases in your locality with the help of public spending map and other interesting news.

Also in this issue you will discover the following topics:

LEGISLATIVE NEWS: The new Standard Documentation for Public Procurement of Goods and Services has been published
NEWS: The public money spending map – a tool to help you monitor the local procurements
UNITARY PRACTICES: NACS has developed a unitary practice to facilitate the public procurement process
ELECTRONIC PROCUREMENTS: New features versus MTender electronic procurement priorities
INTERVIEW: Vadim Țurcan: "Public procurement of works requires rigorous planning, knowledge of legislation and the involvement of construction specialists"
TRAINING: Over 40 civil society representatives strengthened their capacity in public procurement monitoring
REPORT: Risk assessment for increasing the integrity in Moldova’s public procurement
AUDIT: The audit on public procurement at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, discussed in Parliamentary Committee

More information can be found in the full version of the Newsletter

This newsletter is prepared within the project “Increasing the integrity in public procurement”, implemented by Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", in partnership with Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF).

 

Thirty-five journalists, representatives of civil society organizations and economic operators, have strengthened their capacities in monitoring public procurement by participating in a complex training program organized by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", in partnership with the Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF). The training program is part of the project "Increasing Integrity in Public Procurement". The aim of the project is to support the reforms of public procurement in Moldova, which will increase the transparency and integrity of public procurement by empowering civil society to hold public authorities accountable.

The training program took place between October 7 and December 17, 2021, and included 12 training modules, of two training sessions each. The topics examined in the capacity building program addressed the issues of the legal and institutional framework of public procurement, sectoral procurement, the process of electronic public procurement,  access to information and open data analysis, the appeal procedure, as well as the tools for identifying and analyzing corruption risks. Several case studies on public procurement issues and risks were also presented to participants within the program.

"The watchdog role of the representatives of the civil society and of the investigative journalists can induce the contracting authorities, the economic operators but also the decision-makers to be more responsible, efficient, more honest, and more transparent. For efficient monitoring of public procurement, civil society and the investigative journalists must have in-depth knowledge on topics such as the functioning of the public procurement system, the legal and institutional framework, data collection and analysis tools, the application of monitoring tools, and the identification of irregularities and actions to hold public authorities accountable. In this context, we considered it appropriate to strengthen capacities and provide a comprehensive training program through which civil society monitoring could subsequently have a positive impact on the efficient spending of public money and on the strengthening of good governance", stated Carolina Ungureanu, deputy director, and project manager at IDIS "Viitorul"

„The training program is a core element in a broader program that will support CSOs and investigative journalist organizations as they put the knowledge, skills and tools they learned into practice and engage in monitoring of actual procurement through all phases of the procurement cycle, from specifications through to awarding of and implementation of contracts. This support will include funding for competitively selected organizations, as well as mentoring and advice to ensure complaints are well-founded before being submitted to relevant public authorities to address”, stated Karin Millett, Project Director and Member of the Board of PTF.

"The training program on public procurement has once again demonstrated the need for ongoing training for civil society and journalists who monitor and investigate public procurement. In the process of monitoring procurement, it is equally important to know the regulatory framework, the monitoring tools, the electronic procurement process, and the procedures for awarding procurement contracts. Although the participants had a different level of training and experience, the program was a good opportunity for networking and for exchanging best practices. We would very much like all the knowledge and tools acquired in the training program to be applied in practice so that public procurement in all regions is under the scrutiny of civil society and public authorities are becoming responsible" stated Diana Enachi,  public procurement monitoring coordinator.

“Training is not an end-it is the beginning. The end we envisage is that the monitoring some of you will do will identify inefficient and corrupt practices. Only when these practices have been corrected through actions taken by the contracting agencies or control bodies will we have approached the end. And not even then because there may be a need for changes in legislation, regulations and the system of control and sanctions. Only when such changes are made by the appropriate state bodies and the parliament, and those laws and regulations are adhered to can we say we have reached our goal. This is a long process which this project will not complete. The procurement monitoring work that some of you are about to embark on will, I am convinced, accelerate this process”, stated Lars Jeurling PTF senior adviser to the project.

"The stages of launching a procurement procedure, of opening and evaluation of tenders is governed by some pre-established rules. Likewise, there is a multitude of aspects related to the human factor. Their knowledge is essential in the objective monitoring of public procurement by civil society, but also for journalistic investigations, the representatives of these segments being the beneficiaries of the current training ", stated Ecaterina Meaun, one of the moderators of the training program.

The legal expert Viorel Pîrvan explained to the participants in the training program all the legal aspects of a public procurement, the conflict of interests, and the stages of the appeals procedure: “An important topic addressed in the program is that of conflicts of interest and corruption in public procurement. Participants were acquainted with the prohibited practices in procurement procedures, the responsibilities of the actors involved in the procurement process, and on the ways to notify the competent bodies regarding illegal practices, but also on the consequences for public procurement procedures in case of proven acts of corruption and conflicts of interest. Also, the beneficiaries of the training program understood better the role of different public institutions in everything related to public procurement as well as the way in which they can notify these institutions to report a certain problem”.

„Participants showed a good insight of procurement issues and risks in the procurement process from needs identification all the way to contract implementation and management. They identified vulnerability points in the process such as contract implementation and stressed the importance of monitoring at that stage. They also highlighted the need to go beyond the legal and institutional framework and ensure enforcement of existing rules and sanctions for non-compliance. In that respect, one of the participants brought up the fact that despite the existence of a Contravention Code in Moldova, non-compliance in the area of public procurement often goes unpunished. The participants also understood that strength is in numbers and that increased communication and cooperation among key stakeholders in procurement can help prevent and/or expose Prohibited Practices in procurement leading to better practices and ultimately a more transparent and efficient public procurement system delivering Value for Money, stated Sabine Engelhard, Legal and Regulatory Specialist, Partnership for Transparency Fund.

Each of the beneficiaries of the program had the opportunity to comment on the usefulness of the training course and to come up with recommendations and suggestions for the public procurement monitoring process.

"Although I was mostly familiar with certain terms and procedures, I learned new things in today's sessions. For example, I did not know that the authorities have such leverage as the offer guarantee and still do not use it. The presented and analyzed case studies were relevant and useful to understand the way in which certain provisions work in practice. Also, the presentation of the method of calculating the most economically advantageous offer was important and useful", underlined Marcela Zamosteanu, RISE Moldova journalist.

For her part, Olesea Harti, a member of the “Zubrea” Natives Association from Zubrești village, considers that: “The course is very welcome. As I have virtually no experience in the field of procurement, it is a significant contribution towards improving my knowledge and skills in this area. It was very useful to combine the theoretical aspect with the practical one and it is much easier to assimilate the information in this way”.

"The training was very well organized. The presentations of the moderators, combined with the rounds of sessions of questions and answers allowed the information to be assimilated more easily. The agenda of each session was well thought out for the convenience of the participants, including from the point of view of the time", stated Tatiana Djamanov, a journalist at Radio Orhei.

"I decided to participate in this program because the company I work for never took part in any public procurement procedure, the reason for this being the lack of knowledge in the field. This training helped me understand all the stages of a public procurement procedure, the legal framework, and all the information necessary to launch such procedures", mentioned Nălea Demian, the administrator of the LLC "Bioenergy Company ".

"This is very useful and important information for us journalists. I received answers to questions that will help me a lot in my work. Thank you very much! ”stated Vera Bulgaru, the director of TV Drochia.

Also, at the end of the program, the participants received certificates from the organizers and exchanged impressions and useful information.

The participants in the training program will subsequently have the opportunity to apply for a grant program through which eligible organizations that will be selected on the basis of an open competition will receive support and expertise in the procurement monitoring process. Recommendations made by civil society representatives after the procurement monitoring process will be forwarded to decision-makers for review and action necessary to improve the situation, thus holding the involved authorities accountable. The expected result would be to achieve efficiency in the use of public money, minimize the risks for public authorities, and finally, ensure quality public goods, works, and services for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

 

The Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", in partnership with the Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF), launched on October 7 a new capacity building program in the field of public procurement monitoring. The training program is part of the project "Increasing the integrity in public procurement”. The project aims to support procurement reforms in Moldova that will increase the transparency and fairness of public procurement by empowering citizens specifically civil society representatives and investigative journalists to hold relevant institutions accountable. 

The program includes 12 training modules, each of two training sessions, which will take place between October 7 - December 17, 2021 and is intended for the 40 journalists, representatives of civil society organizations, but also economic operators, selected in an open and transparent call. The training program aims to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) and journalists in monitoring public procurement.

The topics of the capacity building program will address the legal and institutional framework of public procurement, sectoral procurement, the appeal procedure, the process of electronic public procurement, access to information and open data analysis, as well as tools for identifying and analyzing corruption risks. Also, a series of case studies will be developed and presented to the participants in the training program, showing the specific problems and risks identified in public procurement. Thus, representatives of civil society organizations, monitors and journalists will be trained on post-monitoring actions, including reporting the risks of fraud and corruption, communication actions and advocacy of monitoring results.

"The role of civil society is essential in overseeing transparency, how public money is spent and how public procurement is conducted. In this sense, the efficient monitoring of public procurement requires a good knowledge by the civil society of the functioning mechanism of the public procurement system, of the legal and institutional framework and of the entire procurement process", considers Carolina Ungureanu, deputy director of IDIS" Viitorul" and the Project Manager.

In her turn, Karin Millett, Director of the project, mentioned: "In order for CSOs to engage in responsible and effective monitoring of public procurement they need to be knowledgeable about the relevant legal and regulatory frameworks. They also need to be familiar with the types of abuses and irregularities to watch out for and be able to identify red flags that require further investigation and evaluation. Through lectures, case studies, and other hands-on activities, this training program aims to enhance the capacity of participants to engage in informed and responsible monitoring of public procurement".

Participants in the training program will also have the opportunity to apply for a grant program through which eligible organizations that will be selected on the basis of an open competition will receive support and expertise in the procurement monitoring process. Subsequently, the recommendations made by the representatives of the civil society after the procurement monitoring process will be sent to the decision makers in order to examine and take actions to improve the situation, thus making the authorities involved responsible. The expected result would be to achieve efficiency in the use of public money, minimize the risks of public authorities, and finally, quality public goods, works and services for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

For more information, contact the Press Officer of the project, Ana - Maria Veverița: ana.veverita@viitorul.org/veverita.maria@gmail.com or at the phone number (0 22) 221844.

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

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

Based in Washington, DC, the Partnership for Transparency's (PTF) mission is to advance innovative civil society-led approaches to improve governance, increase transparency, promote the rule of law, and reduce corruption in developing and emerging countries.

 

Within the context of a new project: “Increasing the Integrity in Public Procurement,” civil society representatives and investigative journalists from the Republic of Moldova will monitor public procurement in the country and provide recommendations for improving the process and strengthening the integrity of the sector. The project launch took place on September 30th, 2021, at an online conference. The project is implemented jointly by the Transparency for Partnership (PTF) and the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul".

This project aims to support procurement reforms in Moldova that will increase the transparency and fairness of public procurement by empowering citizens—specifically civil society representatives and investigative journalists—to hold relevant institutions accountable. The launch event aimed not only to present the objectives and activities of the project, but also to create a discussion platform with the participation of all actors involved in the process to identify solutions to improve the public procurement system in Moldova.

The opening speech of the conference was given by Dumitru Budianschi, Moldova’s Minister of Finance, who said: "Public procurement is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Moldova. And the project launched today will strengthen the Ministry's efforts to have procurement in a way that there are no interests other than the public interest. There is a need for a closer dialogue between all actors involved in the public procurement process, and the role of civil society is very important. We will continue the process related to the transparency of procurement, in order to make public procurement information open to the authorities.”

"Public procurement is important for the competitiveness of the Republic of Moldova. Efficient public procurement is essential for the country's economic growth, modernization of public administration, fight against corruption, trust of citizens in the public authorities and in democracy. Modern public procurement should be based on the following elements: cost-benefit, transparency, equity and good governance,” stated Liubomir Chiriac, Executive Director of IDIS “Viitorul.”

Richard Stern, President of the Partnership for Transparency stated: “The goal of the project is to contribute to increased integrity and efficiency in public procurement in the Republic of Moldova through enhancing the capacity of CSOs to serve as informed and unbiased monitors of public procurement processes and outcomes. And the fact that the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Moldova is championing and leading the process to make public procurement more open and fairer are core elements that will contribute to the success of this project.” He also recognized the US State Department for its contribution to the funding of this project.

Also, Laura Hruby, Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Moldova, said: “Government procurement covers every aspect of daily life. Whether you drive, walk, or surf the internet a government auction has provided these roads, sidewalks, and connections. Today's project will help improve the quality of these acquisitions and reduce the risk of corruption. It is a crucial step not only in identifying corruption, but also in implementing better practices. The US supports an independent Moldova that is accountable to its people, including the way the government spends its citizens' money. To the extent that Moldova strives to improve its procurement practices, transparent and fair processes will encourage trusted American companies to participate in Moldovan tenders and invest in Moldova.”

Karin Millett, Director of the project: Increasing the Integrity of Public Procurement in Moldova, noted that the launch event was the culmination of the Inception Phase carried out over one year, consisting of baseline studies and consultations to lay the groundwork for the design of the training program and overall focus of the program. “We fully recognize that training by itself is not sufficient to enable CSOs to engage in effective and responsible monitoring, so we will also be supporting competitively selected CSOs through awarding sub-grants for a period of one year and providing them with mentoring and advice.” She also noted that it had become clear during the Inception Phase that economic operators should be included in some aspects of the project, both in training and in a roundtable with key stakeholders to explore the use of Integrity Pacts as a tool for enhanced transparency.

“Effective monitoring of public procurement requires civil society’s knowledge on operations of the public procurement system, the legal and institutional framework, and the entire procurement process. In this sense, the aim of our project is to increase the transparency, fairness, and effectiveness of public procurement by training and empowering civil society actors and journalists to engage in informed and responsible monitoring of public procurement,” highlighted Carolina Ungureanu, Project Manager and Deputy Director of IDIS Viitorul, in the opening of the launch conference.

Discussion panels at the launch conference addressed the reform of the public procurement system in the Republic of Moldova and the experience of civil society in promoting transparent public procurement. The conference sessions were moderated by Elena Corman, Procurement Specialist, World Bank Office of Moldova, and Viktor Nestulia, Head of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Department, Open Contracting Partnership.

“The scope of reforms in public procurements are to improve public financial management, promote efficiency, integrity and transparency in public administration, and raise the relevance and quality of the services provided to the citizens by public institutions. The level of transparency is critical when measures have to be taken, it ensures that possible breaches of the principles and regulations become investigated and, when applicable, duly sanctioned. Thus, in order to maximize economy, efficiency, and transparency, public procurement should be carried out by fully competent, professional staff, working with appropriate tools, systems, and administrative routines and resources,” Corman reiterated.

Nestulia added: "Public procurement should be open, fair, and efficient. It should respond to citizens’ needs, expanding equity, sustainability, economic opportunities, and building trust. Transparency is the first and the easiest step to start this procurement transformation journey for the Republic of Moldova. At the same time, if authorities could engage citizens and cooperate with civil society, the integrity and efficiency of public procurement will be more easily achieved.”

In their turn, the speakers discussed the National Program for the development of the public procurement system for the years 2021-2024, the electronic public procurement system, and the training program for public procurement specialists. Topics also included the efficient resolution of appeals in the field of public procurement and the experience of civil society organizations when monitoring public procurement. Ruslan Malai, Director of the Public Procurement Agency in the Republic of Moldova, spoke about the certification of public procurement specialists. He explained: “The certification regulation has been elaborated, and soon the Ministry of Finance will launch the promotion of the regulations on the certification of public procurement specialists and in maximum two months the decision will be approved. According to the Agency's business plan, by the end of the year we need to train 100 people. In Moldova we have many professions, such as lawyers, accountants, economists, but there are no procurement specialists, and the capacities of the contracting authorities are reduced.”

Irina Gutnic, Deputy General Director at the National Agency for Solving Complaints, pointed out the most significant problems generating irregularities in the public procurement procedure: “Lack of integrity in public procurement is a widespread phenomenon. No contracting authority is immune from it. Issues that distort a fair public procurement process may therefore include exact technical specifications, requesting certificates restricting wide access to the procedure, narrow specifications that favor a particular bidder, difficult qualification criteria, lack of ethics, conflict of interest, and other irregularities. And this is also due to the poorly trained staff in the field of public procurement.”

Diana Enachi, Public Procurement Expert at IDIS Viitorul, stated: “For us, transparency is not an end goal, but only a method to obtain efficiency, integrity, to obtain quality goods, services, and public works for citizens. It is important for the authorities to make efforts to procure quality goods and services in the public interest of the citizens.”

Maria Covalciuc, President of the Association for Efficient and Responsible Governance (AGER) said: "Improving the public procurement system in the Republic of Moldova is only possible by strengthening our joint efforts of both government actors and civil society so that the public budget is used to meet the needs of all citizens and not just interest groups."

The project "Increasing the Integrity in Public Procurement" will run until February 2023, and project implementation will focus on support for public procurement reforms. Project goals will be achieved through a comprehensive training program for civil society organizations and journalists on public procurement monitoring. A grant program will also be launched through which eligible organizations will receive support and expertise in the procurement monitoring process, both nationally and locally. Thus, civil society organizations, monitors, and journalists will be trained on legal requirements within the public procurement process, as well as the tools for identifying and documenting the risks of corruption. Finally, the beneficiaries will be instructed on the changes through which they can report irregularities and abuses to the control and legal institutions, but also on the development of a strategy for communication and advocacy of the monitoring results.

The recommendations made by the representatives of civil society after the procurement monitoring process will be sent to the responsible entities and decision-makers in order to examine and take actions to address issues raised, thus making the involved authorities more accountable. The result will be a more efficient use of public money as well as a better provision of goods, works, and services to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

For more information, contact the Press Officer of the project, Ana - Maria Veverița: ana.veverita@viitorul.org/veverita.maria@gmail.com or at the phone number (0 22) 221844.

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

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

Based in Washington, DC, the Partnership for Transparency's (PTF) mission is to advance innovative civil society-led approaches to improve governance, increase transparency, promote the rule of law, and reduce corruption in developing and emerging countries

 

Access to open data and data analysis tools on public procurement is essential, both for civil society in the monitoring process and for regulators who can use the information to generate statistical reports and develop data-driven policies. In this respect, the approval of the new Regulation on low-value procurement and the transition to an electronic format will allow monitors to improve national statistics on public procurement and thus find easier solutions to identifying and minimizing risk indicators, and streamlining procurement processes at the level of all contracting authorities, believes Diana Enachi, expert in public procurement.

Find out from the September issue of the "Monitoring Moldova's public procurement" newsletter what changes the new Regulation on low-value public procurement brings, which are the companies that win the largest public procurement contracts, how you can participate in a training program on procurement monitoring public and other interesting news.

Also in this issue you will discover the following topics:

NEWS: IDIS "Viitorul" will implement a capacity building program in the field of public procurement monitoring
LEGISLATION: Energy, water, transport, and postal services procurement law has entered into force
POLICY ANALYSIS: Low-value public procurement: between transparency and efficiency
INTERVIEW: Sabine Engelhard: "Weak procurement management and unfamiliarity with the legal framework hinder the efficiency of public procurement in Moldova"
DATA: The top contracting authorities according to the value of contracts awarded, and the top companies that have won the largest public procurement contracts
AUDIT: Procurements worth 1.3 billion lei at the Ministry of Internal Affairs

More information can be found in the full version of the Newsletter

This newsletter is prepared within the project “Increasing the integrity in public procurement”, implemented by Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", in partnership with Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF).