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IDIS "Viitorul" announces a contest for the selection of representatives of civil society organizations/journalists to participate in a capacity - building program in the field of public procurement monitoring

 

Representatives of the Civil Society Organizations (CSO) and journalists from the Republic of Moldova are welcome to apply for participation in a new capacity-building program in monitoring public procurement. 

After the training program an open call for sub grants will be open. In this context Civil Society Organizations / journalists (registered organizations / institutions) will have the opportunity to receive support in order to begin or continue their activity in monitoring public procurement in Republic of Moldova. The training program is part of the project "Increasing the Integrity of Public Procurement in Moldova through Cooperation with Civil Society", implemented by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", in partnership with the Partnership for Transparency Fund (USA).

The objectives of the program are the following:

1) Provide Moldovan Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and journalists with sufficient capacity to conduct meaningful monitoring of procurement processes.

2) Instruct Moldovan CSOs and journalists on how to appropriately monitor procurement processes by making use of the e-procurement system.

3) Ensuring that findings and recommendations resulting from credible and professional CSO monitoring are taken seriously and acted upon by contracting entities, contractors and government oversight and law enforcement entities, including the National Anti-Corruption Center.

 Who can apply?

- Representatives of non-governmental organizations from the Republic of Moldova.

- Media representatives / journalists.

- Active civic leaders eager to monitor the way in which the authorities use public money.

*For some sessions representatives of the economic operators will be invited to attend

We are looking for motivated civil society leaders who are willing to participate in all activities at all stages of the program. Priority will be given to representatives of civil society organizations / journalists who have basic knowledge in public procurement and have experience in areas related to public procurement (transparency, good governance, integrity and anti-corruption, monitoring of public money, public administration, etc.)

It is relevant to apply if:

  • You are active in a civil society organization in the Republic of Moldova; you are a journalist or a civic activist, trying to contribute to the development of your community and to the accountability of public authorities.
  • You want to improve your organization's ability to participate in decision-making, to be actively involved in solving the problems facing your community.
  • You want the voices in the localities you represent to be heard by decision-makers and to be taken into account more often.
  • You want to be promoters of the transparency and efficiency of public procurement at the local or national level and to acquire various tools for monitoring the way in which public money is used.
  • You consider that steps should be taken to make public procurement more accessible and transparent.
  • You are already monitoring procurement or you intend to do so and believe that you have the capacity (e.g. competent and interested staff) to engage in this activity by employing the knowledge from the training you will be attending

What does the capacity development program include?

The program includes 12 training modules with 24 sessions. The program is an excellent opportunity to gain new skills and knowledge, to find new partners with the same vision and to share experiences. The training program will involve national and international experts with extensive experience in the field of public procurement.

What are the topics of the modules?

  • Introduction to the importance and principles of public procurement monitoring.
  • Legal and institutional framework in public procurement.
  • The public procurement process (pre-tender stage and tender stage, post-tender stage, and public procurement contract).
  • The remedy system: legal framework and appeals.
  • Transparency in public procurement. Access to information and protection of personal data.
  • Conflict of interest and corruption in public procurement.
  • Competition and anti-competitive agreements in public procurement.
  • Public procurement monitoring tools (red flags) and other tools.
  • Post-monitoring actions: advocacy and referral to responsible authorities.
  • Engaging in effective procurement monitoring and developing a sustainable monitoring strategy.

Duration

The program will take place between October 7, 2021-and December 17, 2021.

The program in the field of public procurement monitoring will take place twice a month on Thursdays and Fridays.  The training program will be held on the following dates:

  • -    October 7, 8, 21 and 22
    -    November 4, 5, 18, and 19
    -    December 2, 3, 16 and 17

The duration of each module is about five hours (10.00 - 16.00) with coffee break, lunch break and accommodation.  Training costs will be covered by the project.

The course is expected to take place "face to face". In case of restrictions related to the pandemic situation caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the training program will be organized in an online format.

Upon completion of the program, participants will receive certificates of participation. The participant organizations in the training program will later on also have the opportunity to submit their files for sub-grants that will be awarded within the project in order to support the sub-grantees to carry out public procurement monitoring activity

Application procedure

We are expecting the filled-in application form (attached) and your CV before September 20, 2021, at 18.00. Please send your file to the following e-mail address: mihai.turcanu@viitorul.org. Should you have any further questions, please contact Ungureanu Carolina at 022 22 18 44 or at the e-mail address above.

The program is part of the „Increasing the Integrity of Public Procurement in Moldova through Cooperation with Civil Society” Project  implemented by the Institute for development as Social Initiatives  (IDIS) „Viitorul", in partnership with the Partnership for Tansparency Fund (PTF). The aim 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 will be possible by training civil society organizations and journalists to act as watchdogs by monitoring public procurement.

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

The Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) based in Washington DC, is committed to promoting innovative civil society-led approaches to improving governance, increasing transparency, promoting the rule of law, and reducing corruption in developing and developing countries. Since 2000, the PTF has supported more than 250 projects aimed at promoting the involvement of CSOs in decisions, processes, and laws that demand transparency and accountability in public procurement.

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IDIS "Viitorul" presents the first edition of the newsletter "Monitoring Moldova's public procurement"

 

In the Republic of Moldova, public procurement remains an area vulnerable to irregularities, fraud, and corruption. The large amount of money circulating in the public procurement system and the frequent interactions between the public and private sectors make public procurement extremely vulnerable and a priority area of concern for the integrity of public administration. These facts justify the role of civil society in overseeing the way in which public money is spent, and how public procurement is conducted, in order to ensure 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. Believes Carolina Ungureanu, the manager of the project “Increasing the integrity in public procurement”.

Find out from the first edition of the "Monitoring Moldova's public procurement" newsletter why the involvement of civil society in monitoring public procurement is essential, how the Business Intelligence system works for the Republic of Moldova, how different the prices are for the same drugs purchased against COVID-19 and why The Ministry of Education paid 3.15 million lei to a company for reconstruction works that were not executed.

Also in this issue you will discover the following topics:

NEWS: Several institutions carried out illegal public procurement deals (report)
NEWS: A new digital tool for analyzing open data from the MTender system has been launched
LEGISLATION: IDIS „Viitorul” and AGER: Proposals for the Regulation on certification in the field of public procurement
OPINION: Lars Jeurling: "An active civil society is the key to a brighter future in Moldova"
ANALYSIS: NAC Report: The higher the value of public procurement deals, the higher the risk of corruption
REPORT: Large fluctuations in the purchase price of medicines and protective equipment to combat COVID-19 
INVESTIGATIONS: The Ministry of Education paid 3.15 million lei to a company for works that were not performed - finding of the Court of Accounts about the repair of an institution in Bălți

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).

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International commitments, primary and normative-secondary legal framework, regarding public procurement was analyzed through the prism of sustainability concept

 

International commitments, primary legal framework, but also the normative-secondary one in the field of public procurement was analyzed in three studies through the prism of sustainability concept. The documents were presented to the public on Thursday, December 17. The conference was attended by academics, authority representatives, researchers, experts, and civil society organizations.

The first stage of the project "Consolidation of Sustainable Public Procurement in the Republic of Moldova" designed by IDIS experts: Carolina Ungureanu, Viorel Pirvan, Vadim Turcan, and Diana Enachi, consisted in analysis of the legal framework provisions and of the commitments assumed by the Republic of Moldova regarding the international agreements. The project is funded from de state budget within the State Program (2020-2023) Nr. 81-PS from 03.01.2020, implemented by the Faculty of Economics of the Moldova State University, in partnership with IDIS "Viitorul".

Carolina Ungureanu, deputy director of IDIS ”Viitorul”, scientific researcher of the project, says that the study ”Mapping the commitments assumed by the Republic of Moldova in the international agreements on sustainable public procurement” promotes sustainable public procurement, which has a longer lifespan, and which don’t have a negative impact on the environment, on people, and communities. According to the researcher, the concept of sustainable public procurement is newer and less used in the Republic of Moldova, hence the main purpose is to promote sustainable public procurement.

According to Vadim Turcan, scientific researcher of the project, the regulatory framework contains a number of provisions on public procurement, but we are still at the beginning. He said, ”We should work harder on implementation. If we look forward at the assumed normative framework and the commitments, the law enables us to use different criteria, explains how to use it, and provides recommendation regarding the usage. By the way, we do a paramount work to break the ice and go to the next level”.

Diana Enachi, scientific researcher of the project, economist IDIS ”Viitorul”, one of the authors of the study ”The concept of sustainability in public procurement law: regulation versus enforcement” said that in the period 2018-2020, the Republic of Moldova implemented a Program to promote green energy that had as a goal to match the criteria of sustainable public procurement for at least 15% until 2020. ”As a result of the analysis of the primary legal framework, we find out that the Law 131/2015 allows authorities to include sustainability issues in the award documentation, to apply criteria which have on-base profitability considerations and factors as well as life-cycle costing. However, in practice, orientation towards sustainable public procurement is extremely low, and contracting authorities don’t pay attention to these issues”, said Diana Enachi.

Also, Viorel Pirvan, scientific researcher of the project, one of the authors of the study ”Sustainability and environmental protection. Components of the secondary regulatory framework in public procurement” affirmed that current normative framework is more about environmental protection and less about sustainability. Unfortunately, this criteria is missed from a range of important regulations. Actually, there are just some general ideas towards sustainability, but more concrete rules regarding these sustainability components could be found in Public Procurement Regulation on things, approved in 2016, and in the Regulation on procurement in state-owned enterprises.

Maria Cojocaru, associate professor at MSU, scientific researcher of the project, mentioned that reading these studies reached the conclusion that change should begin with each of us. According to the researcher, everyone should promote these practices. ”At the university was discussed to take into consideration the new sustainability criteria and we are thinking about its implementation with the public procurement department”, said Maria Cojocaru.

Regarding ”the law allowed, recommend”, Natalia Postolache, from Public Services Agency, said that ”once something is not imposed, only allowed this thing is not going to be execute”. ”We can include many provisions in the legislation, but if we will not impose a share of sustainable procurement, required, they will not work”, said Natalia Postolache.

Olga Pisarenco, head of the procurement department at the National Bank, mentioned that since she works at National Bank she is thinking of green procurement, who can be realized at the lowest price and also the National Bank requires ecolabel certificates where is possible. ”It is very important what we have on the market. We need economic operators to ensure competition, including the ecological side. The state cannot impose green procurement as a mandatory requirement as long as we don’t have economic operators on the market”, said Olga Pisarenco.

The project "Consolidation of sustainable public procurement in the Republic of Moldova" follows to strengthen the sustainability component of public procurement in the Republic of Moldova through theoretical-methodological and applied research, but also by analyzing European good practices in sustainable public procurement. Through knowledge transfer and raising society's awareness regarding sustainable public procurement role, by organizing meetings, workshops, discussions club, scientific-practical symposia, etc. the project will be implemented in four stages where will participate professors from the Faculty of Economics of the Moldova University State and experts from IDIS "Viitorul".

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The integrity of public procurement in Moldova will be increased through collaboration with civil society

 

 

 

Representatives of civil society and journalists from the Republic of Moldova will monitor the procurement process in our country and will provide recommendations for improving communication with the authorities and strengthening the integrity of public procurement. This will become possible thanks to a new project implemented by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", in partnership with the Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF) from the USA.

The project "Increasing the integrity in public procurement" will be implemented by February 2023 and aims to support public procurement reforms. This will be achieved through a comprehensive training program for civil society organizations and journalists on public procurement monitoring. Also, the selected organizations and journalists will receive support and expertise in the procurement monitoring process, both nationally and locally. To monitor public procurement, participants will receive sub-grants from IDIS "Viitorul". Thus, at least 15 Moldovan organizations (NGOs and journalists) will be trained to identify and document abuses and irregularities in procurement procedures conducted by contracting authorities in key sectors, but also to report them to control and law enforcement institutions.

At the same time, the recommendations made by the representatives of the civil society after the procurement monitoring process will be sent to the responsible entities and the decision-makers in order to examine and undertake actions to improve the situation, thus making the involved authorities more accountable. The result would be a more efficient use of public money and a better provision of goods, works and services to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

In the past years, the national public procurement system has been in the process of reform and transformation, both at the level of legislation and at the level of process. However, public procurement is still a vulnerable area to the risks of fraud and corruption, which is relevant in both civil society reports, the investigative press and the authorities' reports. As a result, the role of civil society watchdog is becoming increasingly relevant through its contribution to increasing transparency, strengthening integrity and reporting abuses and illegalities. Therefore, it is essential to develop the capacity of civil society organizations, providing them with the knowledge and skills to professionally and responsibly monitor public procurement at all stages.

……………..

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 (USA). It aims to support the 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, Partnership for Transparency Fund'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.

 

 

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Notes & positions

Open call of civil society organisations to the authorities on critical deterioration of transparency in public procurement by the Center for Centralized Public Procurement in Health care

 

Civil society expresses its deep concern about the fact that the Center for Centralized Public Procurement in Healthcare (CAPCS) has decided to receive offers for tenders by e-mail. This applies to procurements in the field of health care, which have nothing to do with the fight against COVID-19. Prior to this, offers were accepted in sealed envelopes. The corresponding letter number Rg02-1416, April 7, 2020, was sent to suppliers by acting CAPCS Director Alina Russu.

Even though the submission of offers in envelopes has a high level of corruption risks and is clearly a relic of the Stone Age, this procedure still contained at least some minimal guarantees of transparency and impartiality: suppliers could attend the opening of envelopes and, thus, minimize the control of the procurement process.

When submitting offers by e-mail, the minimum guarantees of transparency of procurements and impartiality to suppliers are actually compromised. Email submissions actually blindfold the public, taking medical purchases into the shadows. As a result, the risks of inefficient use of public funds and deterioration of the protection of public health are increased: for more money - less supplies and medical equipment can be purchased. This is unacceptable in a modern democratic society, and particularly in a state of emergency caused by the spread of COVID-19.

Given the increased risk of corruption in the Republic of Moldova, [1] e-mail offers are easy to manipulate and abuse:

• the e-mail is easy to delete or it can get “accidentally” in the spam folder;
• important information from the offers can be reported to competitors;
• one can advise “privileged” suppliers to make changes and invisibly send an offer with updated data, etc.

We are concerned that for more than a year now no decisions have been made to finalize the functionality of the electronic procurement system (today it is SIA RSAP MTender) for medical purchases. In this regard, in the current emergency situation, CAPCS does not use this transparent system.

In connection with the foregoing, we urge that:
 • CAPCS immediately refuses to the practice of accepting offers by e-mail; 
•  The Government and the Commission for Emergency Situations ensure a transparent use of public funds in the field of medical procurement, particularly by:
1. Publishing detailed lists, specifications, the number of planned purchases and concluded contracts for the purchase of medicines, medical devices and medical equipment, specifying specifications, quantities and prices, data on supplies;
2. Obliging the Ministry of Finance to urgently finalize the necessary functionality of the electronic procurement system (currently SIA RSAP MTender) for medical purchases.

The entire call can be read here: Open call of civil society organisations to the authorities on critical deterioration of transparency in public procurement by the Center for Centralized Public Procurement in Health care 

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