Project Summary:

In 2022, Moldova tapped into a historical opportunity – the candidate status for the EU accession, with conditionalities to be fulfilled in the justice, anticorruption, and public administration reform areas. At the background of the ambitious reform processes towards EU accession, Moldova’s development trajectory has been affected by the multidimensional crises underpinned by the war in Ukraine and its security and economic threats to the country. However, Moldova's primary vulnerability stems from its fragile internal state, including weak institutions and a divided society, which undermines its resilience to external challenges. Investing in Government capabilities to boost anticipation and prevention efforts is paramount for avoiding or reducing the impact of shocks and insecurities. 

The project will support the Government at the central and local levels to roll out the key reforms and strategies, namely Public Administrative Reform, Digital Transformation Strategy, Energy Sector Strategy, Social Assistance Reform "RESTART", Strategy of the Development of Agricultural Sector and Food Safety trough targeted technical advisory assistance – Digital Transformation Delivery Unit, Technology and Innovation Energy Sandbox, Public Administration Reform Expertise.

Objectives:

• National and subnational institutional capacities and policy frameworks for quality, resilient and inclusive service delivery are enhanced;
• Digital transformation is supported through applying technological solutions and reducing the digital divide for quality, resilient and inclusive public services delivery to all, especially vulnerable groups
• Public and private actors are enabled to implement efficient and innovative practices for sustainable natural resource use, climate resilience, low-emission, and green development.

Expected results:

• A Digital Delivery Unit, which will operationalize the Digital Transformation Strategy, will be established;
• Support in the implementation of the Public Administration Reform Strategy provided;
• An Energy Innovation and Technology Sandbox will be created within the Ministry of Energy to become the testing and experimentation environment for new energy technologies and innovations fitting to respond to calls for energy security and just energy transition;
• An Intelligence Unit for Policy Development will be created in the Prime Minister’s Office to inform decision-making processes and policy development in selected areas of complex and emerging challenges;
• A gender-inclusive Digital Literacy Programme, as part of the broader National Programme on building digital skills, will advance the digital literacy of women and girls within communities supported by the UNDP under “Tekwill in Every School”;
• A digital literacy course focusing on digital safety, English for IT and social media usage will be piloted in a number of selected schools within the “Tekwill in Every School” initiative.

Accomplishments:

• A Digital Delivery Unit within the Government of the Republic of Moldova was conceptualized to operationalize the Digital Transformation Strategy;
• Chief Digital Officers were deployed to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Energy;
• The Intelligence Unit for Policy Development of the Government of Moldova, established with support, published use-cases on enhancing transparency in public procurement, bolstering social care, tax collection efficiency, and assessing rural development programmes;
• The Central Implementation and Monitoring Unit (CIMU) at the State Chancellery was operationalized to support the implementation of the Public Administration Reform Strategy;
• CIMU has offered the required expertise for the adjustment and implementation of the Methodology for Voluntary Amalgamation and thematic advisory in public finance, legal aspects, and public relations;
• Support was provided to the Ministry of Energy in drafting the Law on regulatory sandbox in the energy sector, aimed at enabling the growth and scalability of innovative technologies within a flexible legal framework. This framework encourages real-world experimentation across various areas: flexibility and balancing services, energy storage, integration of low-carbon gases into renewable gas networks, electromobility, collective self-consumption/renewable energy communities, smart grids, integration of renewable energy sources, and tariff setting. Under this enabled regulatory environment, two pilot projects were initiated by UNDP in support to the Ministry of Energy:

1. Smart electricity metering: This pilot involves deploying advanced metering infrastructure to consumers, enabling real-time electricity use measurement. The aim is to enhance energy efficiency and provide consumers with detailed energy usage information for better management.  Following the pilot's progress results, the pilot received additional funding from the Italian Government, enabling smart metering deployment expansion;
2. Differentiated tariffs: the pilot focuses on testing differentiated (hourly) tariffs for electricity consumers, aiming to incentivize more efficient energy use patterns and integrate renewable energy sources more effectively into the grid.