Organization Mission

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) works in nearly 170 countries and territories, including the Republic of Moldova, helping to achieve the eradication of poverty, and the reduction of inequalities and exclusion.

We help countries to develop policies, leadership skills, partnering abilities, institutional capabilities and build resilience to sustain development results.
UNDP in Moldova is guided by its Country Programme Document, and the UN-Moldova Development Assistance for 2018-2022, which is in line with the priorities of the Government of Moldova.

In a rapidly changing global environment, the work of UNDP and the broader UN family aligns with the new national development vision, Moldova 2030, and sector strategies. UNDP Moldova’s country programme for 2018–2022 has three major focus areas:

Inclusive growth, Effective governance, Climate change, environment and energy and three cross-cutting areas: Gender equality, Crisis response, Development impact

Context

The M4EG Facility works with local authorities to apply a mission-oriented economy approach, enabling them to identify, prioritize, and address complex local development challenges through coordinated, strategic interventions. This approach promotes the development of “missions” – clear, outcome-oriented goals that cut across policy sectors and administrative levels – and mobilizes diverse stakeholders, including national and local governments, civil society, academia, and the private sector. By fostering experimentation, innovation, and evidence-based decision-making, the M4EG Facility supports local authorities in building resilient, inclusive, and future-ready local economies.
In order to successfully design and implement missions at the local level, it is critical to understand the policy and institutional environment in which local authorities operate. In Moldova, local development is shaped by a complex interplay of decentralization processes, public administration reform, regional development strategies, and sectoral policies, each governed by distinct institutions and frameworks. These frameworks determine not only the scope of action for local authorities but also their access to financial and technical resources. Furthermore, the organization of dialogue between government bodies and local actors – through working groups, inter-ministerial committees, and other coordination mechanisms – directly influences the effectiveness and inclusiveness of local development initiatives.

The Online Volunteers will support a comprehensive mapping of policy frameworks, institutional arrangements, and coordination mechanisms related to local development in Moldova. This mapping will serve as a foundational knowledge base for the M4EG, helping to identify strategic entry points, potential synergies, and gaps in the enabling environment. It will also highlight how ongoing reforms and strategic processes intersect with funding and financing arrangements for local authorities, thus informing the design and prioritization of mission-oriented interventions that are both relevant and feasible within the existing governance landscape.

Key Responsibilities

1. Policy and Legal Framework Mapping
– Identify and review existing national and subnational policy, legal, and strategic frameworks relevant to local development, including but not limited to decentralization, public administration reform, and regional development.
– Document the scope, objectives, and key provisions of each framework, highlighting their implications for local economic growth and mission-oriented approaches.
2. Reform Agendas and Strategic Processes
– Identify ongoing reform agendas, strategic processes, or programs that may influence local development, with particular attention to those affecting fiscal decentralization, funding flows, and financial autonomy of local public authorities (LPAs).
– Map timelines, key milestones, and anticipated impacts of these reforms on local governance capacities and resources.
3. Funding and Financing Linkages
– Analyze how the identified frameworks and reforms relate to funding and financing mechanisms at the local level.
– Highlight barriers and enabling factors affecting LPAs’ ability to access and manage funds.
4. Institutional Ownership and Coordination
– Identify the government bodies, agencies, and other entities responsible for leading, coordinating, or overseeing the implementation of the identified frameworks and reforms.
– Clarify the institutional mandates and relationships between these actors, noting overlaps, complementarities, and coordination gaps.
5. Engagement Modalities and Stakeholder Interaction
– Map the existing modalities of dialogue between government bodies and local development stakeholders, such as permanent annual or bi-annual meetings, conferences, working committees, etc.
6. Synthesis and Recommendations
– Prepare a short report (up to 7 pages) that synthesizes findings across the above areas.

Required Skills and Experience

Academic Qualifications: University degree (or higher) in Economics, Development Sciences, Social Sciences, Public Administration, or another relevant field.
Experience: Experience in research, qualitative analysis and synthesis and producing reports related local development. Experience working on local economic development in the area of policy, legal, and institutional reforms.
Skills: Excellent written communication skills, with analytic capacity and ability to identify relevant findings and prepare analytical documents in a clear and concise manner.