Introduction

Moldova Social Investment Fund (MSIF) was created with the support of the World Bank aiming at contributing to EGPRSP implementation by empowering poor communities and their institutions to manage their priority development needs.

The main factors contributing to the elaboration and development of this project were not only the social-economical decline during last several years, the reduction of life quality indicators and impoverishment of a considerable part of the population, particularly in the rural area and small towns, but also the decrease of moral spirit and of the level of population’s implication in the process of community medium changes.

In the context of development policies and strategies of Moldova, the Social Investment Fund is considered to be an efficient mechanism for changing of community population’s attitudes and behavior, for social activism increase, for community’s solidarity spirit increase and for life quality increase in poor population and in vulnerable groups by increasing the access to improved social services.

The target groups of Project’s beneficiaries consist of the poor population from deprived rural communities and small towns, and persons in difficulty, as well as orphans, persons with disabilities, those affected by human traffic, HIV/AIDS etc. The Social Investment Fund contributes to these groups’ organizational capacity development and to an increase in the sense of responsibility for everything that happens in the community by means of their direct involvement in the process of their stringent needs identification and in the subprojects proposals implementation and sustainability maintenance.

Promoting the social partnership development at the community level and the participatory elaboration of strategic plans for community social-economical development, MSIF supports the objectives of the local public reform and contributes to capacity building of the institutions from the community, to provision of respect for participation and transparency principles, and as a result to a sustainable community development.

In order to achieve this goal, the MSIF funds demand-driven microprojects through providing grants to communities. Proposals for microproject funding may be generated by communities or by community level organizations on behalf of communities, such as Beneficiary Associations, Parents or Farmer Associations, newly created Implementing Agencies and other informal groups as well as local NGOs and local government. Communities' applications request rehabilitation of the social and economic infrastructure, including delivery of improved primary education programs and health protection services.

The Expected Results (outputs) to be achieved by the project are:

(i) Rehabilitated infrastructure facilities in rural areas, such as schools, community health posts, local water and sanitation facilities, that will have an immediate impact on the improvement of living conditions of the poor;

(ii) Improved capacities of MSIF participants: trained communities, capable to organize and sustain services; empowered local government (primaria), capable to manage divested social assets; contractors capable of competing and executing contracts under market conditions; MSIF associates, local consultants, local NGOs etc. have acquired organizational skills and MSIF staff has acquired improved skills;

(iii) Improved early child education in targeted communities;

(iv) Improved health services through special health programs implemented in targeted communities;

(v) Temporary jobs created through financing labor intensive civil works;

(vi) Less children at risk of institutionalization.