1 Introduction

1.1 Evaluation objectives

1.2 Method, delimitations and evaluation design

2 Results to expect: Sida CSO policy and objectives in country

 2.1 Civil society support to reach D/HR objectives

2.2 Swedish CSO-support

2.3 Swedish CSO-support in <country-region><place>Moldova</place></country-region> - Objectives

3 Guidelines for results-monitoring: Assessing abilities within Sida-supported CSO programmes

3.1 The importance of good monitoring procedures for capturing CSO results: Guidelines

3.2 Moldovan civil society baseline - a situation against which to measure change

3.3 Assessment of results-monitoring of Sida-supported CSO programmes

4 Evaluating Outcomes of Sida-supported CSO Programmes

Opportunities

4.1 Current civil society baseline;

4.2 Outcomes of Sida-supported CSO programmes

4.3 The role of donors: How to improve civil society support

4.4 Summary: CSO contributions to development goals

 5 Conclusions and Recommendations: Outcomes of Sida’s CSO-support; and how to improve CSO results-monitoring and support

References

Appendix I 

Appendix II

Appendix III

Appendix IV

Appendix V

Appendix VI SADEV 2007 CSO SURVEY

Executive summary

Strengthening civil society is an important democracy objective for Swedish and international development cooperation. Civil society constitutes a plat-form for citizen participation and influence, facilitating the promotion of democracy and human rights (D/HR). However donors and civil society organisations (CSOs) often face difficulties in measuring the contributions of civil society programmes. This evaluation, based on interviews with CSOs, public actors and donors, and on a recent CSO survey, identifies and assesses outcomes of CSO programmes supported by the Swedish International Devel-opment Cooperation Agency (Sida) in Moldova. The report makes recommen-dations for improving CSO results-monitoring in order to enhance knowledge about results, and suggests ways for improving CSO-support.

OUTCOMES AND RESULTS-MONITORING

Swedish support for civil society in Moldova should contribute to: a) increased respect for democratic principles, such as improved legislation which is in the inter-ests of the population, increased levels of transparency and, correspondingly, reduced levels of corruption, strengthened state-civil society cooperation, and independent media; and b) increased respect for HR and non-discrimination. It is self-evident that civil society is but one of many factors contributing to these broad objectives. Fur-thermore, civil society outcomes cannot solely be attributed to Sida support. None-theless, the three civil society programmes assessed in this evaluation (one of which commenced in 2004 and the others in 2006) have received financial support from Sida to the extent of between 70 to 100 per cent. There are strong indications of civil society contributions to Moldovan public sector and social reforms during the same period; some examples identified in this evaluation follow.

Quantitative outcomes of Sida-supported CSO programmes in Moldova during 2005-2007

Contributions to democratic practices and principles

• Amendments to the 2004 election code, ensuring democratic voting procedures.

• Charter guaranteeing transparency and non-bias during election campaigns.

• Central and local election committees constituted according to international democratic norms.

• Memorandum enhancing Parliament/Government of Moldova (GoM)-civil society collaboration.

• Draft transparency law.

• New school subject promoting D/HR and knowledge about Moldovan legisla-tion.
• Local and independent media networks expanded across the country.
• Anti-corruption examination incorporated into parliamentary legislative proce-dures.

Contributions to strengthened HR and non discrimination Legislation and programmes against violence in the family. <//em>

• Four homes for children in difficulty now financed by Chisinau City Hall.
• Secondary laws protecting prisoners’ social, political and economic rights.
• Complaints committee concerned with prisoners’ rights.
• Social reintegration programmes for former prisoners.
• Legislation and codes of conduct in prisons aligned to HR standards.
• 9 community centres providing assistance for vulnerable groups (such as former prisoners).
• Publicly financed public-CSO partnerships to assist people with mental, social and physical problems, for example, the partnership in Balti.
• Legislation protecting the rights of disabled people (elaborated jointly by 14 CSOs).
• Draft anti-discrimination law protecting a wider range of minorities, including Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT)-persons.
• Establishment of the Ministry of Social Protection.
• Gender equality law ratified in 2006.
• Rural CSO coalition leading to public funding support being provided to small farms.

Qualitative outcomes of Sida-supported CSO programmes in Moldova during 2005-2007

Contributions to democratic practices and principles

• Understanding among public officials of the importance of integrating D/HR principles in reforms and new laws; public actors asking for CSO input.
• Attention brought to corruption cases and preferential rulings in court.
• Media at local and national levels disseminating non-biased information.
• Changed composition of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) has increased citizens’ trust in the electoral process and system.
• Media at national and local levels reflecting the interests of various sections of the population.
• The "civic coalition", consisting of a network of 200 CSOs active during the 2005 parliamentary elections, resulted in a strengthened, more confident and pluralistic civil society
<//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong><//strong>Identifying outcomes, on a regular basis, is vital for all development cooperation. Understanding the effects of development cooperation helps in reorienting and im-proving strategies. Strengthening CSOs’ abilities to measure results also enhances capacity development, enabling CSOs to more effectively conduct advocacy on the basis of evidence-based results. This in turn raises the credibility of CSOs. This report assesses results-monitoring mechanisms of the CSOs supported by Sida in Moldova, and identifies strengths and weaknesses in these mechanisms. Most CSOs are rela-tively effective at measuring how direct outputs (such as HR-debating) lead to specific outcomes (such as through input into new laws). Some organisations are working with several appropriate measures, by developing indicators jointly with local CSO partners. The use of an appropriate combination of qualitative and quantitative indi-cators is necessary to improve short- and medium-term results. The understanding of CSO results may be enhanced by:

1. Developing overall indicators at the programme level jointly with the CSO part-ners and other relevant stakeholders to ensure the selected indicators are realis-tic.
2. Encouraging CSO partners to report results on the basis of both qualitative and quantitative project indicators that may, in turn, be aggregated into overall pro-gramme indicators.
3. Ensuring that data is collected regularly, using simple procedures and at mini-mum cost, within all projects.
4. Combining qualitative and quantitative indicators: Quantitative measures indi-cate the scope of achievements; qualitative indicators reflect the quality of the results and the mechanisms used to achieve them.
5. Enhancing evaluation capacities within CSOs, including competencies and re-sources.

• More open and constructive public servant attitudes towards vulnerable groups, such as prisoners and people living with HIV/Aids.

• Demand from public actors and the public, across the country, for HR activities.

HOW TO IMPROVE CIVIL SOCIETY SUPPORT

This report has identified both good practice and shortcomings in civil society sup-port in Moldova. Some external factors that have enhanced civil society-influence have been donor support to CSO coalition building, advocacy and public-civil society partnerships. Positive internal factors include the growing networking abilities of CSOs, and their increasing specialisation around specific issues. These factors con-tribute both to capacity development and to focused, efficient advocacy. External factors that have impeded civil society-influence include limited media independence and restrictions on free access to information, and reductions in donor support to general CSO capacity development. Donor dependency is widespread, and CSOs need to develop their own income-generating activities to reduce this dependency. The following recommendations for improving CSO-support have been formulated taking into consideration suggestions from CSOs, Moldovan public actors, and do-nors and international organisations consulted in this study:

Recommendations to CSOs for civil society-strengtheni

• Promote the formation of coalitions, and include weaker CSOs or CSOs that are acting in difficult environments (such as Transnistria) to enhance the strength and influence of CSOs.

• Ensure regular data collection concerning results within all projects, using simple and clear procedures. Improved results-monitoring and the use of evidence-based outcomes will enhance the credibility and influence of CSOs in relation to decision-makers, the public and donors.

• Develop income-generating activities to decrease donor dependency.

• Improve internal and external communication strategies.

What to promote among public actors to support civil society-strengthening

• Create an enabling environment for the development and strengthening of civil society by providing both material resources and greater public space through freer access to information and a more independent media.

• Continue including civil society actors in dialogue. Ensure that relevant informa-tion is provided to participating CSOs well in advance of discussions, and pro-vide meaningful feedback to CSOs that have contributed input.

• Develop, jointly with civil society, procedures for public-civil society partner-ships that include accountability and transparency mechanisms.

Recommendations to donors for civil society-strengthening

• Encourage the formation of CSO coalitions, in order to enhance the transfer of competencies and capacities between CSOs and to strengthen civil society as a whole. Do not exclude weaker CSOs.
• Work with CSO partners in various domains (not only within D/HR) to strengthen a wider spectrum of CSOs and to, in turn, foster the pluralistic influ-ence of civil society.
• Encourage public-civil society partnerships in the shaping, execution and monitoring of reforms, including the implementation stage. Do not limit civil society participation only to certain programming phases (such as law design).
• Continue to support capacity development within CSOs. Most CSOs require basic organisational training.
• Conduct risk analyses prior to implementing new development cooperation policies. New policies may have damaging unintended consequences that could be avoided through the development of plans for dealing with such conse-quences prior to implementation.
• Enhance the self-sufficiency of CSOs by promoting income-generating strategies that do not rely on donor funding.
• Promote transparency and accountability mechanisms in public-CSO partner-ships.

It is problematic to isolate the specific impact of a particular donor’s support. How-ever, it is clear that Swedish assistance has played an important role in promoting CSO-development and influence in Moldova: Sida has maintained its CSO project support, while, as indicated by the interviews, a majority of donors have been reduc-ing this kind of support. This evaluation is conducted within a former Soviet Union context that presents specific restrictions on civil society-strengthening, such as re-stricted access to information. Nonetheless, the Moldovan EU integration plan pro-vides significant opportunities for the inclusion of civil society actors in reform proc-esses. The lessons learnt from this evaluation are therefore particularly relevant for Swedish partner countries within post-communist contexts that are striving to move closer to Europe.