Strengthening Organizational Capacity for National Institute for Women of Moldova "Equality"

The project “Ending Violence, Expanding Livelihood Opportunities for Women and Accelerating Gender Governance in Moldova (EVOLVE4GE)” is being implemented in Moldova. Funded by the European Union and implemented by UN Women Moldova, the project EVOLVE4GE is dedicated to eliminating barriers that prevent women in Moldova from reaching their potential and contributing to the development of their communities.

With EU financial support, UN Women Moldova provided small grants ranging from 88,000 to 177,000 MDL to the Moldavian CSOs.

UN Women, grounded in the vision of equality enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls, the empowerment of women and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security.

The “Ending Violence, Expanding Livelihood Opportunities for Women and Accelerating Gender Governance in Moldova (EVOLVE4GE)” project champions gender equality by ensuring that women and girls, including those at greatest risk of being left behind, have improved access to resources, equal opportunities, and rights to enjoy a life without discrimination and violence. Aligning with the European Union's (EU) Gender Action Plan and Moldova's commitments as an EU candidate, the project aims to tackle gender-blind policies, economic disparities, and violence against women, emphasising the crucial role of media in shaping societal norms and public discourse on gender issues. It supports the Moldovan government in offering integrated services for survivors of violence and encourages women's participation in high-potential economic sectors. The project contributes to national strategies and the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 5 on gender equality. Through strategic interventions, “EVOLVE4GE” aims to ensure that by 2027, public authorities implement gender-responsive policies, designed with the participation of women and men, boys and girls, that provide equal economic opportunities for women, strengthen the prevention of gender-based violence, and ensure access to quality essential services.

Elena Savin, President of the National Institute for Women of Moldova "Equality" discussed how the grant will help her organization address various challenges. “From previous project implementation experiences, we can say that we often faced the issue of insufficient internal regulations and policies that did not meet European standards or the diversity of activities we conduct, which require constant updating of internal documents,” she said. “We are grateful for this grant, which will provide us with the necessary resources to develop our capacities, including technical ones, allowing us to focus on this often-overlooked aspect due to a lack of time.”

Established officially in 2008, the National Institute for Women of Moldova “EQUALITY” CSO works to advocate for the gender equality, protect women’s rights and counteracting to all forms of violence against women. Strengthening institutional development of the organization through building capacity and skills of its team members is one of the current priorities of the organization. Through this Small Grant, this CSO hopes to further facilitate the institutional development and capacitate its potential in the service provision for women in risky situations, people with disabilities and refugees in Moldova.

This organizational objective could be ensured inclusively through proposed continuous capacity building of the technical and managerial skills of the staff and improving the intra-institutional documents, instruments and processes to further effectively promote the rights of the persons in need inclusively through developing gender-sensitive internal policies/tools for the operation and promoting the culture of non-discrimination and human rights promotion and the direct effective support of the beneficiaries-survivors of violence. The Small Grant is fully consistent with provisions of and contributes to the realization of the UN Women Moldova Moldova Strategic Note, UN Women Global Strategic Plan, National Programs and Strategies and aims to contribute to the gender-responsive implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The National Institute for Women of Moldova “EQUALITY” CSO’ proposal conforms fully with the scope of the grants provision and adheres to UN Women Policy on Small Grants Activities.

The estimated results due to project implementation by the National Institute for Women of Moldova "Equality":

• Developed organizational potential through capacity building of the personnel of the CSO;
• Strengthening its institutional capacity including through (re)developed internal regulatory documents and tools;
• Procuring of the equipment will increase the organizational technical base to provide effectively assistance to beneficiaries and manage other intra-organizational activities.

The following actions were carried out within the framework of the grant:

• Adjusting and developing the intra-organizational policy documents (anti-corruption policy, procedures on procurements/organizing tenders, organizational structure, documents regulating decision making, recruitment of personnel);
• Developing of the Strategic Plan of the organization;
• Capacity building of the personnel/CSO’ members on promotion of gender equality, women’s rights and countering violence against women (thematic trainings delivered by experts);
• Adjusted website (www.niwm.org);
• Procuring the office equipment for the effective operation of organization while addressing the needs of beneficiaries.

The National Institute for Women of Moldova "Equality" has adopted internal organizational documents, including the Safeguarding Policy, Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, Non-Discrimination Policy, Anti-Corruption and Fraud Policy, Procurement Policy, Personnel Manual and Personnel Policy, etc.

This grant will contribute to a transformative change through developed gender-sensitive internal policies and integrate gender equality in their internal structures and will subsequently promote the culture of equality and non-discrimination.