Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Moldova draw a lot of attention and interest from national and international community. Its diverse nature requires to be better understand it to untangle its complexities and facilitate a more straightforward approach for supporting its development, growth and transformational impact.
The CSO Compass initiative was launched by People in Need (PIN) in 2023 under European Union and PIN funding to map, analyze and highlight the CSOs current situation, the key challenges and the opportunities in a critical period of transition from relatively large to more scarce humanitarian funding due to the Ukrainian Refugee Response boom and its downscaling. Since then, the CSOs path has further been disrupted by the reforms associated to the Republic of Moldova's new the EU Accession process European orientation in which civil society is expected to play a key role and, more recently, by the USAID suspension of funding.
The CSO Compass initiative is structured into key components: (1) an exhaustive mapping of the Moldovan civil society landscape, (2) in-depth analysis through a comprehensive CSO study complemented with an assessment of emerging CSOs, and (3) regional participatory roundtables to discuss challenges, opportunities, and preliminary study results with local CSOs.
To achieve these goals, the initiative employs a robust methodological approach combining desk reviews, secondary data analysis, surveys, and focus group discussions (FGDs) across Moldova. The survey data was gathered using both CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interview) and CATI (Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview) methods, ensuring broad representation and data triangulation. The sampling was stratified by region to capture diverse perspectives, with a total of 350 CSOs participating. Additionally, five FGDs were held in June and July 2024, ensuring the inclusion of voices from urban, regional, and national CSOs. Finally, results and conclusions were enriched by PIN's expertise of over 21 years of support to diverse civil society actors.
In terms of geographical reach, the CSO Compass covers all regions of Moldova, from Chisinau to smaller, often underrepresented areas, including Gagauzia and the southern regions. This geographic diversity highlights not only regional challenges but also the unique strengths and needs of CSOs across the country.
As a result of this process, the CSO Compass initiative has so far developed the following five self-contained products that can be accessed by all in English, Romanian and Russian:
1.The Moldova CSO Compass: Key Insights that acts as an overarching guide to summarize the key finding of this process and provide key recommendations for the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the international donors and community to continue to boost the active role that Moldovan civil society has played as actors of change.
2. The CSO Map conceived and built with the support of Trimetrica. This live and interactive online tool aims to facilitate identification, presentation and coordination between CSO, public authorities and the international community.
*Civil society representatives who have not yet registered through this tool can do so by completing the registration form available HERE.
3. The CSO Study developed in partnership with Contact Center and with data collected by IData—Date Inteligente. The final objective of this study is to comprehensively assess and understand the capacities, needs, and resilience of Moldovan CSOs, facilitating an evidence-based approach to guide future interventions and support.
4. The CSO Capacity Building Plan which summarizes the results of the discussions with local organizations as actors of their own development and seeks to orientate actors that want to contribute to the development or Moldovan civil society to focus their attention on what CSOs are requesting in term of capacity building.
5. The Update of the In-depth Assessment of Existing and Emerging CSO Initiatives and State of Civic Space in Moldova a study that follows-up on previous analysis from PIN on those emerging CSO initiatives, many of them grassroot organizations, that also play a key role in shaping the landscape.
The materials presented within the CSO Compass initiative "Exploring the Landscape of Civil Society Organizations in Moldova through Mapping, Research, and the OSC Platform," are developed under the "PLACE" consortium, funded by the European Union together with People in Need, REACH (IMPACT Initiatives), Acted, and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), through the EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Service.
