Another major step taken in the context of implementation of solutions for modernizing the services "Unemployment Benefits" and "Determination of Degree of Disability and Work Capacity", 2 of the 3 services selected in Batch 1/Pilot Batch of services for modernization, based on the Citizen-Centred approach, under the Project “Modernization of Government Services in Moldova” (MGSP).

As stated in the press releases issued by the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Moldova (MHLSP), at the Government meeting held on 8 July 2020, further to the proposal of MHLSP, the Government approved the amendments to Government Decisions regulating procedures for access to those two services.

·       Unemployment Benefits

The proposed amendments provide for the online submission of applications and exclude the need for submission of documents by applicants, if they appear in the electronic registers of other institutions (State Tax Service, Public Services Agency, etc.), given the connection of the authorities to the Government Interoperability Platform MConnect, managed by the e-Governance Agency (EGA), and the real-time data exchange through the platform. Thus, the record of the unemployed will be kept through information systems.

It was also proposed to digitize the provision of unemployment benefits, which will allow the decision on determination of unemployment benefits to be issued concurrently with the registration of the unemployed person. The implementation of the new service delivery model, including the digitization of the registration of the unemployed status and the provision of unemployment benefits by ANOFM, will significantly contribute to improving the efficiency, accessibility and quality of the service.

·       Determination of the Degree of Disability and Work Capacity 

The proposed amendments are intended to simplify the procedure for submission of documents for determination of the degree of disability, creation of a unified electronic register for persons with disabilities, including those whose disability was assessed in the past, digitization of forms and their electronic submission to the CNDDCM, real-time data exchange between institutions through the MConnect Platform, while enhancing the beneficiaries' access to the service and simplifying the procedure for issuing duplicates, etc.

The new measures will also increase the accessibility of information on decisions/administrative acts issued by CNDDCM, will provide for the alignment of the procedure for challenging decisions/other individual administrative acts issued by CNDDCM with the provisions of the Administrative Code, data storage in digital format. All of these will substantially simplify the management of applicants' files. The amended decision will enter into force on 1 January 2022.

The first stages of the modernization of the 3 pilot services based on the new Citizen-Centred Reengineering Methodology were completed from 2018 to 2019 and included the following: 

·       mapping of AS-IS (before modernization) Schemes of services from several perspectives, such as normative, technological, organizational issues, as well as administrative burden and burden on the customer/citizen;

·       co-creation with citizens of service modernization solutions;

·       development and approval of TO-BE Schemes for the modernization of each selected service, with multiple detailed mapped solutions for its improvement, including digitization solutions.

TO-BE Schemes for the modernization of services were validated with the service providing authorities, EGA, focus groups of citizens/beneficiaries of selected services, with the support of experts contracted by EGA under the MGSP Project for the conceptual reengineering of the 3 services – a consortium led by Ernst & Young SRL.

Since the end of 2019, the solutions prescribed in the TO-BE Schemes for modernization have been gradually implemented.

The cost of implementation of modernization solutions is about 1.8 million MDL and will be financed by the MGSP Project.

The MGSP project implemented by EGA (Reform Coordinator – State Chancellery), with the financial support of the World Bank Group and the contribution of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, was launched on 25 June 2018 for a 5-year implementation period (25/06/2018–30/06/2023).

The project objective is to improve the accessibility, efficiency and quality of the provision of public administrative services through a customer/citizen-centred modernization.

As part of Component I of the MGSP Project, 3 public administrative services (piloted in Batch 1) and other 85 administrative services have already been approved for modernization (in Batch 2).