The value of investments in the region through regional development instruments depends largely on how participatory and transparent this process is

The report on regional development policy in the South Region was presented within a workshop organized by CONTACT Cahul Center for the actors involved in regional development process. The report was developed under the project „ADVOCACY AND MOBILIZATION FOR A MORE POWERFUL ACTION AND INTERVENTION OF CSOs", with financial support of USAID. The event took place in Cimislia and was attended by representatives of the NGO sector and experts from the South Regional Development Agency.

Mihai Cucereanu- project coordinator started with a short presentation of the advocacy activities to be undertaken in order to strengthen CSOs action potential.

The monitoring report on regional development policy in Southern Region was presented by Lilian Danilov who is a national consultant.

Mr. Danilov, the author of the study, stressed that the regional development is relatively a new concept that is being widely promoted in the last few years. It refers to the investments made for a balanced and sustainable development of the territory of the Republic of Moldova. Obviously, the expertise started with a thorough analysis of the investments efficiency, how transparent and fair they have been made.

The report itself focuses on two important aspects - the first reflects the level of participation of the local actors in activities and the whole process of development; the second points on governance, it presents the way the decisions are made, who are those who do it and how responsible they are in their activity.

According to the expert, the main conclusions refers to several aspects, one of them is that in the Republic of Moldova there are still uncertainties regarding the conceptual framework dedicated to regional development and particularly referring to the way people use some specific terms and concepts of regional development. The expert recommended more implication of the academia and centers of expertise for a higher transparency.

Another conclusion was that regional actors should be more responsible and active for a better understanding of role they have in regional development. Particularly, Mr. Danilov mentioned South Regional Development Council, he underlined that it is necessary to reevaluate the format of the council; this can lead to a real and responsible implication in the decision making process and strategic documents writing.

The expertise also showed that we should involve a greater number of actors in the process of regional development and diversify the ways of communication with these stakeholders thereby the information about what is happening in the region to be presented in an accessible way to everyone.

On behalf of the South RDA, Tatiana Arama, head of strategic planning and programming department, said that this event is very important taking into account that regional governance is one of the objectives of the National Regional Development Strategy and South Regional Development Strategy 2016-2020.

The quality of the governance depends on how efficient and effective the process of regional development will be, said Mrs. Arama, she considers benefic the fact that the report stresses on participation. "Indeed, South Regional Development Agency is not the only one institution that should make changes, everyone's participation in regional development process is very important", added Mrs. Arama.