Government services will become more accessible to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova living in the country and abroad with the piloting of an innovative service delivery model - Unified Service Provision Centre (CUPS) - implemented by the Public Institution "Electronic Governance Agency".

These centres will function as separate desks inside town halls, diplomatic missions and consular offices of the Republic of Moldova abroad and will be equipped to provide public services, including electronic services. People who do not have access to the internet or do not have sufficient digital skills to use the public services portal independently will be able to seek assistance in CUPS to benefit from government services in their locality.

In the first stage, CUPS will ensure access to 22 public services provided by the Public Services Agency and the National Social Insurance Office. These include: issuing an extract from a civil status document or from the Real Estate Register; information on the personal social security account or the right to receive state child allowances and other government services.

The Electronic Governance Agency (EGA) will ensure the development of technological tools (information system, interconnections with other authorities, etc.) necessary for the operation of CUPS, training of specialists, as well as facilitation of cooperation between public institutions at local and central levels involved in the piloting process.

In this context, on 10 September 2020, the first online planning meeting took place within the CUPS pilot project, which brought together mayors and secretaries of local councils from 17 Moldovan localities, as well as representatives of the Congress of Local Authorities from Moldova (CALM). The selection criteria of the pilot communities were, among others, the geographical distribution, the number of population, the availability of premises and human resources, as well as their motivation to participate in this process.

"The CUPS model is a major step towards increasing accessibility, ensuring social inclusion and streamlining the provision of public services to the people, and consequently, people will have a higher confidence in modernization of public services", the Deputy Director of the e-Governance Agency Gheorghe Ursoi mentioned during the meeting.

The participants in the meeting agreed on the action plan to be jointly implemented during the CUPS piloting period. Particular attention will be paid to the participatory nature of the initiative and the involvement of all stakeholders, including vulnerable and marginalised groups, in the piloting process, in order to reduce barriers to accessing information and providing government services. 

The concept of Unified Service Provision Centres is piloted under the "Modernization of Government Services in Moldova" Project, implemented by the e-Governance Agency, with the financial support of the World Bank Group and the contribution of the Government of the Republic of Moldova. The action is part of the Action Plan on Modernization of Public Services Reform for 2017-2021, approved by the Government Decision no. 966 of 09/08/2016.