The State Chancellery, which coordinates the matters related to the decentralization reform, assisted by the Joint Integrated Local Development Program (JILDP), launched a series of actions aimed at ensuring the implementation of the Decentralization Strategy, Info-Prim Neo reports. In an interview for Radio Moldova, Victoria Cujba, the head of the State Chancellery’s Decentralization Policy Division, said that the Decentralization Strategy drafted as a result of a broad participative process was endorsed by the parity commission, which includes representatives of the central and local public authorities and of civil society. The Government is to examine the document by the end of this year. “The training program for the local pubic authorities, which starts this week and will cover the whole country, aims to familiarize the local elected authorities with the main areas of activity of the local public administration. With the support of the JILDP, there was selected the group of trainers – the National Assistance and Information Center for NGOs “Contact”, the Chisinau head office and the Balti branch, the Public Administration Academy, and the Institute for Development and Social Initiative “Viitorul”. These organizations will carry out one-day orientation sessions until the end of this year,” said Victoria Cujba. Other actions refer to the finalization of the methodology of assessing the viability (economic first of all) of the territorial-administrative units. A Government decision will be drafted based on this methodology, which will specify the criteria that will be used in this process. Decentralization working groups will be created in a number of ministries. They will work out sector decentralization strategies. “All the activities are implemented in the context of the Decentralization Strategy. As they imply costs, the State Chancellery programmed discussions with potential foreign donors that expressed readiness to support the decentralization reform and the development of authentic local autonomy in Moldova,” said Victoria Cujba. The Joint Integrated Local Development Program supports the Government of Moldova in its decentralization efforts and in the process of strengthening local autonomy and aims to ensure equal benefits for the underprivileged groups, including the discriminated, socially excluded and marginalized people, as a result of decentralization and local development. It is implemented by the Government of Moldova with the assistance of UNDP and UN Women and with financial support from the Government of Sweden.