The communities in Moldova can directly engage in the process of making decisions on the improvement of the living conditions. Such a conclusion was reached after assessing the impact of the Social Investment Fund Project of Moldova (FISM 2) on the beneficiaries, presented at a roundtable meeting on March 11. Sorin Cacea, the leader of the team that carried out the research, has told Info-Prim Neo that the analyses and monitoring showed that the greatest achievement of FISM 2 is the fact that the people in the communities where FISM 2 is implemented managed to organize themselves to actively take part in making decisions aimed at solving problems related to infrastructure, social involvement and improvement of the education system. According to the cited source, besides providing technical and financial assistance, FISM offers the possibility of learning new governance principles. The community players – the local public administration, the nongovernmental organizations, the associations of beneficiaries and the private companies from localities – learn different methods of working in the community. In such a way, the population is involved in making decisions and in working out methods of identifying the main problems and a strategic plan for implementing the project. Sorin Cacea says that owing to FISM 2, the people acknowledge the necessity of such projects and are interested in ensuring the sustainability of the renewed objectives, developing thus leadership abilities and abilities to participate in the financial management of the community. The conclusions to which the team of researchers came show that the people from the settlements where FISM 2 is implemented are much more satisfied with the social-economic development of the community compared with other zones. The report shows that since 2004 (before the intervention of FISM) until 2007 (after the intervention of FISM), the percentage of people contended with the social-economic situation rose from 18% to 37%, while in other settlements the percentage rose from 14% to only 20%. The welfare indicators also show an improvement in the quality of life. Sorin Cacea stressed that under such circumstances, it is very important that FISM2 continues to be implemented after 2010 by a FISM 3 project. He said that FISM 3 could lay emphasis on other spheres that need assistance so as to diversify the types of activities carried out in the community and to focus more on social services. After carrying out the assessment, the team of researchers worked out a set of recommendations for improving the activity of FISM. The experts consider that the most serious problems faced by the country remain the supply with drinking water and the deplorable condition of the roads. FISM will have to consider the possibility of extending these areas so as to produce an increased impact on the beneficiaries. FISM was founded in 1997. The Social Investment Fund 2 is a project of the Government of Moldova created with the support of the World Bank and a number of donors. The project aims to contribute to implementing the Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EGPRS) by empowering the communities and their institutions to manage the key development needs. The assessment of the impact of FISM 2 was financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The research was worked out and coordinated by the Paris-based Bernard Brunhes International. The field researches were carried out by the Chisinau company CBS AXA.