The institutions that benefit from assistance within the Moldova Institutional Capacity Strengthening Program have a limited understanding of the institutional reform conception, Ian Grant, consultant on programming and assessment, said in a consultative meeting focusing on the implementation of the program, Info-Prim Neo reports. The expert said that most of the institutions associate the notion of institutional reformation with that of development of the human resources. “Evidently, the development of the human resources is an integral part of this process, but is not the main characteristic,” said Ian Grant. After assessing the steps taken by the institutions covered by the program so far, there were identified a number of drawbacks. “Even if new ministers were named to posts, the working methods remain mainly the same,” said the consultant. He warned that the capacity to use the financial assistance provided within the program is still low. Kaido Sirel, Head of the Operation Section of the EU Delegation to Moldova, said that during 20 years Moldova has received €140 million from the European funds, while Wolfgang Behrendt, Head of the Delegation’s Political and Economic Section, praised the Moldovan authorities for the progress made in the European integration process. The Moldova Institutional Capacity Strengthening Program includes the provision of equipment and technical assistance, training programs, academic programs, exchange of experience and experts between the Moldovan and EU institutions. Within the program, Moldova will receive over €40 million in assistance during 2011-2013. The beneficiaries of assistance include the State Chancellery, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, the General Inspectorate for Phytosanitary Supervision, the National Agency for Competition Protection, the Public Procurement Agency, the State Agency on Intellectual Property, the Center for Combating Corruption and Economic Crime, and the Prosecutor General’s Office.