The Republic of Moldova is committed to aligning its national legislation with the EU acquis and best practices, including in the field of innovation infrastructure and science and technology parks.

Agrotek Park, established under Government Decision No. 528/2025 on the premises of UTM, is Moldova's first agro-innovation industrial park of Category B under Law No. 182/2010. The park is currently being operationalised; however, the existing regulatory framework, designed primarily for industrial production, is not sufficiently adapted to the specific objectives and functioning of science and technology parks. The relevant framework includes Law No. 182/2010, Government Decisions No. 652/2011, No. 528/2025 and No. 493/2025, as well as Agrotek Park's internal governance and operational documentation.

Two complementary Senior Legal Experts will therefore support: (1) assessment and adaptation of the legislative and regulatory framework, including drafting legislative amendments; and (2) review and development of Agrotek Park's internal governance, resident selection, contractual and operational documentation, in line with Moldovan legislation and relevant EU standards and practices.

The present assignment concerns the Senior Legal & Regulatory Reform Expert, who will lead the first workstream in close coordination with the complementary Senior Legal Expert – Institutional & Operational Framework.

Objectives

The assignment aims to support the development of a coherent and enabling legal framework for Category B science and technology parks in Moldova, using Agrotek Park as the first operational case. Specifically, the expert shall:

·       assess the existing legal and institutional framework and identify priority gaps and implementation barriers;

·       benchmark relevant EU practices and formulate appropriate regulatory options;

·       draft the necessary legislative and regulatory amendments in accordance with Moldovan procedures; and

·       support stakeholder consultation, interinstitutional coordination and validation of the proposed reforms, ensuring coherence with the complementary operational workstream.

·       ensure that the proposed regulatory framework is legally coherent, practically implementable and consistent with the internal governance and operational framework developed under the complementary assignment.

Tasks

Phase 1 – Inception, legal mapping and stakeholder engagement. The expert shall establish the methodology and work plan, map and review the applicable legal and regulatory framework and ongoing reform proposals, identify relevant stakeholders and consultation needs, to establish an evidence base on the relevant legal and regulatory constraints.

Phase 2 – Legal and institutional gap assessment. The expert shall conduct a comprehensive assessment of the relevant legislative and regulatory framework, including the allocation of institutional powers and responsibilities and the legal treatment of key operational areas, and identify gaps, inconsistencies, implementation barriers and priority areas requiring legislative, regulatory or interpretative solutions.

Phase 3 – EU benchmarking and regulatory options. The expert shall analyse relevant EU Member State models and recognised European practices for science and technology parks, including their legal status, governance, asset use, resident selection, incentives, university links, research commercialisation and monitoring arrangements, and formulate regulatory options that are legally transferable and appropriate to the Moldovan context.

Phase 4 – Legislative and regulatory drafting. Based on the legal assessment, benchmarking and stakeholder input, the expert shall prepare the required amendments to the Law No. 182/2010, Government Decision No. 652/2011 and, where justified, other affected normative acts, together with explanatory notes, comparative tables and other supporting documents required under Moldovan legislative drafting procedures, ensuring legal consistency and alignment with relevant EU principles and policy objectives.

Phase 5 – Stakeholder consultation, interinstitutional coordination and public consultation. The expert shall lead or support consultation and validation of the proposed reforms with the Ministry, Agrotek Park, UTM and other relevant stakeholders, provide legal support throughout interinstitutional and formal public consultation processes, consolidate and respond to comments received, and revise the legislative and regulatory package accordingly.

Phase 6 – Finalisation, implementation support and capacity building. The expert shall finalise the legislative and regulatory package, support its review and validation, ensure consistency with the complementary operational framework, and provide recommendations for implementation and follow-up.

Expected deliverables and indicative delivery plan

The assignment will be implemented in close coordination with the Senior Legal Expert – Institutional & Operational Framework, and submit concise, output-based bi-monthly progress reports summarising work completed, key outputs and consultations, issues or risks, and priorities for the following period. Joint reporting may be used where appropriate, with each expert's contribution and level of effort clearly identified.