Project Summary:

The Social Cohesion and Reconciliation (SCORE) Index is an innovative tool designed to measure sustainable peace in societies around the world. To achieve this ambitious goal, SCORE examines two main components of peace – reconciliation and social cohesion – and the intricate relationship between them. Reconciliation refers to process of restoration of the harmonious coexistence between groups that were previously engaged in a violent conflict, while social cohesion refers to the quality of coexistence between people within their own group and with the institutions that surround them. In addition to measuring reconciliation and social cohesion, SCORE also looks at culturally-specific components of peace that vary across different contexts and help complete and enrich the analysis. SCORE is designed as a very adaptable tool that is well-suited for multi-ethnic societies that have experienced conflict and are now facing simultaneous peace-building and state-building challenges. As such, SCORE has been implemented in Cyprus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Liberia, Ukraine, Nepal, and now Moldova.  For Moldova, the focus is on social cohesion, rather than on reconciliation.

Objectives:

Define and assess levels of social cohesion in Moldova with an eye to adjusting UN interventions in the country to better support the strengthening of social cohesion.

Expected results:

• A solid snapshot of what the relationships are within, between, and among groups and between the state and the citizen at a specific point in time;
• A measuring of social cohesion over multiple points in time. (in other words, a “peace barometer” that tracks social cohesion trends over time);
• Strengthened programming targeting social cohesion based on a realistic picture of the situation on the ground.

Accomplishments:

• Social cohesion measured both among adults and adolescents;
• Awareness of social cohesion issues increased through the dissemination of SCORE results to a broad audience, including development partners, civil society organizations, and target groups;
• Programming of UN agencies strengthened based on the SCORE results.