Point of Departure
On the basis of the new Constitution of 2008, the Ecuadorian Government pursues an ambitious development plan (Plan Nacional para el Buen Vivir) in order to guarantee the efficient and effective provision of basic public services, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic citizenship, and to modernize the economy and spur a knowledge- and technology-based development. In 2010, with the Law of Territorial Organization, Autonomy and Decentralization (COOTAD), the government established a strong institutional foundation for strengthening the sub-national administrative authorities. The capacities of the newly-formed decentralized government entities (Gobiernos Autónomos Descentralizados – GADs) are supposed to be invigorated via the transfer of powers, functions and resources.
The insufficient provision with quality public services is one of the main problems Ecuador faces today. Despite efforts of institutional reform since 2007, the sub-national GADs still lack capacities to comply with newly-delegated competencies as well as the challenging reform process, particularly because of an insufficient articulation within planning procedures and focus on their specific needs and priorities. The paramount challenge, hence, is the articulation and coordination of development strategies by and with the GADs, in order to decentralize and deconcentrate public administration. Moreover, the formally established mechanisms of civic participation and accountability are not yet sufficiently pronounced. As a result, there is still lack of provision of the Ecuadorian people with public services such as water, health, education or social security in wide parts of the country. These problems especially affect women and the indigenous population.
Objective
Sub-national governments (GADs) implemented the decentralization and deconcentration policies transparently, in articulation amongst public entities, and directed towards the citizen’s needs.
Proceeding / Approach
The project is executed in cooperation with the Secretaría Nacional de Planificación y Desarrollo (SENPLADES). The focus is on the elaboration of instruments, procedures and guidelines for territorial and participatory development planning, the planning of budgets and investments, the framework for management models and capital endowment of the GADs, as well as the improvement of the coordination of multi-level cooperation processes.
In cooperation with the Consejo Nacional de Competencias (CNC), composed of delegates from SENPLADES and the federations of the three sub-national government levels on the one hand, as well as the public development bank Banco del Estado (BdE) on the other hand, the project aspires to improve the capacities of the GADs to effectively make use of public investments in coordination with other public actors (improvement of institutional absorption capacities). At the same time, public servants are qualified for the provision of public services during this process and the collaboration with BdE complements a local infrastructure project of the German development bank (KfW).
The project contributes to establish inclusive political administration mechanisms and more efficient public services on territorial levels. Moreover, it helps establishing a monitoring and evaluation system in order to improve public policies in the process of decentralization and deconcentration. It strengthens the financial and administrative capacities of the CNC and the GADs in effectively fulfilling their mandate as a means to improve public service quality, for instance, in areas such as water and waste management, public transport and irrigation systems. In the 1 million hectare Biosphere Reserve of Macizo de Cajas, the construction of a management model serves as an example for sustainable management of a highly diverse territory which applies an approach of communication and interest articulation between the relevant actors (4 provinces, 15 municipalities, 64 localities as well as civil society and the private sector) in order to generate and document best practices for the country regarding management models for sustainable development within specific territories.