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Seminar on Effective Public Management of the OAS Concludes with a Call to Support a Mechanism for Cooperation in the Field

The 2nd International Seminar on "Innovative Experiences in Effective Public Management" of the Organization of American States (OAS) concluded today in Panama City with a call to member states of the hemispheric institution to support the creation of an inter-American cooperation mechanism in public management.

The Director of the OAS Department for Effective Public Management (DGPE), María Fernanda Trigo, explained that the institution is creating opportunities for dialogue so that its member states may share, voluntarily, systematically, and in an organized manner, successful experiences in public management. "We are carrying out this task through the identification of successful models in public management, and also through the joint and shared design of a mechanism for hemispheric cooperation," said Trigo, who invited the countries of the region to join both initiatives.

The creation of a mechanism for inter-American cooperation in public management that encompasses the activities of the DGPE was mandated by the 43rd OAS General Assembly, held last year in La Antigua Guatemala, through the "Effective Public Management Strengthening and Innovation Initiative in the Americas." Director Trigo explained that the institutional mechanism for regional cooperation would aim at facilitating dialogue "inter pares," the exchange of experiences and technical cooperation strategies that support the achievement of national goals and priorities set by each OAS member state. The mechanism stems from similar experiences of the OECD, the African Union Organization, and Middle Eastern and North African countries, as well as many “inter pares” dialogue processes of the United Nations and the OAS.

Among the benefits that the implementation of this mechanism can bring, Director Trigo mentioned that the strengthening of public management for better care of citizens' requests, providing public services in an effective, transparent and participatory manner, enhances the legitimacy of democratically elected governments and facilitates governance in the region.

The DGPE Director indicated that many challenges remain in the area, and among them she mentioned the need to "combine strategic planning with operational flexibility and responsiveness capacity, incorporate open government and transparency to data protection, and to know how to carry out institutional cooperation and public-private partnerships without the control of the State by special interests." Trigo also mentioned other challenges, such as the elimination of bureaucracy; leadership training that results in effective capacity building to govern in a framework of open economies, fragmented societies and more technical and complex public issues, while addressing the disillusionment of citizens toward public management."

For his part, the General Manager of the National Authority for Government Innovation (AIG) of Panama, Eduardo Jaén, demonstrated his government's support for the OAS initiatives on Public Management, because "it is a crucial task—in some cases it is pending in our countries—that of strengthening and changing the relationship that citizens have with the State." Jaén highlighted the level of the seminar’s lecturers and indicated that the experiences presented "demonstrate the ​​great progress achieved and the great importance this topic has for all countries."

In this regard, the AIG’s General Manager said that government innovation initiatives in public management "today are crucial to the political agenda of OAS member states, which is based on the conviction that the administrative effectiveness of the State is instrumental to achieve the goal of economic growth and development."

At the end of the seminar, the OAS and the Government of the Basque region in Spain signed a letter of support on initiatives that both institutions carry out jointly to promote Effective Public Management. The Director of Citizen Services and Innovation and Improvement of the Basque Government Administration, Javier Bikandi Irazabal, said that the motto of his government is "Commitment to the people," which, among other things, means that "the design of the Basque public governance and the definition and implementation of public policy must be based on a model of good governance that creates value for citizens."

Awards

During the event, prizes were awarded to the laureates of the Inter-American Award for Innovation in Effective Public Management - 2013, which were announced last September.

Director Trigo explained that a total of 55 applications from 13 countries of the Hemisphere were received. The results were as follows:

- Innovation in Planning and/or Public Policy Evaluation Category. Winner: Municipal Performance Evaluation System (SEDEM) - Municipal Institute of Planning of Puebla (IMPLAN), Mexico.

- Innovation in Quality of Public Policies Category. Winner: National Plan for Community Policing by Quadrants. National Police of Colombia, Colombia.

- Innovation in Open Government and Access to Information Category. Winner: National Internet Network, Internet for All/Panama. National Authority for Government Innovation (AIG).

- Innovation in Institutional Coordination Category. Winner: Electronic Certificate of Live Birth (CNV) with assignment of unique identity number. Office of Planning and Budget of the Republic, Uruguay.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-094/14