GEMGPE has identified and developed, preliminary, twelve (12) key topics of public administration that has been prioritized in the region:

    Long-term Vision

The Long-term Vision can be defined as an exposition of a desirable scenario in which the country needs to transform, taking into account the impact of the needs and expectations of the population. Its purpose is to guide the policy and public management strategies that will materialize this projection.

In the processes of public sector reforms, a national vision provides guidance and promotes best decisions for change, bearing in mind the reasons and purpose of these measures, the challenges and sacrifices to be faced, and the expected results, realizing when should the Government intervene and what are the roles played by the public and private sectors.

In this framework, we present the long-term vision of the participating members of the Organization of American States (OAS). The information begins with a brief introduction on the subject in the country under review, followed by a systematic presentation of the institutions implemented to develop a national vision, and finally, briefly outlined, the strategies and mechanisms designed for implementation.

    National Strategies / Planning

National strategies, in a context of planning processes, are the tools of public management that establish the basis and role models to achieve the fulfillment of the vision of a state. Through these strategies, it is possible to direct public policies, to achieve compliance with detailed plans, to restructure the use of public resources for solving problems, and to give coherence to any government action.

In this framework, we present the experiences of member countries of the Inter-American System. The information begins with a brief introduction on the subject in the country under review, followed by a systematic presentation of the institutions responsible for drafting the national strategy and / or planning, and their instruments. Finally, we briefly detail the strategies and mechanisms for the development and implementation of planning tools.

    Public Budget

In developing the public budget, it is expected to anticipate the cost and financing required for the implementation of established public policies. In that sense, the budget is designed to answer the following questions: What is our income? How will resources be allocated to achieve the vision and/or national goals? For this purpose, a set of methodologies and strategies is implemented, which in turn enable the appropriate organization of the budgetary management of revenues and expenditures.

In this framework, we present information on the management of public budgets in member countries of the Inter-American System. The information begins with a brief introduction on the subject in the country under review, followed by a systematic presentation of the institutions responsible for preparing the national budget. Finally, we briefly detail the strategies and mechanisms for the development and implementation of the budget.

    Professionalized Civil Service

The Civil Service comprises a set of processes designed to ensure proper management of human resources in the context of a professionalized civil service. These processes are defined by a set of systematic actions through which public servants may enter, remain and develop within the public service, safeguarding basic principles such as equality, merit and neutrality in the exercise of their functions.

In this framework, we present the professionalized civil service systems in member countries of the Inter-American System. The information begins with a brief introduction on the subject in the country under review, followed by a systematic presentation of the responsible institutions, their processes and tools. Finally, we briefly describe the strategies and mechanisms that sustain the civil service.

    Coordination

Interagency coordination is a set of policies and mechanisms through which the interaction between institutions of different levels of government is circumscribed. Coordination enables coherent and articulated actions among different government departments to fulfill their government policies. In general, governments have implemented a variety of coordination mechanisms that include council/ministerial offices, Coordination Ministries, and units of intergovernmental relations among social actors.

In this framework, we present the coordination mechanisms established by member countries of the Inter-American System. The information begins with a brief introduction on the subject in the country under review, followed by a systematic presentation of the institutions responsible for coordination. Finally, we briefly detail the strategies and mechanisms implemented.

    Evaluation of Policies and Programs

The evaluation of public policies involves a process through which certain criteria about the quality, performance, effectiveness, impact and costs of policies can be determined. Through the evaluation, we can determine whether the effects of a policy are desired or not, and if the results are positive or negative for society as a whole.

The most important function of evaluation is to provide information about the actual performance of public policies and to justify to the public the related government spending. In this sense, evaluation contributes to the identification and resolution of problems and the formulation of new policies or restatement of those not fulfilling the objectives for which they were created.

Generally, there are three types of evaluation:

• Process evaluation (compliance of processes and procedures that affect the management performance),
• Programmatic evaluation (of performance goals or expected outcomes)
• Impact evaluation (about the fulfillment of expected results based on certain objectives)

According to this, it is possible to evaluate programs and policy implementation processes to determine their effectiveness (regarding the achievement of the expected product and/or to achieve the desired goal) and to facilitate the redirection or termination of programs.

In this framework, we present the different experiences of policy and program evaluations in member countries of the Inter-American System.

The information begins with a brief introduction on the subject in the country under review, followed by a systematic presentation of the institutions responsible for the evaluation. Finally, we briefly detail the strategies and mechanisms implemented.

    Competitive Regulatory Frameworks

Competitive regulatory frameworks refer to the set of rules which ensure that operators have the freedom to provide goods and services on the market, and to choose their suppliers and customers or clients. This usually translates into a situation where, for a given good, there are a plurality of bidders and a plurality of applicants.

Thus, we present the different regulatory frameworks in member countries of the Inter-American System. The information begins with a brief introduction on the subject in the country under review, followed by a systematic presentation of the responsible institutions. Finally, we briefly detail the strategies and mechanisms implemented.

    Transparency and Accountability

Transparency is an issue that has gained special prominence in recent years, especially in national policies and plans of the countries in the region. This leading role responds to processes associated with the strengthening of democracy. Such is the case, in particular, of the growing demand from citizens to achieve a more active participation in decision-making and control of government actions.

Transparency, on the other hand, is closely related with issues of integrity, public ethics, access to information and control of corruption. These issues concern the OAS and more specifically analyzed in the Guide to Mechanisms for Promoting Transparency and Integrity in the Americas.

This Guide is a tool of practical use to authorities, policy makers, researchers, academics, and the general public, serving as a reference for future actions and policies, and as a training tool and information provider about the progress, resources, policies, and initiatives employed by member countries of the OAS in these issues.

The Guide now includes information on countries of the Andean Region and Central America. Shortly it will also incorporate information about the Southern Cone and the Caribbean.

    Information and Communication Technologies

The knowledge society presents many opportunities for both the public and the private sectors in areas like innovation and modernization. In the current environment of limited financial resources, the potential savings that ICTs can generate, both through efficiency and transparency, is in itself a powerful reason to position these new technologies as a transversal element in any process of modernization in public management; in addition, the twenty-first century citizen lives in an environment in which proceedings, purchases, relationships and involvement in any aspect of social life is facilitated and enhanced by ICTs. Today’s citizens expect that their public leaders take advantage of the new technologies to make closer and more effective government-citizen relationships.

The systematic and sustainable development of ICTs in public administration requires planning and investing efforts that should be clearly included in the agenda of the public sector to ensure the achievement of some efficiency in the functioning of public administration.

    Decentralization

Decentralization is the process by which political power, skills, and resources are transferred from the central government to intermediate or municipal governments. In recent years, the governments of the region have directed processes for state decentralization to bring decision making, resources and services to citizens, increasingly recognizing the importance of municipal governments and sub-regional principles such as proximity, legitimacy, and greater efficiency in the production of certain goods and services. In addition, most countries in the region recognize the decentralization process as a means to reduce poverty and social, ethnic, gender and geographical inequalities.

The principal challenges facing decentralization in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are: i) implementing effective mechanisms to ensure coordination in planning and management among the different levels of government, ii) promoting the viability and sustainability of municipal governments by strengthening their institutional capacities iii) promoting a permanent system of consultation and citizen participation, and iv) transferring powers from central to local governments with the material, human and financial resources.

    Quality of Public Services

The quality of the public service is defined as the set of working methods and strategies that ensure that public services contain previously established specifications that meet the requirements and needs of users. It relates to issues such as accessibility, information, time, customer service, safety, comfort, environmental impact, and service offered. These specifications are defined in terms of the quality level expected by customers, the external and internal pressures, the budgetary constraints and techniques, and the behavior of competition, among others.

In this framework, we present the different experiences of the quality of public services in the public management in member countries of the Inter-American System. The information begins with a brief introduction on the subject in the country under review, followed by a systematic presentation of the institutions responsible for participation. Finally, we briefly detail the strategies and mechanisms implemented at central government level.

    Citizen Participation in Public Management

The participation of citizens is composed of a set of mechanisms that allow the establishment of frameworks for cooperation between public and private actors, which in turn allow having a direct participation of organizations and individuals in the civil society. The aim is to involve citizens by linking their participation in public policy processes, thus generating goods and services that citizens demand, in an environment of greater transparency in the use of public resources and more legitimate institutions in the exercise the public service.

In this framework, we present different experiences regarding the participation of civil society in public management of member countries of the Inter-American System. The information begins with a brief introduction on the subject about the country under review, followed by a systematic presentation of the institutions responsible for participation. Finally, we briefly detail the strategies and mechanisms implemented at the central government level.

GEMGPE presents, preliminarily, information on the following countries:

The information presented is a snapshot taken on the date indicated in the Guide and will be updated periodically. Finally, it is important to note that the Guide only addresses the formal framework, laws and mechanisms in the public management of the country and makes no value judgments or assessments on the status of their implementation.