Public policies´management and evaluation: Latin America´s unfinished business

The capacity of the entities in charge of the design or implementation of public policies in Latin America is limited. In past years, the debate in the region has focused more on what to do rather than how to do it. This is one of the main subjects of the 2015 Economy and Development report (RED) developed by CAF, Development Bank of Latin America, presented today in Bogota.

One of the findings described in the report is that only 4 percent of the evaluations of the execution of the initiatives are carried out by the governments (alone or in association with another organization), despite the fact that they are responsible for almost 76 percent of the programs. Colombia has made advances with initiatives to measure the performance of the State through Sinergia, with the evaluation and implementation of adjustments to several of its programs, among them, "Familias en Acción" (Families in Action).

Pablo Sanguinetti, Corporate Director of Economic Analysis and Knowledge for Development at CAF, stated "An important part of the knowledge necessary to manage public services is generated precisely within the organizations that supply them, This flow of information and experiences must be used to generate learning regarding management so that this can lead to better services". 

Entitled "A more effective State. Capacities for the design, implementation, and learning of public policies", the RED analyzes four basic issues to achieve optimal results: quality bureaucracy, effective systems for public purchases,  citizen participation in decision making and learning about public policies.

Carolina España, CAF's Director Representative in Colombia, stated "At CAF we are convinced that our role transcends the financing of projects, and must seek to strengthen the capacities of the State. In Colombia we support the efforts aimed at improving the design and execution of public policies in areas that we consider key, such as the structuring of programs for investment in infrastructure, the role of Bancoldex as a development agency, policies for financial education, capacities of regional commissions to develop science and technology projects, and leadership training for public officials, among others". 

The authors of the study state that there is no single prescription to achieve an effective State, and it cannot be expected that the State will be infallible. What is important is to establish the basis for a smooth operation of the State, always open to learn from mistakes.