CAF and Udelar promote training for those responsible for the design and implementation of public policies

The Faculty of Social Sciences (FCS, for its acronym in Spanish) of the Universidad de la República (Udelar), through its Political Sciences Department, started the Governance, Policy Management, and Public Management Program. The course, designed in 2001 by CAF, Development Bank of Latin America with the academic support of the George Washington University, seeks to strengthen the capacities and comprehensive education of those responsible for designing and implementing public policies in diverse areas.   

The training stage, aimed at authorities, political representatives and officials that perform management tasks in the public administration, is part of the training programs that CAF has been implementing in the region for some years. Montevideo and Salto were the cities selected for the program, which in this first time in these cities will include 100 participants. 

Gladis Genua, CAF's Director Representative in Uruguay, thanked Udelar for joining the program, given the importance that its content has for the development of the countries. She stated, "In CAF we support countries in the generation of physical, economic, and productive capacities, but also human capacities that will allow them to take the qualitative leap leading to a more comprehensive development process". 

At a local level, Genua pointed out that the financial entity has supported projects linked to diverse sectors, such as energy, water and sanitation, and roadways and transportation, among others, but it had not yet started this training program that "is generating very interesting results and a network of connections which is very important for the region".  

She added, "We are very pleased to launch this program with the authorities of the Universidad de la República, starting a relationship that we hope will be long and fructiferous, as it is essential that the main public university in the country educates individuals with the comprehensive development awareness that the region needs".  

At the same time, Christian Asinelli, CAF's Director for Institutional Development, stated that training "is an essential contribution for development, not only when these training spaces are generated, but also when people are able to use the acquired knowledge in the institutions where they work to improve public policies". 

He also highlighted the Latin American character of the training program, which in the past 15 years has trained close to 50,000 individuals. He pointed out, "While training people in Uruguay, the same is being done in other countries of the region, which will help create a community with the vocation to improve the quality of life of citizens". 

CAF's Director for Institutional Development also highlighted that the course is currently being implemented in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, and now in Uruguay, and it is expected that once a year one graduate from each country may have the possibility of training at the George Washington University during one week. 

Diego Piñero, Dean of the FCS, referred to the importance that this program has for Udelar and the faculty. He pointed out, "For the University, and the Faculty of Social Sciences, which has a long trajectory of postgraduate courses, this course is a novelty, as it provides very specific tools for public management, which will have a great impact". 

In addition, he stated that due to the nature of the partners, the program will help "obtain a faster and more specific training for the work performance. It is excellent that CAF and the University may collaborate in a project of this nature".