CAF launched second edition of Public Governance and Innovation Diploma

March 30, 2023

This second edition, organized and taught by CAF with 19 Universities in 21 Ibero-American countries, is set to offer innovation and public management tools to public officials at the national and sub-national levels, from public entities and private companies.

CAF—development bank of Latin America—announced the second edition of the Public Governance and Innovation Diploma, which will be held in a hybrid format and aims to build capacities and skills of those working in public administration, private sector and civil society in Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal. It will address fundamental issues for officers devoted to public policy design and formation in our region and wish to improve the state-citizen relationship. Some of the topics to be addressed in the syllabus include Public Innovation, GovTech, Open State, Digital Transformation, Gender and Social Inclusion, Agile Methodologies, Circular Economy, Smart Cities, Urban Mobility, among others, within the context of the SDGs 2030.

“CAF wishes to contribute to institutional strengthening by training leaders in the region in the effective discharge of their duties, looking to strike an appropriate balance of political, economic, social, climate and gender variables”, noted CAF Executive President Sergio Díaz-Granados.

The course starts on May 2 and will end on November 30, 2023. It has a 150-hour duration and will be taught in Spanish, English and Portuguese. The methodology is mixed, with 60% of the training to be taught by CAF online, while the remaining 40% will be taught by the respective university in each student’s country, both online and in person.

During the course, participants will work in groups to develop and present a project expected to have an impact in their community, using the Design Thinking methodology. The best project in each country will participate in the final “bootcamp” incubation instance online, where the project will be enhanced to develop its funding potential. The first edition (2022) saw more than 1,700 participants, and graduated 1,300 students from 19 countries in the region. More than 300 projects were submitted, 16 of which were chosen as finalists.

“For this second edition, we wish to continue raising the ante, and that is why more countries are joining the course. We will also enhance (national and regional) networking spaces in an attempt to promote greater integration among students, offer master classes with world-class experts, develop cross-optional online lessons, among others,” noted Christian Asinelli, Vice President of Strategic Programming at CAF.

The enrollment process is fully online and is open until April 30, with prestigious academic institutions participating in each of the countries:

  • Argentina - Catholic University of Córdoba
  • Barbados - The University of West Indies
  • Bolivia - Universidad Privada del Valle
  • Brasil - Getulio Vargas Foundation
  • Chile - Central University of Chile
  • Colombia - Externado University of Colombia
  • Costa Rica - FLACSO
  • Ecuador - Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral
  • El Salvador - "Doctor José Gustavo Guerrero" Diplomatic Institute
  • Spain - Complutense University of Madrid
  • Honduras - Francisco Morazán National Pedagogic University
  • Jamaica - The University of West Indies
  • Mexico - University of Guadalajara
  • Panama - ADEN School of Government
  • Paraguay - Columbia University of Paraguay
  • Peru - Catholic Pontifical University of Peru
  • Portugal - University of Lisbon (starts in Septiember 2023)
  • Dominican Republic - Technology Institute of Santo Domingo
  • Trinidad and Tobago - The University of West Indies
  • Uruguay - University of Montevideo
  • Venezuela - Andrés Bello Catholic University
  • CAF subsidizes between 80% and 95% of the course in an effort to make it affordable to interested students. Participants who pass the proposed activities will receive a digital and shareable Diploma in Governance and Public Innovation certificate (CAF-University).

    To watch the launch event, click here.