69220 BRAZIL MEXICO INDONESIA BOLIVIA PLURINACIONAL A South-South Experience Exchange on Social Programs with Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico www.worldbank.org/boliviaplurinacional A South-South Experience Exchange on Social Programs with Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience BOLIVIA PLURINACIONAL CONTENTS Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience 7 Foreword 9 Acknowledgements 11 Acronyms and Abbreviations 13 Introduction Chapter 1 The Minas Gerais Strategic Development Plan 17 Minas Gerais Strategic Development Model 19 The Office of Strategic Resource Management and State Action (GERAES) 21 The Results Agreement 22 Education: An Example of Successful Results Agreement 23 Discussion 24 Chapter 2 Indonesia’s National Community Empowerment Programs 25 Community Empowerment 27 PNPM Mandiri 29 PNPM Mandiri Flow of Funds 30 Implementation and Program Staffing 31 Goals, Agendas, and Strategies 32 Impacts 34 Discussion 35 Chapter 3 Mexico’s Experience in Design, Monitoring and Evaluation of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs 37 First Videoconference: On Social Policy and Indigenous People 39 • Bolivia’s Plan Vida 39 • Mexico’s Multi-Sectoral Approach 41 • The Rights-based Model and Mexico’s Indigenous Communities 42 • Oportunidades 42 • Evaluation of Oportunidades 43 Challenges and Discussion 44 Second Videoconference: Roster of Beneficiaries and Monitoring/Evaluation Systems 46 • Mexico’s Roster of Beneficiaries and Ministry of Social Development 46 • Mexico’s Monitoring and Evaluation System 48 • Challenges and Discussion 50 Exchange Visit to Mexico City 52 Exchange Visit to La Paz 54 Additional Resources 63 FIGURE 1 Minas Gerais Integrated Development Plan 20 FIGURE 2 Organization of Results Areas 21 FIGURE 3 Levels and Activities 28 FIGURE 4 Use of PNPM Mandiri Block Grants by Sector 29 FIGURE 5 PNPM Mandiri Flow of Funds 31 FIGURE 6 Monitoring and Evaluation Web Site Information Sample 32 FIGURE 7 Indonesia’s Poverty Reduction Programs 33 FIGURE 8 The Community Empowerment Process 34 FIGURE 9 Program Evaluations by Year 50 MAP 1 Beneficiaries and Survey Zones 47 MAP 2 Locations of Beneficiaries and Applications 48 BOX 1 Criteria to Analyze a Results Agreement 24 Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience FOREWORD In their quest to accelerate growth and improve living standards, policy makers in the developing world are constantly in search of innovative ideas. They see the experiences of their counterparts in emerging economies as increasingly relevant. World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick Countries learn best by seeing how others have tackled similar issues. This initiative will help policy makers and others in low-income countries—who face serious problems and can’t afford the luxury of long waits to receive support—to benefit first hand from other developing countries. World Bank Group Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala In October 2008, the World Bank created the South-South Experience Exchange Facility to facilitate the exchange of anti-poverty experiences between and among developing countries. The initial funds of US$ 5 million were donated by a cross section of traditional and new donors: China, Denmark, the Netherlands, India, Mexico, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The Facility’s objective is to provide a simple, low cost way for developing countries to share their knowledge and expertise in their continuing campaign to encourage economic development and overcome poverty. This new multi- donor financing facility recognizes that the development successes in one country can provide positive examples for other countries in their efforts to grow their economies and eliminate poverty. The South-South Exchange shortens the time required to acquire the hard lessons of experience, at a much lower fi- nancial cost. Since its launch, the South-South Facility has financed a number of exchanges that facilitated knowledge sharing among developing countries. Its scope is broad as it responds to requests from countries seeking to exchange knowledge and learn from each other. The aim is to deepen experiences by funding direct contact between developing countries and, through the creation of a Web based library, document, monitor, and disseminate results, and develop a roster of experts in developing countries. Among other issues, the Facility has facilitated the exchange of ideas among developing countries in the following areas: › Managing commodity windfalls › Developing efficient tax systems › Adapting to new technologies › Selecting public investment projects with high economic and social rates of return › Reforming pensions › Creating social safety nets that benefit the poor. 6-7 The exchange described in this report between the Plurinational State of Bolivia and Brazil, Indonesia, and Mexico ex- pands that list to issues relating to concerns of indigenous peoples and the desire by state and local governments to deliver efficiently and at low cost the necessary services to poor communities. Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report represents the efforts of many individuals at the World Bank and in the governments of Bolivia, Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico. Their coordinated participation and willingness to share knowledge and experiences made this process possible, useful and enjoyable. In Bolivia we want to thank former Ministers of Development Planning Carlos Villegas Quiroga and Noel Aguirre Ledezma for initiating the activities related to this Trust Fund. Special thanks must be given to current Minister of Development Planning, Viviana Caro Hinojosa, for her continuous and enthusiastic support in the implementation of the experience exchanges that this Trust Fund has funded. Ms. Roxana Liendo, former coordinator for Plan Vida of the Bolivian Ministry of Development Planning was instrumental during the initial stages of this process. Emanuel Villegas, Information Coordinator of the “Renta Dignidad� Program, Roberto Valdés, Coordinator of Implmentation from the “Bono Juancito Pinto� Program, Joel Gómez, from the Ministry of Housing, and René Apaza, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation of the “Mi Primer Empleo Digno� Program, participated in different meetings of the experience exchange with Mexican experts. We also wish to recognize the invaluable collaboration of Maria Felix Delgadillo, Director of the Unidad de Análisis de Politicas Sociales y Económicas of the Ministry of Development Planning (UDAPE) and Roland Pardo, Director for Social Policies of UDAPE, who have been responsible for most of the implementation and coordination activities. In Brazil, we are grateful to Mr. Iran Pordeus, Adjunct Executive Coordinator of the State for Results Program of the Minas Gerais state, Mr. Diogo Lima, Superintendent of Strategic Management of Resources and Actions of State, and Mr. Rodrigo Furtado, Director of Management Modernization for their thorough and extensive discussion of the sophisticated Monitoring and Evaluation systems in the state of Minas Gerais. In Indonesia, we are grateful to Ms. Endah Murniningtyas, Director for Poverty Alleviation in the National Development Planning Agency (Badaan Perencanaan dan Pembangunan Nasional, BAPPENAS) and Dr. Sujana Royat, Deputy Minister of the Coordinating Ministry for People’s Welfare for Poverty Alleviation and Head of the National Oversight Working Group for the PNPM Mandiri. Their presentation of the general characteristics and interesting details of the PNPM Mandiri Program was of exceptional value to all the participants. In Mexico, we express gratitude to Max Henderson, Head of the Planning and International Relations Unit of the Ministry of Social Development (Secretaría de Desarrollo Social, SEDESOL) for encouraging his knowledgeable and engaged staff to participate in these exchange activities. We thank Karla Breceda, General Director for Geo-Statistics and Roster of Beneficiaries from SEDESOL, Thania de la Garza Navarrete, General Director of Evaluation at the National Council for 8-9 Evaluation of Social Development Policy (Consejo Nacional de Evaluación de la Política Social, CONEVAL), Fernanda González, Adjunct General Director of Impact of Social Programs of SEDESOL, Ricardo Mújica Rosales, General Director of Monitoring and evaluation of SEDESOL, Laura Durán, Director of Operations Planning of the Oportunidades Program and Andrés Cijuelos, also from the Oportunidades Program, all of whose participation in different stages of the program resulted in a valuable dialogue with their Bolivian counterparts. World Bank staff from different offices helped in the coordination and actual implementation of these exchange activities. Óscar Avalle, Country Manager in Bolivia, as well as Julio Ricardo Loayza, Patricia Velasco and Patricia �lvarez from La Paz office, Tarsilia Ortenzio Veloso and Pablo Fainzylber in the Brasilia office, John Victor Bottini and Sentot Surya Satria from the Jakarta office, and Rosa María Hernández-Fernández from the Mexico City office. Indu John-Abraham, Melissa Rodríguez-Segura, Erika Vargas, Concepción Steta Gandara and Samuel Freije (task leader) participated from headquarters in Washington, DC. This report and the accompanying CD were produced by the Development Effectiveness Unit of the Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Vice Presidency. Eric Palladini, World Bank consultant, wrote the report under the direction of Samuel Freije. Erika Vargas directed the final production. Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS BDMG Minas Gerais Development Bank (Brazil) CCT Conditional Cash Transfer CONEVAL National Council for Evaluation of Social Policy (Mexico) CUIS Socioeconomic Information Questionnaire (Mexico) GDLN Global Development Learning Network GERAES Office of Strategic Resource Management and State Action (Brazil) INEGI Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (Mexico) KDP Kecamatan Development Project (Indonesia) LOA Annual Budget Law (Brazil) NGO Non-Governmental Organization PMDI Minas Gerais Integrated Development Plan (Brazil) PNPM Mandiri National Program for Community Empowerment (Indonesia) PPAG Multi-year Government Action Plan (Brazil) SEDESOL Ministry of Social Development (Mexico) SEPLAG Ministry of State Planning and Management (Brazil) SFP Civil Service Ministry (Mexico) SHCP Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (Mexico) SIMPADU-PNPM Information Management System PNPM Mandiri (Indonesia) 10 - 11 Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience INTRODUCTION In 2009, the Plurinational State of Bolivia received a grant from the South-South Experience Exchange Facility to sponsor an international dialogue and comparison of anti-poverty programs in developing countries. The dialogue’s goal was to share innovative ideas and policies and compare experiences to improve the design, implementation and effectiveness of such anti-poverty programs as conditional cash transfers (CCTs) and Community Driven Development (CDDs) Programs. There was also interest in getting acquaintance with systems of planning, monitoring and evaluation of social programs With these grant funds, Bolivian policy makers established links with their counterparts in Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico through a series of videoconferences and country-to-country visits. In support of this knowledge exchange, World Bank staff members hosted and monitored the virtual meetings in the Global Distance Learning Network (GDLN) videoconference facilities and organized government staff visits to La Paz and Mexico City. The Ministry of Development Planning, which submitted the funding request to the World Bank, has served as the lead agency in this effort. The knowledge-sharing activities focused on identifying the successes and challenges of specific anti-poverty programs, which included: Indonesia’s National Program for Community Empowerment (Program Nasional Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Mandiri, PNPM Mandiri) and Mexico’s conditional cash transfer Oportunidades Program. Regarding planning, monitoring and evaluation systems the experience chosen was that of Minas Gerais state in Brazil with its �State for Results� strategy. In an effort to share further the results of these videoconferences and country visits, this report provides summaries of the discussions that took place between the Bolivian hosts and the presenters. Ms. Louise Cord, Sector Manager for Poverty Reduction and Gender in the World Bank opened each videoconference, and Mr. Samuel Freije, Senior Economist for Poverty Reduction and Gender in the World Bank served as the moderator. The first videoconference took place between Bolivian and Mexican representatives on December 8, 2009. The discussants focused on poverty alleviation programs for indigenous populations and women. Ms. Roxana Liendo, Coordinator for Plan Vida of the Ministry of Development Planning, introduced the topic with a presentation on Bolivia’s pro-indigenous social policy programs. Mr. Diego Iturralde, Academic Director of Mexico’s Center for Research and Advanced Studies in Social Anthropology, María Teresa Gallard, an independent anthropologist, and Andrés Cijuelos, of the Oportunidades Program responded with descriptions of Mexico’s multi-sectoral approach to indigenous and social policy, and the Oportunidades conditional cash transfer program. 12 - 13 Mexican and Bolivian representatives met again on June 17, 2010 when Karla Breceda, General Director for Geo-Statistics and Roster of Beneficiaries and Fernanda González, Adjunct General Director of Impact of Social Programs, both from of the Mexican Ministry of Social Development, discussed technical aspects of the monitoring and evaluation systems of social programs in Mexico. In May, 2010, the Bolivian representatives met on two separate occasions with representatives from the Indonesian government and the World Bank to discuss Indonesia’s approach to community-driven development (CDD). Ms. Endah Murniningtyas, Director for Poverty Alleviation in the National Development Planning Agency (Badaan Perencanaan dan Pembangunan Nasional, BAPPENAS), and Dr. Sujana Royat, Deputy Minister of the Coordinating Ministry for People’s Welfare for Poverty Alleviation and Head of the National Oversight Working Group for the PNPM Mandiri, presented the Indonesian government’s approach to community-driven development. Mr. John Victor Bottini, Senior Social Development Specialist, and Mr. Sentot Surya Satria, Social Development Specialist, both from the World Bank, provided an overview of community-driven development in Indonesia and described the rural component of the PHPM Mandiri, as well as its antecedents in the Kecamatan CDD. On June 24, 2010, the Bolivian representatives heard three presentations from representatives of the government of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Iran Pordeus, Adjunct Executive Coordinator of the State for Results Program, discussed the recent experience in government planning, monitoring and evaluation of public policies. Diogo Lima, Superintendent of Strategic Management of Resources and Actions of State, described the methodology and a practice in planning and strategic management of the government’s priority projects. Rodrigo Furtado, Director of Management Modernization, described the Results Agreements process. In addition to these video conferences, the experience exchange was furthered by visits of Bolivian staff from the Ministry of Development Planning to the Ministry of Social Development and to the National Council for Evaluation of Social Development Policy (Consejo Nacional de Evaluación de la Política de Desarrollo Social, CONEVAL) in Mexico City between August 23 and 27. Similarly, on September 9 and 10, staff from the Mexican SEDESOL visited La Paz and attended several meetings with staff from different Bolivian social programs and with the Ministry of Development Planning. This report provides brief descriptions of the dialogues that took place during the course of the presentations. In reverse chronological order, the report begins with the Brazilian discussion on monitoring and evaluation, then describes the two meetings on Indonesia, and ends with the dialogue comparing Bolivian and Mexican policies. Chapter 1 describes the efforts of the Minas Gerais state government to improve its planning and strategic management, and to implement a monitoring and evaluation regime. Under the initial leadership of Governor Aécio Neves, the government implemented its State for Results program, strategic mapping, and results agreements. This state-level Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience program empowers state and local governments to monitor and evaluate their own programs. The result is an effective state government that responds to local needs. Chapter 2 describes the Indonesian government’s community empowerment program, which encourages local ownership and leadership for the management of local infrastructure, health and other programs. While the funds come from the national government, project planning and implementation occur at the local level. This experience gives local communities the experience and know-how to design and implement poverty reduction projects. Chapter 3 describes and compares the pro-poor and pro-indigenous policies in Bolivia and Mexico. Bolivia’s program seeks to empower local communities based on local customs, promote local development, and improve access to services, food, health care, among other goals. In Mexico, national level programs use improved survey technologies and strategies to address local needs, and identify beneficiaries for education, nutrition, energy, and other transfer programs. This chapter also includes notes from the exchange visits of Bolivian and Mexican officials to Mexico City and La Paz, respectively. In the case of the visit to Mexico City, the notes include a brief description of the legal background of the monitoring and evaluation system of social programs and the instruments used for its implementation. In the case of the visit to Bolivia, the notes include a general description of the design and monitoring tools of five important social programs (Renta Dignidad, Bono Juancito Pinto, Programa de Vivienda Social, Bono Juana Azurduy, Programa Mi Primer Empleo Digno). This South-South experience exchange has allowed staff members from the Bolivian government to establish a dialogue with representatives from two of the best-known experiences in conditional cash transfer (CCT) and community driven development (CDD) programs, as well as with members of elaborate systems in planning and evaluation of social programs. In this regard, the dialogue has served as a vehicle for both praising and criticizing, for comparing and contrasting, for agreeing and differing on different aspects of social programs –in one word– for learning, not from books or from “experts,� but from practitioners whose day-to-day field experience is instrumental for the actual implementation of successful social programs. The World Bank is pleased to have served as an intermediary for this exchange, and hopes that the media that documents and accompanies these activities provides a source of future reference to all those interested in the development of social programs in Bolivia. In order to fully document this exchange, and disseminate the lessons to an audience beyond those who participated in the videoconferences or in the country visits, the exchange is documented in three media supports: this book, the accompanying CD and a Web site. The included CD contains transcripts and video-records of the presentations made by the participants. It also provides further information on the issues introduced in this report such as slide presentation and interviews with Bolivian and Mexican officials. Extra material is also downloadable from the Web at: www.worldbank.org/boliviaplurinacional. 14 - 15 Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience CHAPTER The Minas Gerais Strategic Development Plan 1 Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience n June 24, 2010 the Bolivian representatives attended a video conference with representatives from the state government of Minas Gerais in Brazil. Mr. Iran Pordeus, Adjunct Executive Coordinator of the State for Results Program, described the state government’s recent experience in planning, monitoring and evaluation of public policies. Mr. Diogo Lima, Superintendent of Strategic Management of Resources and Actions of State, described the methodology and practice in planning and strategic management of priority projects. Finally, Mr. Rodrigo Furtado, Director of Management Modernization, discussed the results agreements. The presentation documents and video conferences can be found in the accompanying CD. Minas Gerais Strategic Development Model Mr. Pordeus began the discussion with a brief description of Minas Gerais, and a review of how the state first introduced the reforms. He also provided some basic definitions of the terms commonly used in this process. According to Mr. Pordeus, Minas Gerais’s Strategic Development Model emerged from the state government’s commitment to the basic principles of fiscal quality and efficient management and a focus on results for the citizen. Government action is based on linking planning and budgeting, a balanced budget, simplification, strategic project investment, quality, and productivity. To that end, the commitment is based on effective results agreements, intensive monitoring and evaluation, governance, incentives, and performance evaluations. In 2002, the Minas Gerais state government, under the leadership of Governor Aécio Neves, implemented the Management Shock Project, based on diagnostic work by the Minas Gerais Development Bank (Banco do Desenvolvimento do Minas Gerais, BDMG). The project sought to reform the state government’s planning and budgeting process and address a substantial budget deficit. The project lasted from 2002 through 2006 and led to the state’s current monitoring and evaluation system and strategic development plan. Mr. Pordeus, defined monitoring and evaluation as the measurement of government performance based on specific outcome indicators. The planning process identifies certain “results areas� and beneficiary groups of these specific outcome indicators. Results areas are broad cross-cutting themes that help to identify needs and contribute to the development of specific programs in the integrated development plan. The incentives for this good government approach are established by results agreements with the public institutions for certain results areas. The state’s planning and budgeting tools include the following: › Minas Gerais Integrated Development Plan (Plano Mineiro de Desenvolvimento Integrado, PMDI) develops the government’s long-term development strategy. › Multi-year Government Action Plan (Plano Plurianual de Ação Governamental, PPAG) provides programs and actions to be implemented by the government, including the financial and other estimates. › Annual Budgeting Law (Lei Orçamentária Anual, LOA) details the physical and financial estimates of the PPAG for each fiscal year. 18 - 19 Figure 1, based on Mr. Pordeus’s presentation, shows how Minas Gerais has organized its integrated development plan. The Plan rests on the two important pillars of (1) fiscal quality and (2) quality and innovation in public management. At the core of the plan, each results area contributes to the integrated development plan and includes a number of strategic objectives. The achievement of each objective is measured by a series of outcome indicators. In addition, each outcome indicator has been assigned goals for 2007, 2011, and 2023. The ultimate purpose of the development plan is to benefit the residents of Minas Gerais with an improved quality of life, which includes ongoing improvements in education and training, health, youth advocacy, business, equity, environmental sustainability, and personal safety. Figure 1: Minas Gerais Integrated Development Plan Source: Based on presentation by Iran Almeida Pordeus in videoconference with Brazil, June 24, 2010. Results areas are cross-cutting; they are not confined to a single state secretariat or agency. Figure 2 shows how the results areas are organized to achieve the sectoral goals. Sectoral challenges identify those areas in need of attention within a results area. These are further translated into outcome indicators and specific goals. Outcome indicators are developed by specialists for each results area, with challenging but achievable goals for 2011 and 2023. Structured projects are developed with defined objectives. They are grouped into project portfolios by results area, based on their contribution to the outcome indicators. Portfolios of structured projects are selected to achieve the outcomes and Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience goals. The sectoral agendas include diagnostics and management proposals. They may include initiatives to remove critical bottlenecks to management and strategy implementation. Figure 2: Organization of Results Areas Source: Based on presentation by Iran Almeida Pordeus in videoconference with Brazil, June 24, 2010. To achieve these goals the Minas Gerais Integrated Development Plan (Plano Mineiro de Desenvolvimento Integrado, PMDI) defines the results to be pursued. Multi-year plans develop projects and other plans. Each year the strategies are subject to review and correction as needed. Thus, there is regular feedback between the structured projects and the sectoral agendas through intensive monitoring. Results agreements between the office of the governor and the state ministries, or between the ministries and the work teams, provide the incentives for effective implementation and are based on the notion that the government should be evaluated for its ability to improve economic and social indicators without imposing additional burdens on society. They provide the incentives for the results areas, and are developed early in the process between the office of the Governor and the ministries and other agencies. Agreements identify outcome indicators, structured projects, the sectoral agenda, and indicators. They lead to the work teams, which implement the projects and are awarded for their performance. The Office of Strategic Resource Management and State Action (GERAES) Mr. Lima focused on the coordination of the state’s development strategy by the Office of Strategic Resource Management and State Action (Gestão Estratégica de Recursos e Ações do Estado, GERAES), of the State Planning and Management Ministry (Secretaria de Estado de Planejamento e Gestão SEPLAG), the PMDI, and the Multi-year Government Action Plan (Plano Plurianual de Ação Governamental, PPAG). PMDI establishes the government’s goals and objectives. PPAG defines the activities to achieve the goals. GERAES is the office responsible for the management of structured projects. GERAES monitors the cost, time resources, risks, and planning of budgets and financing, for each project. GERAES provides monthly status reports to the heads of ministries and other executive offices. GERAES’s methodology includes the project plan, status report, limits or restrictions, evaluation of implementation, communication, and an annual review. 20 - 21 The planning process in GERAES begins with a review and approval of the terms of reference and continues with the development and validation of project plans. The projects are subject to annual reviews and changes, as necessary. GERAES designs the relevant projects, the inputs, activities, and products. The State for Results team monitors results indicators and action plans. It monitors overall strategic projects in each results area. At the regular meetings, managers and administrators in charge of projects focus on policy implementation and develop an operational or strategic plan. The Institutional Modernization team monitors the sectoral agendas and the results agreements. The Results Agreement Finally, Mr. Furtado described the results agreements that establish the outcomes to be delivered by the state executive agencies and entities. The outcomes are measured by indicators and targets for specific projects. These commitments strengthen the other government strategic tools. They provide the incentives for effective and efficient provision of services. They align the planning process with action plans and the government’s strategic planning process, and they provide transparency for public institutions and facilitate social control. Finally they create a culture based on results and serve to identify and reward government staff and managers who deliver good results. Traditionally, project management began with inputs, identified activities, and measured outputs (goods and services). Results agreements move beyond goods and services and include short or medium-term outcomes (results) and long-term results. Thus, the agencies become responsible not only for delivering the service but for the results. Mr. Furtado described the stages of a results agreement. In the first stage, the office of the governor and the heads of state secretariats commit to certain strategic indicators and targets in a particular sector. These outcomes are put into practice with more detailed agreements between the secretariats and the government agencies. These agreements refine indicators, develop a strategy, and identify the work teams. The work teams implement the projects and are eventually rewarded for their good performance. This process establishes the strategic objectives, the activities of each team, and the goods and services provided, among other things. The process should also ask whether the goods and services delivered are the most appropriate for the objectives and whether the final impacts justify that particular level of delivery. In addition, the process should confirm that the indicators are appropriate to the strategy and its priorities. The process should also confirm that the indicators are addressing an identified public need and whether the there is a stable indicator that can measure the team’s performance over the long term. Box 1 provides some further issues that should be included. Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience To ensure complete transparency, information on the results agreements is published in the state government’s Diario Oficial. This includes the contract, goals, and evaluation methodology. An appointed commission with representatives from various state and civil society organizations reviews the results. The resulting performance evaluation is published on the Web site. Education: An Example of a Successful Results Agreement A reform of how education was being delivered in Minas Gerais serves as an example of how the results agreement process works. With a state-wide system of 3,920 schools, the government recognized the importance of a well educated population for future development. Its strategic objective was to “Improve the average level of schooling in an efficient system, with high levels of equity, guided by international standards of cost and quality.� The strategy included the goal of reducing regional differences of learning. The agreements included a number of indicators on levels of literacy, numeracy, and Portuguese language for grades three and five. The structured projects included time spent in school, performance and qualification of professors, new standards of administration and basic education, and evaluation systems for the quality of instruction. With this increased attention, the percent of students achieving recommended literacy levels grew from 45.2 percent in 2006 to 58.1 percent in 2007. In addition, Minas Gerais regained its national leadership ranking in school performance. The system produced the national champion in the mathematics Olympiad. Its literacy rate was the highest in the country. Finally, Minas Gerais was the first state in the country to distribute books to all of its students, and to provide education for the first nine years to all students. 22 - 23 Box 1: Criteria to Analyze a Results Agreement Questions to ask and answer to measure the quality of a results agreement: Are we measuring what we should be measuring? 1. Are the most relevant results and impacts being measured? 2. Are the indicators contributing to the strategy? 3. Are the team’s priorities included? 4. Are the indicators focused on the needs of the public? 5. Is there some permanent indicator that can measure the team’s management over the long term? Are the indicators well defined? 6. Are the indicators described well? 7. Was the performance measure well analyzed? 8. Were the reference values correctly specified? Are the goals adequate? 9. Are the goals challenging? 10. Does the agreement provide incentives for good performance compared to previous periods? Was the process adequate? 11. Were the indicators the result of a negotiation? Source: Based on presentation by Rodrigo Guerra Furtado. Discussion The discussion that followed the three presentations focused on the proposal and implementation timeline, and institutional and administrative responsibilities. It takes around three months to take a project from proposal to implementation. Project planning includes legal and procurement issues, which will also have an impact on a project’s timeline. The implementation period will depend on the type of project. For example, “standard� projects, such as schools or jails, can take less time. Roads may take longer because each one is different. The Bolivian representatives sought to clarify the responsibilities and functions of each institution. In response to a question regarding the institution that manages or administers the project, the Brazilian representatives confirmed that only one institution, SEPLAG, manages project design, budgeting and implementation. In addition, each sector (health, education, transport, and the like) contributes to policy planning, and project development. The State for Results Program is responsible for the statistical studies for final results. The government also seeks studies from external sources, national, international, and private. The João Pinheiro Foundation also produces statistical studies. Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience CHAPTER Indonesia’s National Community Empowerment Programs 2 Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience n May, 2010, the Bolivian representatives met on two separate occasions with representatives from the Indonesian government and the World Bank to discuss Indonesia’s approach to community-driven development (CDD). On May 6, they met with Mr. John Victor Bottini, Senior Social Development Specialist, and Mr. Sentot Surya Satria, Social Development Specialist, both from the World Bank, provided an overview of community-driven development in Indonesia. On May 25, the Bolivian representatives met with Ms. Endah Murniningtyas, Director for Poverty Alleviation in the National Development Planning Agency (Badaan Perencanaan dan Pembangunan Nasional, BAPPENAS), and Dr. Sujana Royat, Deputy Minister of the Coordinating Ministry for People’s Welfare for Poverty Alleviation and Head of the National Oversight Working Group for the PNPM Mandiri, presented the Indonesian government’s approach to community-driven development. Ms. Murniningtyas described poverty reduction in the Indonesian government’s national development plan, current poverty, the PNPM Mandiri, and program monitoring. Dr. Royat commented on Ms. Murniningtyas’s discussion. The presentation documents and video conferences can be found in the accompanying CD. Community Empowerment According to Mr. Satria, Indonesia’s anti-poverty program consists of three components: (1) Social Safety and Protection, (2) Community Empowerment, and (3) Support for Small and Medium Enterprises. In their presentations, Mr. John Bottini and Mr. Satria focused on the second component, which has evolved into the National Program for Community Empowerment (Program Nasional Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Mandiri, PNPM Mandiri). Mr. Bottini added that the first component focuses on the individual, the second on the community and the third on moving people into the private sector. With decentralization and democratization, local governments have acquired more autonomy to manage their budgets. The community empowerment approach of the PNPM Mandiri seeks to strengthen these local or sub-national entities to develop locally relevant and innovative development projects. The smallest official community is the village (which may include unofficial hamlets or “groups�). A number of villages are combined to form sub-districts, called kecamatans. A regency, called a kabupaten, or a city is made up of a number of kecamatans. A province includes any number of kabupatens or cities. The province is the largest sub-national administrative division. The Indonesian government’s bottom-up approach began with a series of CDD projects financed by the World Bank. The three Kecamatan Development Projects (KDPs), between 1998 and 2009, sought to reduce poverty, improve local governance, and raise the capacity of microfinance institutions. The programs provided block grants, facilitators, and technical assistance to local governments and microfinance institutions. In addition, the Urban Poverty Program provided funds for community organizations to implement such community development plans as small infrastructure, grants to poor families, and SME development. 26 - 27 With the experience of the earlier CDD programs, the Indonesian government implemented, in 2007, the PNPM Mandiri, a nation-wide program focused on building local-level capacity. PNPM Mandiri used the lessons learned from the earlier projects, which were implemented at the local level, to create a national program that would successfully target poor communities, include the poor as active participants, rather than passive subjects, and improve coordination among a number of programs. Figure 3, from Mr. Bottini’s presentation illustrates the community empowerment process and the activities at each level. This evolution of programs from a top-down approach to a bottom-up approach was part of a change in the development paradigm and was consistent with the country’s adoption of the Millennium Development Goal of halving the poverty rate by 2015. The new paradigm recognized the poor as assets for development, whose capacity and empowerment would best be strengthened by a strategy of ensuring access to such basic rights as food, shelter, water, sanitation, health, education, participation, land and natural resources, work, a good business environment, and security. Since the articulation of this strategy, all policies and programs refer to this paradigm. Figure 3: Levels and Activities Source: PowerPoint presentation by John Victor Bottini in the first videoconference with Indonesia, May 6, 2010. Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience This bottom-up approach to community empowerment is also reflected in the staffing of programs, according to Mr. Bottini and Mr. Satria. The process includes considerable representation of village, kecamatan, and kabupaten interests before the provincial and national coordinators and consultants. At the village level, two cadres (one of which must be female) and elected implementation committees develop proposals, which are verified and prioritized at the kecamatan level. Disbursement and sustaining activities also take place at the village level. At the kabupaten, provincial, and national levels, workshops, training, and dissemination ensure adequate knowledge, technology, and coordination are available for implementation. PNPM Mandiri As a national program, PNPM Mandiri seeks to increase community capacity and encourage self-help groups to improve their standard of living and welfare. The program’s local level approach improves the communities’ ability to target the poor in sub-districts and villages. To reduce inefficiency and the number of overlapping activities, mechanisms, and institutions, the program also harmonizes empowerment activities implemented by various ministries. In this context, PNPM Mandiri funds five sub-programs: Rural, Urban, Underdeveloped and Special Regions, Rural Infrastructure, and Regional Social Economy. Figure 4 shows the distribution of funds from three of the subprograms by sector. Over half of all funds were used in transportation projects. Health programs also received considerable funding. Social and economic programs received around 10 percent of total funding. Programs in education, the environment and agriculture received the least amount of funding. Figure 4: Use of PNPM Mandiri Block Grants by Sector Data based on PNPM Rural, PNPM Urban, and PNPM Underdeveloped and Special Region, 2009 Source: PowerPoint Presentation by Endah Murniningtyas in the second videoconference with Indonesia, May 25, 2010. 28 - 29 PNPM Mandiri’s components include: › Community Empowerment Provide a facilitator to increase community awareness and capacity to form a self-help group and elected advisory body in the village. › Community grant Provide block grants to the newly formed self-help groups, to finance activities selected in the advisory body’s forum, such as: (1) basic infrastructure (rural road, irrigation, schools, health facilities, and the like) or (2) economic activities. › Local government and stakeholder capacity building Enable activities to strengthen local government and stakeholder capacity to create a positive, conducive, and synergetic environment for the community. › Program Management support Provide management information systems (MIS), monitoring and evaluation programs (M&E), and other operational supports. PNPM Mandiri Flow of Funds Figure 5 shows how the community (block) grants are distributed to the local communities. The villagers plan and decide on investments, control funds, implement the projects, account for funds, and maintain the facilities or infrastructure. Accountability procedures are also set and agreed to. Each year, the national government commits block grants to kecamatans. These grants are only provided when the communities have established the funding priorities. Except for a small negative list of projects, villagers are free to consider alternatives from an “open menu.� When villagers have agreed on funding priorities, the block grant funds are disbursed from the Treasury Department to a joint community account. Funds are then channelled to village implementation committees based on work plans and progress. Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience Figure 5: PNPM Mandiri Flow of Funds Source: PowerPoint presentation by John Victor Bottini in the first videoconference with Indonesia, May 6, 2010. Implementation and Program Staffing By putting these local development activities in the hands of the community, government becomes more responsive to local needs and local communities are strengthened. These transfers to poor communities also harmonize the disparate programs and goals of the various national government ministries and agencies. For local governments, PNPM Mandiri’s block grants can strengthen bottom-up planning and budgeting or improve local responsiveness, social service delivery and transparency. In addition, the grants can improve women’s participation in local decision making, upgrade justice programs, help marginal groups, or finance trust funds. For economic development, the grants can improve market link- ages, create initiatives for microfinance institutions, and introduce information technology or renewable energy. Mr. Bottini and Mr. Satria also pointed out that the villagers are expected to provide most of the labor and may not hire outside help, except where they lack the skills or the machinery. As a result, most projects have cost much less than otherwise might be assumed. Very few infrastructure projects, school, bridges, roads, retaining walls or other projects cost more than US$ 30,000. Over the years, villagers improve their financial, management, design and building skills and, thus improved their ability to implement program. Although the communities are responsible for management of grant funds, the central government provides considerable support and expertise. These teams of experts must serve the 32 provinces (excluding the capitol region), which are 30 - 31 further subdivided in about 394 districts, 4,800 subdistricts, and 61,000 villages. In Jakarta a team of national management specialists oversees the program. At the provincial level, a team of experts provide the necessary oversight in financial management, infrastructure, disbursement, procurement, book keeping, management information systems, training, and investigation of allegations of misuse of funds. At the district level, there is a social organizer, a civil engineer and experts to oversee the women’s revolving funds, financing, and computers. In each sub-district, there are at least two facilitators, a community developer, and a civil engineer. At the local level, the villagers staff the financial management unit, the implementation team and facilitator (one woman). Mr. Satria and Mr. Bottini expanded on this community focus by pointing out that once a package of programs has been approved, project decisions are made and funds are disbursed at the local level, the projects happen quickly. All decision-making on priorities and on funding occurs at the level of the kecamatan and are not reviewed at higher levels. Ex post reviews identify any inappropriate or illegal use of funds. At the point, a village can be dropped from the program and the government can demand the return of the funds. PNPM Mandiri’s Information Management System (Sistem Informasi Manajemen Terpadu PNPM Mandiri, SIMPADU- PNPM)1 integrates information for each province and district and displays the data in quantitative and visual formats. It further integrates information from the five sub-programs coordinated under PNPM Mandiri. Figure 6 provides an example of how SIMPADU-PNPM displays the information in a visual format. Figure 6: Monitoring and Evaluation Web Site Information Sample Source: PowerPoint Presentation by Endah Murniningtyas in the second videoconference with Indonesia, May 25, 2010. Goals, Agendas, and Strategies Ms. Murniningtyas began her presentation by describing the Indonesian government’s three-part medium term goals, which include peace and safety, social and economic welfare, and justice and democracy. Expanding on these broad goals, the government has articulated a five-point development agenda, which includes: (1) economic development 1 See Web site, http://simpadu-pnpm.bappenas.go.id/DesInventar/main.jsp Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience and peoples’ welfare, (2) governance reform, (3) democracy, (4) legal supremacy and anti-corruption, and (5) inclusive growth and justice. The strategies to achieve these goals and agenda can best be described as “pro-growth, pro-job, and pro-poor.� To that end, three core indicators for the target year of 2014 are a growth rate between 7.0 and 7.7 percent, an unemployment rate between 5 and 6 percent, and a poverty rate between 8 and 10 percent. The pro-growth strategy seeks to increase and accelerate economic growth by promoting investment, exports, small business, and an improved business climate. The pro-job strategy seeks to create employment opportunities, a flexible labor market, and positive industrial relations. The pro-poor strategy seeks to revitalize the agricultural, forestry, maritime, and rural economies. As part of this strategy, poverty alleviation aims to improve capacity and quality at the community level for local development and to improve access to basic services, such as education, health, sanitation, clean water and other infrastructure. Adding to Mr. Satria’s presentation, Ms. Murniningtyas further described the three-cluster poverty reduction program (see Figure 7) targeting the very poor, the poor, and the near poor households, poor communities, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The first cluster, Social Safety and Protection, includes the following programs: Rice for the Poor (Raskin), School Operations Support (BOS), Heath Security for the Poor, Cash Transfers, and other social programs. The second cluster focuses on community empowerment. The third cluster focuses on SMEs. Figure 7: Indonesia’s Poverty Reduction Programs Source: Presentation by Endah Munriningtyas in the second videoconference with Indonesia, May 25, 2010. Figure 8 from Ms. Murniningtyas’s presentation shows the process of community empowerment. The process begins with “socialization,� which means engaging the community and explaining the concepts of empowerment, long-term goals, and the community’s role in development. The process continues through a number of meetings, in which women are given a prominent role, to identify the nature of poverty in that community and acquire the necessary skills to 32 - 33 carry the process forward. As community members increase their understanding of local poverty, they complete the process of “social mapping,� which identifies the households most in need (based on local perceptions). The community organizing step identifies a pre-existing group or creates a new one to complete the process of planning, implementation, and delivery to the beneficiaries. As a result of this early engagement of local leaders and organizations, community members are able to “buy into� the process as they learn to identify needs, propose solutions, and plan and implement programs and projects. Figure 8: The Community Empowerment Process Source: PowerPoint Presentation by Endah Murniningtyas in the second videoconference with Indonesia, May 25, 2010. Impacts In surveys of villagers’ satisfaction, about 96 percent have been satisfied with the results. Impacts have been felt most at the local or village level largely because the program prefers small, local projects. The benefits, however, might extend into more than one community. For example, a hydro electric project might benefit two or three villages. Or, a well might provide water to neighboring villages. The project is not set up to manage these inter-village relationships, but, it is a situation that will be addressed over time. The PNPM rural program has been very heavily studied and included in some rather large quantitative evaluations, impact studies, and impact evaluations. These studies show that the participation rates of women and the poor are Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience generally high, about 45 percent. Some pilot projects have even higher rates for participation of women. At the village level, where all women meet, it is, of course, 100 percent. Poverty targeting has also been successful, although the project does not necessarily reach the poorest of the village because the investments are in public goods, and village infrastructure. However, surveys of consumption reveal real and ongoing improvements of up to 10 percent. Likewise, household access to health services has improved by between 9 and 12 percent. These improvements indicate that beneficiary households are gradually moving out of poverty. They result from a variety of interventions at the community level. For example, because most of the funds are used to improve or build roads and bridges, individuals have greater access to schools, markets or health facilities. In addition, funds used in health, education, and sanitation improve the communities’ and each individual’s quality of life. PNPM Mandiri programs appear to have had a positive, albeit seasonal or temporary, impact on employment, according to Mr. Bottini. Discussion The discussion that followed the presentations focused on administration of programs and the relationship between the national government and the local communities. In response to one question regarding what the national government expects from the communities, Mr. Royat mentioned that the program’s goal is to create a “new character of the poor,� which recognizes the poor as assets for national growth, not as recipients of government hand-outs. By giving the poor the capacity to help themselves, they can create their own economic opportunities and jobs, as in micro businesses and small and medium enterprises. Mr. Royat continued stressing that the goal is to create trust between the central government and the poor communities. With this trust, communities can manage their own grants. The strength of PNPM is the communities’ planning, implementing and control capacity. To reduce the possibility of central government intervention, or political influence, the PNPM Mandiri Program requested that the World Bank create a trust fund to receive donor funds. This guarantees good accountability and protects the program from undue outside influence. Moreover, it means that donors can trust that their funds are well spent. Mr. Royat also pointed out, in response to a question regarding implementation periods, that PNPM provides support for six years. In that time, the communities gain the capacity to manage programs. At the end of the six-year period, communities can access funds from other sources. PNPM Mandiri may also provide facilitators for future projects. Communities are free to set their own priorities and develop their own projects, in consultation with the facilitator and the national government. In response to a question on monitoring, Ms. Murniningtyas mentioned that PNPM Mandiri monitors programs through surveys and field visits. The social economic survey (the annual survey of consumption) and the household data survey provide important data for analysts. The government can also conduct community surveys. Indicators include household expenditures on food, health, and housing. 34 - 35 Regarding the great diversity of languages and cultures in Indonesia, Ms. Murniningtyas mentioned that early on the country declared a single language of Indonesian for education and government affairs. This does not mean that local languages cannot be spoken or used in education, but, the common language is used as a way to unify the country. Mr. Royat also identified some general lessons learned. It is important, for example, to link similar programs by coordinating implementation and create programmatic synergies among them. More importantly, the PHM Mandiri Program is based on trust between the government officials and the communities. The communities must trust the central government to provide the help needed without undue intervention, the officials must trust the communities to provide their own programs and implement them well according to their own dreams for the future. Mr. Bottini responded to specific questions on how the block grants are distributed and managed at the local level. He pointed out that community members participate at all levels, from the community level through the municipal and regional levels up to the national level. They also participate in all stages of design, proposal and implementation process. Once a project has begun implementation, periodic village meetings provide oversight. Villagers meet to account for the funds and to receive the next payment. This occurs when the project is deemed to be at 40 percent and 80 percent of completion. Planning happens at the sub-village level, in the hamlets, groups, and in the neighborhoods. The proposals, decisions, prioritization happens at the village level. The process occurs on a regular basis during the year, which means that the participants can build up experience. As a result, communities have developed the capacity to identify specific projects and manage the funding requests over time. Lessons learned since the program began have led to basic reforms of, for example, the financial reporting system or the procurement system. Project manuals also provided directions for such procedures as procurement. The procurement rules, for example, required the local authorities to conduct the process in the open, and imposed the rule that projects over a certain amount required three or more different suppliers. Other requirements encouraged competition or guaranteed that local suppliers could participate. Mr. Bottini also commented that salaries for workers were actually a little lower than market rates to avoid competing with the local market, and to provide opportunities for the poorest to gain work. This also lowers the cost of the projects. Finally, in response to a question on impact, Mr. Bottini commented that there have been some qualitative and quantitative evaluations based on survey and data collection and more are planned, but there is no control group for comparison because the program is nation-wide. Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience CHAPTER Mexico’s Experience in Design, Monitoring and Evaluation of Conditional Cash Transfer Programs 3 Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience he experience exchange between Mexico and Bolivia has included several activities. First, two videoconferences discussing different aspects of social programs in Bolivia and Mexico. Second, an exchange visit of Bolivian officials from the Ministry of Planning and Development to Mexico City (in particular to the offices of CONEVAL and the Mexican Ministry of Social Development) and of Mexican officials from the Ministry of Social Development and the Program Oportunidades to the offices of different social programs in Bolivia. Each one of these activities is described in the following sections. First Videoconference: On Social Policy and Indigenous Peoples In December 8, 2009 representatives from Mexico and Bolivia discussed and compared poverty alleviation programs for indigenous populations and women in their respective countries. Ms. Roxana Liendo, Coordinator for Plan Vida of the Bolivian Ministry of Development Planning, began the discussion with a presentation on Bolivia’s pro-indigenous social policy programs. Mr. Diego Iturralde, Academic Director of Mexico’s Center for Research and Advanced Studies in Social Anthropology, María Teresa Gallard, and independent anthropologist, and Andres Cijuelos, of the Oportunidades Program responded with descriptions of Mexico’s multi-sectoral approach, indigenous and social policy, and the Oportunidades conditional cash transfer program. The presentation documents and video conferences can be found in the accompanying CD. • Bolivia’s Plan Vida According to Ms. Liendo, Bolivia’s anti-poverty program, Plan Vida, seeks to eradicate extreme poverty by strengthening the potential of productive organizations and communities through projects and policies that focus on the local level. The program coordinates the activities of the public and private sectors and local community organizations. Its five components include: (i) Promote local economic development and growth, and increase productivity. (ii) Improve housing and basic sanitation. (iii) Improve access to services and basic human rights, such as health and ambulance services. (iv) Improve food and nutrition, including health services to pregnant women and children less than two years of age. (v) Strengthen local social institutions in accordance with local uses and customs and with culturally appropriate technologies. According to Ms. Liendo, this approach to local development represents a historic move away from treating indigenous communities as minority subjects. Indeed, In the 2001 Census in Bolivia, 62 percent of inhabitants older than 15 years old self-identified as indigenous, a number that will likely increase after the 2011 Census, due to an increase in indigenous peoples’ self-esteem. As such, Bolivia’s indigenous communities make up the majority population, and a recognition of 38 - 39 this reality permits policy makers to abandon older paradigms of poverty alleviation and include the extreme poor and indigenous peoples in a comprehensive vision of economic development. In addition to a new paradigm of viewing the poor and indigenous groups as contributors to economic development, Ms. Liendo indicated that Plan Vida recognizes and uses installed capacity and includes the Vivir Bien (Living Well) approach, which defines development as a process that, according to Ms. Liendo, contrasted “harmony with nature, harmony with the organization, harmony within the family and spiritual wellbeing beyond the material.� In contrast to the so-called “capitalist� notion of “living better,� which seeks to amass material goods regardless of the impact on nature, Vivir Bien redefines economic development as meeting one’s needs in harmony with the natural world. Plan Vida is not a palliative, however, but rather a new concern for the population based on improving the incorporation of indigenous communities and the extreme poor in the process of economic development. As Ms. Liendo reported, this approach includes a reassessment of the “neo-liberal� model represented by the economic policies of the two decades before the election of President Evo Morales. Since President Morales’s election, Bolivian policy makers have sought out alternative models for economic development and social reform. As a result of this reassessment, President Morales has implemented a policy that supports a number of pro-poor programs and policies, such as a literacy campaign, construction of health centers, and implementation of a minimum wage. Ms. Liendo proceeded by highlighting that, in addition to these social programs, the Bolivian government has introduced the use of conditional cash transfer (CCTs), or vouchers, called “bonos,� as a way to provide for specific groups. For example, the Bono Juancito Pinto Program, named for a young hero of the War of the Pacific, provides incentives for youth to remain in school. This program is focused on children in public schools. The Bono does not cover children in private schools. The Bono Juana Azurduy Program, named for a female hero of South American independence, is a state subsidy that pays pregnant women to seek prenatal medical attention at public health centers, rather than at home, and to present the child for routine checkups during its first two years of life. Unlike the Bono Juancito Pinto Program, this Bono is available to all pregnant women and mothers. Its purpose is to address the need for prenatal care and birth, and eliminate childhood malnutrition. These elements, as described by Ms. Liendo, constitute the Bolivian government’s new approach to poverty reduction and the elimination of extreme poverty. Plan Vida was first implemented in 2009 with 37 municipios, adding more each year. However, because extreme poverty is not the same in every place, the program has implemented a register of families, first to identify those most in need, and, second to identify the common variables. To that end, the project has coordinated with the National Statistics Institute to include those variables in the 2010 Census and provide a poverty map. The register will also permit follow-up and monitoring of indicators at the family and community levels. Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience Following Roxana Liendo’s presentation, María Teresa Gallard, Diego Iturralde and Andrés Cijuelos described Mexico’s Multi-Sectoral Approach, the Rights-based approach, and the Oportunidades Program • Mexico’s Multi-Sectoral Approach According to Ms. Gallard, public policy in Mexico has long recognized the special nature and diversity of the indigenous communities—at least since the 1940s, when other Latin American countries were also developing indigenous policies. Ms. Gallard described the geographical, cultural, and linguistic diversity among Mexico’s indigenous populations. Over the years, governments have come to recognize the value of including indigenous communities in public policy discussions to define development in their own terms, through the appropriate consultative and participatory mechanisms. Mexico’s programs concerned with indigenous communities are dispersed throughout the federal government, but are largely associated with states and municipios. The policy recognizes indigenous communities’ right to develop on their own terms, to speak their own languages in their schools, and that federal institutions should support the indigenous communities with productive and basic infrastructure. This formula is concentrated in a few institutions, but dispersed among many distinct programs in the various ministries. Given the diversity among the indigenous groups, the consultative approach in Mexico has particular characteristics, which may lead to possibly unexpected conclusions. For example, a Rarárumi in Chihuahua may not consider himself to be poor because he has enough corn to eat, whatever his income level, or whether or not there is a nearby medical clinic. Given this diversity of viewpoints, public policy needs to work within determined cultural determinants and adopt social programs that recognize cultural differences. The National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples (Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo de los Pueblos Indígenas, CDI), which replaced The National Indigenist Institute (Instituto Nacional Indigenista, INI), has been addressing these viewpoints with its programs and policies. Among the results are the national censuses of indigenous languages, which have permitted policy makers to cross reference poverty databases, development, infrastructure, and the like. The CDI has reached an agreement with the National Statistics Institute (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, INEGI) to include these variables in the 2010 Census so that policy makers can assess changes in the conditions of indigenous peoples during the last five or ten years and to adjust social and other policies. In addition to the development of reliable statistics and census data, the consultative approach recognizes the connection between the social programs and projects and the importance of eliminating duplication among cross-sectoral programs. In other words, each institution should be able to implement its own program with its own budget without reducing the effectiveness or otherwise affecting the work of other agencies. 40 - 41 • The Rights-based Model and Mexico’s Indigenous Communities Mr. Iturralde pointed out that recent social policy trends for indigenous communities have included a rights-based model for delivery of social services. Based on a number of international declarations, agreements and covenants, the model combines civil and political rights (political participation, a fair trial, personal security, etc.) with economic, social, and cultural rights (work, food, housing, language, culture, etc.). The result is the development of social policy as a corollary of established rights. Given this evolution, during the last 25 years, indigenous communities have acquired a number of specific rights, which, over time, have been included in Mexico’s constitutional and legal frameworks. Mexico’s 1992 constitutional reform recognized the existence of the indigenous communities and their autonomy, rights of self-determination, and territorial rights. Among these rights was the indigenous communities’ character as active participants in their development, as opposed to passive subjects. The constitution further authorized indigenous communities to interact with the national government, resolve conflicts according to local customs, and make decisions to improve the lives of the beneficiaries. Among the most important rights-based reforms is the administration of justice by local authorities based on local norms and customs. This reform, among the many, transforms indigenous communities into autonomous entities with authorities that can independently represent indigenous interests before state and local governments. However, this recognition of rights comes with the additional responsibilities of accountability and transparency. • Oportunidades Mr. Cijuelos began his presentation by pointing out that Mexico’s Oportunidades Program was designed to break the inter- generational cycle of poverty among the extreme poor through investments in children’s health, education, and nutrition. The program is based on the observation that poor families recognize the importance of these investments in their children’s health and education, but are confronting immediate needs. As a result, they pull their children out of school and send them to work, or postpone visits to the doctor’s office. However, these short-term solutions further delay progress and add to the cycle of illiteracy, poor health, and poverty. According to Mr. Cijuelos, the program is currently serving 5.2 million families in all 32 states, around 25 million individuals, of which there are 1.7 million children receiving nutritional service and 5.2 million beneficiaries of the educational supplement. Most beneficiaries are in rural communities. To break this cycle, Oportunidades uses conditional cash transfers (CCTs) to address the immediate or short-term needs of families and guarantee that children receive the necessary educational and medical attention and proper nutrition. Mr. Iturralde mentioned that, under the education component, families receive payments for children from primary grades through high school. Payments increase as the children age, and girls receive more than boys. The health component provides basic care for all family members, with an emphasis on preventative care. The nutrition component provides direct transfers for food consumption and nutritional supplements for children between four months and two years of age, malnourished children between two and four years of age and for lactating mothers. Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience Ultimately, the goal of Oportunidades, according to Mr. Cijuelos, is to guarantee beneficiaries with the basic education, health, and nutrition to improve their lives and break the cycle of poverty. To that end, Oportunidades has added supports that (1) guarantee that elderly beneficiaries receive regular medical check-ups, (2) provide pregnant and lactating women with pre-natal and post-natal care, and (3) improve the nutrition of children under five years of age and (4) meet the households’ energy needs with support for electricity, natural gas, and the like. In all cases, there are specific requirements that the beneficiaries must meet, such as going to the doctor’s office or taking nutrition classes, before they receive the benefit. Oportunidades also provides access to health workshops, preventative medicine, and savings accounts. According to Concepción Steta, Oportunidades has reached all of those communities that already have a school or medical facility available. Those communities that do not have a pre-existing facility could not benefit from the program. In those cases, the government provides vaccinations and food support. Health services are provided by the Caravanas Program, a mobile health service. These programs provide some level of food and health service to isolated indigenous communities. • Evaluation of Oportunidades According to Mr. Cijuelos, external evaluations of Oportunidades show considerable improvements in children’s health, educational achievements, and nutritional levels. Beneficiaries regularly attend school, follow balanced diets, receive regular medical treatment and, most importantly, have acquired a new vision of the future. Mr. Iturralde pointed out that, among others, some achievements include: › Younger children increased their probability of continuing in school by between 30 and 42 percent. › In rural areas, school drop-out rates have declined by 23 percent. › The education gap between men and women has closed, and parents express positive expectations for their girls’ education and future achievements. › In rural areas, preventative and curative health visits of beneficiaries increased to 35 percent. › Nationwide, the maternal death rate declined by 11 percent, although the infant mortality rates declined by only 2 percent. Recent evaluations, however, have not provided enough data to assess the impacts on the indigenous communities. However, program directors recognize that it may be necessary to identify alternative delivery methods to expand ac- cess to these communities; for example, staff members may have to be bilingual to reach certain communities. They may also need to consider different health delivery models, and different criteria to qualify potential beneficiaries.2 2 See the evaluations in the Oportunidades Web site, http://www.oportunidades.gob.mx/Portal/ 42 - 43 Another challenge is to integrate all the educational and health services and take into account the indigenous com- munities’ own organizational structures. Failure to consider and acknowledge local structures can lead to conflicts and misunderstandings. In the Sierra Tarahumara, in Chihuahua State, these misunderstandings were addressed when the programs included the community organizations in the implementation process. In addition, the program will need to identify the appropriate interventions and how to establish priorities that meet the needs of the group or sub-group. To accomplish this, it is important to understand customs and uses for each com- munity, in other words, how to bridge the cultural divide. Over time, according to Ms. Steta, the program has improved its methodology and its service delivery model. The pro- gram’s directors have learned that operational quality is as important as a good model and good information. In addi- tion, they have learned that if the persons conducting the surveys do not visit the dispersed homes and settlements, the information gathered is incomplete and leaves many people without access to the program’s services. • Challenges and Discussion The discussion that followed these presentations was a lively exchange of views and practical ideas on identity, imple- mentation, monitoring and evaluation, and other issues. Bolivia’s Plan Vida and Mexico’s Oportunidades are facing similar challenges in ensuring access to dispersed indigenous communities. To deliver the benefits, both programs require an adequate infrastructure and functioning service delivery models. Moreover, they require cooperation among a variety of institutions. The first questions from the Bolivian audience focused on the ability of Oportunidades to reach all indigenous communi- ties. As Concepción Steta, World Bank consultant, pointed out, the figure of 100 percent coverage is only of those com- munities with pre-existing health and education facilities. This does not mean that there is in fact a hospital or school in the community, but that the families have access to these facilities in some manner. Those communities that do not qualify for participation are served by other mobile programs, such as the Food Support Program (Programa Apoyo Ali- mentario) and the Health Caravan Program (Programa Caravanas de Salud). To improve further access, these programs continue to improve their survey methodologies and operations. Bolivia’s programs are also confronting the issue of achieving 100 percent coverage. Bolivian authorities, according to Ms. Liendo, use the churches, the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other types of institutions to reach out to the most isolated communities. Bolivian communities have a tradition of popular participation, and these local organizations are experienced in representing the communities. This requires cooperation among institutions and some creative solutions. Plan Vida takes advantage of embedded knowledge and resources of the communities and other Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience institutions. For example, teachers distribute certain benefits to children. In other cases, the army or other institutions serve as the distribution channels. Some institutions are responsible for programs that may not appear to be part of their original mandate; the Ministry of Education, for example, manages the food program. The individual municipios are responsible for transportation. In addition, many municipios have acquired management skills from having worked with international donors and NGOs. Another question was on the development of a good roster of indigenous communities in Bolivia. However, Ms. Liendo pointed out that the Plan Vida is not focused on indigenous communities; rather it brings an anti-poverty agenda to the communities. The program begins with the goal of eradicating extreme poverty in the countryside and in the urban areas. Cities have received many rural migrants, who bring with them many of the indigenous organizations and provide similar opportunities to address extreme poverty in the cities. The opportunity to strengthen these communities and organizations is based on the government’s desire to address the communities’ problems and the communities’ ability, in the face of historic discrimination, to use local organizations to represent their own interests. Thus, national and local institutions can coordinate and address such concerns as the school dropout rates, transportation to school, and provision of birth certificates and identity cards. Finally, the discussion addressed the issues of program results and monitoring and evaluation of the anti-poverty programs. In Mexico, the results agenda focuses on health, education, and nutrition indicators, for example, attendance rates at the health clinics, school matriculation rates, dropout rates, and the like. As part of the measurement process, Mexico uses the Human Development Index for Indigenous Peoples. However, this index does not measure the intervals between the “snapshots� and the impact of changes in the indicators on indigenous people. This is because positive results can hide problems at the margins. There are other initiatives, such as the Millennium Development Goals that can provide some measurement of progress, but, because they are completed only once, do not provide ongoing results. The program also needs to expand and improve its services in access and quality of training. To accomplish this, it will need to improve the inter-sectoral collaboration approach and improve access to the social protection system and health education. Despite these challenges, Ms. Gallard commented that the Oportunidades is probably the most evaluated program in Mexico’s history. The goal is to make Oportunidades into a well-known and useful model for similar conditional cash transfers in other countries. To that end, the challenge is to integrate the relevant indicators, such as gender, indigenous peoples, urban populations, rural populations, and the elderly, among others into an internationally recognized model of evaluation and service delivery. 44 - 45 Second Videoconference: Roster of Beneficiaries and Monitoring/Evaluation Systems • Mexico’s Roster of Beneficiaries and Ministry of Social Development On June 17, 2010 Karla Breceda, General Director for Geo-Statistics and Roster of Beneficiaries, described Mexico’s Roster of Beneficiaries System, and Fernanda González, Adjunct General Director of Impact of Social Programs, described monitoring and evaluation in the Ministry of Social Development (Secretaría de Desarrollo Social, SEDESOL). This discussion focused the broader dialogue between the Mexican and Bolivian representatives on development of databases and issues of monitoring and evaluation. In addition to Oportunidades, SEDESOL manages a variety of focused interventions, such as direct transfers, food distribution, training, child care, infrastructure, housing, land titling, microcredit, and temporary employment programs. Although each program imposes it own rules for inclusion, to ensure that the interventions reach the appropriate recipients, SEDESOL’s Roster of Beneficiaries identifies target regions, neighborhoods, households and individuals for intervention. SEDESOL operates the programs in cooperation with local and state governments. SEDESOL identifies the regions based on coverage. The process begins with the identification of a region to be served. Once identified, the region is then canvassed to assess needs. SEDESOL compiles the appropriate socioeconomic information and identifies the potential beneficiaries. SEDESOL also provides the unique identification codes for each household and every member of a household. After beneficiaries have been confirmed, the program provides the support. Finally, the information is used to adjust census rolls. This process of identifying potential beneficiaries is centralized and standardized for all programs, which base their assessment on the same Socioeconomic Information Questionnaire (Cuestionario Único de Información Socioeconómica, CUIS). The CUIS is a standardized survey instrument that provides relevant socioeconomic data to identify potential beneficiaries. The persons taking the survey use mobile devises to input the data, take photographs, and transmit the data to the database. This makes the statistical and geographical information immediately available for analysis. The questionnaire captures socioeconomic, demographic, housing and geographic information for households. These proxy data help SEDESOL estimate a household’s income. Thus, when the official poverty line is changed, or if the program changes its criteria, it is not necessary to implement a new survey. The mobile technology also allows beneficiaries to register their own information online through an internet portal or Web page and provide quick feedback and response to the applicant. The improved efficiency of this process means that when the roster identifies a potential beneficiary, the specific intervention program can deliver the support with fewer delays and with greater accuracy. Indeed, the roster has Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience reduced the programs’ response time by a third. Beneficiaries also receive a receipt of all their support programs. This ensures that they are aware of their current benefits and eligibility for other programs. Ms. Breceda presented maps to illustrate this process. Map 1 shows two areas served by a sample program. Because the upper neighborhood has fewer pre-existing beneficiaries, SEDESOL will survey households in that section and pursue an intervention strategy using the survey. The survey can be applied using one of three methods. The fist method is a “complete sweep� of the neighborhood. This means a house-to-house survey with the questionnaire. Another survey method is to locate a table with the questionnaire at specific service locations (such as a SEDESOL-supported kindergarten) to collect information and identify potential beneficiaries. The third method is to use a website, where interested individuals can answer the questionnaire and discover if they are eligible for the program. Map 1: Beneficiaries and Survey Zones Source: Based on presentation by Karla Breceda in the second videoconference with Mexico, June 17, 2010. The registration system informs planners in operations, new program design, monitoring and evaluation, and coordination among the programs. It permits planners to cross-reference information and identify places in greatest need. In addition to information on the individual, the database can integrate information by program, over time, by household, by location, and by type of support. Because the information is integrated, a beneficiary can more easily confirm eligibility for other programs. 46 - 47 Ms. Breceda also described the integrated approach that the government used to identify household and individual needs and adjust overall programs based on emerging realities. For example, Map 2 shows the number and location of households in need of a kindergarten. Households that were within 300 meters from the two kindergartens (the two circles) were considered to be fully served. Those households beyond the two circles were deemed under served. This led authorities to support the establishment of a third kindergarten. Map 2: Locations of Beneficiaries and Applications Source: Based on presentation by Karla Breceda in the second videoconference with Mexico, June 17, 2010. • Mexico’s Monitoring and Evaluation System Fernanda González continued the discussion with a description of Mexico’s monitoring and evaluation of social programs at the Federal level. This program has its roots in a 1997 impact evaluation of the Progresa Program, which evolved into the Oportunidades Program. In 2000, the Congress mandated annual evaluations of all operational programs. The goal of this decree was to avoid the inappropriate political use of social programs and create transparency and accountability. In 2002, the Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público, SHCP) and the Civil Service Ministry (Secretaría de la Función Pública, SFP) began the process of standardizing evaluations. The first change was the enactment of the Social Development Law in 2004, which institutionalized evaluation of social development policy. This law and other institutional and legal changes, including the creation of the National Council for Evaluation of Social Development Policy (Consejo Nacional de Evaluación de la Política de Desarrollo Social, CONEVAL), led to the current system of monitoring and evaluation. Two years later, the Federal Budget and Financial Responsibility Law completed the reform by including the planning and budgeting processes with implementation and monitoring and evaluation. By 2007, SHCP, SFP, and CONEVAL were developing the guidelines for the Performance Assessment System and Results-based Budgeting. The guidelines sought to align programs with Sector plans with the following goals: › Promote greater coordination within a sector. › Link planning, budgeting, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation. › Strengthen the generation of performance information for decision making, general management, program operation, and accountability. › Improve the design and operation of social programs and spending quality. The Performance Assessment System’s new evaluation guidelines align programs with sector plans. This ambitious system was intended to evaluate all programs, new or old, and to make evaluation requirement more realistic. It also introduced the logical framework approach and matrix indicators. The matrix was linked to the system through a monitoring and evaluation process. The guidelines also require annual assessments by CONEVAL. They define the type of evaluation to be performed each year according to specific needs. The results of the assessments point to areas in need of improvement and lead to work plans for improvement. The types of evaluation include (1) design, (2) consistency of results, (3) indicators, (4) performance, (5) process, and (6) impact. Agencies can include complimentary evaluations to meet their program needs. All evaluations are published in CONEVAL’s “Yearly Evaluation Program.� Figure 9 shows the annual evaluations by year. As a result of this evaluations system, programs have been eliminated, consolidated, or redesigned. In Year 0, the diagnostic assesses the proposal for a new program. It assesses whether the problem is well understood, if the target population is well defined and identified and other questions that result in a well-planned program. During the first year of implementation (Year 1), design evaluations assess the program design based on the indicator matrix for results. During the second year of implementation (Year 2), the assessment evaluates for consistency and results. During the third year of implementation (Year 3) and subsequent years, process evaluations measure the operations, process and indicators. Impact evaluations might also be implemented using the base line from Year 0 and control groups. 48 - 49 Figure 9: Program Evaluations by Year Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 New Program Design Evaluation Consistency and Results Process Evaluation and Evaluation Indicators Evaluation Specific and Complimentary Evaluations Diagnostic for new Diagnostic for first year of Diagnostic for programs Diagnostic for programs programs to be included in new programs over two years old over two year old and after the budget a consistency and results evaluation Impact Evaluation: Impact Evaluation: Impact Evaluation: Impact Evaluation: Base line Control Group and Study Impacts on beneficiaries Impacts on beneficiaries Group Assessment of specific Assessment of specific measures measures Source: Based on presentation by Fernanda González in the second videoconference with Mexico, June 17, 2010. SEDESOL’s performance evaluation is based on results-based monitoring and results-based budgeting. These pillars support the budget process. The indicators matrix serves as a platform to track all the indicators at the program level. At the sector level, the platform tacks the priority goals, whose indicators are chosen from the matrix of program indicators. This method allows for realignment of programs and goals toward a developing public policy. The indicator matrix can also be used to simplify operational rules and reform structures, as needed. When SEDESOL conducts evaluations at the program level, the evaluators also plan the specific needs of the programs. Impact, design, and results evaluations are distributed among a number of institutions, such as CONEVAL, SFP, SHCP, and the Congress. Work plans seek to improve the programs. They include actions to e taken, dates, and people responsible for the actions. All the evaluations are published on the Web. At the sectoral level, evaluations are used to make decisions and inform social programs. The main achievements of SEDESOL’s performance evaluation system are the ability to align programs to larger sectoral goals and to develop plans with long time frames. The system has led to simplified and systematic information, which can be used in periodic reports and the budget is now linked to program results, goals and objectives. As a result, implementation is results oriented and monitoring provides the high quality data for better evaluations. Most importantly, the information is available to civil society, thereby ensuring greater transparency and accountability. • Challenges and Discussion During the question and answer period, discussion focused on efficiency and ensuring coverage and equity. An early challenge was to standardize the roster questionnaire used to qualify households and individuals. Ms. Breceda pointed out that poorer areas are usually given priority. However, within any service area some households are not receiving the programs benefits and some beneficiaries are leaving the program because of failure to comply with the requirements. In those cases, the programs must address the particular issues represented of the community. Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience Earlier, each program used its own questionnaire. The process of developing a single questionnaire required negotiations and final agreements among all programs. The questionnaire begins with some basic questions and uses an annex to assess qualification for each program. This process of using a single assessment tool was also extended to the identification of beneficiaries. Households and individuals are now assigned a single number used by all the programs. The biggest challenge for the roster and for the various programs is to maximize efficiency and serve the most households or individuals as possible within a zone. However, although the roster can identify the neediest areas, the programs cannot serve all areas equally. Moreover, not all households in a zone receive a program’s benefits. In addition, beneficiaries enter and leave a program for a number of reasons, such as not complying with the conditions, or not meeting the eligibility requirements. The concern is always to use the most recent information possible to decide whether or not to enter a zone or whether or not to include a particular family or individual. To address these issues of coverage, the roster may use official data from the National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, INEGI), an autonomous institution and the main supplier of statistical and geographical information in Mexico. Ms. Breceda further commented that the monitoring and evaluations system continues to be a work in progress. There are many areas for improvement. Evaluators continue to learn and improve their processes. For example, the linking of internal processes in government agencies needs improvement and the division of responsibilities is unclear. In addition, the program needs to improve its ability to align planning, budgeting, operational and monitoring and evaluation activities from different areas. Finally, the system could also improve its external and internal capacities. Internally, the government agencies find it difficult to define indicators and goals. Externally a supply of evaluators is developing, but, the quality of the evaluations is mixed. Both challenges require more training and time for government staff and outside evaluators to acquire the necessary experience. 50 - 51 Exchange Visit to Mexico City Public Policy Assessment in Mexico (Bolivian officials’ visit to the National Council for Social Development Policy Assessment (CONEVAL) in Mexico) Monday September 23, 2010 Speaker: Thania de la Garza Navarrete, CONEVAL, Adjunct General Director of Assessment In the year 2000 the Congress of the United Mexican States set forth the legal requirement of an annual assessment for all Federal executive branch programs. In 2004 the Transparency and Access to Information Laws and the Social Development Law were issued. In 2007 the Budget and Financial Accountability Law: Performance Evaluation System was issued. The Social Development Law institutionalized the assessment process, regulated the social development policy and program assessment process, and created the National Council for Social Development Policy Assessment (CONEVAL). The Budget and Financial Accountability Law granted evaluation attributions to the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (Performance Evaluation System (SED)) and to the Inspector General’s Ministry. The National Council for Social Development Policy Assessment (CONEVAL) is an agency that enjoys technical autonomy and self-management privileges. It is made up of six (6) researchers from universities and research centers and one (1) Executive Secretary. CONEVAL’s function is to measure poverty at national, state, and municipal levels and to assess social development policy and programs. CONEVAL’s objectives include: i) to furnish valid, reliable information that will support social development policy analysis and ongoing program improvement, and that will contribute to the authorities articulating a public policy with the desired results, and ii) to contribute to Transparency and Accountability by informing the results of social policy actions to citizens. The General Guidelines for Program Assessment regulate the evaluation of Federal programs and the preparation of the indicator matrices, monitoring systems, and strategic objectives. The Monitoring and Evaluation system entails a stage during which planning the programs that will contribute to the National Development Plan takes place and a stage for evaluating various aspects of an individual program (Evaluation Design, Consistency and Results Evaluation, Impact Evaluation, Specific Evaluation for Performance, Process Evaluation, Progress and Coverage Evaluation, etc…). Using such evaluations, a series of recommendations are made. They are classified, prioritized and then monitored. SEDESOL Roster of Beneficiaries System (Bolivian officials’ visit to the National Council for Social Development Policy Evaluation (CONEVAL) in Mexico) Monday September 23, 2010 Speaker: Karla Breceda, SEDESOL, General Director for Geo-Statistics and Roster of Beneficiaries Before having the current Secretary of Social Development roster of beneficiaries, in the year 2000 only the programs Oportunidades and Liconsa boasted systemized rosters of beneficiaries. The remaining programs only had lists of beneficiaries. By 2001-2002 the General Directorate for Rosters was created with the purpose of integrating the rosters of those two programs. In 2003 we attempted to also integrate the lists of beneficiaries from the other programs and that is when we identified the need to standardize the information that the Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience programs sent in and funnel it into one sole roster. From 2004 to 2008 we were able to integrate the sole roster with the information on its beneficiaries that each program would send in. In 2009-2010 we also identified the need to standardize not only the information received but also the information gathering process. Before, each program had its own process for identifying potential beneficiaries as well as its own lists with the persons registered and the support granted. There were databases with the beneficiaries’ socio-economic information and at times some data regarding their households. However, the information was not gathered or kept in a standardized manner. Each program used its own questionnaire so the information collected could not be shared from one program to the next. As I mentioned, from 2009 to 2010 the information gathering process was standardized to create the sole roster. Now, with one sole questionnaire the beneficiaries of all of the programs are identified, which enables sharing information among the programs. An on-line platform was developed to capture the printed questionnaires, limiting capturing errors. The system further allows simultaneously detecting eligibility. In the event of non-eligibility, applicants may be able to access social programs other than the one for which they applied. Mexico has a series of regulations and guidelines that govern roster creation: General Regulations for Information Gathering Processes, General Regulations for the Capturing Model Used in Social Program Rosters of Beneficiaries, and Normative Guidelines for Social Program Roster Integration, Operation, and Maintenance. Besides the regulations regarding information gathering, capture, and integration, there are some guidelines for identifying households in conditions of poverty, based on the collected information. With the changes in the roster creation structure, we went from a system of limited use to a more complete, valuable system that is a useful tool in the various program stages: design, prospective planning, operations planning, administrative recording, comptroller’s office, inter-program coordination, identification of needs, and evaluation. The Sole Socio-economic Information Questionnaire (CUIS) enables properly identifying persons, households, and locations; becoming familiar with the population’s needs, the lack of services and the absence of access to social programs; identifying problems or vulnerable groups; determining the programs for which each individual is eligible; updating socio-economic conditions; monitoring that support is actually granted; designing new programs; and geo-referencing applicants, beneficiaries, and infrastructure. To design the sole questionnaire, we analyzed the questionnaires used in each of the SEDESOL programs being carried out at the time (a total of 17), as well as their admission processes and eligibility criteria for each program. To do so, we developed a statistical model to identify poor households using socio-demographic conditions, not income. We also identified the operations information requirements for each of the programs. Likewise, the questionnaire asks for information on all of the members of the household and, in the case of the programs with age selection criteria, it can identify the program beneficiaries for upcoming years. 52 - 53 Exchange Visit to La Paz Renta Universal de Vejez “Renta Dignidad� (Universal Old Age Income Program) (Mexican officials’ visit to social development programs in La Paz, Bolivia) Wednesday September 8, 2010 Speaker: Emanuel Villegas, Liaison with the Agencies that Furnish Information regarding Renta Dignidad From 1997 to 2007 in Bolivia there were different non-contributory benefits, such as “Bolivida� and “Bonosol�, aimed at individuals 65 years of age or over. In November 2007, Law 3791 derogated Bonosol and created Universal Old Age Income “Renta Dignidad� for which payments started in February 2008. Renta Dignidad is a benefit for life but it is not subject to succession. It is a non-contributive benefit granted to Bolivian citizens 60 years old or over. The “program� is universal; it also covers funeral expenses. Renta Dignidad entails one annual payment of approximately USD 340, which may be doled out on a monthly basis. The non-recurring payment for funeral expenses is made in cash to an individual who accredits having paid for the funeral of the Renta Dignidad beneficiary. That payment is approximately USD 255. Beneficiaries are entitled to receive from 75% (USD 255) to 100% (USD 340) of the Renta Dignidad stipend, depending on whether the beneficiary has an income or pension or not. Beneficiaries who have a long- term income or pension from Sistema de Reparto (Distribution System) or from Sistema de Seguridad Social Obligatorio (Mandatory Social Security System) are entitled to 75% of the Renta Dignidad stipend per year. Individuals who receive remuneration as public officials are not entitled to Renta Dignidad for the time they continue working. In 2008 payment was made by Administradoras de Fondos de Pensiones Futuro de Bolivia (Administrators of Pension Funds). As of 2009 the entity that managed payments was Asociación Accidental La Vitalicia - BISA SAFI. It was contracted through a national public tender process and is in charge of the management and payment of Renta Dignidad stipends and the non-recurring funeral expenses. In April 2009 Decree No. 0071 created Autoridad de Fiscalización y Control Social de Pensiones, AP (Pension Social Control and Supervision Authority (AP)) that oversees, controls, supervises, and regulates the payment of this universal old age income and of the funeral expenses amount. Law No. 3791 issued in November 2007 set forth Renta Universal de Vejez (Renta Dignidad) (Universal Old Age Income (Dignified Income)) as part of the non-contributory social security regime. The program financing sources are resources obtained from direct taxation of hydrocarbons, jurisdictions, municipalities, the Native Indian fund, and the National General Treasury, as well as from direct taxation on the dividends of capitalized public sector companies of the stock share corresponding to the citizens of Bolivia. The resources generated by the mentioned financing sources must be deposited in the Renta Universal de Vejez Fund account. AP is the institution in charge of regulating the administration of the Renta Universal de Vejez Fund, of handling requests and claims and of paying Renta Dignidad stipends and the funeral expenses. AP is the only institution empowered to update the Renta Dignidad database of beneficiaries with information furnished by the National Electorate Court – Civil Registry, by the Bolivian Police National Personal Identification Directorate, and by data provider entities. Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience • Currently there are approximately 4 million records. • 800,000 individuals have received Renta Dignidad payments at least once since 2008. • Some individuals are paid 75% of Renta Dignidad. • Some disabled persons are only given support until a certain age. • The armed forces support the payment of Renta Dignidad through 238 mobile points. • The main source for the database was the 2002 electorate roster. Bono Juancito Pinto (Mexican officials’ visit to social development programs in La Paz, Bolivia) Wednesday September 8, 2010 Speaker: Roberto Valdés, Bono Juancito Pinto Executing Unit Coordinator Bono Juancito Pinto (Juancito Pinto Bonus) is a conditional money transfer with no follow-up on the beneficiaries. We do not know the current situation of the individuals who have received support. This government policy was created in 2006. It established a bonus of 200 bolivianos that were given to elementary school students from 1st to 5th grade. The bonus could be in cash or in kind. In 2007 the coverage of beneficiaries was broadened to include 6th grade elementary school students but payment was changed to only cash. In 2008, coverage was extended to 8th grade and in 2009 the universe of beneficiaries did not change. Only students with regular attendance can become bonus beneficiaries. One of the objectives of the bonus is to reduce school desertion. This is a non-targeted universal program. Process: First the schools prepare a log of beneficiaries, which is the first input for monitoring. From May to June each school sends the log to the provincial department school superintendence (called Educa) in charge of generating a database of beneficiaries. They are also responsible for gathering information on the number of schools, the type of school (regular education, alternate education or special education school), the number of children at each school, and the number of children in the universe of potential beneficiaries. The Educas gather the information for the Ministry; they are given a deadline for forward the information. Once the number of children is known, payment agents are assigned, following three criteria: their location in the region (if there are armed forces bases in the different provincial departments of Bolivia), the installed capacity, and the total number of schools in their area of responsibility (or nucleus). After obtaining the revised armed forces database, the follow-up and monitoring system is started, which may be viewed on the Ministry of Education web site and a user number ID is assigned with a password for each payment agent (currently there are 70 to 75 payment agents). Each one of them has a number of schools assigned and the payment agents’ databases are uploaded to the Web site. The system has a module of beneficiaries where the individuals who have been paid a bonus and those who are not paid are recorded. After the information is updated, the system issues a report printout that provides 54 - 55 detailed information by school of the number of children who have been paid the bonus, the amount used, and the percentage of payments made. This is a form of monitoring. A second module is the scheduling module. The armed forces make a tentative payment timetable in which payment can be rescheduled if payment could not be made, for example, due to bad weather conditions. The option of rescheduling can only be used by the Ministry. A third module is the consultation module. Users can consult if a school has been paid or not and the payment agent (the armed forces, etc...) must corroborate if that is not actually so or if the system must be updated. Therefore, this module serves as a control module. There is also a password change module and finally an accountability module where the money spent is calculated. Payment agents are assigned based on the installed capacity and the number of schools in the area of responsibility. The sole student registry is updated once a year. There are statistical information gathering sub-systems that are used twice a year. The monitoring and evaluation system currently used for this bonus reviews the number of children paid, the percentages paid, if the area is rural or urban, the payment agent (Air Force, Navy or Army), and the amount used. However, there is no follow-up. We do not know the present situation of the individuals who have received bonuses. The system created for the bonus is very simple. The monitoring system is activated using the databases received and the latter are uploaded to the Web site. The recording system and its monitoring are done using a management system without using the student’s name. The bonus is paid once a year. Programa de Vivienda Social (Social Housing Program) (Mexican officials’ visit to social development programs in La Paz, Bolivia) Thursday, September 9, 2010 Speaker: Joel Gómez, Statistics Technician, Office of the Vice-Minister of Housing Programa de Vivienda Social – PVS (Social Housing Program) belongs to the Office of the Vice-Minister of Housing, ascribed to the Ministry of Public Works. The Political Constitution has been restructured to include new components. Before there was only one, housing; now there are habitat, housing, and autonomous territorial management. In 2006, Programa Vivienda Social y Solidaria was created. It incorporated women into the program as well as other persons who had not been included and it expanded to rural areas. This program incorporates women as an active subject and attends the housing needs of the urban-rural population. Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience The general objective of the Program is to reduce the housing shortage in low-income population sectors, thus promoting and improving access to housing to ensure good living conditions. Its specific objectives are: a) To establish and consolidate mechanisms to facilitate access to dignified housing. b) To give priority to the low-income population, following the principle of social equity. c) To generate labor by having the beneficiaries help by building their own dwellings. d) To attend the workers’ housing needs. e) To promote and consolidate the nuclear family unit, as the foundation of society. Programa de Vivienda Social is made up of four (4) subprograms. The first one attends the needs of rural sectors under the line of poverty. The second sub-program attends individuals in conditions of moderate poverty in periurban and intermediate areas. The third subprogram serves the population on the threshold of poverty (bordering the poverty line) in periurban and urban areas. Finally, the fourth one attends the needs of the population concentrated in urban areas. The stakeholders of this Program include the Administration Committee that makes decisions regarding resources and about who actually receives those resources, the Social Control Committee that must “supervise� the activities carried out under the Program. The Control Committee is comprised of the Ministry of Justice, Central Obrera Boliviana – COB (Bolivian Workers’ Trade Union), and the Chamber of Private Sector Businessmen. These agencies must control the management of resources. There is also a Trust Fund managed by FONDESIF (Financial System and Productive Sector Support Development Fund) as well as financial intermediaries (cooperatives, banks). The Program has also worked with municipal governments, NGOs, businesses, executing agencies, and beneficiaries organized through Housing Committees. The process starts with the beneficiaries. They organize, form their Housing Committee and request housing. Programa de Vivienda Social has gone through several stages. From 2004 to 2005 it was called Programa de Financiamiento a la Vivienda –PFV (Housing Financing Program). The Social Housing Program can be divided into two stages: from 2006 to 2008 there was the PVS-H. From 2009 to 2010 there was the PVS-Transición. There are hopes of working with housing for couples; the sub-program would be called “El Casado Casa Quiere� (“Newlyweds Want Their Own House�). Another project is a program for home improvement. Furthermore, the minimum constructed area has been enlarged. Before it was 36 square meters. Now it is from 50 to 75 square meters, depending on the sub-program. Also, the amount of financing has been changing or is different according to the place of execution. Local governments participate a lot in the program. And there is a technical inspection of the dwelling as it is being built. The number of dwellings handed over has increased from 898 in 2006 to 3,548 in 2010. The total number of dwellings handed over is around 44,400 dwellings. At first, we only worked urban areas; we have now handed over dwellings in rural areas. Three systems have been developed. The first one is the Housing Projects Information System (SIP); the second one is a document management system called SIACO, which permits doing follow up on all document transactions; and the third one is the Performance Management System that allows assigning work to the officials in charge. This system also enables tying in the other two, to show pending work, contract follow-up, policy maturities, dwelling handover, template completion, trips made, etc... All such activities should reach 56 - 57 each technician and supervisor for them to perform their jobs. To do so, a notification is issued as a reminder to such persons. We want to do follow-up on our housing projects. SIP gives us scheduling records. That system was conceived for each works inspector in each region overseeing the housing projects to record the project movement, such as dwellings handed over, the physical progress two weeks or once a month. With that information available and if you have a scheduled date for when a dwelling should be delivered and see that the project is on schedule. If I have information on what is scheduled, I can notify the works inspector and the corresponding users about what is being accomplished and what is not. It is a Windows tool that shows the notification when the contract is close to expiring. That gives the inspector updated documents, guarantees, contracts, etc... SIP ties to the performance management system assigning work, for better project control. It stores project data. SIACO is a correspondence system for tracking documentation. When a document arrives at the institution, for example, it goes from one individual to the next and SIACO lets us know who has the document at any point in time. That tracking helps to follow up on the document. The executors, the construction companies that build the dwellings, plan when they will deliver the structural shell work and request payment for that first stage to the regional office. That is to say, it is an advanced payment on the activities for each project. The template is an instrument that enables disbursement so that the construction can continue. It contains all of the construction details. To continue with the following stages, the completed stage must be paid. The advanced payment requests made by the construction companies are recorded in the correspondence system and also in the SIP database. That enables us to do follow-up to see where the template is, why it is taking so long, what the problem is so that we can resolve it and make the cash payment. Our aim is to have a table providing indicators for the executor units: their goals, their actual performance, to compare scheduled goals and actual results, that is to say, to have a table that summarizes the information for the Minister and for the Vice-Minister, to show them how everything has been working. Bono Juana Azurduy (Mexican officials’ visit to social development programs in La Paz, Bolivia) Friday, September 10, 2010 This program was created in 2009; it was initially aimed at providing support to 52 municipalities with World Bank backing and to 38 municipalities with Inter-American Development Bank backing; however, the President wanted the program to be universal for all of the municipalities throughout the country. Currently the Bono Juana Azurduy program works hand in hand with Programa de Desnutrición Cero (Zero Undernutrition Program) due to the desire to give strong emphasis to total health enhancement action for mothers and newborns. The Constitution sets forth that Bolivia is a plurinational State; one of its main components is the principle of interculturality due to the range of communities that the country has. The program was motivated by the high levels of mother and newborn malnutrition and morbidity that exist in Bolivia. Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience Through the program we hope to increase the demand for total service for mothers and newborns because now it is hard to give this population access to health care centers as it is geographically dispersed. Therefore, the population does not visit the health centers that exist throughout the country. So, there are geographical barriers; there are places where the only access is by crossing a river; there are spots where there are no access roads or paths, etc... . Due to the above we have had to rely on the contingency of consultant physicians and we have already hired 600 doctors to distribute them throughout the national territory. It is worth mentioning that in Bolivia, at least 1,600 health centers do not have physicians; they only have medical aides. The consultant physicians must perform health actions, do family consulting, and carry out community and intercultural actions. The training workshops for the consultant physicians started in August 2010; they are being conducted with the participation of social organizations that mainly represent females. The program has a very strong human rights-based gender and generational focus. The target population is comprised of pregnant females and children less than two years of age and obviously the family. The objective of Bono is to contribute towards reducing chronic undernutrition in vulnerable rural and urban areas. The program has national territorial coverage; we work at a provincial (state) department level. Each provincial department generates both urban and rural data. There are certain requirements that must be met, to be able to benefit from the Bono. The general objective of this program is to contribute to reducing chronic undernutrition in boys and girls less than two years of age, mainly in the most vulnerable rural and urban areas. The specific objectives are: • To contribute to decreasing the prevailing chronic undernutrition in minors less than two years of age with food security vulnerability indices 4 and 5. • To increase the demand for total health services for pregnant females and minors less than two years old. To do so, synergy with Programa Desnutrición Cero (Zero Undernutrition Program) is being generated. The program has a logical framework that enables monitoring (here we measure the number of inputs, the activities that we want to carry out, and the outputs that we generate) and evaluation (done using consultants who measure the effects and the impact, to see if we are working properly). We want to make the communities co-responsible for the total care of mothers and newborns because that generates transparency, participation and lets us generate strategic management with grassroots organization social control. We have contracted a technology platform called Síntesis (Synthesis); it interacts with banking institutions (foundations, savings and loan corporations), in order to reach the most remote areas. Síntesis also does on- line payment result reporting. So, on a daily basis, we know the amount paid, where it was paid and to whom it was paid. That represents high transparency indices when it comes to reporting co-responsibility payments. 58 - 59 We have a monitoring and evaluation coordinator for programming. He is in charge of the Information Technology that generates all of the financial data related to the co-responsibilities. The program’s logical framework has set the objective of reducing chronic undernutrition by at least 15% by 2013 and has established the indicators that we want to measure. Currently, we have 70% to 80% of the target population covered. Mi Primer Empleo (Mexican officials’ visit to social development programs in La Paz, Bolivia) Friday, September 10, 2010 Speaker: René Apaza, National Chief of Project Monitoring and Evaluation The project Mi Primer Empleo (My First Job) is just starting; it has three stages. The first stage is the execution of the pilot Project; the second stage involves assessing the pilot project process; and the third stage entails the expansion phase of project execution. The pilot has been executed and, thanks to that experience, we have improved the intervention model and have proposed a model, to be consolidated upon the signature of an inter-ministry agreement. For us, the expansion phase is the start of the operating phase. We project that the expansion phase will start at the end of September or early October 2010. We are currently developing instruments to enable its management, supervision, and monitoring. We are presently developing the monitoring and evaluation for the program. This program is the Ministry of Labor’s first experience with a project with external financing. What we have seen so far is that the Ministry does not have an integral information system. The IT system that it has responds to the administrative records of certain projects, of certain activities, but they are not integrated. They do not have a behavioral pattern; they do not have standardized databases, etc... . We want to have an information system, not just an IT record storage device. We also want to incorporate family information into the system. The second project component with World Bank assistance aims to improve and expand the competence development program called Mi Primer Empleo Digno (My First Dignified Job), aimed at young adults who live in urban areas and in periurban areas. Pursuant to Article 54 in the Constitution of Bolivia, it is the State’s obligation to set forth employment policies to avoid unemployment or underemployment, for the purpose of creating, maintaining, and generating conditions that will guarantee workers the possibility of dignified job training and fair remuneration. In the expansion phase, the project Mi Primer Empleo Digno aims to improve program administration and operations, to develop the competences of unemployed, low-income young adults and to increase their effectiveness. The program will be carried out in six cities: La Paz, El Alto, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Potosí, and Tarija. For young adults to become beneficiaries, they must meet the age requirement (18 to 24 years of age) and must have completed 8th grade. They must complete a socio-economic questionnaire with information regarding their place of residence, electricity consumption, if they did their schooling in a State, private or public sector Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience school, the number of persons in their family, the type of housing, etc... . Each young adult’s characteristics are weighted and they are selected based on the weighting. The project has four subcomponents. The first one consists of improving project effectiveness; the second aims to strengthen institutional capacity and the Ministry’s employability agreements to manage and monitor the project. The third sub-component entails providing opportunities for skill training and for low-income young adults’ first job experience. The fourth one is to support the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Welfare in defining a medium-term strategy to fight young adult unemployment. The project system objectives are: • To contribute to the efficient, effective performance of activities, seeking consistency and coherence. • To measure and give feedback on scheduled activity compliance. • To facilitate timely decision making, to overcome obstacles. • To facilitate individual and group learning based on past experiences. • To facilitate measuring project intervention results and impacts. The project goals are: • To evaluate the pilot project processes. • To design the intervention model arising from process evaluations. • To benefit nearly 4,000 young adults, out of which an estimated 40% are females. • To achieve that 80% of all of the young adults conclude the competence development phase and for 50% of those who graduate to have jobs in the span of four months after graduation. • To achieve that 70% of all actions belong to the production transformation sector (manufacturing sector). • To have a completed, validated, operating management information system. The target population is young adults, male and female, from 18 to 24 years of age, preferably who live in marginalized urban areas in the coverage area and who come from households with low economic resources. The young adults must have full time availability during the seven months that the project lasts. The structure of this program entails identifying company demand and young adult supply and training the young adults who have the mentioned characteristics based on such company demand. After the young adults are trained, they can apply for the available jobs in the companies. The companies will be responsible for paying the young adults whom they select. It is important to mention that a company is not obliged to hire any of these young adults. Currently, there are six priority job sectors in which the young adults can register. Our project has a three-phase cycle. The first phase is vocational education in training institutions (three months). The second phase is on-the-job training in a company for three months. And the third phase is the training validation. Our program starts with the labor competence training process. That process is carried out by training institutions and alternative education centers. Follow-up is done during the on-the-job training phase with the personnel in the department units through operations officials who will be co-responsible for the action. All comments and suggestions made will help the coordinator to give feedback to the young adult trainee, for his or her improvement. Such comments will enable us to prepare actions for solving problems that may arise. We are going to classify the performance of all actions; we are going to systemize the information in the above- mentioned three phases, as well as the final report, and that information will allow us to pay the institutions that conduct the training. 60 - 61 We have designed three forms for recording company demand. There is a Strategic Alliance application form- document that must be signed by the company and the program. On that form, the company will indicate the number of openings that it has for young adults. Form 3 is the voucher that will be delivered to the company, stating that the program has recorded its demand. There are other forms used in the three phases that will allow follow-up on each one of the program activities. Young adults interested in the program may register via Internet, may go to the program offices or may go to the plurinational employment system. After registering via Internet, young adults have seven days to go to the office to validate their documents. If they fail to do so, their registration is annulled. When the young adults arrive directly at the program offices, their information is validated and they are given a registration voucher. Other instruments that will be used in the program process are the baseline form, inter-institutional committee minutes, an attendance control log (we are thinking about implementing the biometric log), the content progress and follow-up form, the monthly programmatic report, the attendance template, Phase Two final report, and the final report on job entry or entrepreneurship support and follow-up, among others. Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience ADDITIONAL RESOURCES The Web sites below provide additional information on the issues discussed in this report. The included CD provides additional material, the participants’ presentations, and multimedia presentations. World Bank South-South Experience Exchange Facility http://go.worldbank.org/1D0TBWMZE0 http://www.worldbank.org/boliviaplurinacional Bolivia http://www.info-bolivia.com/anuncian-lanzamiento-en-potosi-de-plan-vida-antipobreza_noticias-bolivia_a-10732.html http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=35011326 http://www.ifad.org/gbdocs/eb/98/s/EB-2009-98-R-39-Sup-1.pdf http://www.uasb.edu.ec/UserFiles/372/File/pdfs/SUBSITIO%20FIDA/ENFOQUES%20Y%20EXPERIENCIAS%20DEL%20 DESARROLLO%20RURAL/Bolivia%20vvir%20bien%20y%20desarrollo.pdf http://www.bicusa.org/es/Article.aspx?id=11563 Brazil http://www.geraes.mg.gov.br/ http://www.mg.gov.br/governomg/ecp/comunidade.do;jsessionid=70D37D0AD18BCDD8E101CB3A212D3793?app=governomg Indonesia http://www.pnpm-mandiri.org/ http://www.pnpm-mandiri.org/elibrary/files/disk1/2/pnpm--pnpmmandir-71-1-newslett-v.pdf http://www.adb.org/Documents/RRPs/INO/40247-INO-RRP.pdf Mexico http://www.oportunidades.gob.mx/Portal/ http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/reducingpoverty/case/119/summary/Mexico-Oportunidades%20Summary.pdf 62 - 63 Bolivia Plurinacional South-South Experience