The purpose of the competition Gobernarte: “Pablo Valenti” Award is to identify, reward, support and disseminate public management initiatives of subnational governments such as states, departments, provinces, regions, municipalities, or other equivalent denominations in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).  

The objectives of the competition are: 

1. Identify and reward innovative and comprehensive initiatives in public management to promote creativity as well as initiatives that seek to improve citizen services by strengthening institutional capacity.
2. Document and disseminate these innovations to advance the agenda of strengthening institutional capacity and modernizing the State in LAC towards effective, efficient and open governments. 
3. Facilitate cooperation among subnational governments to deepen knowledge of innovative experiences in public management and expand their dissemination among interested stakeholders to contribute to strengthening institutional capacity.

In its first five editions, 25 innovative initiatives were recognized:

2013
Six initiatives were awarded prizes for improving the management of procedures for citizens and companies and citizen security in the States of Puebla and Colima (Mexico), Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) and the Province of Santa Fe (Argentina).

2014
Four initiatives aimed at increasing the access of vulnerable populations to public services through digital tools were recognized in the governments of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul and the Prefeitura Municipal de Vitória (Brazil), the Mayor’s Office of Santiago de Cali (Colombia) and the State of Colima (Mexico).

2015
Five initiatives were awarded for using mass data to improve public services and initiatives aimed at reducing legal identity gaps and modernizing civil registries implemented by the municipal governments of Fortaleza and São Bernardo do Campo (Brazil), Guayaquil (Ecuador), Antigua (Guatemala) and Baruta (Venezuela).

2016
Six initiatives won awards in three categories that sought to find solutions to prevent violence against women, promote women’s leadership and citizen participation, and improve road safety through innovative actions. The winners were the municipalities of Santiago de Chile (Chile) and Belo Horizonte (Brazil) and the states of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo (Brazil), the city of Medellín (Colombia) and Mexico City (Mexico).

2018
Four innovative initiatives were recognized in the following two categories: citizen participation and trust-building, and democracy and digital citizenship. The winning governments were the city governments of Bogota (Colombia) and Puebla (Mexico) and the governments of the State of Sao Paulo (Brazil) and the Province of Cordoba (Argentina).

2019
Four innovative initiatives were recognized in the categories of: (1) use of data for the public policy cycle and (2) innovative services for vulnerable communities. The winning governments were Mexico City (Mexico), the State of Alagoas (Brazil), the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro in partnership with UN Habitat (Brazil) and the Government of the Department of Atlántico in partnership with the Universidad Antonio Nariño (Colombia).

2020
Six innovative initiatives aimed at ensuring continuity in the management and delivery of citizen services in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic were recognized. The governments and initiatives awarded were: the Government of Cundinamarca (Colombia): Pensiones + Cerca de Ti; the Secretaria da Educação do Estado de São Paulo (Brazil): Centro de Mídias da Educação de São Paulo (CMSP); the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima (Peru): Manos a la Olla; the Mayor’s Office of Bogotá (Colombia): Bogotá Solidaria: Sistema de Transferencias Monetarias no Condicionadas y Ayudas en Especie; the Municipality of El Bosque (Chile): Modelo de Gestión Participativa de Salud Municipal de la Comuna de el Bosque; and the Municipality of Villa Carlos Paz (Argentina): Red Online de Acción Social de la Gestión Comunitaria en el Marco de Pandemia COVID-19.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Migration is a multidimensional, multifaceted and complex phenomenon with individual, collective and socioeconomic implications for the countries that are part of its cycle, whether they are countries of origin, transit, destination or return. Although it is a phenomenon inherent to the human species, the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects, as well as certain socioeconomic and political contexts and extreme climate-related phenomena have intensified and are expected to increase migratory flows, even leading to unforeseen movements, large numbers of people in the region, and criminal phenomena such as trafficking in persons (TIP). 

Public innovation in the face of new migration flows in LAC

LAC is facing the most complex migration challenges in its history. The new migration flows are turning the region from a zone of emigration into one with much more complex internal flows. In just 5 years, 6 million people left Venezuela and 5 million moved to countries in the region. More than one million people returned to the northern countries of Central America between 2015 and 2019; likewise, displacements have been occurring from the south of the continent northward to the United States and Canada, and new movements of migrants are emerging in search of a second destination.

This new scenario presents countries, and especially subnational governments, with major challenges in terms of humanitarian assistance and socioeconomic integration of the migrant population. This means, among other things, strengthening coordination between sectors and agencies; adapting the government structure to provide a comprehensive and effective response to the demands and needs of the migrant and host populations; and updating and adjusting their regulatory frameworks to establish new guidelines at the institutional level for the provision of services and the expansion of coverage. 

Faced with this scenario, governments and host communities in LAC have shown unprecedented resilience and capacity for innovation and response.

Public Innovation to Address the Crime of Trafficking in Persons in LAC 

Trafficking in Persons (TIP) is a crime and a serious violation of human rights with devastating consequences for the victims.  It affects women, men, boys and girls, who are exploited for sexual purposes, forced labor, child begging, domestic servitude, forced recruitment, and organ removal, among others. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC, 2020), in LAC women and girls represent the majority of trafficking victims (between 74%-79%). The main form of TIP identified in the region is sexual exploitation (81% in Central America and the Caribbean and 64% in South America), followed by forced labor. Most of the victims identified in LAC (between 91% and 97%) come from their own country or subregion. 

The countries of the region face multiple challenges in combating TIP, including difficulties in identifying cases, lack of information, absence of standardized protocols and training, lack of accompaniment and protection for victims, and lack of clear coordination processes between institutions of the Citizen Security and Justice sector and other sectors. Furthermore, the increase in unemployment, inequality and poverty as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the growing use of digital technologies by traffickers and potential victims, current migration patterns and changing criminal dynamics, will increase the vulnerability of certain populations in LAC to becoming victims of trafficking. 

Faced with this scenario, LAC governments, including subnational governments, play a fundamental role in the detection, prevention and response to this crime as well as the protection of victims.

Given the complexity of these phenomena, responses must be comprehensive. This implies the identification and prioritization of the specific problems to be solved, the creation of organizational environments that promote experimentation and learning, and the participation of various sectors to ensure that responses are comprehensive, relevant and feasible (Andrews et al., 2017).

Likewise, the approach must be conducive to better public management by strengthening institutional capacity. This involves working in the cross-cutting areas of: (i) transformation of public administration structures and processes to address increasingly complex problems and citizen demands, (ii) digital transformation and data availability to improve efficiency and quality and increase access to services for citizens and businesses, and (iii) promotion of transparency, integrity and open government.

Through this call for proposals for Gobernarte 2022, The Art of Good Governance “Pablo Valenti” Award, in its eighth edition, the IDB seeks to recognize subnational governments such as states, departments, provinces, municipalities, or other equivalent denominations in LAC that have developed innovative initiatives aimed at: (i) providing a comprehensive response to the migrant population and their host communities by promoting social welfare and socioeconomic development under a territorial perspective in the medium and long term and (ii) strengthening institutional capacity for the detection, prevention and protection of victims of human trafficking and the prosecution of this crime.

2. COMPETITION RULES 

In the eighth edition of the Gobernarte contest, three (3) initiatives of subnational governments in LAC will be recognized in each of the two categories: one (1) initiative of governments at the second administrative level (states, departments, provinces, regions, or other equivalent denominations); one (1) initiative of governments at the third administrative level with more than one million inhabitants (municipalities and other denominations); and one (1) initiative of governments at the third administrative level with less than one million inhabitants (municipalities and other denominations).

 

2.1. Categories 

The Gobernarte contest, in its 2022 form, seeks to identify, reward, document and disseminate the three best initiatives in the following categories: 

Category 1. Public innovation in the face of new migration flows in LAC.

Category 2. Public innovation to prevent and respond to the crime of trafficking in persons in LAC.

The initiatives applied for may focus on the following thematic areas: 

Category 1. Public innovation in the face of new migration flows in LAC.

Thematic Area

Strengthening of information systems and registries

• • Development of digital solutions to provide information and resources to migrants and returnees.
  • Innovative use of data for identification, communication and provision of services to migrants and returnees.
  • Standards and mechanisms for migrant registration and identification.
  • Strategies for data interoperability and visibility of migrants in public statistics.

Access to social and basic services

• • Mechanisms to guarantee the exercise of migrants’ and returnees’ rights.
  • Generation of innovative tools for the provision of and access to public services for the migrant population.
  • Initiatives for access to education for migrant children and adolescents, homologation of studies and certification of competencies for returned adult migrants.
  • Initiatives for access to healthcare services for migrants, incorporating the different approaches of persons who require special protection.
  • Initiatives for gender equality and access to rights for women and LGTBIQ+ individuals.
  • Projects for the socio-urban integration of migrants and returnees and access to basic services and housing.

Socioeconomic integration

• • Initiatives that stimulate projects related to economic solidarity and integration among the migrant and host population. 
  • Initiatives and campaigns against xenophobia and discrimination against migrants.
  • Creation of innovative institutional mechanisms and spaces that allow for greater rapprochement and communication between the government and migrant communities, encourage their participation in the formulation of public policies, and promote accountability, among others.
  • Initiatives that stimulate socio-cultural integration projects, which promote recognition and respect for diversity.
  • Implementation of initiatives for the reintegration of returnees.

Facilitation of regular migration

• • Change in regulatory and institutional frameworks to respond to new migration flows.
  • Initiatives for the prevention and fight against the smuggling of migrants.

Category 2. Public innovation to address the crime of trafficking in persons in LAC 

Initiatives submitted by subnational governments can be framed within the following thematic areas (including a non-exhaustive list of types of initiatives):

Thematic Area

Strengthening of information, registration, and detection systems for trafficking in persons.

• Standards and mechanisms for the registration and identification of TIP victims. 
• Generation of innovative tools for sharing information/data on TIP cases within subnational governments and/or with entities of the citizen security and justice sector or other sectors.
• Generation of digital tools and/or mobile applications to detect, prevent, and denounce TIP.
• Financial intelligence tools to identify TIP and related crimes.
• Practices focused on generating diagnoses, studies or analysis on the occurrence of trafficking, populations at higher risk of becoming victims of human trafficking, etc.
• Practices focused on promoting intergovernmental coordination and coordination with various actors in society for the detection of victims and individuals or networks dedicated to trafficking.  
• Strategies for data inter-operability and visibility of TIP victims in public statistics.

Prevention of Trafficking in Persons

• Practices that seek to raise awareness and sensitize the population about TIP and on what measures to adopt to avoid becoming victims of TIP (communications campaigns, courses, guides, manuals, protocols, among others).
• Practices that seek to train local public officials to better understand and identify TIP cases (courses, guides, manuals, protocols, etc.).

Protection of Victims of Trafficking in persons

• Practices that provide a care pathway or an institutional offer of protection and assistance services for TIP victims (comprehensive protection, health, psychological, legal, financial, and economic integration services, among others), with emphasis on the most vulnerable victims (migrants, children and adolescents, indigenous peoples, Afro-descendant communities and LGTBQ individuals).
• Alliances, coordination or collaborative projects among government, academia, the private sector, civil society organizations and/or other agencies to foster innovation and the provision of assistance and services for victims of TIP.
• Practices that seek to improve subnational government coordination with service care providers for the proper referral of TIP victims.
• Projects related to the provision of specialized shelters for victims of TIP. 
• Initiatives to address the gender perspective and inclusion of diverse populations in the provision of services and assistance to TIP victims. 
• Partnerships with the private sector for the economic integration of TIP survivors.

Prosecution of Trafficking in Persons

• Initiatives to accompany victims during the judicial process and/or to promote the investigation, prosecution and punishment of traffickers (individuals and criminal organizations dedicated to this crime).
• Initiatives to strengthen the technical and operational capacity of the agencies and institutions responsible for investigating and prosecuting TIP.

2.2. Requirements and application forms 

Who can apply? 

Second administrative level governments (state, departmental, provincial, regional, or other denominations) and third administrative level governments (municipalities or other denominations) of IDB borrowing countries are eligible to apply. The initiatives must be presented by the government teams that designed them, establishing a contact person from the government that is applying. 

Subnational governments may participate individually or in alliance with the national government or other subnational governments, international cooperation, civil society, academia or the private sector, among others.

Where and when can I apply? 

Applications may be submitted starting July 18, 2022, on the www.iadb.org/gobernarte platform. The application is free of charge. 

Queries and questions regarding the competition rules and any other aspect of the competition may be sent to the following email address: gobernarte@iadb.org 

Requirements: 

1. Complete the online initiative submission form on the Gobernarte website.
2. Simple declaration of the subnational government that accredits: 
   1. That all the information provided in the form, supporting documents and any additional information provided is, in fact, real and true.
   2. That the initiative has the authorization of its executors to disseminate the material provided. 
3. The initiative proposed must: 
   1. Have been implemented by a subnational government of a second or third administrative level. 
   2. Have demonstrable results or products, even if preliminary. Projected or planned solutions for future implementation will not be accepted. 
4. Not have received financing from the Inter-American Development Bank for its design and/or implementation.

Failure to comply with any of these requirements will result in the immediate elimination of the application.

2.3.  Evaluation process. 

The IDB’s Innovation for Citizen Services Division will be in charge of managing and supervising the competition. The technical evaluation of applications will be the responsibility of an external jury, which will be made up of internationally recognized experts in the field. These experts will be independent professionals with experience in LAC. The Jury will review the applications and evaluate the proposals on the basis of the criteria described in point 2.4 of these guidelines (see next section). 

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After the jury evaluates the proposals, a ranking of the scored proposals will be made and the winners in each category (six in total) will be announced according to the score assigned by the Jury members to each proposal. It is possible that all of the winners may be from the same country. 

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The content of the winning proposals, and of the finalists who provide their authorization, will be disseminated through Gobernarte’s website, social networks and other media.

2.4. Evaluation Criteria 

1. Results (25%): The initiative has demonstrable results or impacts supported by indicators to measure changes generated in the objectives in the short, medium and/or long-term. The results may be preliminary if the initiative is still under implementation. The measurement of such indicators may originate from external or internal evaluations whose methodology should be included as an annex.
2. Sustainability (20%): The initiative ensures that the positive changes produced for the beneficiaries will last over time. In addition, elements that contribute to the initiatives’ financial and institutional sustainability will be considered.
3. Replicability (10%): The initiative presents characteristics that allow it to be adapted to other contexts (governments) in the region. The initiative may already have been adapted by other governments.
4. Social inclusion (20%): The initiative was designed or implemented with the participation of various stakeholders and with full respect for human rights, confidentiality and personal data protection.  

1. Innovation (25%): The initiative incorporates a new approach, new concepts, new practices or tools applied in the design, implementation, or management of policies and programs.

3. RECOGNITION 

The winning initiatives will be awarded with: 

1. Recognition of the winning initiatives in a public event and participation in a panel discussion on the topics from that category of the contest.
2. Documentation of the initiative.
3. Dissemination of the winning initiatives in the IDB’s communication networks.

4. DOCUMENTATION, PUBLICATION AND DISSEMINATION

The winning initiatives will be documented and disseminated to promote awareness of the solution’s basic characteristics and to facilitate its adaptability in other contexts. The technological platform designed to host the contest will document the successful experiences. The organization also reserves the right to publish and disseminate those initiatives that do not win and that have authorized their dissemination in the application form.

5. TIMETABLE

Launch and diffusion of the contest:
July 18, 2022

Start of application period:
July 18, 2022

Closing of the application period:
September 16, 2022

Selection and evaluation:
September 19 to September 30, 2022

Announcement of results:
October 10, 2022

Awards ceremony:
to be confirmed