Partners and Actors
- National Government Partners
National Secretariat for Planning and Development (SENPLADES); Technical Secretariat for International Cooperation (SETECI); Coordination Ministry of production, Employment and Competitiveness (MCPEC); Yasuni Initiative-ITT; Consortium of Autonomous Provincial Governments of Ecuador (CONGOPE); Ecuadorian Municipalities Association (AME); National Council of Parochial Rural Governments of Ecuador (CONAGOPARE)
- Sub-national Government Partners
Azuay Province Government; Bolivar Province Government; Carchi Province Government; El Oro Province Government; Esmeraldas Province Government; Loja Province Government; Los Rios Province Government; Sucumbios Province Government; Aguarico Province Government; Cuenca Province Government; Playas Province Government
- Academia
Catholic Pontific University of Ecuador- Esmeraldas (PUCE-SE); Technical University of Esmeraldas-Luis Vargas Torres (UTE-LVT); Institute of High National Studies (IAEN)
- Bilateral Cooperation Partners
Spanish Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AECID)
- Decentralized cooperation partners
Veneto Region; University IUAV of Venezia; Basque Government; Tecnalia
- United Nations Partners
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR); United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UNWOMEN); Pan-American Health Organization/ World Health Organization (OPS/WHO); United Nations Volunteer Programme (UNV); Small Donation Programme (PPD).
Background and Priorities
In 2008, the UNDP ART Ecuador Programme began the implementation of its activities of local governance and decentralization, promoting Human Sustainable Development, in 10 provinces (and its respective cantons): Carchi, Bolivia, Los Rios, Azuay, El Oro, Loja, Esperaldas, Sucumbios; Guayas and Orellana. Indirectly the Program is working on 2 cantons by working through working groups and in the implementation of sub-project in 80 cantons (out of 221).
During 2013, UNDP ART continued with the transfer process of the articulation and multilevel governance methodology, in which most of the territories have expressed their interest and political decision to institutionalize these mechanisms.
Activities in details
In Ecuador, the ART Initiative works on issues of multilevel governance, planning, decentralization, and territorial economic development. Various mechanisms and tools developed by the program have been institutionalized by local governments, such as Documents Priorities, Territorial Working Groups and Local Programming Cycle. All this with a clear perspective of strengthening local capacities and participation of all stakeholders in a territory, in identifying their development priorities.
Throughout its work in Ecuador, all territories where the ART program is active have produced documents on their priorities for the development of their territories by mobilizing local, national and international resources. In some cases, such as the province of Carchi, the Priorities’ Document reached an implementation rate of 90%, so a second document have been already prepared. In other cases, such as Canton Beaches, the methodology proposed by ART has already been appropriated by the territory.
In a new phase of the ART program, the methodology and instruments used to promote the territorial approach served as a Territorial Development Platform for other UNDP initiatives.
Some ongoing activities at regional and local level:
Mechanisms, spaces and strategies of territorial articulation, coordination and multilevel complementary:
Regarding the activities to reinforce the Working Groups of the provinces and to create or strengthen the mechanisms, spaces and territorial articulation strategies for multilevel governance, there were held several meetings in Esmeraldas and Aguarico supported by the UNDP ART initiative in which also new national partners were invited to take part. In Loja and Playas the Working Groups were institutionalized through acts and have been incorporated to their gender approach roadmap.
The National Coordination met 3 times in order to improve the articulation and dialogue on the measuring of the cooperation at local level; also they presented the implementation proposal of the Sucumbios Progamme; the technical committee to follow up the methodological transfer of the programme was established
There were also several joint mission with international and national stakeholders to the territories; support of other UN agencies such as WHO to build capacities in health issues in Playas; and several workshops with the EU on the ART methodology.
Strengthening local capacities for a national territorial articulation for a better planning and territorial management:
UNDP ART together with SETECI has launched a process of technical assistance for the Municipal Government of Cuenca to build a management model for international cooperation, and in the Provincial Government of Esmeraldas the work was carried out towards the creation of a international cooperation directorate linked with the Working Group of Esmeraldas.
The programme with the support of the ADEL has technically advised to the ADEL and Provincial Governments of Loja and El Oro. On the other hand, the provincial Governments of El Oro and Esmeraldas technical teams have been exchanging good practices about the production diversification through the design of an Industrial Ecopark.
There was technical assistance for the organization of workshops and meeting on cooperation in Esmeraldas, Carchi and Aguarico, in which the Priority Documents were provided as management tools of the international cooperation.
The UNDP ART Ecuador team supported technically the systematization of experiences of the Working Groups of Bolivar and Los Rios.
Publishing and dissemination of the results of the efficiency measuring of the local level cooperation with territorial, national and international partners. Support and technical assistance for capacity building of international cooperation in provincial governments.
Also, the dialogue between the Coordination Ministry of Production, Employment and Competitiveness, SENPLADES and the Provincial Government of El Oro has been strengthened. Also with TECNALIA, it was organized a national event on innovation, human talent and change of the productive matrix.
Creation of a planning and management articulated framework to facilitate the alignment and harmonization:
New priorities documents on the comprehensive development of Aguarico and Carchi were published, and they were shared with the local authorities to use them as tools for the management of the international cooperation in their territories.
The National Coordination Committee approved the methodological transference strategy to the partners of the programme and created a technical committee to follow-up the implementation of this plan. UNDP Ecuador created a platform of Territorial Development with the ART Methodology as a main pillar to cross section territorial approach to the actions and projects of UNDP at local level.
Results at national and local level
At national level it was conformed the National Coordination Committee, 6 provincial working groups, 2 cantonal groups of the territories as operative structures of governance. With these groups and through the work of UNDP ART, the dialogue and articulation of various stakeholders is facilitated and it guarantees the participation of public-private stakeholders.
At several provinces the multilevel governance mechanisms are consolidated, most of the provinces have
established their own strategies to manage the international cooperation. Bolivar and Los Rios systematized their work on the articulation of territorial networks. UNDP ART ensures that all projects are aligned with the national strategies and policy lines, and also are complimentary with the international cooperation processes.
Since its start, UNDP ART Ecuador has achieved an execution success, up to 90% in some provinces; the experiences and lessons learnt have been shared and replicated in other provinces, and now they are already appropriated by the territory.
Over the years, there has been a huge improvement in the results related to local economic development. This includes: creation of capacities of specialist on LED; promotion and optimization of production and local economy; support to the provincial governments and to TEDAs, enhanced the creation of 1134 youth entrepreneur activities and employments dynamics; exchange of good practices and innovations on production diversification, heritage management and participation in international events.
Further information:
Articulation of Territorial Networks
for Sustainable Human
Development