The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Observatory of Public Sector Innovation (OPSI) has highlighted the 'Bogotá Local' strategy in its case study library on its website, where outstanding innovations are collected and shared to address complex social problems that can be replicated by national or local governments.
According to this Observatory, the 'Bogotá Local' strategy is innovative because its objective is to activate the people's economy, which was strongly affected by the pandemic, benefiting small producers and family businesses. "This was a strategic prioritization that foremost gave women and heads of households, young people and seniors preference over other actors", the publication highlights.
The strategy led by the Secretariat of Government with the local mayor's offices and the technical support of the Secretariat of Economic Development and the Secretariat of Culture provided a reactive response for recovery, but in the medium and long run, it is consolidating as an important tool for the consolidation and growth of the popular economy in Bogotá. It also had the support of the United Nations Development Program - UNDP, the U.S. Agency for International Development - USAID and private entities that managed the incentive packages, subsidies and promoted social benefits for the population.
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One of the major innovations of 'Bogotá Local' is the flexibility of public management so that local mayors' offices can invest resources aimed at strengthening the people's economy, through human and financial leverage to small producers, family businesses, shopkeepers, micro-entrepreneurs, and people who are responsible for cultural and artistic activities.
For the OECD observatory, "the initiative is also innovative as it was the first time that the central government and the mayor’s office made direct investments in the concept of people's economy". This new approach required a change in the way public investment was prioritized, focusing on the recovery of micro and small enterprises.
"Bogotá Local has an innovative public management model based on a rigorous coordination process to meet the needs of the target population. The basics of the project can be taken and upscaled to solve a specific priority of territory as they are adaptable to the conditions of municipalities, departments, and countries", highlights the OECD publication.
The publication also highlights as main lessons learned the institutional articulation, the participation of the population in the formulation of public policies, and the importance of the role of local mayors' offices in strengthening the economy in each territory.
To read the publication of the Observatory of Public Sector Innovation, we invite you to click on the following link:
