November-January 2016 - IDRC Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean Bulletin

Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean November - January 2016 SPANISH VERSION News / Calls and Awards / Recent and upcoming events / New projects / Publications and project articles

IDRC annual report 2014-2015: Innovating for solutions IDRC’s 2014-2015 annual report is now available online. Read about our contribution to the global effort to prevent future outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus and the scaling up of successful field trials of innovative livestock vaccines that will be game-changers for millions of African farmers. Find these and other programming results and our financial statements in the report.

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Presidential elections - more informed civil societies Guatemala – ASIES experience in 2015 presidential forums

Peru Elections 2016: Centring the electoral debate

Meanwhile, the In June, the Association for Economic Research and Social Studies, and Social Guatemala (ASIES) Research Consortium (CIES) in Peru, has produced presented the agenda 56 policy documents to date with roadmaps and entitled "Guatemala Walks: firm steps for change". It technical recommendations for various sectors of included 12 proposals aimed at addressing the the country. Additionally, they will develop a series country's challenges around 5 major themes: justice, of 20 policy papers for better government economics, politics, environment and education management. which included solutions to the problems in the way of economic growth, social inclusion and human These new thematic papers will be presented to key rights in Guatemala. ministries in Peru and use a cross-sectoral approach for closing the gender, youth and ethnic gaps.

Recently, ASIES published the document “Contributions to the electoral debate: the You can follow the campaign “What questions experience of ASIES in 2015 presidential forums” should candidates respond to?” on Twitter through that summarizes experiences and lessons learnt. the hashtag #elCandidatoResponde Read more (Spanish)

Towards the elimination of Chagas disease transmission in Central America As part of the collaboration between IDRC and PAHO to eliminate Chagas transmission in Central America, both agencies supported the "Intergovernmental Commission of Central America and Mexico Initiative for the Control of Vector, Transfusion Transmission, and Medical Care of Chagas Disease” (IPCAM) meeting held on November 17 – 19, 2015 in San Jose, Costa Rica. The Final Declaration highlights the importance of addressing domestic vector transmission as a priority issue in the region. It also calls for the development of strategic alliances for the control of Chagas in the sub-region, and promotes an integrated approach that includes participatory environmental management and housing improvements as priority measures for the reduction of Chagas transmission.

To this end, the “member countries of the initiative request the participation of IDRC and PAHO/WHO, with support from associated researchers, in the search for technical and financial partners in support of the proposal to eliminate domestic vector-borne transmission of T. cruzi by T. dimidiata in Central America and Mexico, in the context of an integrated approach to Chagas disease (prevention, control and care)”. In the framework of the Global Chagas Disease Coalition, IDRC and PAHO are working with other organizations, such as Fundación Mundo Sano and Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), to develop a joint strategy in order to meet the country established objectives.

Fighting malaria in Northern Peru According to the World Malaria Report 2015 recently released by the WHO, more than half (57) of the 106 countries with malaria in 2000 achieved reductions of 75% or more in new malaria cases by 2015. In that same time frame, 18 countries reduced their malaria cases by 50-75%. In the Americas region, mortality rates declined by 72%.

In Northern Peru, research supported by IDRC over the past 15 years has shown that by changing irrigation practices, farmers can reduce malaria-mosquito larvae in their fields by up to 85%.

Learn more in the first of an ongoing series about innovative IDRC-funded projects, “Charting Change.” These stories, presented in partnership with Canadian Geographic, appear online once a month at idrc.canadiangeographic.ca.

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Guatemala modernizes National Food Security and Nutrition Plan Roughly ¼ of Guatemalans do not have enough to eat. Children under the age of 5 fare the worst: almost half – 49% - are chronically malnourished, which is the highest rate in Latin America.

Research results from the 3 year project Reducing food insecurity and malnutrition in Guatemala, funded by IDRC in collaboration with IICA and led by researchers from the Rafael Landivar University (IARNA/URL) and McGill University in Canada, were used as input in the design of Guatemalan Strategic Plan for Food Security and Nutrition 2016-2020.

Read more (Spanish) / Read more (final report, Spanish)

Water for human consumption in Central America It is estimated that there are around 80,000 organizations responsible for providing water for domestic consumption (OCSAS) to approximately 40 million people living in rural and periurban areas in Latin America. In Central America, the number is estimated at 24,000. Given the possible decrease in water supply due to climate change in Central America, the project Water for Human Consumption, Communities and Climate Change (AC3) funded by IDRC and led by CATIE in Costa Rica aims to contribute to the design of climate adaptation plans and capacity-building of OCSAS members.

The documentary presented below was featured during the “Global Landscapes Forum” held in Paris from December 5-6, 2015. The video presents project activities from Costa Rica, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

Watch video (7:45’ subtitled)

Read more (Project website, Spanish)

Women Leaders on Climate Change The "Women Leaders on Climate Change” is a group of women from the Bolivian Plateau, Chaco and Amazon regions who are preparing themselves and their communities to make better decisions when faced by the effects of climate change, the quality of the environment, or human rights and women´s issues.

On December 9th, 2015 a group of women leaders received the “Promoters of Adaptation to Climate Change" certificate. The event took place in La Paz and is part of the project led by Agua Sustentable and financed by IDRC and Diakonia.

Read more (Spanish)

Youth and Employment in Paraguay Job creation is one of the major issues for the development agenda in the region, especially youth employment. CADEP in Paraguay has launched the digital version of the publication “Youth and the labour market / Jóvenes en el Mercado de Trabajo” which examines the 2002-2012 evolution of rural and urban youth employment in Paraguay.

Read more (Spanish)

Women's Economic Empowerment in Brazil

The final results of IDRC funded project "Growth, Inclusiveness, and Women's Economic Empowerment in Brazil" led by SOS Corpo were presented in Brazil. The two year project researched the participation and the possibilities of economic autonomy for women workers in dynamic development contexts in Brazil.

Qualitative research was undertaken in three contexts considered to be developing intensively in Brazil: the Aluminium Industrial Park in Barcarena, Belém do Pará; the garment industry in Toritama, Pernambucano; and the construction sector in Recife, São Paulo.

Read more (Portuguese)

Learning how to make cities safer In the face of rapid urbanization and growing inequality, cities around the world struggle to improve security and living conditions for their people.

Understanding the drivers of urban violence is crucial to finding solutions.

What is driving urban violence? Here are some of the causes: poor access to basic services; population displacement; segregated urban planning; criminal gangs playing the dual role of perpetrator and ‘protector’; poverty and unemployment.

Access a summary which outlines the lessons learned in the research projects which form a part of the Safe and Inclusive Cities Initiative, global research program jointly financed by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and IDRC. Read more

New book on sustainable public procurement in Latin America and the Caribbean Sustainable public procurement is considered one of the great engines for promoting a green and sustainable economy in developing countries.

This new study proposes a set of indicators for each of the areas (economic, environmental, social, innovation and progress in implementation) and the integration of these areas in a gradual and progressive way.

Read more Would you like to learn more about sustainable public procurement?

Together with the Inter-American Network on Government Procurement, IDRC and the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the Organization of American States Virtual Campus will launch an online course on sustainable procurement in 2016.

Read more (on course, Spanish)

Alternative Mechanisms for Expanding Access to Justice in Latin America The "International Seminar for Promoting Access to Justice in Latin America”, took place in Bogotá from November 23-24, 2015 and was attended by representatives from Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Spain, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Canada and Colombia. The results of the IDRC funded project “Alternative Mechanisms for Expanding Access to Justice in Latin America” were presented at the event organized by the Centro de Estudios de Justicia de las Américas (CEJA). The project seeks to generate recommendations to strengthen the development of public policies to promote access to justice for vulnerable groups of the population, by incorporating alternative mechanisms in the Latin American judicial process.

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Researcher Recognitions We are happy to share the following information on some of the awards that former IDRC researchers and institutions have received in the past few months.

Carlos Afonso – Betinho Communications Prize 2015 (Brazil) During the 25th anniversary celebration of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), Carlos Afonso was awarded with the Betinho Communications Prize 2015. Carlos Afonso is one of the pioneers in the use of ICTs for development. Carlos Afonso led several projects funded by IDRC in the areas of internet access by third sector organizations in Brazil.

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Promundo - Juscelino Kubitschek 2015 Award The Promundo Institute in Brazil was awarded the Juscelino Kubitesch 2015 award under the Social, Cultural and Scientific Category. The Kubitschek award is granted by the Interamerican Development Bank (IADB).

Promundo leads the project “Undersanding non-violent male identities for safe and inclusive cities”, funded by the IDRC/DFID Safe and Inclusive Cities Initiative.

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InterAmerican Heart Foundation Argentina – CAESPO 2015 Award The project “Television Food Advertising to Children in Argentina” led by Lorena Allemandi, Luciana Castronuovo, Victoria Tiscornia, Miguel Ponce and Verónica Schoj from Fundación InterAmericana del Corazón (FIC) Argentina and funded by IDRC, was the winner of the competition "Education for Health / Educación para la Salud" selected by the Comité Argentino de Educación para la Salud de la Población (CAESPO).

Read more (Spanish)

Itamar Silva - Personality of the Year 2015, Institute of Brazilian Architects IBASE President, Itamar Silva, was selected Personality of the Year 2015, by the Institute of Brazilian Architects for his continued work with the favelas in Rio de Janeiro. IDRC has worked with Itamar Silva and his research team at IBASE on issues of youth and democracy in Brazil.

Read more (Portuguese)

We take this opportunity to congratulate the laureates and researchers who work in these institutions for these recognitions. Bravo!

Video of the month – Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change The “Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change” research project has been ongoing since 2011. The project aims to develop an understanding of the vulnerability of remote Indigenous health systems to climate change as a basis for implementing pilot adaptation interventions and adaptation planning. The project is working with indigenous communities in three regions: Uganda (Betwa), Canadian Artic (Inuit) and Peruvian Amazonia (Shipibo and Shawis).

Watch video to learn more about the project objectives and findings Watch video (4,22”- English) / Read more (project website)

Call for Proposals – tobacco control policies and lung diseases The Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD) together with various Canadian health research institutes and IDRC have recently launched a call for research proposals with a focus on implementation research, which examines interventions that aim to prevent chronic lung diseases in low and middle income countries.

Deadline: February 24, 2016 Read more

Call for Masters and PhD students to study in Canada

The 2016 call for students is now open. The objective of this call is to build human resource capacities in Uruguay’s extractive industry by supporting a series of awards for Masters and PhD students in Canada in fields related to the extractive industries.

These awards are administered by the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII).

Deadline: March 31st, 2016 Read more (Spanish)

25-26 Nov. 2015 12-13 Jan. 2016 19 Jan. 2016 25-27 Jan. 2016

Conferencia GRADE 35 años: Relevancia de la evidencia para la construcción de políticas públicas sólidas, Lima, Peru Ciudades Seguras e Inclusivas. Encuentro Regional- América Latina, Santiago de Chile Presentación resultados finales proyecto Mapa-Maipo – Plan de Adaptación, Santiago de Chile International Conference “Territorial Inequality and Development”, Mexico

Youth Employment to Reduce Violence in Central America According to 2014 statistics, four out of the ten countries with the highest homicide rates in the world are in Central America. The vast majority of victims of violence are young men between the ages of 15 and 24, some of whom also risk becoming perpetrators of violence. Access to formal and informal labour markets is seen as a key mechanism to facilitate social integration of marginal youth and a way to insulate them from criminal activities. In response, several youth employment programs have been implemented in the region. FLACSO will study the relationship between violence and labour exclusion among young people in urban communities in two Central American countries - Costa Rica and El Salvador. The aim is to produce actionable research findings to influence the development of effective interventions for vulnerable youth to reduce their risk of falling into violent lifestyles.

Building Tools to Measure the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Education In recent years, several Latin American countries have provided computers and connectivity to schools in the hopes of improving the quality and accessibility of educational opportunities. The impact of these interventions on the way students learn and teachers teach has received little research attention; most research to date has been geared to measure "e-readiness." In addition, little is known about the way information and communication technologies (ICTs) are being used in the classroom. Working with the ministries of education in Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, this project will develop shared methodologies and locally relevant indicators to monitor and measure the use of ICTs in the classroom.

Want to stay up to date on the information published by the media on the projects we fund in Latin America and the Caribbean?

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HIGHLIGHTS 

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Boletin América Latina Genera (PNUD) –“¿Cuáles son los factores para conseguir un empleo de calidad en algunos países de América Latina” is the title of an article which summarizes the main findings of the project led by CIEDUR and CEDLAS entitled “Enhancing Women's Economic Empowerment Through Better Policies in Latin America”, and funded by IDRC. CONACYT MEXICO – Under the title “Vidas truncadasas de jóvenes en América Latina” , the journalist Ana Luisa Guerrero, interviews researcher Arturo Alvarado on his new book "Vidas truncadas: El exceso de homicidios en la juventud de América Latina, 1990-2010" which is the result of the IDRC-funded research project, Violencia juvenil, relaciones con la policía y acceso a la justicia en 5 países de América Latina Observador (Uruguay) – Under the title “Servicios al rescate de la productividad” researcher Fernando Vargas reviews the IDB and CINVE publication “La innovación y la nueva economía de servicios en América Latina y el Caribe: Retos e implicaciones de política” which summarizes the findings of a recent research project funded by IDRC.

Agriculture and Environment  

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“Sharing Our Knowledge to Create Sustainable Campuses”; Frias, G.; Hurtado Badiola, M.; Dawson College/ Instituto Mexicano para el Desarrollo de Ciudades Verdes; 2014 “Compartiendo saberes para crear planteles educativos sustentables”; Frias, G.; Hurtado Badiola, M.; Dawson College/ Instituto Mexicano para el Desarrollo de Ciudades Verdes; 2014 “Partage de savoirs pour la création de campus durables” Frias, G.; Hurtado Badiola, M.; Dawson College/ Instituto Mexicano para el Desarrollo de Ciudades Verdes; 2014

Social and Economic Policy      

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“Protección social no contributiva en Paraguay; un balance a 10 años de su implementación”, García Agüero, M.; Investigación para el Desarrollo, 2015 “Inclusión financiera en el Perú: principales desafíos de políticas públicas” Diálogos de Política Pública, IEP, 2015 “CADEP - Un Cuarto de Siglo del CADEP”, Centro de Análisis y Difusión de la Economía Paraguaya, 2015 “Inserción de los Jóvenes en el Mercado de Trabajo”, CADEP, 2015 “El impacto del proyecto Sierra Sur en la población beneficiaria de Juntos” Aldana, U.; Vasquez, T.; Revista Economía y Sociedad N° 86, p. 20; IEP; 105 “Análisis de la unidad partidaria en el Congreso de Guatemala Prioridades legislativas, transfuguismo y pertenencia distrital”, Novales Contreras, H.; Asociación de Investigación y Estudios Sociales ASIES, 2015 “Social protection to the informal sector in Argentina: the role of minimum wage and income transfer policies in Argentina”; Groisman, F.; Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP), 2015 “Ecuador Será”, varios autores; Grupo Faro; Documento de Trabajo; 11/2015 “Olhares de gênero sobre a Política de Creches no Brasil: Mudanças e permanências das práticas sociais de cuidado”; Relatório de pesquisa; Marcondes, M.; Meirelles Toledo Cruz, M.; da Silva Rodrigues, P.; SOS Corpo, 2015 “O Trabalho Autônomo e a Política de Inclusão Previdenciária dos Microempreendedores Individuais” Bacelar de Araújo, J.; Prado, M.; Sos Corpo, 2015

Technology and Innovation    

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"FRIDA: 10 años contribuyendo al desarrollo de América Latina y el Caribe"; Registro de Direcciones de Internet para América Latina y Caribe - LACNIC; 2015 “Red GEALC: resultados 2015 y expectativas 2016”, Boletín e-Gobierno, Diciembre 2015 “El surgimiento de América Latina abierta: Estado del arte y perspectiva de la agenda de datos abiertos”, Policy Brief; ILDA/OpenData; 2015 “Co-creación, innovación y datos abiertos en ciudades de América Latina: lecciones de Buenos Aires, Ciudad de México y Montevideo”; Bonina, C.; ILDA; Documento de Trabajo, 2015 “Datos abiertos para una justicia abierta: un análisis de caso de los Poderes Judiciales de Brasil, Costa Rica, México y Perú”; Elena, S.; ILDA; Documento de Trabajo, 2015

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“Datos abiertos en educación, primeros alcances y lecciones”, Khelladi, Y.; ILDA; Documento de Trabajo, 2015 “Acesso a dados orçamentários (em formato aberto) na América Latina: panorama da atuação dos intermediários nesse ecossistema”; Albano, C.; Craveiro, G.; ILDA, Documento de Trabajo, 2015 “Dengue Open Data”; Pane, J.; Ojeda, V.; Valdez, N.; ILDA, Documento de Trabajo, 2015 “Medición del impacto y avance de la compra pública sustentable en América Latina y el Caribe” , RICG; 2015

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean Avda. Brasil 2655, 11300 Montevideo, Uruguay Tel: +598 2 7090042 Email: lacro@idrc.ca www.idrc.ca/lacro

Comments or suggestions write to lacro@idrc.ca