Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean
June 2015
SPANISH VERSION News / Calls and awards / Recent and upcoming events / New projects / Publications and project articles
Guatemala Camina: firm steps to change
On June 18 the Association of Research and Social Studies (ASIES) organized the public forum “Guatemala Camina: firm steps to change” which presented 3 of the 12 proposals from the initiative. Guatemala Camina works towards supporting informed discussions of national problems and development of policies to enhance common benefits.
ASIES contributes to this forum with recommendations and analysis for the implementation of policies and programs on topics such as education, employment, security, environment, tourism, strengthening political parties and justice. Read more (Spanish)
Peru – policy documents for regional governments 2015-2018 The Peruvian Consortium for Economic and Social Research (CIES) presented 26 documents containing proposals for the development of regional governments. The proposals were produced by specialists during 2014 as part of the “Elecciones Peru: Centrando el Debate electoral” project. They provide policy options for the recently-elected regional governments in seven areas: strategic planning, regional competitiveness, poverty reduction, productive development, sustainable management of natural resources and extractive industries, climate change, governance and combating corruption and, human rights and gender. Read more (Spanish)
Making democracy count: a Southern perspective Latin American citizens have been demonstrating their disaffection with institutions and democratic actors daily in the region. The project “Making Democracy Count: A Southern Perspective” led by the Universidad Diego Portales (Chile), the Universidad de La República (Uruguay) and the Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (Argentina) analyzes this question comparatively in order to propose possible ways to reverse this situation and strengthen democratic regimes in the region. From July 1-2 the research teams will meet in Santiago de Chile to present the preliminary results of this study. Ten policy documents produced by the project are already available. Read more (Spanish)
Why do cities with similar conditions of social exclusion experience different levels of violence? IDRC-supported researchers in Costa Rica and El Salvador are sharing their answers to this question and what it means for reducing crime and violence. Their report underscores the need to take into account the full range of violence in public and private spaces — domestic violence, gender-based violence, and gang warfare — which are deeply connected and cannot be tackled separately. The project “Exclusion, violence, and community responses in Central American cities" is led by a research team from the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales (FLACSO), Costa Rica and FLACSO-El Salvador program. Read report (Spanish)
IODC 2015: Showcasing the social and economic promise of open data More than 1,000 people attended the 3rd International Open Data Conference (IODC 2015) in Ottawa in late May, illustrating how far the open data revolution has advanced in recent years. At least 1,300 others watched conference webcasts, and a much larger audience took part through Twitter and other social media. The conference was hosted by IDRC in partnership with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, and the World Bank. Read highlights
New portal offers online debates on natural resources and development The South American Network of Applied Economics (Red Sur) has just launched the "Development and Natural Resources / Observatory DyR “portal - an initiative that brings together academic research with the dissemination of up-to-date information, and the debate about the use of natural resources in South America and its relation with the social and development agenda.
RedSur is an academic research network formed by public and private universities and knowledge centers in the region, which was founded 15 years ago and which receives funding from IDRC, among others. Read more (Spanish)
The impact of Internet on Caribbean economic growth An IDRC-sponsored symposium exploring the impact of the Internet on economic growth and public service delivery in the Caribbean was held in Saint Andrew, Jamaica on May 12, 2015. Discussions from the symposium will feed into the 2016 World Development Report: Internet for Development. The WDR is published annually by the World Bank.
Read more
Economic and social impacts of Internet access The book “Public Access ICT across Cultures - Diversifying Participation in the Network Society" offers the first systematic assessment of the impact of shared public access in the developing world, with findings from ten countries in South America, Asia, and Africa. Public access venues—most often Internet cafés in cities and state-run telecenters in rural areas—are places for learning, sharing, working, empowerment and finding opportunities. The book documents the impact of public access on individuals, on society and networks, and on women. Case studies from Latin America include studies from Argentina, Chile and Peru. Read more
Lessons learnt on impact evaluation and the incidence on public policies How far are recommendations and findings proposed by impact evaluations taken into consideration by public decision makers? Which are the policy incidence strategies used by researchers? This document, produced by the Centro de Implementación de Políticas Públicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento (CIPPEC) together with GRADE and CEDLAS, analyzes impact evaluation experiences in Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Uruguay.
Read more (Spanish)
VIDEO OF THE MONTH – Women Leaders on Climate Change in Bolivia 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. This documentary shares the experiences of a project led by Agua Sustentable, with funding from IDRC and DIAKONIA. Watch video 9:30’ (Spanish) / Read more about the project (Spanish)
Research on food system policies and market innovations for non-communicable disease prevention. IDRC launched a call for proposals which aims to reduce and prevent malnutrition and food-related chronic illnesses, in ways that are environmentally sustainable. The main objective is to explore and understand public policy interventions and market innovations that improve the quality and diversity of food and enable adoption of healthy and sustainable diets among vulnerable populations. The call is open to organizations based in low- or middle-income countries in South Asia, South East Asia, and Latin America. Argentina, Belice, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam and Uruguay are among the legible countries in the LAC region. Deadline: July 3, 2015 Read more
Call for proposals: SCALA Knowledge Observatory in Latin America IDRC is joining forces with the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank and Citi Foundation in a call for proposals to select an institution that will implement the SCALA Knowledge Observatory. The Observatory will be a key component of the “Promoting the Economic Empowerment of Low-Income Populations through Inclusive Distribution Networks – SCALA” program. SCALA's goals are to increase income levels among poor and disadvantaged populations in Latin America through access to business opportunities based on the distribution of products/services that to improve the quality of life in poor communities. Deadline: July 6, 2015 Read more
IDRC research awards IDRC offers these research awards annually to Canadians, permanent residents of Canada, and citizens of developing countries pursuing master’s or doctoral studies at a recognized university or having completed a master’s or doctoral program at a recognized university. Deadline: August 6, 2015 Read more
Jul. 1-2, 2015
Seminario “Making Democracy Count: A Southern Perspective”, Universidad Diego Portales, Santiago de Chile, Chile
Jul. 13-16, 2015
“3er Congreso Latinoamericano de Telecomunicaciones”, México D.F.; Mexico
Jul. 13-14, 2015
CPR Latam, Cancún, Mexico
Jul. 21-22, 2015
LACEEP +10 - Latin American and Caribbean Economic Program, México D.F.; Mexico
The use of water resources in the main productive systems in the American Gran Chaco Climate change and deforestation are favouring severe droughts, as well as intense rains and flooding in the American Gran Chaco – a vast plain that extends through the north of Argentina, southeast Bolivia, northeast Paraguay and southwest Brazil. This 2 year-long project, is being led by the Instituto de Desarrollo in Paarguay together with the Universidad Nacional de Formosa in Argentina and the Universidad de la Cordillera in Bolivia. Among other questions, this study aims to answer what the use and consumption of water is for each economic sector of the Chaco, the economic value of the water in terms of units of regions’ GDP, as well as the total water consumption is under different scenarios of growth and climate change. Read more: (in Spanish)
See Publicaciones y artículos de proyectos IDRC IN THE NEWS
Want to stay up to date on the information published by the media on the projects we fund in Latin America and the Caribbean? Follow us on Storify where we update information daily. HIGHLIGHTS
EL Comercio (Peru) – Under the title "Financial Inclusion is key to overcome poverty/ La inclusión financiera es vital para salir de la pobreza" journalist Marienella Ortiz publishes an interview to Dr. Federico Burone, IDRC Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean in the Portafolio, Economy & Business section . Dr. Burone speaks about financial inclusion in Peru and highlights the work done by CIES Fundación Capital and the Capital Project funded by IDRC.
BBC Mundo (Colombia) – Why do they want to give washing machines to men in Colombia? /¿Por qué les quieren entregar lavadoras a hombres en Colombia? Natalio Cosoy writes about the pilot research program that Ximena Peña, from Colombia National University is doing in Bogotá. This project was selected through a competition on impact evaluation on
“Enhancing Women's Economic Empowerment Through Better Policies in Latin America”, organized by CEDLAS which receives IDRC funding.
BBC WORLD SERVICE - Colombia's Women Mean Business – Radio interview to various Colombian women researchers and entrepreneurs as a consequence of the ILO report that ranks Colombia in 2nd place worldwide for the number of women in senior and middle management positions. Among the interviewees is Claudia Martínez Restrepo, who speaks about IDRC funded project “Beyond Social Protection: Labour Markets, Entrepreneurship, and Gender Equality”
Radio Canada International – Under that title “Neet Generation” / Generación “Nini” journalist Leonora Chapman publishes an interview to Chilean researcher Gabriel Moraga from Espacio Público, who comments on the situation of the so called “Neet” generation (not in employment, education or training) a rising phenomenon in the Latin American region.
Agriculture and Environment
Charcoal production in the Argentine Dry Chaco: Where, how and who? Rueda, C.; Baldi, G. ; Gasparri, I.; Jobbágy, E.; Energy for Sustainable Development; Volume 27, August 2015, Pages 46–53
“El Sector del Trigo en el Paraguay. Potencialidades de innovación y aprendizaje; Servin, B.; Rojas Viñales; A.; Estudio de País N° 2; Serie documentos del Reporte Anual 2014; Recursos Naturales y Desarrollo; RedSur; 2015
Social and Economic Policy
Financiamiento de la política: Análisis comparado y propuestas de política, Fuentes, C. ; Herrera, M.; Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Diego Portales, Policy paper N°1; 2014
Acceso a información pública en Uruguay: normativa, condiciones de aplicación y enforcement; Piñeiro Rodríguez, R.; Rossel, Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Diego Portales, Policy paper N°2; 2015
El estado de derecho y la observancia de la ley por los funcionarios de gobierno en Argentina; Rhodes; S.; Streb, J.M.; Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Diego Portales, Policy paper N°3; 2015
Regulación de lobbies en Argentina. Análisis de situación y alternativas de reforma; Novaro, M. ; Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Diego Portales, Policy paper N°4; 2015
Las mujeres en política en Uruguay. De la cuota a la paridad: una reforma necesaria; Pérez, V.; Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Diego Portales, Policy paper N°5; 2015
Sistema de Primarias Abiertas, Simultáneas y Obligatorias en la Argentina. Análisis y Recomendaciones; Fara, C. & Asociados; Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Diego Portales, Policy paper N°6; 2015
Descentralización y participación de las regiones en Chile: propuesta para implementar la elección directa de Intendentes; Osorio, R.; Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Diego Portales, Policy paper N°7; 2015
Representación política de pueblos indígenas en Chile: Propuesta para la creación de escaños reservados, Soto, X.; Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Diego Portales, Policy paper N°8; 2015
Financiamiento de partidos y de campañas en Uruguay; Piñeiro, R. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Diego Portales, Policy paper N°9; 2015
Reforma a la Ley de Partidos Políticos en Chile. Bases para una propuesta; Gamba, R.; Dockendorff, A. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Diego Portales, Policy paper N°10; 201
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
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