Democratic Development and Citizen Participation Phase 3 —Bolivia
International City/County Management Association (ICMA)/USAID (2003-2006)

DevTech was a member of the ICMA Team that implemented USAID’s Democratic Development and Citizen Participation Project Phase 3 (DDPC3). The team promoted and enhanced citizen participation, municipal management and governance, service delivery, local economic development, and institution strengthening in Bolivia.

DDPC3 helped create sustainable municipal governments and supported organizations that were able to plan, implement, and sustain infrastructure and service projects, and promoted economic growth, while effectively including women and indigenous communities in the governance process.

DevTech worked in three primary areas:

Gender Equity—DevTech staff were responsible for integrating gender equity into the program. As such, DevTech staff and consultants:

  • Reviewed program materials for clarity, sensitivity, and appropriateness, with special consideration for gender equity.
  • Redefined USAID/Bolivia’s Participatory Municipal Management Model to integrate gender and developed a model for enhancing women's participation in the annual planning process specifically in the definition of municipal investment based on principles of gender equity.
  • Designed and provided training-of-trainers support to program participants in methods and techniques for incorporating gender considerations into training programs.
  • Coordinated project activities with the Vice-Ministry for Women’s Issues and national level organizations to improve the legal framework supporting gender equity, i.e. assistance in the preparation of the draft law against Political Harassment and Violence (approved by the Senate in Fall 2005 and sent to Constitutional Commission).
  • Provided assistance to the Association of Women Municipal Council Members of Bolivia (ACOBOL).
  • Delivered technical assistance to the Municipal Council for the definition of a gender policy and legal framework. Technical assistance was provided to gender commissions of the Municipal Councils at Concepción, Ascensión, Curahuara, to enable them to request budgets assigned in the 2005 POA for gender policies.
  • Trained women organizations in project design and developing economic activities for women.
  • Conducted workshops in support of women's legal rights through the Strengthening of Integrated Legal Services (SLIMS) in project municipalities.

Projects and Service Delivery—DevTech led the Project and Services Technical area, which provided technical assistance to municipalities and mancomunidades in improving municipal services, such as trash collection, water and sewage, and street lighting. DevTech:

  • Designed a manual for municipalities in the use of System Control for Public Lighting Management (SISCOC) that introduced general urban planning techniques and provides an easy-to-use tool for decision-making within an overall framework of transparent municipal management.
  • Increased capacity of municipalities to provide basic public services either directly or through single entities to provide public services (EPSAS). Several municipalities opened public service units to coordinate and articulate basic public service provision.
  • Gained citizen support for adjusting the water fee structure to be based on the real costs for operation, maintenance and expansion.
  • Improved potable water quality at the Municipality of Concepción.
  • Developed a program for the use of ecological latrines and sewage connection, and provided training in the municipalities of San Javier, Concepción, Ascensión de Guarayos and San Antonio de Lomerío, with additional training provided in project supervision and control in the municipalities of Cliza, Punata, Rurrenabaque, San Buenaventura, Reyes, Turco and Curahuara.

Municipal Finance—DevTech assisted on issues of municipal finance, including independent revenue sources, and played a key role in the initial stages of defining the Municipal Development Index. Specific accomplishments include institutionalization of capacity to increase own source revenues in rural municipalities (completed in Cliza and San Juan de Yapacani, and ongoing in Chapare and Chiquitanía).