Eduardo González
The International and Ibero-American Foundation for Public Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP) has evaluated its activity in 2023 to “achieve stronger public systems for people and the planet”, in a year that “has been very special because we have completed 25 years of cooperation, sharing knowledge and experiences in more than 120 countries”.
FIIAPP, a public sector foundation dedicated to international cooperation in public administration and public policy, was created in 1998 as a result of the merger between the Ibero-American Foundation for Government and Public Policy and the Ibero-American Institute of Public Administration Foundation.
It currently implements projects in more than 120 countries, with a significant percentage of European funding, to improve public policies and pubic systems that can impact development, from climate, migration, justice and security to digitalization, employment, transportation, or trade and, centrally, social cohesion.
According to its statutes, the Board of Trustees of the FIIAPP is chaired by the person holding the office of First Vice-President of the Government (currently María Jesús Montero, Minister of Finance) and its members include the Secretary of State for International Cooperation, Eva Granados, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares.
“34 achievements”
According to a report published by the foundation to mark the turn of the year, “34 achievements” have been made in 2023 in “very diverse areas”, such as “justice, peace, development, environment, security, social policies, rights and digitization”.
In the area of digitization, FIIAPP worked in Ukraine on the design of a new computer science curriculum for early childhood, primary and secondary education “that will prepare four million students for a post-conflict digital future, contributed to strengthening the Digital Alliance between Latin America and the European Union “to guarantee data protection and digital rights in both regions” and worked in Paraguay to strengthen statistical capacity4 , integrating information on health, civil registry and migration, among others.
With regard to the Green Agenda, FIIAPP supported Latin America and the Caribbean in developing decarbonization strategies and strengthening the capacities of climate services, and collaborated with Cuba in updating energy policy, orienting it toward green energy (thermal districts, climate financing and agro-ecological value chains). It also supported Guatemala and the Dominican Republic in developing circular economy strategies and strengthening forest fire management, helped launch the Amazon Integrated Fire Management Network (RAMIF), and cooperated with Lebanon in the creation of the Green Police app for reporting environmental crimes.
In the area of justice, FIIAPP helped the Dominican Republic become a benchmark in the digitization of justice in the Caribbean, helped Mercosur create an international protection order for victims of gender-based violence, and helped Peru and Bolivia strengthen the capacity of police and justice institutions to curb organized crime by creating joint security and justice investigation teams.
In the area of trade, the Foundation supported Uruguay in the development of sustainable certifications to guarantee exports in line with the European Union’s regulation on deforestation, and worked in continental Africa to create a free trade zone with a focus on young people, “making available to them the tools and opportunities offered by this treaty.
In the area of youth, FIIAPP helped Tunisia develop municipal programs on youth and sports, and collaborated with Morocco in the implementation of the youth card and support for a future youth law in the country.
FIIAPP was also involved in the fight against terrorism and organized crime in the Sahel, where it contributed to the creation of thirteen rapid action groups to ensure security in areas at high risk of organized crime. “This presence has made it possible to reopen markets, schools and health centers.” It also contributed in Senegal, Ghana and Kenya to the training of 300 security agents to protect public spaces from possible terrorist attacks and collaborated with Lebanon in the publication of the first report on the state of human rights in the country.
In the area of migration, FIIAPP worked with eight African countries to provide training in European legislation on regular migration to public officials responsible for migration management, civil society organizations and European embassies. In addition, it developed e-learning platforms for European and African civil servants responsible for migration management and for civil society organizations.
FIIAPP also collaborated in border management in Latin America and the Caribbean, where it supported the creation of the Athens Network in six countries in the region to exchange information and control document fraud. In addition, in Colombia and Ecuador it helped implement the One Stop Control system to expedite the passage of people, and in both Mercosur and the Andean Community it was involved in the implementation of border regulations and information exchange mechanisms to stop organized crime and in the creation of a border management diploma course for officials at six pilot borders.
In the fight against trafficking, FIIAPP helped Nigeria create a national database for investigating trafficking networks and protecting victims, and collaborated with the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica in equipping Interpol offices with state-of-the-art technology for an information and investigation network on human trafficking and smuggling crimes.
The Foundation also contributed to the development of local government in Angola, with the implementation of participatory governance mechanisms, open governments and citizen laboratories, and in Mexico, with the development of a fiscal model for social cohesion, strengthening tax collection and the quality and transparency of spending.
In the area of drugs, FIIAPP worked in Latin America and the Caribbean to strengthen drug observatories and institutional coordination against the laundering of assets derived from drug trafficking, and collaborated with Chile in the development of new approaches to drug policies, such as the socio-labor situation of young people with drug problems or the monitoring of mental health in juvenile homes. In Central Asia, the Foundation collaborated in the implementation of treatment and care aimed at the specific needs of women with drug use problems, both in the community and in prisons.
Finally, FIIAPP was also involved in the development of the so-called Public Talent. In this regard, the Foundation highlighted the inclusion of public technical cooperation in the new Law on Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity, which has allowed mobilizing more than 620 public professionals from more than 180 European institutions this year.
“We celebrate our 25th anniversary consolidating the commitment to cooperation of Spanish Public Talent. We also commemorate the 25th anniversary of the twinning program, led in Spain by the FIIAPP,” stated the Foundation. In the field of European Cooperation, FIIAPP assures that it has “managed to get the European Public Service ministries to share a roadmap with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs” with the aim of “positioning public sector international cooperation as a driver of development”.
