CBMS Policy Dialogue in Concepcion, Bolivia

Informing Policy Dialogue through CBMSFundacion ARU (implementer of a PEP-CBMS project in Bolivia) in collaboration with the "Concepcion Gobierno Autonomo Municipal", on May 3, 2014.  The forum aimed to present and discuss, with the local authorities of Concepcion, the status and corresponding outputs of the pilot CBMS project being implemented in the municipality, as well as to get feedback from the community on the possible use of CBMS and its outputs for improving local governance. 

During the forum, the CBMS Bolivia Research Team of ARU - led by its Executive Director, Werner Hernani, and Wilson Jimenez, the CBMS Bolivia Project Leader - presented the activities undertaken in the context of the CBMS initiative in Bolivia, its current outputs and expected outcomes to community leaders and local authorities of Concepcion.

Among the highlights of the forum:

• Presentation, by the Project Team, of the online platform that was created to provide access to the data generated from the conduct of the CBMS household census
• Recognition, by the local authorities, of the usefulness of CBMS for providing relevant inputs for prioritization of responses to needs of the community given its budget limitations.

Indeed, the municipal government of Concepcion has found the CBMS tools and outputs to be "very useful for zone leaders to better understand their situation, thus providing basis to solve the multiple problems they have".  The municipal planning officials further commended the CBMS work of Fundacion ARU, since it has "responded to their need for a system that is organized, structured and easy to understand".

Among the participants of the policy dialogue were the planning officials of the Municipal Government of Concepcion, zone and indigenous group leaders, and students from Concepcion (who have been trained by the ARU team in the conduct of the CBMS census in the locality). Also present during the forum were key representatives and researchers of the PEP-CBMS Network led by CBMS International Network Coordinating Team Leader and PEP Asia Program Director Celia Reyes; Program Committee and Policy Advisory Group members William Randall Spence, Tomas Africa, and Ponciano Intal, Jr; and International GAD expert Nancy Spence.