Strengthening Municipal Capacity for Access to Public Information in El Salvador

The grantee created strategic alliances with three institutions of complementary capacities and competencies in an attempt to maximize impact. This allowed the issue to be raised in public educational centres, thereby significantly multiplying knowledge, and it enabled a more efficient deployment of resources. The grantee was a particularly important ally for the governmental Institute for Access to Public Information (IAPI) in El Salvador. However, IAPI’s institutional fragility kept it from capitalizing on the aid provided by the grantee by the end of the project. This could have been a key element to ensure a relevant and high-quality education process in other municipalities.

The methodology which the project applied to the educational processes was highly relevant, adapting successfully to the different audiences in El Salvador. Collaboration with an EU-funded project enabled the grantee to undertake a baseline study. The project’s advantage was that it was a “design-in-progress” depending on the specific needs of the beneficiaries, which meant that its effectiveness could be maximized. The intervention ultimately had an impact on local and national institutions, putting the enforcement of the Law on local agendas, creating links between different levels of government and speeding up the process of appointing information officers in the municipalities.

Project outputs were met with efficiency, and even surpassed their aims in terms of quantity. This was due to the flawless management and execution of the project, but also due to the fact that the UNDEF funded project was able to link several activities to an EU-funded project in the grantee’s portfolio. By pooling funds from an additional donor, the project was able to target a larger number of beneficiaries in El Salvador (4361 individuals received capacity building in contrast to a planned 3000).

The project developed materials and tools of excellent quality. However, participants asked for the materials to be adapted to other types of audiences in order to achieve a greater coverage among children, youth, elderly people, and people with special needs, among others. In some cases, teachers in educational centres offered to adapt the materials to suit their audiences.

The project developed materials and tools of excellent quality. These contributed to extending knowledge among the various beneficiaries in El Salvador. The materials became a key component for sustainability since they could be used in future initiatives. Resources such as the ‘Citizen Education booklet: the Right to Access Public Information in the Municipality’, was based on the specific needs and experiences of the target audience.

A major part of the project’s success rested on its timing: El Salvador had recently adopted the Law on the Access to Public Information which required a greater degree of openness from public institutions at all levels. However, the law’s quick entry into force required institutional, human and financial capacities which local governments, citizens and the Institute for Access to Public Information did not have. The project was therefore responding to a genuine and timely need and helped raise awareness of the issue of access to public information at the local level. Thus, by designing the intervention around the political context, the project was relevant for both the government and local communities.