Group C - Steps to implement the Forum Actions

International
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Reccomendations
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Group C: Steps to implement the Forum Actions
Gildo Baraldi, Alain Berranger, Alessandro Moneta, Ana M. Quiroa de Arango, Eduardo Rojas, Maria del Huerto Romero, Roberto Savio, Salvador Schelotto
ACTION PLAN Creation of a working model: the network will be guided by innovative communication processes based on knowledge and not on information.
Criteria:
a.	Clearly identify the constituency that network managers are accountable for;
b.	Define the initial contents of the network;
c.	Prepare the bylaws that will regulate the network’s management;
d.	Institutionalization of the network;
e.	Implementation and financial sustainability of the network.
	a.1.	CONSTITUENCY
		It will be integrated by the main users and beneficiaries who will, together with network managers, promote a content development modality and an interactive communication. The group will include representatives from:
		-	Local authorities, representantives of regional associations or federations of municipalities.
		-	Research and academic institutes related to the subject.
		-	Civil society organizations.
		-	Private sector organizations (or business companies) related to the subject.
		-	Members of Parliament who represent Commissions related to the issue of urban environment.
		-	Civil servants at the national or local level of government.
		-	Mass media related to the subject.
		The incorporation of (types) categories of constituency will be progressive, following the gradual development of objectives and structure of the network and its own management.

b.1.	CONTENTS OF THE EMS KNOWLEDGE NETWORK
	b.1.1.	Contents of the network itself
		-	At the present stage the EMS knowledge network will be specifically oriented to the promotion of sustainable urban development. To this end, it will proceed with the initial systematization of issues already discussed and the previous experience of EMS.
		-	The EMS network will develop active mechanisms to adapt and adjust the contents and their delivery modality, depending on the demand identified by the constituency as regional priority. The EMS will be in charge of managing the consensus and necessary support to promote the development and use of knowledge through the network.
		-	The network must operate under the information market modality and facilitate the flow of supply and demand as well as discussions that are dynamic and brief, and provide references in those cases where information can be completed.
	b.1.2.	Network of knowledge networks for urban environmental management in LAC
		The network will grow gradually and will foster an innovation policy for cooperation and exchange that will help it grow and add contents. It will establish a direct form of communication on the knowledge available, EMS projects or the municipal associations networks it has agreements with, explaining how the participants (constituency) may connect and obtain or share information.
	b.1.3.	Flexible content and adaptable promotion
		Participants in the network may suggest the presence of new constituency who contribute or withdraw material from the network. The EMS network must be aware of the difficulties facing communication due to cultural diversity and the various meanings of language in different cultural contexts. Its products must be organized following the most vastly spoken languages in the region –Spanish and Portuguese—with special attention to the eventual use of minority languages that may facilitate the access of smaller municipalities.

c.1.	MANAGING THE NETWORK
	The group analyzes and weighs four types of management:
	c.1.1.	Transparent network - nothing is done, all entries circulate and there is nobody directly in charge of the information.
	c.1.2.	Management with control of information flow – it implies a decision on which information will/will not be allowed to enter the network.
	c.1.3.	Management with organizational control – information is channelled through to the constituencies.
	c.1.4.	Management through mobilization of users – the manager draws the attention of constituencies on the availability of information in the network.
	The EMS knowledge network should be managed following the fourth modality.
d.1.	INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF THE NETWORK
	This should be part of the discussion relative to the expected impact resulting from activities and projects promoted by the network. Accordingly, in order to maximize the expected impact the following is proposed:
	-	IDRC, through the Executive Director of the EMS, assumes the responsibility of organizing an EMS program committee integrated by:
		*	Group of donors so that the EMS knowledge network is accountable to the donors;
		*	Group of associates (partners, constituency);
		*	IDRC or EMS as network administrator.
	-	The working group will move ahead in a joint meeting where the donors, the associates and the administration review the ongoing program and secure its follow-up and feedback.
	-	The donors meet with the administration to review the ongoing program ("accountability" of the administration).
	-	IDRC will also act as "incubator", towards the self-sustainability of the network. The Secretariat will work within IDRC as a trust fund managed by a council of trustees. IDRC ensures that the Secretariat may receive contributions from bilateral, multilateral donors or private philanthropes. This is a permanent development process that will take a minimum of 3 years.
	-	IDRC may become the moral guarantee of the project and the promoter of donations from other donors to the Secretariat (Trust Fund).
	-	IDRC meets the conditions and institutional support necessary to promote donations also from the private sector. In this way, it may promote a change in the traditional lack of confidence between the public and private sectors in LAC.
e.1.	IMPLEMENTATION
	-	The EMS will present a three-year project that will include the development of the Secretariat as a knowledge network and will incorporate the criteria recommended by the working group on the drafting and upgrading of contents.
	-	The funding systems suggested may include donations that are either:
		*	Bilateral
		*	Multilateral
		*	Private philantropy
	-	It must also include a proposal to securing a significant participation of local funds.
	-	The EMS must move on with the discussions of the Forum by preparing an innovative project that combines the efforts of the Forum participants and the potential actors invo lved in the use of the network.
	-	The EMS will act as a spin-off promoting the installation of telematic capacity at the level of municipalities and contributing to the local government modernization process.
	-	The presence and interest of the participating constituency must be expressed through their representative bodies, who will endorse the project presented by the EMS. For example, The Latin American Chapter of the International Union of Local Authorities, The Federation of Municipalities of the Central American Isthmus, and the MercoCities Network.

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