Colombia—Responsive Governance (RG) Activity

The Responsive Governance (RG) Activity is a four-year initiative to narrow the governance gap between the “two Colombias”—large cities, on the one hand, versus the more isolated and conflict-affected municipalities where RG works, on the other—resulting in national and subnational governments that are more responsive to citizen needs and more likely to create conditions conducive to peace.

Working at the intersection of public financial management (PFM), local governance, and conflict programming, RG seizes a moment of opportunity to promote effective governance and support Colombian institutions and systems as they enter the next phase of peace implementation. With Colombian partner organizations Transparencia por Colombia, Pastoral Social, and Corpovisionarios, RG builds on the decentralization efforts supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Government of Colombia to emphasize visible and sustainable improvements in service delivery and implementation of the Peace Accords.

RG works in 27 conflict-affected municipalities.

Sample Activities

• Improve local government service delivery and implementation of the Peace Accords.
• Empower municipalities to deliver visible improvements in health, education, and infrastructure services.
• Encourage meaningful civic engagement by civil society and private sector actors.
• Strengthen the Government of Colombia’s capacity to meet citizen demands.

Select Results

• Supported the Colombian government to launch its National Observatory of Logistics, Transportation, Mining, and Energy planning tool will allow national, departmental, and local governments to develop and implement better public policies to improve road connectivity and bring more development opportunities to rural communities in conflict-affected territories.
• Initiated a course on social auditing with the participation of 60 social leaders, covering essential governance-related topics. The 10-session course addresses essential concepts regarding the government structure, participation and protection mechanisms for citizens, Peace Agreement implementation, human rights, social auditing, and public accountability exercises.
• Supported 27 conflict-affected municipalities in Colombia to prioritize crucial investment projects. The municipalities of Montelíbano and El Doncello will receive $1.1 million—from mining royalties—to improve rural public infrastructure, benefiting approximately 2,225 people.
• Developed a tool to reduce the risk of delays in service delivery that may result from information being lost during a recent change of administrations, ensuring fewer disruptions in service delivery to rural communities. The tool was shared with 34 target municipalities.