Guatemala City, by Jenny Herrera -AGN- The Secretariat of Planning and Programming of the Presidency -Segeplan- unveiled the procedures for formulating and updating public policies.
Public policies are strategic planning instruments to address general problems of national interest with social awareness that negatively impact a population or sector corresponding to the institutional structure to be solved.
What are public policies?
Segeplan ensures planning within the Executive Branch since specific controls are needed. In this regard, public policies are the ideal tool for exercising public administration.
Segeplan listed the following features for public policy quality:
- stability
- adaptability
- coherence and coordination
- quality of implementation and execution
- orientation towards the common good
- efficiency
- formulation cycle
Likewise, the development and updating cycle of a public policy has five steps: identification of the problem, identification of solutions, decision-making, implementation, and, finally, monitoring and evaluation.
Phases
The Government of Guatemala initiates the detection of the problem through the analysis of causes and effects, analysis of the target population, identification of the magnitude of the problem, legal and normative framework, analysis of the relevant actors of the problem, legal and normative framework, analysis of the collection of public policies, institutional and programmatic analysis, and the study of the public policy framework.
The second phase identifies solutions through questions such as, What change is to be achieved? Who will be the target of the change? What intervention will address the problem? Who will be the target population? What is the magnitude and timing of the intervention? The next phase refers to decision-making through the objectives, axes, results, and strategic guidelines.
The fourth phase involves implementing three steps: Align the K’atun plan and national priorities. Elaborate an action plan model and, finally, incorporate the strategic framework of the public policy into the operational instruments of the National Public Investment System -SNIP-.
In the development planning process, public policies require institutions to establish better alignment and coordination of public policies with national development priorities. They are set based on the development vision for the following years.
Public policies must comply with the framework of national priorities in the Development Plan.
Finally, the fifth phase verifies the evaluation of the monitoring of actions, processes, and results.
The Government of Guatemala demonstrates, by applying technical tools, the adequate development of public policies.
