THE FIRST STUDY TRIP IN THE VOICES OF THE PARTICIPANTS

Rogger Ruíz, Deputy General Manager of the Regional Government of La Libertad, said that “it is interesting to learn about the experiences that Chile has been developing, considering that it is a similar experience because we are similar cultures”. He also pointed out that “it is very interesting how these agencies decentralize resources to the provinces and, in the case of the corporations, they have an administrative apparatus that allows them to sustain the policies that are discussed within the board of directors and then allow them to be implemented”.

Luis Varillas Arguedas, Representative of the National Competitiveness Council of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, highlighted “Chile’s capacity to reach a consensus on a long-term policy for productive development and innovation through different actors, which has allowed pushing the necessary efforts to grow in this area. This is something that has been a bit complicated to do in Peru”. He added that “efforts are now being made to find the spaces to identify the relevant actors”.

Alex Távara, specialist of the Decentralization Secretariat of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, highlighted as important elements of the experience lived in Chile “the Institutionality, the Governance model, the issue of political will and the Regional State capacity of its officials, corporations and committees”. He also pointed out that the decentralization process experienced in Chile with the establishment of the Regional Governments is also an important point: “this process has left us with many lessons to be replicated and adapted to our own territories”.

Ignacia Fernández, Rimisp’s principal researcher and coordinator of the project “Identification, sensitization and advocacy for the consolidation of Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) in Peru“, made a positive assessment of the internship because “it allowed to analyze together with the participants, those positive aspects, but also other more critical ones, to advance towards the sustainability of RDAs in Peru and continue promoting innovation and competitiveness of the different territories”.

Since 2018, the European Union, the German development cooperation, implemented by the GIZ, and the Spanish Cooperation, together with the Secretariat for Decentralization of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (SD – PCM) are co-financing and supporting the design and implementation of Regional Development Agencies (ARD) in seven pilot regions of Peru (Apurímac, Ayacucho, Cajamarca, Cusco, La Libertad, Piura and San Martín) with the objective of activating regional economic development and contributing to the decentralization process with a territorial approach. This work is being carried out with the support of the project “Sustainable economic development and promotion of SMEs at the subnational level”.