Problems and Purpose

A group of national specialists, convened by the Office of the United Nations Development Program, helped lay the groundwork for a discussion in Costa Rica that led to the suggestion of convening a broad group of Costa Rican citizens in their personal capacity, to develop a broad and pluralistic deliberative process around four themes that, in the debate with the experts, were imposed as starting points for a discussion.

Background History and Context

The process "Challenges to Democracy: A Proposal for Costa Rica" was convened by the UNDP and FLACSO.

Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities

Participant Recruitment and Selection

The process installed "Deliberative Circles" of a multidisciplinary nature which were composed of 40 recognized Costa Rican professionals.

Methods and Tools Used

What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation

The deliberative circles were spaces for discussion and the formulation of proposals in relation to the four priority thematic areas: representation and political parties; the role of the State; the issue of decentralization; and accountability. From this process, a series of documents emerged that were published in such a way as to respect their original integrity, based on the assumption that they were products of the collective work of the group's members which revealed their priorities, styles, competencies, and opinions.

Influence, Outcomes, and Effects

Analysis and Lessons Learned

The resulting reports appear to meet the essential requirement of presenting concrete proposals whose purpose is to contribute both to the enlightened debate and to the formation of public policy.

See Also

References

This entry is missing citations. Please help us verify its content by adding footnotes.

External Links

http://www.flacso.or.cr/index.php/publicaciones-jb-br-jb-i-labor-editorial-jb-i/libros/249-desafios-de-la-democracia [BROKEN LINK]

Notes