SANTO DOMINGO - The Vice Ministry of Territorial Planning and Regional Development (VIOTDR) and the Center for Training in Planning and Public Investment (CCPIP) held the Training Workshop on Participatory Planning for the National Local Planning Board.
The overall objective of the training was to provide civil society with the necessary elements for the application of procedures and methodologies for the development of plans, programs and projects, which strengthen the participatory planning approach.
The initiative was carried out with the effective participation of relevant organizations and actors in society in the design and management of their own development in order to have a greater impact and for better decision-making.
The welcoming remarks were delivered by the Director General of the Center for Training in Planning and Public Investment, Bernardo Hirán Sánchez Melo, who welcomed the civil society organizations attending the workshop. He also thanked the Vice Ministry of Territorial Planning and Regional Development, represented by its head, Domingo Matías, for the opportunity to provide training for the benefit of non-profit organizations.
Then, the Vice Minister of Territorial Planning and Regional Development, Domingo Matías, encouraged representatives of non-governmental organizations to strengthen the processes of managing climate change policies that significantly impact urban and rural metabolism. He expressed the need to enhance cities' capacity to adapt to climate vulnerability.
He advocated for the consolidation of Development Councils as a tool for democratization and institutional strengthening of municipalities, as well as citizen participation in local government decisions. He stated that the councils are a valuable instrument for monitoring development and land-use plans.
Deputy Minister Matías called for a shift from a localist approach to planning to a more global one, moving from bottom-up planning to a more global perspective. He emphasized the need to advance towards a "glocal" vision, thinking and acting both locally and globally.
The workshop facilitator was Marino Tejada, who covered the basic concepts and definitions of participatory planning; citizen participation strategy and objectives; levels of a citizen participation process; participatory dynamics; participatory multi-scale planning; reference cases and presentation of the results of the Co-management Fund products with Fundación Solidaridad.
Specific objectives
The specific objectives were to manage the basic concepts of the participatory planning approach at different planning scales.
Likewise, to generate learning from participatory planning experiences that put into practice the principles of equity and comprehensiveness of the actions of social actors and the municipal government
Also, develop the components of the participatory planning process by articulating the decisions of social actors with respect to municipal public investment.
Finally, to present participatory planning experiences that promote encounters between municipal governments, public sectors, associative entities, municipal entities, private institutions and organized civil society.
