Challenges

Similar to other countries in the region, the Dominican Republic suffers from a lack of effective governance when it comes to territorial planning and land use. That has led to numerous issues, including to a lack of coordination among different governing bodies and to an inability to reduce regional inequalities. Such lack of coordination also means that there was an inadequate coordination and orientation of public investment that led to inefficient resource allocation and the perpetuation of old challenges. More specifically, the southwestern part of the country suffers from poverty, social conflicts, greater risks and vulnerabilities to natural hazards and border-re- lated issues along the border with the Republic of Haiti.

Toward a Solution

The project, entitled “Implementation of Regional Development Instruments and Territorial Planning in the Dominican Republic”, was executed in collab-oration with the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development of the Dominican Republic; the Chilean Agency for International Cooperation for Development; the Undersecretary of Regional and Administrative Development of Chile; and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation.

The overarching goal was to contribute to the strengthening of the institu- tional framework for regional development and land-use planning in the Dominican Re The intervention strategy focused on South-South knowledge transfers, on the exchange of experiences through training and on the construction of methodological instruments for the elaboration of regional development and a land-use plan.

First, the regulatory institutional and competence frameworks were reviewed to identify the competence mandates that would allow a regional presence of the governing body and making these instruments operational. Subsequently, materials (guides) were designed for the elaboration of the Regional Plan for Territorial Planning and Development, based on a logical and methodological framework, with a view to facilitating the elaboration of Plans in other regions, standardizing an innovative methodology in the regulatory framework and in planning, and determining the territory to planning scales that did not exist until the beginning of the Project.

The decision-making process in the preparation and approval of instru- ments was identified, establishing comprehensive governance as part of a process of dialogue and coordination. This experience is in the process of technical-formal validation for said instruments, allowing the promotion of prioritized strategic areas to be inserted in the planning and budget.

The Regional Development Council, with the support of the project, made progress in its adaptation to the current legal framework, structure, roles and responsibilities and in the awareness and induction of key actors. However, the country is in the process of organizing elections which has resulted in a temporary suspension of decision-making in that regard.

The capacity-building process, based on “learning by doing”, strengthened inter-institutional dialogue and decision-making for territorial planning. The technical teams of key institutions were trained in this matter. This exercise made it possible to broaden the political and technical knowledge of key actors at the territorial level and to consolidate public-private alliances.

The Pilot Region (southwest) resulted in a first inter-institutional exercise, which included a participatory approach based on prospective and strategic scenarios. It was based on a process of gathering information and on sectoral and public consultations in the territory that made it possible to assess the characteristics of the regions thereby allowing the exploration of modern methodologies and technologies.

A management structure was established to define the oversight and resources for its implementation, monitoring and follow-up, as proposed in the Guide. Governance is based on multistakeholder interactions, budgetary allocations and connectivity with territorial planning and regional development thereby allowing an evaluation to be made on the effectiveness in the territory of the proposed implementation structure.

With a process of pre-diagnosis, validation and socialization, the territorial diagnosis was carried out with regional dialogues, sectoral consultations and open public consultations to identify the needs, obstacles and opportunities in the pilot locality. This makes citizens visible as part of a new model of governance that takes into account the public and private vision of regional development.

The management rested on a tripartite Coordination and Follow-up Committee, made up of the partners, to learn about the progress in management, which allowed detecting opportunities for improvement in compliance with the work schedule. The multidisciplinary and inter-institutional interaction guaranteed a comprehensive approach, which focused on guaranteeing the expected outcomes in the base planning of the initiative. The formulation of Regional Plans for Territorial Planning and Development can be replicated in the Dominican Republic or in other countries thereby safeguarding conditions of governance, management and inter-institutional exchanges.

To guarantee political participation and involvement in future formulation initiatives, it is necessary to incorporate key political players and decisions-makers right from the planning and pre-diagnosis phases, so that they can be involved early in the strategic aspects and investment initiatives in the territory, namely those collected in the public and sectoral consultation phase. The design of procedures for the formulation, validation, approval and implementation of regional planning is put forward in accordance with the Methodological Guide for Formulation carried out within the project framework. Prioritized investment in consultation with the territory must be harmonized with the National System, and an automated mechanism may be established for the registration of public investment projects located in the terri- tory in question.