Consultoría para la elaboración de un Plan de Trabajo de la Implementación de Auditoria Social para el Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia

The consultancy aimed to provide recommendations for the PDG to ensure the correct implementation of social audit tools. Renewal of political will is essential for the implementation of social audit tools. Formal acts are necessary to establish the commitment of the public institution to implement these tools, as the lack of such commitment can lead to the interruption of dialogue and coordination channels. This, in turn, affects the institution's obligation to render accounts in the medium and long term for the findings and demands raised at the local level. The consultancy highlighted the importance of understanding the purpose and scope of the Reporte Comunitario (Community Report), a social audit tool that utilizes a Group Focal format to convene actors involved in the provision of public services. The Reporte Comunitario is not merely a qualitative research tool, but a collective and community-based encounter to share problems and concerns. This specificity must be clarified to avoid losing key aspects of the tool. The implementation of the Reporte Comunitario revealed that the implementing organization considered it a mere Group Focal, failing to generate the expected changes at the intermediate and short-term levels. The organization's lack of effective implementation of proposed changes and modifications was also noted, which may have been due to the scope of the implementation exceeding available financial resources. The consultancy emphasized the importance of rendering accounts by the implementing organization. The organization accepted proposals for change, modification, and improvement but failed to implement them effectively. This may have been due to the cultural context in Paraguay, where avoiding conflict is a common practice. To address these deficiencies, it is essential to anticipate resources and consider alternative sources, such as a network of university volunteers who can contribute to the public education system. The social audit tools are valid for resolving problems in local units or services and can facilitate communication with central levels to address structural problems. However, obstacles in the daily execution of policies or programs can be resolved using the Reporte Comunitario if local actors' performance is crucial in service delivery. If problems are primarily related to decision-making levels, other mechanisms may be used to identify and solve them.