Technical Assistance to the Institutional Support to Development Policies Programme (Programa de Apoyo a la Definición de Políticas de Desarrollo en Nicaragua –PAINIC)

Detailed description of project Back

The Country Strategy Paper for Nicaragua gives priority to the implementation of sector policy support programmes in 3 priority sectors:

• Socio-economic development of rural areas;
• Investment in human capital, especially education and;
• Support to good governance and consolidation of the democratic process.

These 3 sectors correspond to key pillars of the Poverty Reduction Strategy of the GoN (ERCERP).

Within the framework of the EC budgetary support programme and related measures, and the agreement between the Government of Nicaragua and the donor community for the provision of general budgetary support, the project aims at advising, supporting and building the institutional capacities of the Government of Nicaragua, working with core Government ministries such as Ministry of Finance and Planning Secretariat and sector Ministries (Education, Agriculture and Governance), for the elaboration, review, and implementation of comprehensive sector policies in the respective sectors as well as overall implementation of the National Development Plan.

The main activities and related outputs of the project in the different sectors are:

• A multi-annual institutional strengthening and capacity building plan;
• The effective adjustment of policies and budgeted resources;
• The design of accounting and auditing control systems for a transparent management of public finances;
• The integration of sectoral programmes within the overall national development strategy and related implementation mechanisms;
• The development of a conducive policy and regulatory framework for the decentralisation process;
• The design of efficient inter-institutional co-ordination mechanisms, and the integration of different donors’ programmes and civil society initiatives into comprehensive sectoral policies;
• The establishment of mechanisms for the integration of equitable resources allocation measures; and
• An efficient monitoring system.

Type of services provided

The project is implemented through a long-term international technical assistance team composed of five long-term experts working within the national counterparts:

• Coordinator (team leader);
• Education sector Specialist;
• Rural Development Expert;
• Governance Expert;
• Public Finance Expert;

and complimented with a pool of ST experts.PROMAN is specifically responsible for the Governance (incl. Justice) Component and the provision of specialized short-term expertise. Specific assignments in the justice sector include:

• Drafting of the assessment of the Justice sector;
• Drafting of the assessment of the statistical system within the Justice sector;
• Elaboration of the 2008-2012 Strategic Plan of the Governance Ministry & Operational Plan for 2008;
• Prefeasibility study for the setting-up of a Laboratory of Criminalistics in Nicaragua, with regional (Central America) coverage;
• Support to the initial phase of the Statistical Commission of the Justice sector;
• Support to justice related institutions for the prioritization of the Justice Plan’s targets and for the articulation with the budget and the mid-term budget framework.