Monitoring, Maintenance, and Management
How has the initiative been designed and implemented so that long-term needs for management and maintenance are reduced and can be met?
The initiative has a long-term focus. It is sustained through citizen participation that contributes to the co-creation of consensual public policies. It was evaluated by different technical areas of the government that approved its design through a specific technical report.
It is also considered viable, as it is one of the priority policies of the local government, with its own and external financing to pay for the main actions of the process and accompany the economic growth of the beneficiary families. The maintenance of main public services driven to Rodrigo Bueno are in charge of the local government and shall be transferred to the responsible governmental areas once the main works are finished.
Besides, the families moved to new houses are affording a mortgage which allows them to own the house and guarantees sustainability in the long term. As well, the firsts building committees have already been organized to take care of the common areas, as every city building.
In terms of socioeconomic integration, the Housing Institute of Buenos Aires fosters generation and expansion of local undertakings and promotes training for green jobs, as well as meets market labour with employment needs from the neighbours.
What protocols are in place to facilitate monitoring of results?
Several tools are used to monitor the results, effects and impacts of public policies implemented. Evaluation is the mechanism for measuring, systematizing and qualifying government interventions before they are adopted, ongoing, or completed. Evaluation is not only necessary for accountability, but also for learning about experiences for improvement, replicability or greater understanding of the phenomenon. To accomplish this, studies are carried out at different times, both ex ante, during, and ex post each activity.
It should be noted that a social and economic Census was carried out in Rodrigo Bueno in 2016, which provided a baseline of key data to observe socio demographic changes in the neighbourhood.
At the environmental level, impact assessments of air and soil quality have been carried out, which were conducted by the local government. These have been carried out by public entities specialized in this matter. Furthermore, each contractor must prepare an Environmental and Social Management Plan that aims to avoid and minimize the negative impacts of project actions, while enhancing the positive ones. On a monthly basis, reports from all the contractors with their respective indicators (more than 20) are prepared to the IVC which has several environmental supervisors to this end.
Measurements with a focus on the socioeconomic issue are also carried out, in which surveys predominate as a data collection instrument. One of the most emblematic examples is the Expenditure Survey of families moving to new homes in the neighbourhood, and its last implementation was in November 2021.
How has the initiative been enhanced in response to monitoring of results?
The constant review of the participatory processes allows to detect either the success or the need to improve the implemented measures. We believe in “living policies” which are able to grow and adapt to the needs of each moment. That is why monitoring is central in the search for the generation of opportunities. This generates dynamism and permanent development in our social and environmental intervention. The periodicity of the Participatory Management Boards ensures that we are always aware of the needs and challenges of the participating actors in the urbanization process.
The continuous monitoring through follow-up meetings with External Financing Organizations and the internal review mechanisms within the Housing Institute, also allow us to evolve day by day. As an example, after examining the methodology of the contracting processes, we noticed the need to make amendments within the workflow so as to optimize its implementation in the neighbourhood.
