The canton of Curridabat became the first in Costa Rica to apply the COMBOS Methodology for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG); after the week of November 27 to December 1, experts from the Regional Center of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) met with the mayor, members of the Municipal Council, technical officials, representatives of civil society, academy and the private sector of the canton, to publicize the methodology and jointly define the priority to be addressed.
In these meetings, consensus was reached that the issue of security and peace is a need felt by the residents of Curridabat, while involving intersectoral work and involving various actors.
The Deputy Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy and Coordinator of the Technical Secretariat of the SDGs, María del Pilar Garrido Gonzalo explained that the COMBOS strategy that began to be implemented in the canton of Curridabat "is applicable to the national government and local governments; it is the way the Technical Secretariat bets to operationalize and implement the Sustainable Development Goals; This initial experience is at the subnational level, with the objective of laying the foundations to build multi-level governance of the SDGs. "
Alice H. Shackelford, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations System in Costa Rica, added that the preparation and implementation of the COMBOS methodology in the greater San José metropolitan area is an opportunity to support the government in locating the Development Goals. Sustainable (ODS) at the local level. "This first exercise is a pilot to contribute to the advancement of the 2030 Agenda with local governments, in this specific case of Curridabat the methodology will contribute so that a priority problem for the canton can be worked from the multidimensional and intersectoral approach as proposed by the Agenda and ensuring that no one is left behind. "
Édgar Mora Altamirano, Mayor of Curridabat, was pleased with the application of the COmbos methodology in his canton: "The multiple ways to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDOs) must be delineated with precision using analytical tools that allow ordering the complexity of interactions of the programs and projects that make up public policies. Otherwise, the risk of producing anecdotal actions from the municipalities is very high. The Combos methodology absorbs information, analyzes variables and returns actions that are linked to the objectives. The thematic variety becomes with this tool a network of possibilities of very easy follow-up. In Curridabat we are very pleased to inaugurate its application in Costa Rica. "
During the last day of November, progress was made in the first phase of the methodology, which consisted in defining the problem; The next step is the construction of the theory of change, which will be in charge of the team of experts from the Regional Center of the UNDP and the Technical Secretariat of the SDGs.
Then the goals and indicators are defined and then the catalysts and obstacles to governance are determined and a roadmap is made, to later establish the mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation.
"The COMBOS methodology combines several principles of the SDGs, as universality, because different actors converge; It has an integrated development approach, because the problem is analyzed from all its dimensions and with the attention of the problem in the districts and towns of the cantons, the principle of leaving no one behind is met and with this methodology the definition of goals and indicators are made based on particular problems, "concluded Vice Minister Garrido.
The news was originally published on the website dedicated to the SDGs for Costa Rica. You can consult it here .
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