Triangle of Solidarity
The Triangle of Solidarity is a mechanism that was implemented in Costa Rica between 1998 and 2002 in order to promote integration and solidarity in the identification and solution of local problems. The initiative allowed for an approach to poverty through the integration of the communities in the decision making. The project sought to encourage citizen participation at the local level, in order to make a diagnosis of the main problems of the communities and their possible solutions through concerted action between these, the municipalities and the governmental institutions. The mechanisms of participation used by the Triangle of Solidarity were district assemblies, public prosecutor's offices, planning workshops, negotiation tables and neighborhood assemblies. By the end of 1999, the Triangle of Solidarity had activities in about 30 cantons in which about 40 000 people participated. At that time, the initiative had made progress in areas such as decentralization, citizen participation in decision-making, combating poverty, vitality of the municipal regime and strengthening governance.
Institutional design
Formalization: is the innovation embedded in the constitution or legislation, in an administrative act, or not formalized at all?
Frequency: how often does the innovation take place: only once, sporadically, or is it permanent or regular?
Mode of Selection of Participants: is the innovation open to all participants, access is restricted to some kind of condition, or both methods apply?
Type of participants: those who participate are individual citizens, civil society organizations, private stakeholders or a combination of those?
Decisiveness: does the innovation takes binding, non-binding or no decision at all?
Co-governance: is there involvement of the government in the process or not?
- Formalization
- not backed by constitution nor legislation, nor by any governmental policy or program
- Frequency
- single
- Mode of selection of participants
- both
- Type of participants
- citizens civil society
- Decisiveness
- democratic innovation yields a non-binding decision
- Co-Governance
- yes
Means
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Ends
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