Planeación participativa de políticas públicas: la formulación de la política pública de empleo y emprendimiento en el municipio de San Martín, Colombia

Abstract

This article examines participatory planning in the formulation stages of public policy in Colombia. It focuses the case study of San Martin – department of Cesar – and its employment and entrepreneurship public policy formulation process, developed between September 2016 and May 2017. The analysis centers on the organization of diverse actors – community and public and private institutions – that seek to address a problem of public characer in a territory which has adopted since 2012 a hydrocarbons exploitation strategy for its economic development, due to its geographic conditions and characteristics of its soils. Building on the above, this article provides an analysis of the inclusion process of this – public interest – problem in the local political agenda. It describes the participatory process in the formulation of public policy as wells as the obtained results. The study is of descriptive character as it identifies and describes factors which influence the process under enquiry (Martinez, 2006). For this, primary and secondary data analysis was carried out, applying observations as a cross-cutting tool by the investigator in his role as facilitator of the methodological process developed with the actors. Focus groups discussions in participatory workshops provided the main source of information, in which meeting minutes where analyzed applying the content analysis technique. The exercise identifies a weak institutional presence in terms of decent work, employment generation and protection, as well as the perception of homelessness in rural areas and low local management to promote human development. It also presents some barriers faced by peasants to guarantee their income.