To achieve these goals, FUNDEPS promotes the empowerment of the different stakeholders in the development process through initiatives of training, lobbying, policy & research, strategic litigation and cooperation. At the moment, FUNDEPS is working in the following Intiatives:

Access & Transparency Promotion

The Project “Access and Transparency” (A&T)  is developed in Cordoba, Argentina. it seeks to promote the use of the Access of Public Information mechanisms by the citizens, and at the same time strengthen the State capacities to provide more and better information. The Law 8.803, in the Province of Cordoba, Argentina provides a comprehensive legal framework for the Access to Public Information, regarding actions of the State. However, despite the broad and multiple mechanisms available for the society, this law has seldom been put in practice and is barely known by citizens, civil society organizations and public officers. In this sense, the A&T project has as its main goal promote the Access to Information for the citizens and the civil society. At the same time, it seeks to strengthen the State capacities to deal with and diligently respond the Public Information requests presented by the citizens.

The project has as its objectives: a) present and sustain public information requests in key issues in different governmental offices b) develop awareness-raising campaigns and promote that citizens, media and other civil society organizations present and sustain public information requests, and c) train and empower public officers to properly handle the public requests for information according to the existent legal framework.

In this sense, more and better information regarding its public actions will be provided by the State, in response to the requests of more engaged and responsible citizens, genuinely interested in the issues they request information for. This will favor the control by the citizens, promoting transparency and accountability. The A&T project is already being implemented in alliance with the organization Ciudadanos 365 with the support of the Regional Transparency Fund, from the Inter American Development Bank.

Forestry Transparency Promotion - The Access Initiative, Argentine Coalition

In 2007 the National Congress of Argentina passed an innovate protection of native forests law. Argentina, where the annual rate of deforestation in some provinces exceeds 14 times the global rate, did not have a regulatory framework. The regulation of the law in local governments involves definitions of land uses, cultural identity, sustainable development of native forests, water, climate change and rights indigenous communities. For its level of innovation, the national government anticipates that the implementation of this law in the local jurisdictions will become a leading case in the world and has established financial mechanisms to support the provinces in the local regulation thereof.

In this context, Cordoba province has been one of the first three Argentinean provinces in developing this regulation process, which has recent started during 2009 and will be developing during 2010.  After assessing the case in Córdoba, TAI Coalition founded out that there are important opportunities to have an impact on the protection of forest by advocating for Access Principles at the provincial state regulation level. Working on Córdoba, could turn out o be a leading case which could influence, inform and set Access standards for the future provincial processes.

At the moment, TAI Coalition is working in the Provincial Congress, advocating for the inclusion of the Access Principles in the Law that is currently being discussed in this field. The project is being developed by the Argentine Coalition of The Access Initiative, formed by FUNDEPS, together with the Argentine Youth Organization for the United Nations (OAJNU), the Citizen Assembly for Justice and Human Rights (FOCO) and the Center for Human Rights and Environment (CEDHA) with the Support from the World Resources Institute.

Open Budget Monitoring

FUNDEPS has been working in the monitoring of the Local and Provincial Monitoring of the Government budget. In 2009, FUNDEPS took part in the Public Hearing before the approval of the 2010 budget. In that moment, FUNDEPS advocated for the establishment of Transparency regulations within the development of this new budget. At the moment, FUNDEPS is working to advocate the application of these principles and training public officers in the application of them.