One of the objectives of the government is to improve coordination between the various public bodies involved in the prevention of violence. As part of this undertaking, Efus designed last year a methodology allowing for strengthened coordination between the various public bodies involved in violence prevention.

This methodology was used by the government of Costa Rica to draft their 2014-2015 National Plan for the Prevention of Violence and was the basis of the project carried out in the municipality of Desamparados, which is affected by high rates of violence.

The methodology developed highlighted the weaknesses of the Costa Rican prevention system. For the year 2015, EUROsociAL, programme funded by the European Union, has been tasked with drafting an organisational structure for the National Commission for the Prevention of Violence and the Promotion of Social Peace (CONAPAZ according to the Spanish acronym), which the government wishes to revive.

The organisation promoted will be a meeting space for the various concerned institutions, which will help build a coherent model for action. Efus will present formally its proposal to the Costa Rican government in October. Should it accept it, the scheme will be used as the new model for inter-institutional coordination in Costa Rica.  

EUROsociAL's work in Costa Rica allowed for transferring to this country the European experience in security management and various prevention systems that have been validated in Europe, such as alliances and prevention contracts. Such schemes are similar to the collaborative strategies and models for the coproduction of security that are used to coordinate the various stakeholders in violence and crime prevention policies and strategies.