This mission is organized for the purpose of realizing a Technical Assistance work plan for the implementation of the DETC strategy (territorial economic development and competitiveness) at SEGEPLAN, Department of Zacapa, and of identifying economic and territorial development projects of social, economic and environmental impact at regional level. SEGEPLAN and the EU-funded Programme EUrosociAL have had several opportunities for joint work in Guatemala over the last two years.

General context
The implementation of the Territorial Economic Development and Competitiveness (DETC) policies in the framework of the national development plan “K’atun – Nuestra Guatemala 2013” has been advancing throughout the country, thus implying the strengthening of the local institutions system of the Consejos de Desarrollo (Committees of Development), which incorporates the executive levels, civil society and the public-private partnership. The key players of this process are SEGEPLAN, as the leading national administration, as well as the Consejos de Desarrollo Departmental (CODEDE) and the Mesa de Competitividad at intermediate level.

The implementation of the DETC process at the Zacapa Department - indicated by SEGEPLAN as the pilot area for developing Technical Assistance - poses important challenges of capacity building at local level concerning the implementation of the processes of territorial change and transformation, among others, in terms of:

• identifying territorial criticalities and opportunities that are a priority when implementing the DETC strategy elaborated at local level;
• generating and evaluating ideas and projects of territorial transformation, which are bound to the priorities of the DETC strategy, as well as creating a “database of projects” at territorial impact;
• integrating processes of DETC programming, as well as processes of Territorial Organization for integrated implementation, consistent and sustainable with the Economic Development and Competitiveness Strategy of the Zacapa Department;
• defining the conditions of environmental and territorial sustainability for implementing the DETC strategy and the projects bound to the priorities, so as to improve the department’s competitiveness;
• coordinating and cooperating with public and private players to pursue the goals of the DETC strategy by developing efficient communication with territorial stakeholders, thus fueling multi-level cooperation – central-local and public-private – on shared perspectives of territorial development.

Scope of the mission
In particular, the recent mission pursued the following objectives:

• institutional strengthening of the Department of Zacapa for implementing the DETC strategy, with particular reference to the Mesa de Competitividad and the evaluation of its operational capacity of managing DET strategy;
• contribution to determining the economic purpose of the Department of Zacapa, in the light of the potential of its natural resources and comparative advantages;
• support to the identification of flagship and sustainable projects, which contribute to generating territorial competitiveness, including in the public, private and academic sectors;
• support for the establishment and implementation of a Banco de proyectos de Desarrollo Económico of strategic reach and regional impact that help improve the Department’s competitiveness and attract investment.