Advisory Services for Capacity Building of Municipal Planning Offices in Guatemala

"The Capstone team worked with World Bank Institute (WBI) staff to develop capacity building tools for strengthening the Guatemalan Municipal Planning Offices (OMP) and enhancing the skills of OMP officials. During the decentralization process OMPs were established in order to coordinate and consolidate the diagnostics, plans, programs, and projects for the development of municipalities. Challenges remain in professionalizing the urban planning profession in Guatemala and establishing standards of competencies required for municipal planners. The WBI team contributed to the development of effective management models that could be scaled up across municipalities in Guatemala and worked to develop processes that would strengthen the capacity of municipal planners in Guatemala through certification, including the formulation of a certification curriculum. Methods proposed include distance learning capacity­building programs for municipal officials such as radio, web­based, and print programs. "