Why Ecuador is showing the world the future of government
Earlier this year, Cecilia Vaca Jones stood down from a powerful and highly unusual position in the government of Ecuador. She was 'co-ordinating minister' for the social sector, bringing together the Ministries of Health, Education, Welfare, Sports and Housing, deciding on their work and controlling their budgets. The post represents an innovative solution every government is struggling with: that if you want to prevent social problems before they get out of hand, you have to get traditionally separate departments to work together.
For example, the way to reduce crime among young men with drug problems may not be to deploy more police; it may be to improve education or healthcare or housing or welfare. And in a system where each department has its own money and its own duties, that is incredibly difficult to do, because why would, say, the ministry of the interior give part of its budget to education, with no guarantee of results?
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For example, the way to reduce crime among young men with drug problems may not be to deploy more police; it may be to improve education or healthcare or housing or welfare. And in a system where each department has its own money and its own duties, that is incredibly difficult to do, because why would, say, the ministry of the interior give part of its budget to education, with no guarantee of results?
More...