Foco

Since 2012, about USD 90 million annually disbursed from a national investment fund for education infrastructure (i.e. FONACIDE) are not reaching the neediest public schools ultimately jeopardizing access to education. The allocation process lacks transparency and has been plagued by corruption scandals. The Ministry of Education's prioritization of school infrastructure needs is unreliable and facilitates fund misallocation in over 250 local governments benefited by FONACIDE.

Foco reduces information asymmetry between citizens and government agencies, making accountability possible. It harnesses open government data from different agencies and enriches them with data produced by citizen-led collective action activities to showcase, identify, and prioritize investments in education infrastructure. It also allows citizens to check whether procurement processes are benefiting the neediest schools in each municipality.

A peer-reviewed article in the Journal of e-Democracy and Open Government (JEDEM) provides evidence to suggest that our monitoring mechanism has contributed to a 400% increase in the correct allocation of infrastructure funds in one municipality.