Improving staff training at registration authorities

Project description

Title: Triangular cooperation between Peru, Honduras and Germany: strengthening registration authorities
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) 
Country: Honduras (recipient country), Peru (partner country)
Lead executing agency: Honduras: Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores de Honduras y Cooperación Internacional (SRECI); Peru: Agencia Peruana de Cooperación Internacional (APCI)
Overall term: 2015 to 2017

Context

The registration authority in Honduras is responsible for the accuracy of information on the civil status of private individuals. In 2016, there were registration offices in 298 municipalities nationwide; 291 of these were equipped with a computer-based registry system, 74 of which were online systems. There were also 13 support offices in border areas that are difficult to access or in areas with a primarily indigenous population. One person per registration or support office is responsible for the registration of personal data in the respective catchment area. There are also 20 citizens’ offices in the departements that correct errors in the registration process, including discrepancies in personal data in different documents such as birth certificates, identity papers and other official documents. This service is free of charge for citizens.

Despite the nationwide presence of registration offices, the efficiency and quality of the service are in need of improvement: around 9,000 children still have no birth certificate. Moreover, due to inadequate teaching methods and the poor accessibility of some branches, the national registration authority is having difficulty training its staff.

Compared with other state institutions, the registration authority in Peru enjoys a very high level of recognition and legitimacy among the population. It has issued identity papers to more than 95 per cent of the population to date. Its training management is considered to be exemplary in Latin America and the Caribbean. It therefore has the instruments and experience required to advise the Honduran registration authority on this issue.

Objective

Children, young people and adults in Honduras have access to the improved services of the registration authority.

Approach

To improve the Honduran registration authority’s services for registering the identity and civil status of the population, the project provides training for staff members. The registration authority can train its staff nationwide via a dedicated virtual learning platform.
By sharing experiences, the registration authorities in both countries improve their teaching methods, attendance-based and online courses, and teaching materials, all of which are adapted to context in their respective countries.
Once these improvement processes are complete, the methods will be presented to decision-makers in the region, with a view to building strategic alliances and thus strengthening the training management of registration authorities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The management structure of the project enables decision-making at the management level, while also facilitating dialogue and exchange within the various operating groups responsible for achieving project results.

Results

• With advice from experts at the Peruvian registration authority, staff at the Honduran registration authority have improved their management capacities to train staff at registration offices.
• Based on successful examples from Peru, the registration authority in Honduras has formulated a proposal for identifying the training requirements of staff at registration offices and has developed a work plan to enhance the efficiency of such training.
• A technical analysis is on hand that the Honduran registration authority will use as the basis for designing its virtual learning platform.
• The registration authorities in both countries have strengthened their capacities to produce gender-appropriate teaching materials.