Munis Disruptivas: Innovative and Sustainable Ideas to Modernize Costa Rica's municipalities

After an exhaustive technical selection process, 12 innovative ideas will have the opportunity to contribute to the progress and sustainable development of different Costa Rican municipalities thanks to the Munis Disruptivas program, an initiative that, as its name suggests, invites local governments to propose disruptive ideas to receive specialized advice for their formulation and implementation. 

This program is an initiative of the Innovation, Climate and Biodiversity Hub of the ACCIÓN Clima project of the German Development Cooperation GIZ, together with the Institute for Municipal Development and Advisory Services (IFAM) and the National Cluster Program of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC) of Costa Rica. 

From a total  of 94 ideas, 12 were selected in the following categories: 

1. Competitiveness and internal management  

   Competitiveness, in the framework of municipal innovation, refers to the capacity of a city or municipality to attract and retain investments, companies and talent, offering a favorable environment for economic development and quality of life. 

   In addition, internal management in the municipal context refers to how a local government entity organizes and manages its resources and processes to provide public services efficiently and effectively through innovation. 

2. Public spaces: biodiversity and inclusion

   In this category, local governments must submit disruptive ideas for public spaces in their municipality through infrastructure intervention, remodeling, as well as the activation and management of parks, streets, sidewalks, pedestrian areas, riverbanks, and others. 
   All proposals must have a focus on biodiversity, inclusion, and universal accessibility, as well as incorporate nature-based solutions.

3. Climate change resilient municipalities

   Here, municipalities should think about and submit projects that promote the resilience of communities, their ecosystems and infrastructure through technically justified solutions, based on science and the needs of the canton.  

Second phase: Advising and final selections

The 12 selected ideas will participate in a second phase of training and technical support that will cover the stages of ideation, prototyping, formulation, and implementation plan.  

Then, three winning projects will be selected to receive specialized external advice and funding to make them a reality. 

Munis Disruptivas: Building the Future 

At GIZ, the ACCIÓN Clima project has the ambitious goal of supporting the implementation of at least 10 climate measures with local governments, which is why the project teamed up with IFAM to put theory into practice.