Enhancing centre of government co-ordination capacity in Costa Rica

This chapter analyses the role of the centre of government (CoG) in Costa Rica. The chapter elaborates upon OECD tendencies in this area, which underline a shift from a primary administrative support function for the CoG to a position as strategic player with important responsibilities to foster vision, leadership and innovation across the public sector. Country-specific challenges are identified for Costa Rica and these include the high-level of political and public sector fragmentation, as well as capacity constraints at both the technical and strategic level. The chapter formulates recommendations to strengthen the CoG, which include targeted capacity building, a revised model of co-ordinating the institutionally decentralised sector and the introduction of multi-stakeholder follow-up mechanisms for key policy areas.