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Cuenca: “Your voice shapes the city”

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"Your Voice Shapes the City" : Territorial Governance to Bring Government Closer to Citizens

One of the main challenges facing local governments is bridging the gap between institutions and citizens, a gap that has historically limited effective participation and trust in public administration. In Cuenca, many community needs were not being addressed in a timely manner due to centralized administrative processes and a limited institutional presence on the ground. In response to this challenge, the Municipal GAD of Cuenca implemented "Your Voice Shapes the City," a public innovation initiative that shifts municipal management from offices to neighborhoods and communities. 

The initiative establishes regular visits to different sectors of the canton, led by the highest municipal authority and accompanied by technical teams, where citizens can directly express their needs, proposals, and concerns. Based on these meetings, citizen requests are recorded, systematized, and managed with the relevant municipal departments, enabling timely responses, prioritizing interventions, and directing public investment according to the realities of each area. This mechanism strengthens transparency, accountability, and shared responsibility between government and citizens in the city's development. 

The innovation of this practice lies in institutionalizing active listening in the community as part of the public management process, moving beyond the traditional approach based solely on administrative procedures. 

This model makes it possible to identify emerging needs, address issues preventively, and generate interventions with high social impact, even when these require relatively small investments. The results show a significant strengthening of citizen trust and institutional presence, reflected in the increase in municipal interventions in the community, which rose from 156 in 2024 to 435 in 2025. 

Furthermore, the practice promotes social inclusion by facilitating the direct participation of women, people with disabilities, female heads of household, and communities that have historically had less access to decision-making spaces. "Your Voice Shapes the City" demonstrates that institutional proximity and direct participation can transform public administration, directing planning and investment toward the real needs of the population.

Learn more about it: https://www.cuenca.gob.ec/ 

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