CLEAR–LAC and UNICEF Chile Launch Training on Evaluating Child-Focused Public Policies

The Center for Learning on Evaluation and Results for Latin America and the Caribbean (CLEAR–LAC) and UNICEF Chile have launched a new training program to strengthen public sector capacity in the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of public policies for children and adolescents, placing a rights‑based approach at the center of policy design and evaluation.

“This course is not only a milestone for Chile; it is also a pioneering experience in the region,” said Jorge Manzi, Academic Director of the Measurement Center (MIDE UC) at the Universidad Católica de Chile and a member of the CLEAR–LAC Board. “What we build here can be projected to other countries, thanks to our networks and presence in Latin America and the Caribbean.”

The course, Introduction to Monitoring and Evaluation of Public Policies for Children and Adolescents, began on October 2, 2025, and is promoted by CLEAR–LAC in partnership with UNICEF Chile. It is implemented with the collaboration of the Budget Office of the Ministry of Finance (DIPRES), the Undersecretariat of Social Evaluation, and the Undersecretariat for Children within the Ministry of Social Development and Family.

The initiative aims to strengthen the technical capacities of public sector officials working across ministries that implement programs targeting children by introducing core concepts in the design, monitoring, and evaluation of public programs. In doing so, it integrates a child and adolescent lens across the public policy cycle to ensure that policies affecting children and adolescents are grounded in a rights‑based perspective.

This first edition of the course includes 10 virtual sessions and offers 27 fully funded places for public sector professionals involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of child-focused policies. Sessions address key challenges in program design, including how to define public problems affecting children and adolescents from a rights-violation perspective.

The in-person opening session was attended by Paula Poblete, Undersecretary of Social Evaluation; Jorge Manzi; Alejandro González, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer at UNICEF Chile; and Natalia Bozo, Head of the Planning and Studies Division of the Undersecretariat for Children.
 

The first session was delivered by Martha Kluttig, CLEAR–LAC Director of Development, who introduced participants to the foundations of M&E. Reflecting on the partnership behind the initiative, she noted: “This course is possible thanks to a strategic partnership between UNICEF Chile and CLEAR–LAC, which combines UNICEF’s international experience in evaluation and children’s rights with knowledge of Chile’s institutional landscape contributed by our university and by CLEAR–LAC, a center that emerged from collaborative work among three centers of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile: CPP, J-PAL, and MIDE UC.” 

Paula Poblete emphasized the importance of strengthening State officials’ capacities in M&E through a rights-based approach. “We are very pleased and grateful to CLEAR-LAC and UNICEF Chile because, in the evaluation and monitoring of public policies for children and adolescents, it is essential to incorporate a cross-cutting, rights-based approach so that policies are effective and efficient. Every decision we make as public officials has real consequences: it can open or close opportunities; it can guarantee or limit rights. Incorporating a child and adolescent lens into monitoring and evaluation is not a minor technical detail: it is an ethical commitment to the present and future of our country,” she said.

Alejandro González underscored the relevance of the course for institutional strengthening. “It enables public officials to deepen their knowledge so they can incorporate a child and adolescent approach into the evaluation of social programs. Developing better programs and stronger monitoring and evaluation mechanisms directly contributes to improving the quality of life of the country’s children and adolescents,” he noted.

From the Undersecretariat for Children, Natalia Bozo highlighted the importance of solid technical tools to support the implementation of Law No. 21.430 on Guarantees and Comprehensive Protection of the Rights of Children and Adolescents. “Strengthening technical capacities is key to advancing more robust and effective public management. This course responds to the need for solid tools for monitoring and evaluation of public policies, and it also constitutes a commitment to implementing the Guarantees Law,” she said.

The opening marked the start of a collaborative learning process aimed at strengthening public management through a rights-based approach. The course concluded with an in-person session on December 10, during which participants presented selected work and shared key learnings and reflections.