BACKGROUND
The Public Policy Index for MSMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean (IPPALC) is a conceptual and methodological adaptation by the Permanent Secretariat and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) of the OECD’s SME Policy Index (SME PI) methodology, which was created in 2006 and has since been implemented in 32 countries, through regional assessments in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, Southeast Europe and Turkey, the Association of Southeast Asia (ASEAN), and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (Eurasia).
The SME PI is a tool designed to evaluate and monitor public policies aimed at encouraging the economic dynamism of MSMEs, thus enabling the evaluation of decision-making processes, ensuring the comparability of results among countries and facilitating the exchange of experiences in the field of public policies for MSMEs.
Since 2015, when the document “Methodological considerations for developing an Index of Public Policies for SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean” was prepared and presented, the Permanent Secretariat has promoted the dissemination of this tool in order to promote its adoption and implementation in the region.
In this regard, and as a follow-up from the effort made in 2015, the Permanent Secretariat prepared in 2016 the document “Update Study on the Public Policy Index for SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean (IPPALC)”, which deals with the status of public policies for SMEs in the region and presents a detailed procedural framework for its implementation.
In July 2016, this study was presented during the “Regional Meeting on the Update Study on the Public Policy Index for SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean (IPPALC)”, held in San José, Costa Rica, with the co-sponsorship of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Trade (MEIC). This event was attended by governmental focal points for SMEs of the Member States of SELA, as well as representatives of the OECD who expressed their interest in promoting the dissemination and implementation of the IPPALC in a joint effort with SELA.
In September 2016, the “Workshop on implementation of the Index of Public Policies for SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean (IPPALC)” was held in Panama City, Panama, with the collaboration of the OECD and the Authority for Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of Panama (AMPYME). The objectives of this activity focused on the dissemination of a standard methodology for the implementation of the IPPALC through practical exercises developed in the countries of the region; the promotion of the use of the tool, showing the benefits of its implementation in optimizing the decision-making process; and the identification of the countries that meet the requirements for its implementation and express their interest in adopting the indicator.
The procedural framework originally designed by the Permanent Secretariat and further adapted in co-operation with the OECD, offers a detailed methodological process that conforms to the structural characteristics of the economies in the region. This implementation framework involves large institutional efforts that require the participation of different national bodies and the allocation of financial resources for the fulfilment of the procedures considered in its adoption. In this connection, and with a view to optimizing the use of this tool, the Permanent Secretariat is scheduled to conduct this technical workshop with those countries that are willing and prepared to implement the tool in the short term.
