At the ministerial meeting about social inclusion and poverty, President Santos acknowledged the Social Impact Bonds (BIS) as an innovative project to reduce poverty and social inequalities, and to improve the social indicators of the country through the payment of results for the employment of vulnerable population.

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In the framework of the ¨Colombia Apuesta por el Desarrollo Sostenible” (Colombia Bets for the Sustainable Development) event we introduced the first measurement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) for Colombia, which we carried out together with the city webnet ¨COMO VAMOS¨ and the PNUD, in close collaboration with the interinstitutional commision of the colombian government , among them we find the Departamento Nacional de Planeación and DANE. This study was accomplished for the 11 cities where the “COMO VAMOS” webnet is present: Bogotá, Barranquilla, Bucaramanga área metropolitana, Cartagena, Cali, Cúcuta, Ibagué, Manizales, Medellín, Pereira y Yumbo.

This year we participated in the co-creation of the plan of action of the alliance for open government, also we became appointed members of such alliance, which looks forward improving the government performance, foster the effective participation, and improve the capacity of the government to provide answers to the citizens through the implementation of strategies related to transparency, access to information, citizen participation, and use of new technologies in order to achieve concrete and visible changes.

The first Social Impact Bond (BIS) was launched in Colombia asan innovative model of financing social programs that will succeed when obtaining results of employability from the vulnerable population. This first bond looks forward to benefit 514 people, mainly poor and displaced people who are unemployed in Bogotá, Cali, and Pereira. This first Social Impact Bond (BIS) is the result of an alliance between PROSPERIDAD SOCIAL, BID-FOMIN, COOPERACIÓN ECONÓMICA DE SUIZA, FUNDACIÓN CORONA, FUNDACIÓN MARIO SANTODOMINGO, and FUNDACIÓN BOLÍVAR DAVIVIENDA.

We were presenting our platform of open data CIUDATOS in the DATAJAM RURAL DEVELOPMENT event organized by USAID, an initiative of innovation that promotes the rural development in the country through data analysis.

Esteban Peláez, coordinator of Education for Citizens, was in LA PEPA - TV program of CANAL CAPITAL, and LA SILLA VACÍA, talking about the open data and the challenges our country has in this matter.

HACIA ALLÁ VAMOS, initiative that we accomplished in partnership with FUNDACIÓN CARVAJAL and FORD FOUNDATION in Buenaventura, was chosen by the Chamber of Commerce in Bogotá and the FUNDACIÓN IDEAS through their EMPAZ tool as a goal of peace building. EMPAZ is a tool used by the colombian entrepreneurs to find out how much they are contributing with peace building in this country, as well as to design strategies which allow them to improve their participation in the pursuit of this goal.

Expert consultants from the British Council visited the country to train teachers, coordinators, and pedagogues of the PALABRARIO Y NUMERARIO program. This project benefited 67 educational institutions in 10 regions of the country. The training was accomplished due to an alliance between CORONA FOUNDATION, GENESIS FOUNDATION, and THE BRITISH COUNCIL to strengthen the PALABRARIO Y NUMERARIO program. STEM is an innovative pedagogical methodology which integrates 4 disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) under a practical focus.

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We participated in the panel about academy and employment in the EDUCACIÓN SANTANDER summit conducted by the UNIVERSIDAD INDUSTRIAL DE SANTANDER and REVISTA SEMANA. In the panel we spoke about the challenges most people face when it comes to get a job, and the importance to have an integral focus that begins in education. We also mentioned the need to take people into account, their citizen skills, and the necessities of the Human Resource Management (HRM) of the regions, at the time to create strategies when pursuing to promote employment.

In the city of BUCARAMANGA, the survey results from the compared citizen perception were presented (EPCC) 2016, by the colombian webnet of “CÓMO VAMOS” cities. This survey allows to recognize the way the citizens perceive their surroundings from different perspectives and factors such as the environment, mobility, and public spaces, among others, which are key areas for the search of a sustainable urban development, to improve the quality of life of people, and satisfies their needs and those of future generations.

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The Pacto de Productividad participated in the 5th seminar about employment for disabled people in Ibero America, organized by the Ibero Organización Iberoamericana de Seguridad Social - OISS - (American organization of social security) and the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo - AECID - (Spanish Agency of Cooperation for Development) in Montevideo, Uruguay.

In alliance with THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION and THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, we presented the Estudio Economías Inclusivas (Inclusive Economy Study) which proposes a framework to understand, measure, and promote such economies in different subnational contexts on the basis of Colombia’s, India’s, and South Africa’s case studies.

This year we were part of the conceptual development of the 8th Encuentro Responsable #PorUnMundoSostenible (responsible for a sustainable world meeting), organized by the UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES. Also, we presented our study of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the colombian cities, which was launched in march of the same year.

Seamos launched the first technological platform that allows citizens to influence on politics in Colombia: www.seamos.co. This exercise of digital democracy has as pilot scenario the Council of Bogotá. Until now 13 Councilmen have committed themselves to use this tool, through which the citizens will be able to know the normative proposals and the debates of political control, and therefore vote ion favor or against them. The result of the voting is binding for the Councilmen who should abide by the citizen will.

44 community leaders from Buenaventura graduated from the Tecnical Vocational and Educational Training (TVET) as social community assistants of the HACÍA ALLÁ VAMOS initiative, which we accomplished in partnership with CARVAJAL FOUNDATION and the Ford Foundation.

For the first time, Colombia and Perú measured their social progress at a subnational level using the same framework of measuring in equivalent territorial unities. According to the study, there is an inverse relationship between the road travelled by the regions located on the peruvian coast and those located on the colombian coast. In Colombia the departments on the Andean region reached high scores, while in Perú, the coastal territories are placed in the first positions of the Índice de Progreso Social (Social Progress Index).

On september 14, ¨ASÍ VAMOS EN SALUD¨ forum was carried out, its main goal was to present the Índice Así Vamos en Salud a nivel nacional (national level index), and reveal the new ASÍ VAMOS EN SALUD index at a departamental level. Through this index the monitoring and evaluation of the sector’s situation is accomplished keeping in mind the major aspects of incidence on colombians' health. Information is collected based on four principal axes: the population's health, the institutional development of the sector, the citizens perception, and the finance of the sector.

Together with the “CÓMO VAMOS” cities and the EMPRESARIOS POR LA EDUCACIÓN FOUNDATION, we presented the report “Cómo vamos en educación técnica y tecnológica” (How are we doing in technical and technological education) in Bogotá, Cali, Cartagena, Manizales, and Medellín. This study was accomplished with the purpose to find out about the situation of the young adults who are in this kind of formation, as well as their perspective in the labor market. The result of each city was presented to technical meetings carried out in each city, people from the educational sector attended this meeting, also, officials from the local managements, and other related actors.

Every year as usual, from our support to the CUMBRE LIDERES POR LA EDUCACIÓN DE LA REVISTA SEMANA, we look forward to qualifying the agenda of this important event by bringing great international connoisseur lecturers of the most relevant subjects of the context and the currentsituation in Colombia. This year we had the participation of Li Kai Chen, director of Education for Asia of Mackinley & Company, who spoke about education to employment and the importance of shaping employability skills in young people. In addition, we participated as moderators in different panels along with our initiatives, who shared their experience.

Germán Barragán, manager of the EDUCATION TO EMPLOYMENT line at CORONA FOUNDATION, was at LA PEPA tv program of Canal Capital, also at LA SILLA VACÍA, talking about the challenges and opportunities of Colombia in inclusive employment.

Within the III MARKET PLACE SOCIAL event, organized by the ANDI FOUNDATION, was presented the Guía Para la Promoción de Empleo Inclusivo (Guide for the Promotion of Inclusive Employment). This guide that is part of the technical documents generated by the “Modelo de Empleo Inclusivo” (Inclusive Employment Model), looks forward to promoting in Colombia the inclusive labor of vulnerable people from the qualification of the Human Resource Management (HRM) of the companies and the institutional alliances creation of .

Every year SEMANA magazine and the LIDERAZGO Y DEMOCRACIA FOUNDATION, work in the task of recognizing the labor of the social leaders who work in the country. This time at CORONA FOUNDATION is of great pleasure to realize that two of the initiatives which we are allied to, TEACH FOR ALL (ENSEÑA POR COLOMBIA) and Todos por la Educación, were awarded the BEST COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP prize this year.

The Misión de Cooperación Económica del Gobierno de Suiza - SECO - (Economic Cooperation Mission from the Government of Switzerland) that was in Colombia in october, visited the Social Impact Bonds (BIS) project in Cali at the branch of the Fundación Carvajal. During this visit the members of the mission were able to know first hand the benefited participants and the allied entities of the first pilot project of Social Impact Bonds (BIS) in Colombia.

Together with the GENESIS FOUNDATION we carried out the "Foro Habilidades STEM: El futuro es ahora” (skills forum STEM: the future is now), A space in which important discussions and reflections were generated about what STEM skills are, and how to generate and evaluate these skills in the classroom. The event had the participation of expert consultants on STEM, thanks to the support of the NEWTON CALDAS FUND and the BRITISH COUNCIL.

November was a month full of events and opportunities where we could present our experience and knowledge about the Education to Citizens line from our citizen oversight tools to our experience in open data and civic technologies.

Some of the events we attended were: The “4ª Conferencia Internacional sobre Big Data para estadísticas oficiales” (4th International Conference About Big Data for Official Statistics) organized by the UNITED NATIONS, “Reinventa 2017: Spin-off e impacto social a través de la innovación” (Reinvent 2017: Spin Off and social impact through innovation) organized by the unity of entrepreneurship and innovation of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, “Festival de Innovación y Tecnología Social” (The Innovation and Social Technology Festival) organized by Wingu, and “Mi idea por Bogotá” (My Idea for Bogotá) organized by the Universidad del Rosario.

Pacto de productividad was acknowledged by the Organización Internacional del Trabajo in its publishing: “Promover el empleo de las personas con discapacidad a través de redes empresariales en materia de discapacidad: una perspectiva de Cooperación Sur-Sur” (Promote employment for disabled people through company nets relevant to discapacity: a perspective of cooperation south- south).

We are the 2nd organization of the civil society most admired by opinion leaders according to the Panel de Opinión 2017 (opinion panel) of Cifras & Conceptos. We are proud to be for more than 4 years among the first 10 most admired organizations according to this study. This acknowledgement is the result of teamwork accomplished by each one of our initiatives and our allies.

“MANIZALES CÓMO VAMOS” celebrated its first 5 years. During this time, the initiative has managed to position itself as a knowledge regional center and an asset for the city of Manizales. This initiative created in 2012 is the 10th replicate of the “CÓMO VAMOS” citizen oversight model, and today is part of the 15 cities that make up the “COMO VAMOS” cities network .

“BARRANQUILLA CÓMO VAMOS” has been evaluating and monitoring the quality of life in the capital of Atlantico for a decade. This initiative was created in 2007 by the national partners of the “CÓMO VAMOS” programs, together with the Cámara y Comercio de Barranquilla, EL HERALDO, LA UNIVERSIDAD DEL NORTE, and FUNDACIÓN PROMIGAS. BARRANQUILLA CÓMO VAMOS is the 5th replicate of the model “CÓMO VAMOS” citizen oversight, and today it is part of the 15 cities that make up the “CÓMO VAMOS” cities network.

This year we were nominated for the PORTAFOLIO AWARDS together with another 102 organizations, within the category Contribution to the Community. And we were chosen as one of the 5 finalists together with BOLIVAR DAVIVIENDA FOUNDATION, ACCIÓN INTERNA, SALDARRIAGA CONCHA, and SMURFIT KAPPA.

Every year the ceremony is carried out to acknowledge the social initiatives that work to improve the cities where this award is present. This year the turn was for Manizales which was awarded the 9th edition of the prize, and Cali with its second edition. The winners respectively were: ¨LUCES POR LA PAZ Y RECONCILIACIÓN¨, and ASCEP (Asociación Colombiana de Egreso de Protección Estatal - Colombian Association of Egress State Protection).

The Pacto de Productividad program in alliance with the ministry of technologies for information and communication, the unit for attention and integral reparation to victims, the national service of apprenticeship SENA, and the public service unit for employment, carried out the UNITED FORUM for the inclusion, in the framework of commemoration of the international day of the Rights of people with disabilities. Within the activities of the event, the “REALITIES FOR THE EMPLOYMENT INCLUSION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES” panel was carried out, in which the Pacto de Productividad participated.

In the framework of the “Articulación para la prosperidad” (ARTICULATION FOR PROSPERITY) event, organized by Prosperidad Social, we were recognized by this national government entity as an organization that contributes with overcoming poverty in this country, this was due thanks to the work done by the Social Impact Bonds (BIS) project.