Tetra Tech reduced drivers of crime, violence, and irregular migration in urban communities throughout Guatemala by enhancing municipal governance and increasing citizen participation.
Across many parts of Guatemala, gang violence in communities has been prevalent for the last three decades. High rates of violence, lack of employment, and poor municipal services are all root causes of irregular outbound migration. Municipal governments and local citizens regularly seek solutions to prevent and reduce crime, create new economic opportunities, and improve the service delivery of municipal governments.
To help urban communities in Guatemala confront these challenges, Tetra Tech supported the Urban Municipal Governance (UMG) project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Tetra Tech’s democracy and governance experts worked closely with 19 urban municipalities that had high rates or risks of crime and violence. The project actively reduced levels of violence to enable municipalities to respond more effectively and proactively to violence, increase the coverage and quality of municipal services, and improve citizen engagement, especially among women and youth. Local governments can fundamentally shape the quality of life of their residents, and UMG enhanced the technical proficiency to help them do so.
Benefits
- More than 450 violence prevention and irregular migration activities supported
- 80 municipal violence prevention strategies developed
- 63 percent increase of municipal revenue for violence prevention programs
- 37 violence prevention policies drafted and implemented
- More than 800 municipal officials trained in planning, budgeting, and procurement management
Our team of experts helped municipal officials design, plan, and implement their data-driven violence prevention programs. Tetra Tech provided municipal governments with improved technology solutions and technical assistance to achieve transparent and participatory planning, financial management, and effective public service delivery. We strengthened municipal governments’ capacity to invest in violence prevention programs by increasing own-source revenue, allowing city halls to fund their own initiatives.
UMG empowered all citizens to play a role in creating safer cities. We provided technical assistance, capacity-building support, and resources for direct improvements to community-based organizations working in partnership with municipalities to improve services that will help reduce the drivers for crime, violence, and irregular migration. Our team partnered with community-based organizations, non-profits, universities, and community leaders to enhance the sustainability of these violence prevention programs. UMG also partnered with civil society and the private sector to administer primary, secondary, and tertiary violence prevention programs.
USAID saw the Guatemala UMG project as “an example of collaboration among other USAID-funded activities,” praising the project’s strong procedures for information-sharing, communication, on-site support, and common goal setting that furthers USAID’s goals and expectations in tandem with the project’s achievements.
At a glance
Contract value
$46.4M
Client
U.S. Agency for International Development
Implementation period
2017–2023
Services
Local governance, citizen security, local economic development
