Public policies are the instruments through which public institutions respond to demands and address public challenges in multiple domains. They provide the framework for all actions by which a state seeks to respond to collective needs and reflect – or should reflect – the values of a society.

They are fundamental not only for setting goals and objectives for the collective well-being of a set of citizens, but also for allocating the human, financial and technological resources to implement them and thus enforce the rights set out in constitutions or bills of rights.

We get to know our development workers

However, we rarely put a face to the people who work to enact these public policies. We are not talking about the political class, but about our development workers, an essential link in the chain. These are the public servants who cooperate with other countries to exchange knowledge, improve the institutional framework and the functioning of public systems. A form of cooperation that always includes a return of knowledge, a two-way exchange that also feeds our capacities to promote public systems for people and the planet.

Through the #PublicExpertise for the World video series, we get to know our public development workers who cooperate in a wide range of fields: security, justice, employment, social cohesion or climate. Every year we mobilise more than 600 professionals in over 120 countries. A vocation for public service, flexibility and adaptability, active listening and fluency in other languages. These are the main requirements that civil servants have to meet to participate in international cooperation missions. Now we discover what inspired them to cooperate, what are the greatest achievements of the projects in which they have participated, what tools they have developed in the face of difficulties, what world they dream of? An inspiring format that brings us a close-up portrait that highlights the importance of this type of cooperation.

Access here to all the videos of Public Expertise for the world and get to know the story of Rosa María Marín (prosecutor), Adriana Tostón (commander of the Guardia Civil), Pedro Parra (employment official) or Elsa Marta (National Police).

Find out here how institutional cooperation works and what challenges we are tackling this year.

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