Message from the Board of Directors
We are pleased to present this triennial Strategic Capacity plan for 2015-2017.
The Board of Directors and the administrative personnel of the Foundation worked collaboratively
to produce this document, aware that, in order to fulfill its mission in complex financial times and
to improve the overall impact of its social investments, the CRUSA Foundation must adapt a
strategic orientation that is more centered, collaborative, and aligned with national goals and the
financial priorities of other national and
international donors.
Our decision to focus resources on the thematic area
of Strategic Capacity was made in the profound
belief in the role that the CRUSA Foundation should
and must play in improving the country’s
competitivity, fundamental for human development
and economic growth.
This decision, and an agenda developed in
coordination with public, private and community
organizations, seeks to improve the coordination of
resources and visions in order to achieve greater
systemic impact and contribute to a more
prosperous and inclusive Costa Rica, with strategic
skill-building as a central element of development.
Our Three-Year Vision
Promote a model of sustainable
economic growth based on
professional and technical training
and support for programs and
projects in key economic areas
such
as
water-resource
management,
renewable
energies,
and
territorial
development, in order to achieve
a positive impact on levels of
authentic competitivity and the
rational use of natural resources.
Background:
During its first 15 years, CRUSA carried out annual
financial and thematic planning in its four focus
areas: Education, Environment, Science and Technology, and Strategic Capacity-Building,
addressed through public calls for proposals. Projects approved for financing had an average
duration of 12-18 months with one-year results and impact. At the end of 2011, facing a financial
scenario more complex than in previous years, the Board of Directors made two important
decisions to ensure the continuity of the Foundation’s impact: 1) To concentrate planning on one
of the four thematic areas – Education – and address the other three thematic areas with
Education as the transversal theme of all projects, and 2) to develop three-year budgets to
increase projects’ scale and impact. As a result of these decisions, an Education-focused 20122014 Strategic Plan was developed1 including six projects prioritized by the Ministry of Public
Education; a public Call for Proposals was carried out related to integrated water-resource
1
Strategic Education Plan 2012-2014
1
management with Education as a transversal theme2; and the Leadership for Competitivity
Program (PLC 2013) was created to support capacity-building in critical economic sectors. The
results of this thematic concentration and impact of the six Education projects, as well as progress
on the seven conservation and sustainable water-use projects and the Leadership for
Competitivity Program, are detailed in the 2014 Annual Report.
National Context and International Cooperation
Based on a contextual analysis by an external consultant regarding the tendencies and factors that
affect the country’s competitivity, which resulted in the creation of the Leadership for
Competitivity Program (PLC), as well as consultations with key international players, the CRUSA
Foundation chose to focus its efforts on the following strategic issues: energy efficiency and
renewable energies, integrated water resources management, territorial economic development
and, as a transversal theme, capacity-building through a program of Master’s Degree scholarships
and professional exchanges in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).3 The
PLC was launched at the end of 2013 with an approved budget of $1.9 million for three years
(2014-2016) to strengthen human capital in the aforementioned strategic areas. The United States
Government served as a key financial and strategic partner for the project, both through its
Embassy in Costa Rica and through the State Department’s Education USA and International
Visitors Leadership Programs.
Given the excellent results of the PLC, its objectives and budget were incorporated into the
thematic and financial planning of the Programs Division, a process that culminated in the current
2015-2017 programming plan based on strategic capacity-building.
To develop the current programming plan, the following elements were taken into consideration:
a) High-priority sectors identified in the study cited above,
b) The 2015-2018 National Development Plan, for all matters related to territorial economic
development and the primary objective of achieving significant increases in the
productivity of the primary agri-food chains through efficient water usage, reduction in
energy used in processes, and human resource training,
c) Thematic and financial priorities of other international donors aligned with national
priorities.
In January 2015, the CRUSA Foundation, aware of the overlap of thematic and financial
priorities with other national and international donors, created a consortium including the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank (IFC), the Inter-American
Development Bank (BID-FOMIN), Fundecooperación for Sustainable Development (Climate
2
Appendix A: Conservation and Sustainable Water Use Call for Proposals 2012-2014
3
Leadership for Competitivity Program and State of Science and Technology 2014
2
Change Adaptation Fund), and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ- GEF
Funds). The purpose of the consortium is to maximize resources and the impact of collective
actions on water use, energy and territorial economic development.
This joint cooperation effort will focus on:
Water Sector: Consolidation of integrated management of this valuable resource through interinstitutional coordination to address national challenges related to best practices for the
management of Administrative Associations of Rural Aqueducts (ASADAS); capacity-building in
public and private institutions related to the integrated management of water resources; and
improving hydraulic infrastructure and land conservation. In the 2015-2017 period, CRUSA will add
$1.85 million to the $1.5 million it donated in 2012-2014 to execute programs and activities in this
area.
Energy sector: Energy efficiency and renewable energies are a national priority, since these
issues affect the country’s competitivity. The urgent need to define the energy matrix, train
specialists, and support the creation of collaborative groups to design intelligent networks has led
the CRUSA Foundation to invest $1.5 million in a grant program, professional exchanges, and
efforts to bring experts to the country to increase national capacity in science and technology
related to this sector. CRUSA will commit an additional $2.5 million in donations to critical
programs and activities for the 2015-2017 triennial.
Farming and livestock, tourism and rural economic development sector: Reduced food
production because of changes in agricultural policy and climate conditions has heightened the
urgency of increasing agricultural productivity and competitivity by improving sustainable landmanagement practices. The farming and livestock sector is the second-largest employer in the
country, with 14.1% of the population active in practices such as agriculture, livestock and fishing,4
giving the sector enormous social importance and making it urgent to implement measures and
actions that can maximize its activity. For the 2015-2017 triennial, CRUSA will commit
approximately $1.25 million to support the national strategy “Tejiendo Desarrollo” (“Building Our
Development”), which promotes agricultural competitivity by identifying comparative and
competitive advantages of value chains in regions or zones identified as critical because of their
poverty, climactic vulnerability and tourism value. CRUSA will focus its efforts on two regions – the
Central Pacific and Southern Pacific – concentrating its funds on strengthening micro, small and
medium businesses (MIPYMES) and reducing municipal bureaucracy for forming and formalizing
such enterprises.
Objective 1: Improve water management in productive activities and for human consumption,
and strengthen the Information System for integrated water management.
Objective 2: Promote a cleaner, more efficient energy matrix and strengthen the system of
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3
Report of the Executive Secretariat for Sectorial Agricultural Planning, 2012, page 171
intelligent networks.
Objective 3: Create local wealth by consolidating and strengthening small and medium
agricultural and tourist businesses in selected territories by supporting productive chains.
2015-2017 Operational Framework
We have identified as a critical priority the development of best practices for evaluation and
future sustainability for all our projects. With this in mind, the CRUSA Foundation has fine-tuned
its operational framework to facilitate channels for collaborative work with other national and
international donors aligned with our programming priorities, as well as the organizations that
execute projects that help us fulfill our goals. We seek to ensure that each actor adds value to
each phase according to their areas of focus and scope of their skills, so that the final result can
have the greatest possible impact.
In its operational model, the CRUSA Foundation will be guided by the following principals:
1. Transparency: We will propose operational systems that ensure transparency, elevating
projects’ quality and impact.
2. Efficiency: Financing will be delivered in a way that optimizes the yield of each donation.
3. Efficacy: The Foundation will focus on the final beneficiary, availing itself of the work of
strategic and financial partners for project execution. The focus on the final beneficiary
allows the Foundation to assess more accurately the impact of every dollar invested.
4. Sustainability: CRUSA’s strategy is the sustainability of its endowment, as well as its
donations. Along with a clear investment strategy, CRUSA proposes to raise funds to allow
for continuity and a broader impact of the projects to which CRUSA commits support.
The strategic plan is summarized below in technical tables by focus area, with the corresponding
budgets:
1. Integrated water management
Objective: i) Improve water management in production and for human consumption. ii)
Strengthen the Information System for Integrated Water Management.
Total investment: $2.5 million
Description
of
expected Three-year impact indicators:
activities:
Sustainable agriculture and low- 40 farmers will produce
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Budget
in
a $220,000.00
impact livestock
Treatment of sewage, greywater
and waters from productive
farms (biogardens, biodigestors)
Pollution control in productive
systems
Rainwater
harvesting
for
irrigation
and
consumption
systems
Consolidating information on
sources
and
providers
of
aqueduct and drainage services
Equipment and infrastructure for
data gathering
Pilot program to place solar
panels in ASADAS in areas of
relative underdevelopment and
the implementation of hydraulic
improvements in tubing, leak
correction and training in panel
maintenance
Creation of ASADAS consortia to
support a model of efficiency in
community water management
(FUNDESFINCA-CEDARENA)
Support for Blue Flag program in
communities,
schools,
and
hydrological microbasins
Support for White Flag program
in ASADAS
sustainable manner and will adopt
sewage systems as well as land- $325,000.00
improvement and pollution-control
systems
$150,000.00
$175,000.00
9 stations to constitute hydro- $300,000.00
meteorological networks to provide
more and better information about
water resources
$375,000.00
40 ASADAS reduce their electric bill by $410,898.88
80%
80 ASADAS incorporated
$300,000.00
#
Schools,
communities
and $75,000.00
microbasins with a Blue Flag rating
# ASADAS with White Flag
$75,000.00
$2,405,898.88
2. Renewable energies and energy efficiency
Total investment: $1.7 million
Objective: Promote a cleaner, more efficient energy matrix and strengthen the system of
intelligent networks.
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Description
of
expected
activities:
Contribute to the design of an
Intelligent Networks System
through advisors and internships
(Energy cooperation network)
Collaborate on the design of a
Research Center for Intelligent
Systems (CISI), through advisors
and internships
Sector-wide Digital Information
System on energy matters
Solar schools
Three-year impact indicators:
Budget
75 people trained in the design and $300,000.00
management of Intelligent Systems
90 people trained to support the $150,000.00
management of CISI research
Design an Information System to $300,000.00
streamline energy processes
9 schools with solar panels
$120,000.00
Pilot program of marine energy 70% of the pilot completed in order for
production (ICE + Stanford)
the ICE to determine marine energy
potential
Promote networking through 3 networks created to address critical
public-private partnerships
issues in a coordinated manner
Maintain a Guarantee Fund to 24 MIPYMES from regions outside the
promote the use of renewable Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM)
energies in the tourism and agro- converted to renewable energies
industrial sectors
Sustainable building code
1 Code
$130,000.00
$150,000.00
$400,000.00
$40,000.00
Impact study of distributed 1 pilot study replicable in 9 electric $120,000.00
generation in the management operators
(financial-administrative)
of
electric distributors
$1,710,000.00
3. Regional economic development
Total investment: $1.2 million
Objective: Create local wealth by consolidating and strengthening small and medium
agricultural and tourist businesses in selected territories by supporting productive chains.
Description
of
expected Three-year impact indicators:
activities:
Consolidate and strengthen small 30 MIPYMES
and medium businesses to
6
Budget
promote their linkage with
consolidated investment and
tourism services
Strengthen community identity,
including leadership and cultural
aspects
Organization for destination
management, a public-private
partnership
Increase management capacity
and create alliances between
small businesses
Maximize the growth and
formalization
of
businesses
through business administration
advisors
Simplify bureaucratic processes
to improve efficiency in the
management and use of natural
resources
Develop environmental norms for
all municipal services: waste
management and water supply
Identify farming and livestock
value chains and use of
renewable energies in farming
Programs designed and executed
$50,000.00
# of alliances created
$25,000.00
# of alliances created
$25,000.00
36 MIPYMES
$217,000.00
6 Municipalities
$270,000.00
6 Municipalities
$300,000.00
6 value chains
$378,000.00
$1,265,000.00
4. Human Capital – STEM Master’s Grant Program
Total investment: $1.1 million
Objective: Strengthen capacity-building in key issues for the country.
Description
of
expected
activities:
Postgraduate scholarships in
Science, Technology, Engineering
and Mathematics
Undergraduate scholarships in
Science, Technology, Engineering
7
Three-year impact indicators:
Budget
17 people with postgraduate studies
$750,000.00
10 undergraduate scholarships for $67,925.00
students from rural areas
and Mathematics
Other training activities
Congresses and seminars
$50,000.00
9 congresses and seminars
$220,000.00
$1,087,925.00
Fundraising:
Fundraising for 2015 will focus on:
1) Maintaining the Guanacaste Fund to obtain small community donations that serve as a
counterpart for funds committed by CRUSA for the region of Guanacaste. For its
management, the administration of the Guanacaste Fund has been transferred to the
Guanacaste Fund Trust, according to an agreement between the Fund’s Administrative
Council and the Administration of the CRUSA Foundation.
And,
2) The presentation of proposals to multilateral organizations, international aid
organizations, foundations and donor NGOs. This fundraising strategy has been very
successful for the CRUSA Foundation, which led the programming team to incorporate a
staff member who this year will focus on this effort.
This year, Amigos of Costa Rica will continue to serve as the legal platform for the transference of
donations to projects executed in Costa Rica by North American donors who wish to make a taxdeductible donation in the United States; the CRUSA Foundation, as an organization of public
interest, will continue to receive donations that are tax-deductible in Costa Rica.
Organizational Efficacy:
Operative efficacy and good strategic planning are essential to the management of any
organization. In a financial scenario that demands a reduction in donation costs and an increase in
the impact of donations, the CRUSA Foundation has undertaken an operational reorganization
based on collaborative work teams to capitalize on the skills of programming and financial staff.
Our new organizational chart reflects this effort, which is conscious of cost reduction without
affecting global results and has included the following changes: the fusion of the Executive
Director and Program Director offices; the absorption of two departments, Communication and
Fundraising, within the Programs division; and the creation of a functional position of Financial
Coordinator ascribed to Programs and Financial Administration. In addition, to ensure the
Foundation’s continuing relevance, and to allow it to monitor progress and evaluate the results
and impact of the organization in a systematic and organized manner, a Programs Committee will
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be created that, like the Finance Committee, will advise the Board of Directors and the
Administration on matters related to program planning.
Assembly
Board of Directors
Finance Committee
Executive and Programming Delegate
Assistant
Programming Committee
Administration, HR and Finances
Financial Programming Coordinator
Senior Programs Officer
Senior Programs Officer
Accounting
IT
Communication
Fundraising
Accounting support
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Reception
Messenger
Office Steward
Program Assistant
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