Fundação Getulio Vargas Hosts International Meeting of EGAP Research Network
On October 7 and 8, the Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) hosted the Latin American Regional Hub Meeting for the international research network Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP). The event's main objective was to bring together academics and policymakers to exchange ideas and promote collaborations. Discussions centered on evidence-based interventions and research projects aimed at reforms in the areas of security and justice.
The initiative was conducted as part of the Academic Master's and Doctoral Program in Administration at FGV EBAPE, with support from the CAPES Academic Excellence Program (CAPES PROEX), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and Colombian universities Los Andes and EAFIT. The organization was led by the Regional Hub co-directors of EGAP, Leopoldo Fergusson (Universidad de los Andes) and Santiago Tobón (Universidad EAFIT), along with Professors Joana Monteiro and Cesar Zucco Jr. (FGV EBAPE) and researcher Santiago Pérez-Vincent (IDB).
Joana Monteiro, one of the event organizers, stated that “these gatherings are essential for us to share, clear up questions, seek feedback, and listen to each other; they are moments to refresh our minds and gain inspiration from each other’s work.” Furthermore, Professor Monteiro highlighted the meeting as a valuable opportunity to unite academics and public managers, fostering closer collaboration by overcoming language and timing barriers.
International Collaboration and Knowledge Exchange
The event included representatives from Rio de Janeiro's public security and criminal justice sectors, as well as authorities from countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina. Additionally, 12 researchers from international universities and representatives from civil society organizations working directly on public security and organized crime issues were in attendance.
Marcela Meléndez from the World Bank remarked that the meeting offered a unique opportunity to “reflect on how we measure criminal activity, especially organized crime, which is expanding across the region, and to explore ways to understand its less visible dimensions.” Meléndez also emphasized that generating accurate data is crucial to guiding public policy decisions and ensuring that state actions are more effective in combating organized crime.
Academic Discussions and New Initiatives
The first day of the meeting was dedicated to academic feedback sessions, aimed at encouraging collaboration among researchers and enhancing the quality of presented research. During these sessions, academics from various countries discussed methodologies used to measure the impact of armed criminal groups in different regions.
The debates focused on issues related to violence, organized crime, public policy, and its impact on vulnerable contexts. Among the presented studies, there were discussions on human capital, immigration, and the unintended effects of security policies in regions such as Colombia, Ukraine, Mexico, and Brazil.
The second day began with a discussion led by the IDB, which introduced a conceptual framework for analyzing organized criminal groups in Latin America. IDB researcher Santiago Pérez-Vincent noted, “collaboration between academia and decision-makers is essential, as we need academia to engage with issues that are relevant to public policy.”
Subsequent panels discussed the consequences of armed criminal group activities in El Salvador, along with initiatives for measuring these groups in cities like Rio de Janeiro and Medellín, and projects for assessing their national activities in Brazil, Mexico, El Salvador, and Chile.
Conclusions and Next Steps
The meeting concluded with final remarks from the organizers, with a commitment to continue advancing discussions and research aimed at understanding and combating the actions of criminal groups in Latin America.
“Public demand for policies does not come from the government or academia; it comes from the population. And for these policies to be effective, academia and government must work in co-production from the start. It’s not enough for the government to implement or academia to provide diagnoses; joint construction with ongoing dialogue between both parties is essential,” shared Joana Monteiro in her closing remarks.