About Us

Alternativas y Capacidades, A.C. was founded in November 2002. Its mission is to contribute to social development and the improvement of social policy through training, research on social issues and capacity building efforts.

Alternativas seeks to broaden the solutions to social problems by training people working for social development and promoting exchanges between theory and practice. It offers short- and long-term consulting services to improve social policies and projects, for governments, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and private and corporate grantmakers. Its areas of expertise are evaluation, public policy advocacy, strategic planning and strengthening grantmakers’ capacities (focus areas, procedures and evaluation).

The organization is currently formed by an Assembly of Associates and a Board of Directors. It has an Advisory Council composed of experts from different fields, who supervise the organization’s direction and give their recommendations on its goals and activities. Since 2004, Alternativas has been registered before the Treasury Department and is authorized to receive tax deductible donations, and since 2005 it has subscribed to the Federal Register of Civil Society Organizations.

The organization’s associates and staff have graduate and postgraduate studies in the areas of development and social policy from national institutions such as ITAM, El Colegio de México, CIDE and UNAM, and from international institutions such as Princeton University, the London School of Economics, Oxford University and the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. They have extensive professional experience in civil society organizations and national and international networks. They have carried out teaching and research activities in academic institutions, and have held key positions in Federal and State Governments.

Through their training and experience, Alternativas is familiar with the development challenges of the country from different organizational perspectives. At the same time, the organization’s approach nourishes itself from the national and international context. Due to the professional experience of its associates and to the fact that it operates from two distinct geographic areas (Mexico City and Guadalajara), Alternativas has a vision of the national context enriched by regional perspectives. Because of this, Alternativas tries to adjust its services to the specific needs of the clients and people it works with and to the context in which their organizations operate.

Capacity Building

Alternativas carried out a capacity-building assessment in Mexico (see research section) to develop its own model and approach, with the intention of helping CSOs and grantmakers improve their performance in terms of impact, planning and evaluation. From this approach, the organization developed its areas of expertise and services:

1. Evaluation, with quantitative and qualitative approaches.
2. Public policy advocacy, with methodologies tailored to different clients.
3. Strategic planning, with special emphasis on networks’ membership and governance issues.
4. Strengthening grantmakers’ capacities, including the selection of focus areas, grantee selection and follow-up procedures and grantee evaluation.

The most relevant projects of Alternativas’ capacity building services to date are:

Grantmakers

• State-of-the-art study on Community Foundations in México, commissioned by the Ford, Charles S. Mott and Inter-American Foundations and the Global Fund for Community Foundations, in collaboration with Teamworks (2008).
• Selection of focus areas and design of procedures for Pfizer’s Mexican corporate philanthropy program, that has led to three public calls for projects and resulted in grants for health access for disadvantaged groups, reproductive health, violence prevention, gender equality and the environment (2005 to date).
• Assessment and redesign of grantmaking procedures for Nacional Monte de Piedad (the largest national charitable grantmaker) (2006 to date).
• Evaluation of Microsoft’s Mexican corporate philanthropy program and its grantees (2007).
• Strategic planning for the U.S.-Mexico Foundation, supported by the Fundación del Empresario en México (Mexican Business Foundation or Fundemex) (2007).
• Selection of focus areas and design of procedures for the exhibition room and projects of the Helping Mexico Center, Memory and Tolerance Museum, scheduled to open in Mexico City in 2008 (2006 to date).
• Assessment of Mexican corporate philanthropy for United Way-Mexico and ITAM (2006). Currently, the II Corporate Philanthropy Survey is being carried out, in coordination with Synergos and ITAM, with founding from the Borquez Schwarzbeck Foundation.
• Research and systematization of sustainable funding mechanisms for Fundación del Empresariado Sonorense, A. C. (FESAC), a community foundation in Northern Mexico (2006).

Organizations and networks

• Strategic planning for the International Network for Migration and Development, a network of researchers working with migrants’ organizations (2006-2007).
• Short-term consultancy for Quórum para la Infancia, a network of organizations specialized in disadvantaged children (2006 to date).
• Strategic planning and evaluation for Colectivo por la Transparencia, a network of organizations working on transparency, access to information and accountability (2005).
• Medium-term consultancy for a local network of organizations building a public agenda to eliminate violence in high schools, coordinated by SERAJ (Servicios de Apoyo a la Juventud) and UNICEF (2006).
• Assessment for Poder Local, a project aimed at building monitoring and advocacy capacities among local CSOs carried out by FUNDAR, Center for Analysis and Research (2005).
• Evaluation of the Community Foundations Group, a network of Mexican community foundations, for Synergos Institute and the Mexican Center of Philanthropy (Cemefi).

Others

• Strategic planning for the Development Studies Unit at the Autonomous University of Zacatecas (2005).
• Institutional analysis and design for a Development Studies Center for ITESO A.C., to be housed at ITESO university in Guadalajara, as a link between society, academics and government, to promote social development research and projects (2004).

To see the full catalogue and relevant experiences on capacity building see: www.alternativasociales.org/documentos/catalogo_fortalecimiento.pdf

Training

Alternativas has designed four major training courses:

• Diploma in Development and Social Policy in Mexico, designed mainly for public officials working on development. From 2002 to 2005, it was jointly taught with the Center of Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE), training three generations of public officials, legislative advisors and academics. A few CSO staff and young students received scholarships to encourage their participation.
• Public Policy Advocacy and Lobbying Strategies, designed with innovative materials to convey public policy concepts to CSOs and offer practical tools and exercises to guide them in creating their own advocacy plan. It was taught as a module of the Profesionalización Diploma offered by INDESOL in 21 cities with more than a 1,200 trainees between 2004 and 2006.
• Building Bridges: Public Action for Development and Social Policy, designed as a participatory workshop for “mixed groups” of local government officials, CSOs and business people. It was taught in Xalapa, Veracruz during 2006.
• 16 Steps for Building an Organization, adapted as a workshop from our publication “Building your Organization in 16 Steps”, a guide on organizational design and legal incorporation (see research section).

Alternativas tailors these courses to specific training demands and projects. As some relevant examples, with Oxfam-GB funding, Alternativas carried out training sessions for two grassroots organizations on public advocacy at the municipal level: a coffee-producers co-op in Chiapas and a group of indigenous midwives and health promoters in Guerrero. The regional development component of the Building Bridges workshop was used for a training session for CFE (the State-owned electricity company) social agents, who deal with the infrastructure building and social work of the company.

To see the full catalogue and relevant experiences on training see: www.alternativasociales.org/documentos/Nuestros_cursos_y_talleres.pdf

Generation of Knowledge

Alternativas has created its own line of publications, called Social Policy Notebooks, that present instructive texts in a simple language, making different topics accessible for people working on the field from different sectors:

1. “Capacity building of CSOs in México. Debates, supply and demand”. It presents the state of capacity building in mexico, with information gathered from a bibliographical revision, interviews with the main capacity builders in the country and a survey of CSOs on capacity building services needed. It includes a directory of the main capacity building organizations in México.
2. “Challenges of the legal framework and funding of CSOs”. It is an analysis of the CSO legal and fiscal regulations, with its historical background. It identifies the challenges of coordination and harmonization among the federal and state government agencies that work with and fund CSOs.
3. “Building Your Organization in 16 Steps”, published as a handbook with interactive materials to guide groups through the creation of an organization and the procedures for legal incorporation and obtaining tax deductibility.

Additionally, we have contributed with research to different publications. Among the most important are:

• “Accountability in the Allocation and Use of Public Resources by Civil Society Organizations” in Mexico’s Right-To-Know Reforms. Civil Society Perspectives, coordinated by Jonathan Fox and Helena Hofbauer, Published by Wildrow Wilson Center and Fundar. October 2007.
• "Civil society and the struggle to reduce maternal mortality" for a volume coordinated by John Gaventa, Institute of Development Studies (IDS)- University of Sussex, consisting of 7 case studies on national public policy advocacy (in press).
• "Charity rather than change: still the order of the day for Mexican corporate philanthropy" in Alliance Online, March 2007.
• “Recognizing the Public Dimension of Firms In Mexico: Corporate Social Responsibility in Discourse and Practice” for a volume coordinated by Felipe Agüero, University of Miami, on Corporate Social Responsibility in Latin America (in press).
• “Fundaciones Comunitarias en México: encontrando el camino para promoverlas” (“Community Foundations in Mexico: finding a way to promote them”), commisioned by Synergos on Community Foundations in the Center and South of Mexico (in preparation for publication and English translation).
• "Capacity Building for Civil Society Organizations in Mexico: Debates, Trends and Proposals for Moving Foward” for a volume coordinated by Alejandro Natal and Alberto Hernández, to be published by the University of Texas (in preparation).
• “Organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil y Políticas Públicas” (“Civil Society Organizations and Public Policies”) for a volume coordinated by José Luis Mendez, to be published by El Colegio de México (in preparation).

All published materials can be downloaded from:
http://www.alternativasociales.org/esp/investigamos.php

Networking and Partnerships

Alternativas’ web page (www.alternativasociales.org) and its quarterly e-bulletins disseminate documents, links, news, and trends on social policy, the Mexican non-profit sector and the association’s main activities. Their aim is to communicate different perspectives and projects, to the people and sectors which whom the organization works and to help build bridges for their communication.

The organization has also trained young people to increase their knowledge and commitment towards social leadership, through helping influence their life choices and professional careers. Alternativas continuously offers voluntary, internship and social service opportunities on its projects, in agreement with universities such as UNAM, El Colegio de México, UVM, UIC, ITESM-CCM and ITAM. We try to maintain contact, advice and follow-up on these young people. To date, 30 people have profited from these opportunities.

Alternativas actively participates in events and fora, presenting papers on its publications and activities. It has been involved in the yearly Seminar of Research on the Third Sector. Since 2003, Alternativas takes part in selection committees for valuable projects: Local Government Award granted by CIDE and the Ford Foundation and Social Co-investment Fund sponsored by INDESOL.

RESUMÉS OF STAFF

Mónica Tapia Álvarez

She has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations from El Colegio de México. She was granted the Víctor L. Urquidi Scholarship by the British Council to study a Master’s in Planning and Social Policy in Developing Countries at the London School of Economics. She subsequently studied a Master’s in Latin American Studies at Oxford, conducting research on social policy and local government in Brazil.

She has worked for several civil society organizations as a volunteer, program coordinator and as a consultant to systematize successful experiences into public policy proposals. She coordinated a social evaluation project on biodiversity and aquaculture policies financed by UNAM, the World Wildlife Fund, the Nature Conservancy and USAID (Biodiversity Support Program).

She worked as Regional Development Director for the Strategic Planning and Regional Development Office of the Presidency, coordinating interstate projects on seven areas of regional development, and as pro-secretary for the Trust for the Regional Development of Central Mexico. From 1995 to 1997, she worked as a consultant for the Federal Government in the Chiapas negotiations.

She is currently General Coordinator of Alternativas y Capacidades A.C. and teaches the Certified Courses mentioned above on Development and Social Policy and Professionalizing Civil Society Organizations. She has taught the course “Development and Social Policy” in the Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees at El Colegio de México and CIDE. She was also one of the founders of the Diploma on Development and Social Policy, which CIDE has offered since 2003 to public officials and professionals interested on those topics.

She has coauthored publications on capacity building, legal incorporation, the legal and fiscal framework for CSOs, transparency on the allocation of public resources to CSOs, and corporate social responsibility. She is part of the reviewing panel on social policy issues for the Local Government Award granted by the Ford Foundation and CIDE, and she has participated as juror for INDESOL’s Social Co-investment Program.

Patricia Carrillo Collard

She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), where she also graduated from the Certificate Course in the Preparation and Social Evaluation of Projects. She received the Fulbright-García Robles Scholarship to study a Master’s in Public Affairs and Urban and Regional Planning, with a concentration on Development Studies, at Princeton University.

She worked as Director of Research and Public Policy in the Human Development Ministry of the State of Jalisco, where she was in charge of the publication of the State Notebooks on Social Policy. As part of her work, she collaborated in the design of state-wide surveys on citizen’s perceptions on various social issues and in the coordination of inter-institutional projects to tend to the needs of the population affected by various natural disasters.

She worked in the United States for four years. At Community Resource Exchange (CRE) in New York City, she consulted for local CSOs on fundraising, program planning and proposal writing. She also worked in the financing and coordination of affordable housing projects in the State of New York.

She is one of the founding partners of Alternativas y Capacidades, A.C. and coordinates the Guadalajara Office. She has participated in various projects, including the evaluation of the Community Foundations Group for Synergos Institute and the Mexican Center of Philanthropy (Cemefi). She was the main author of the organization’s publication on CSOs’ capacity building.

Beatriz Campillo Carrete

She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration from El Colegio de México. She obtained a Diploma in Economics from the University of Warwick, United Kingdom.

She collaborated in the Academic Program for Conflict Prevention and Negotiation of CEIICH-National Autonomous University of Mexico, as a research assistant and coordinator of academic events. She was involved in the formulation of strategies to prevent conflict in Mexican regional water basins, as well as in activities to link civil society with academic institutions and government, workshops and conferences.

She worked for three years for the Advisory Office on Domestic Policy for the Presidency. As part of her work, she systematized information, conducted research and prepared public policy recommendations on different political and social issues.

She is currently the coordinator of Alternativas’ Capacity Building to Broaden Public Action Program. In 2005, she was in charge of coordinating the Module on Public Policy Advocacy and Lobbying Strategies, within Indesol’s Profesionalización Diploma.

Adriana Abardía Martínez

She graduated from CIDE in Political Sciences and International Relations. She was research assistant for Amilcar Challú (Harvard University) and Luis Barrón Córdova (CIDE) focusing on paleography, historical archive, and systematization of historic sources throughout 2004 and 2005.

She participated in the development and strengthening of the Mexican National Business Council on HIV/AIDS, a USAID funded joint initiative between The Futures Group and The AIDS Responsibility Project (ARP). She coordinated a math and reading workshop in the Pamal Navil 2004 Education Project, in the “Ricardo Flores Magón” high school of the indigenous municipality of Chilón, Chiapas. Between 2002 and 2004, she collaborated in the coordination of a cultural promotion project in Mexico City’s public buses called Getting off at the Corner-Culture at 600 Watts, funded by the Mexico City’s Culture Ministry and the Mexican Youth Institute. Her activities included fundraising, planning and project presentation.

In 2005, she collaborated as a methodology consultant for the Intercultural High School for Indigenous Communities in Oaxaca, a project designed and sponsored by the Education Research Board and the local government.

In Alternativas, she coordinates the Donors’ Capacity Building area, with an emphasis on the improvement of philanthropic practices in public and private institutions