Una aproximación al análisis de la contribución de los gobiernos departamentales al desarrollo territorial en Uruguay

This research, funded by the National Agency for Innovation and Research (ANII), examines the role of Departmental Governments (DG) in territorial development in Uruguay. Building on the Regional Development Index (IDERE-UY), which measures departmental performance across eight dimensions—well-being and cohesion, economy, education, health, institutions, security, environment, and gender—a pilot study was conducted with the DGs of Rivera and San José to develop a methodology for assessing their contribution to territorial development. The approach involved identifying the public goods and services (PGS) provided by DGs, classifying them according to IDERE dimensions, and measuring both the degree of autonomy in their provision and their relative weight within the departmental budget. The findings reveal that DGs contribute significantly and autonomously to territorial development, reaching autonomy scores above 2.5 (on a scale of 0 to 3) in most dimensions. When combining autonomy with budgetary weight, the dimensions of well-being and cohesion, economy, and environment emerge as the most prominent in both cases. However, variations in budgetary priorities and in the modes of PGS provision reflect distinct strategies, departmental characteristics, and context-specific challenges. The conclusions highlight that DGs transcend their traditional functions associated with basic services (e.g., street lighting, cleaning, and roads) to become strategic actors capable of shaping development policies with meaningful levels of autonomy. In sum, departmental action is both significant and strategic, although constrained by external contexts that often limit decision-making capacities and financial resources, underscoring the importance of alignment with national policy. Recognizing these contributions not only enhances the value of the current role of subnational governments but also provides a basis for strengthening their potential to support more integrated national development policies that take into account Uruguay’s territorial diversity and specificities.