The territorialization of public policies in Argentina. A study on CPRES in the metropolitan area

Abstract

The article is aimed at describing the regulatory function and effective role of the Regional Planning Council for Higher Education (CPRES for its acronym in Spanish), since the passing of Law 24.521/95 until 2010. In particular, it describes thoughts about CPRES in the framework of the enforcement of said Law, expectations related to the administrative model arising from its implementation and the real model that was finally put into practice. The metropolitan area was chosen because it gathers most of the representatives of the largest and most traditional national and private universities, and the non-university higher education institutions (IESNU for its acronym in Spanish).
Documentary sources and in-depth interviews with key informants of the academic, technical and political spheres involved in the Higher Education Reform Program initiated in 1995 were analysed. The analysis evidenced that CPRES is set up as an authority structure of intermediate level with legal institutional capacity to plan, coordinate and regulate the processes for the implementation of the policies within the framework of a complex systemic context and highly differentiated institutions. However, they have not managed to set themselves up as effective authorities of implementation.