Actors mapping tool for action: the Tacuarembo Rural Development Board experience

The experience presented in this article is part of the strengthening work of the Rural Development Board (MDR) of Tacuarembo (Uruguay), one of the actions through which the "institutional relationship" dimension was approached. The hypothesis was that any progress in terms of Rural Development implies, among other things, the recognition of the actors present in the territory, the type of relationship that exists with them, and the predisposition to address problems jointly. The objective was to analyze the scenario where the MDR Tacuarembo acts, seeking to identify which actors are present, which contribute most to the achievement of their objectives, how are the links with each one, what difficulties or relationship problems exist, and what actions can be implemented to improve and strengthen existing links and create new ones. The participatory mapping technique of actors was applied using a poster distributed in quadrants to distinguish the "type of actor" (political, technical, social and economic) and to characterize the type of link lines and arrows were used, with a symbology previously agreed. The analysis of the map allowed the development of a short, medium and long-term action plan, aimed at establishing and/or strengthening links with key actors, executed by the MDR participants themselves. It was identified that MDR interacts with a large number of actors, which represents an advantage, but few links were found with socio-cultural actors, a limitation to overcome in order to strengthen the innovation capacities of local actors.