A/HRC/58/60/Add.1 partners should be involved in developing the measures to implement those recommendations on the ground. 84. The Office of the Minister and Secretary-General of Government is the main body in charge of facilitating communication between the Government and Chilean society, disseminating the central messages from the executive and establishing channels to gather the opinions and concerns of the population and direct them to the right ministries. Through it, genuine efforts are being made to enhance participatory approaches, including by better analysing representation trends. However, trust in the official institutions and the funds to cover the expenses of civil society representatives wishing to participate in meetings at the communal level, continue to be lacking. 85. The reform of the Law on Associations and Citizen Participation in Public Management (Law 20.500) should help strengthen the presidential instruction of 2022 requiring that each ministry have a citizen participation area. However, in all the ministries, separately and together, there is a need for a coherent overall plan which would comprise a vision for the right of all to participate in the shaping of society and its priorities and vision. 2. Ongoing involvement of citizens in public affairs 86. Various actors said that gaining access to the authorities was difficult, not just to discuss problems, but also to present initiatives and transmit what people have to say and contribute. 87. The grant processes of the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage aimed at encouraging and strengthening cultural initiatives seem to have impeded, rather than increased, involvement of civil society in cultural life. Project-based grant processes limit funding to a period of 12 to 24 months, which impedes the continuity of cultural involvement in the territories. They also foster competition among cultural professionals for the rare public funding opportunities, rather than bringing them and their creativity together. On average, only 14 per cent of civil society organizations receive funding, leaving the others without public support. In certain fields, like heritage, those granted support and participating tend to be from similar social circles, with little diversity in the inputs. With the forms and grants applications becoming more sophisticated, professional grant writers have emerged, leaving the majority of grass roots and smaller organizations unable to compete. 88. The Ministry has committed to improving its participatory methodology and fostering the co-creation of its programming through interactive workshops. Improving communities’ participation in museums would be a good place to start. Real partnerships with territorial expertise should also be built, with the authorities showing that they are open to learning from the field. The strengthening of a network of peer-appointed community cultural points to increase participation in cultural life is a promising initiative of the Subdirectorate for Indigenous Peoples. 89. The Special Rapporteur was impressed with the approach of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation to diversity and effective participation in science. The Ministry presented numerous participatory practices that served as positive examples of inclusive participation, such as community gardens contributing to the treatment of water, the involvement of Indigenous persons as presenters and contributors in training about environmental protection and in developing the preservation policies for the lagoons, and the support for public science labs led by communities and using everyday knowledge. The fact that the capacities of public universities and laboratories were offered to test and administer vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to increased public trust in the sciences. The Special Rapporteur was glad to hear the Ministry’s position on the need to ensure that research be oriented to benefit the whole of society. She encourages the authorities to constantly monitor to ensure that financing for research, and the necessary partnerships with private actors to support it, are oriented towards that goal. 90. From what she observed, the follow-up to initiatives and evaluation of the impact of policies not only seemed weak, but did not involve the people concerned. In many cases, the authorities could not provide indications or measurements of progress. The Special Rapporteur recalls that the right to participate in decision-making processes that have an 16 GE.25-01340