https://archivo.revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/alp <div>The scientific journal Administrar lo Público (ALP journal), ISSN 2215-6909, offers a set of features for reflection, analysis and in-depth study of topics in the discipline such as customs administration and international trade, public administration, administrative contracting and public procurement, internal control , open government data, diplomacy, evaluation of government programs, performance evaluation, public finances and budgets, public management, among others. This leads to research on areas of vital significance for the transformation of public management. Particularly within a context of dizzying and accelerated changes in society related to innovations that must be addressed by the public sector, in ways that they satisfy social, economic and, above all, human needs.</div> <div> </div> <div>As a part of the scientific journals of the University of Costa Rica (UCR), this journal holds the main institutional aspirations of research, teaching and social extention. By offering academic, technical and scientific solutions and discussions in an area that affects all dimensions of development, the journal enhances the transformative and dialectical capacity between society, communities and organizations with the University, thus contributing to generate knowledge and resources for the progress of the country.</div> <div> </div> <div>The ALP journal offers the possibility of encouraging academic production in the discipline of Public Administration from multiple approaches and areas of teachers and researchers in the social sciences, economic sciences, education and law, as well as ensuring that generations of undergraduate students and postgraduates with outstanding academic works can make indigenous contributions to increase the body of knowledge in this disciplinary area, it represents a joint opportunity to publicize the work that is carried out nationally and internationally to manage the public in a better way.</div> <div> </div> <div>Managing the Public is a production of the Public Administration Research and Training Center (CICAP), a UCR Center that generates, transfers and disseminates knowledge to improve the management capacity of the public, through research and social action, contributing to well-being. general of society.</div> <div> </div> <div>It is a research center attached to the Vice-Rector's Office for Research that was founded in 1976 with the idea of strengthening the processes of the national, regional and local Public Administration. Nowadays, it generates, transfers and disseminates knowledge to improve public management capacity, through basic and applied research processes, as well as teaching extension activities within the framework of social action, in order to contribute to the quality of life of the people.</div> <div> </div> <div>Since 2013, CICAP has been producing the series <em>Administrar lo Público</em>, as a periodic publication that compiles scientific articles, case studies and systematizations of interventions, among other scientific manuscripts in the area of social and economic sciences, with particular emphasis on Public Administration, through nine consecutive editions. In 2023 the series became the academic journal <strong><em>Revista Científica Administrar lo Público </em></strong>and published its first volume in 2024. It is an electronic, refereed and open-access journal.</div> Centro de Investigación y Capacitación en Administración Pública es-ES Revista Científica Administrar lo Público 2215-6909 <p>Articles are published under the license of Creative Commons 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0)</p> https://archivo.revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/alp/article/view/63017 <p>Institutional capacities are an essential factor in achieving the goals of institutions, one of which is the design, application, and promotion of mechanisms for citizen participation in decision-making. In Chile, at the local level, municipal governments are responsible for implementing these instances, overseeing the local administration of territories. Within the regulatory framework governing them is Law No. 18,695, which establishes participatory mechanisms to be applied in municipalities, based on modifications introduced in 2011 by Law No. 20,500. However, the effective implementation of participatory mechanisms may vary depending on each municipality's capacity, influenced by factors such as available resources, political will, and personnel readiness, potentially affecting the relationship between the youth target audience and the municipality. In this context, this study focuses on analyzing the institutional capacity of the Illustrious Municipality of Talcahuano regarding youth citizen participation during the period 2021 – 2022. Through a qualitative case study approach, it seeks to understand officials' and youths' perceptions of these capacities and characterize the current scenario. Through content analysis of secondary sources and semi-structured interviews, the impact of institutional capacities on youth involvement in decision-making is detailed, providing valuable insights to strengthen local citizen participation and promote more effective youth representation in community life.</p> Fernanda Quijón Martínez Copyright (c) 2025 Fernanda Quijón Martínez https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 2025-05-20 2025-05-20 2 1 1 20 10.15517/alp.2025.63017