Senators press for Iota Impact invoices after experts question speed and oversight of IDEAR pilots
May 09, 2024 | Senate, Committees, Legislative, Puerto Rico, International
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Senators at a May 9 hearing asked for procurement and invoice records tied to the IDEAR technical assistance contract after third‑sector experts said the private facilitator shaped agendas and a rapid calendar that limited community engagement.
"Ellos eran los facilitadores, ellos eran quienes desarrollaban la agenda," said a panelist describing Iota’s role facilitating implementation mesas. Senate members noted a contract originally executed between the Office of Management and Budget (OGP) and Iota Impact for $5 million, and requested that OGP and the Department provide copies of all invoices presented by Iota for payments linked to the contract.
Senator María de Lourdes Santiago asked that the commission request that the Office of Management and Budget deliver "copia de todas las facturas presentadas por IOTA, que debió haber cubierto ciertas tareas muy específicas para cada desembolso de ochocientos dieciocho mil dólares," and committee leadership said it would notify the appropriate offices to request those records.
Panelists told senators the third‑party facilitator prepared PowerPoint materials, ran invitations and set meeting dates; witnesses said weekly meetings were often scheduled with short notice and left little time to review materials in advance. Several speakers said the facilitators were not local and that the project followed a month‑by‑month calendar with phase milestones and proposed transparency dashboards that they found incomplete or insufficiently detailed for fiscal review.
The committee accepted the request to issue a document request to OGP for Iota’s invoices and related deliverables and indicated it would use those records to assess whether contract payments aligned with the work described. The hearing did not produce votes or contract modifications; senators framed the records request as an oversight step in evaluating whether current procurement and management practices support a genuine decentralization process.
"Ellos eran los facilitadores, ellos eran quienes desarrollaban la agenda," said a panelist describing Iota’s role facilitating implementation mesas. Senate members noted a contract originally executed between the Office of Management and Budget (OGP) and Iota Impact for $5 million, and requested that OGP and the Department provide copies of all invoices presented by Iota for payments linked to the contract.
Senator María de Lourdes Santiago asked that the commission request that the Office of Management and Budget deliver "copia de todas las facturas presentadas por IOTA, que debió haber cubierto ciertas tareas muy específicas para cada desembolso de ochocientos dieciocho mil dólares," and committee leadership said it would notify the appropriate offices to request those records.
Panelists told senators the third‑party facilitator prepared PowerPoint materials, ran invitations and set meeting dates; witnesses said weekly meetings were often scheduled with short notice and left little time to review materials in advance. Several speakers said the facilitators were not local and that the project followed a month‑by‑month calendar with phase milestones and proposed transparency dashboards that they found incomplete or insufficiently detailed for fiscal review.
The committee accepted the request to issue a document request to OGP for Iota’s invoices and related deliverables and indicated it would use those records to assess whether contract payments aligned with the work described. The hearing did not produce votes or contract modifications; senators framed the records request as an oversight step in evaluating whether current procurement and management practices support a genuine decentralization process.
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