Topics of the VIII IDB-Civil Society Meeting

In order to better incorporate themes of interest to both civil society organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean and the IDB, the agenda for the VIII Annual IDB-Civil Society Meeting was created using a participatory methodology.

On August 13th, a survey was sent to 450 CSOs in the region that had participated in past meetings and that are members of the Bank’s Consejos Asesores de la Sociedad Civil (CASC).

The survey’s objectives were to identify level of interest of CSOs regarding topics suggested by the IDB and to identify additional topics of interest to CSOs. More than 15% of the CSOs responded by the suggested deadline.

Based on the preferences expressed by the participating organizations, the themes to be addressed in plenary and parallel sessions at the meeting are as follows:

Plenary Sessions:

• Corporate Framework for Development Effectiveness
• Prepared by the IDB's Strategic Planning Division, this session seeks to initiate a dialogue with civil society organizations concerning the Bank’s Integrated Results Framework which aims to guarantee effectiveness in all development initiatives supported by the institution.

• Relationship between the Bank and Civil Society
• Suggested by the participating civil society organizations, this session will explore mechanisms for strengthening the relationship between the Bank and civil society as well as the role of CSOs in monitoring Bank funded projects and programs.

Parallel Sessions:

• Update of the Independent Investigation Mechanism
• The session’s purpose is to seek inputs from CSOs on the Bank’s Independent Investigation Mechanism. The tool allows those affected by Bank-sponsored projects to verify due diligence in the design, and implementation of those projects.
  

• Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Initiative (SECCI)
• The session provides an opportunity to analyze the SECCI initiative a year after it initiated operations.
  

• Update of the operational policy on Women in Development
• As the Bank updates its Operational Policy on Women in Development, it seeks advice and inputs from civil society organizations in order to guarantee gender equality in all Bank-related initiatives.
  

• Use of Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA)
• As the Bank develops its internal guidelines for the SEA, it seeks CSO feedback to enrich the methodology of SEA design.

• Governance
• Suggested by the participating civil society organizations, this session addresses issues of institutional capacity, anticorruption initiatives, integrity and ethics.

Additional information regarding responses to the survey (Spanish only)