Best Practices

Information Disclosure Policy*

(Revised August 17, 2006.)

In November 2003, the Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank approved a new Policy on Information Disclosure for the institution. The new Policy considerably expanded the scope of information to be disclosed to the public--and for the first time explicitly included financial and institutional information, as well as operational information. With the exception of two types of information products noted expressly in the document, the provisions of the new Policy became effective on January 1, 2004. The Policy was amended by the Board in July 2006 to include a provision regarding availability of information reagrding firms, entities or individuals sanctioned by the Bank, and the sanctions imposed, in connection with finding of fraud or corruption in bidding or participation in a Bank-finaced project or other activity

The text of the Policy as approved by the Board is linked below, along with the implementation plan for 2003-04 prepared by the Bank's Office of External Relations.

Information Disclosure Policy (August 2006)

Implementation Plan

Implementation Instructions (Last update July 13, 2005)

* The operational policies of the Inter-American Development Bank are intended to provide operational guidance to staff in assisting the Bank's borrowing member countries. Over the course of the Bank's more than 40 years of operations, the approach to developing operational policies has taken various forms, ranging from the preparation of detailed guidelines to broad statements of principle and intent. Many policies have not been updated since they were originally issued, and a few reflect emphases and approaches of earlier years which have been superseded by specific mandates of the Bank's Governors, the most recent being the Eighth Replenishment mandates of 1994. In accordance with the Bank's information disclosure policy, the Bank is making all of its operational policies available to the public through the Public Information Center. Users please note that the Bank's operational policies are under a process of continuous review. This review process includes preparation of best practice papers summarizing experience at the Bank and other similar institutions, and sector strategy papers.