In the course of project design all stakeholders in the project should be consulted, including the beneficiaries, knowledgeable NGOs, different parts of government, colleagues in the IDB, and experienced staff in regional and international organizations. Early in the process, the consultations will probably focus more on experienced staff from sister organizations and on ECCD references.

Organizations
Throughout Latin America and the Caribbean extensive experience has accumulated with ECCD projects and programs, many funded by international organizations in cooperation with governments or local NGOs. Colleagues in these organizations can be a useful source of advice throughout the process. The guide includes a directory that brings together the names, addresses, and fax and telephone numbers of national, regional, and international organizations that have been involved in ECCD projects or program development in Latin America and the Caribbean (see tab 7). The information is as of the time of writing (February 1999) and so will need updating. And the list of organizations is limited in this first edition of the guide. Suggestions for changes or additions are welcome. Please send them to the Social Development Division.

References and documentation
Reference materials and documentation on ECCD programs can provide a general orientation to early child development, information about conditions in the country in which the project is being developed, or a better understanding of alternative strategies that others have tried (see tab 8 for a list of references). Here are three useful sources:

• A basic set of ECCD documents available through the Social Development Division at IDB Headquarters and through the World Wide Web at http://www.iadb.org/sds/soc.
• The World Wide Web site created by the Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development (http://www.ecdgroup.com) and the World Bank's site on early child development (http://www.worldbank.org/children).
• The book The Twelve Who Survive, by Robert Myers (1992b), which provides a useful overview. Copies are available from the Social Division.

Individual consultants
Although consultants are often needed to accompany project missions, listing such consultants in this guide would be impractical. Matching a consultant to a need requires knowledge of the person and the situation. The best approach is to develop a short list of possible consultants based on suggestions by people in regional and international organizations who have had experience in developing ECCD projects. Check the short list with local counterparts to be sure that there is no history that might cause problems.