Our Objectives, Goals and Sector Priorities
In the Ninth General Capital Increase, the Board of Governors mandates the Bank to pursue two overarching objectives: reducing poverty and inequality and achieving sustainable growth. Alongside these objectives are two strategic goals: addressing the special needs of the less developed and smaller countries and fostering development through the private sector.
In March 2015, The Board of Governors approved the Update to the Institutional Strategy 2016-2019 (UIS) that provides strategic direction to the IDB Group (IDBG) over the next four years.
The UIS identifies three main development challenges:
- Social exclusion and inequality
- Low productivity and innovation
- Lack of regional economic integration
The UIS also identifies three cross-cutting issues that need to be considered when addressing each of the three development challenges:
- Gender equality and diversity
- Climate change and environmental sustainability
- Institutional capacity and the rule of law.
Social policy for equity and productivity
|
Sector priorities |
Ongoing involvement |
Development areas |
|
Safety nets for the poor |
Expansion and improvement of conditional cash transfer programs; temporary employment programs |
Incentive-compatible design of social safety nets; articulation with labor markets |
|
Labor markets |
Training, labor intermediation services |
Design and financing of social insurance systems; expansion of social security to informal workers; functioning of labor markets and informality |
|
Expansion of coverage in preschool and secondary levels |
Early childhood development; school to work transition; quality of primary and secondary education |
|
|
Expansion of access to basic health and nutrition services |
Preventive health protocols; tackling epidemiological transition |
|
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Gender and diversity |
Expansion of basic services and social safety nets to Afro-descendents and indigenous communities |
Labor market outcomes for women; narrowing gaps in indigenous women’s education and health outcomes; strengthening the legal framework against discrimination |
Infrastructure for competitiveness and social welfare
|
Sector priorities |
Ongoing involvement |
Development areas |
|
Basic services |
Infrastructure investment to expand access to water and sanitation |
Governance and efficiency of the water and sanitation sector; waste management |
|
Productive infrastructure |
Expansion of transport and energy infrastructure |
Sustainable transport alternatives in urban areas; energy efficiency |
Competitive regional and global international integration
|
Sector priorities |
Ongoing involvement |
Development areas |
|
Negotiation and implementation of trade agreements; trade facilitation and customs procedures; administration and harmonization of trade regulations; export and foreign investment promotion; regional infrastructure corridors; regional public goods |
Convergence mechanisms among multiple trade agreements; trade security and logistics; regulatory frameworks for capital and labor migration; trade in services; multi-country infrastructure projects; coordination of national sovereign operations featuring cross-border externalities; large-scale regional public goods |
Protect the environment, respond to climate change and enhance food security
|
Sector priorities |
Ongoing involvement |
Development areas |
|
Environment and climate change |
Development of institutional and regulatory frameworks to allow investments in sustainable transport, alternative fuels, renewable energy and energy efficiency |
Climate change adaptation in priority sectors such as water, agriculture and energy; development and use of sustainable (including renewable) energy sources, energy efficiency technologies and practices, and carbon finance; risk management for natural disasters |
|
Food security |
Agricultural development; land tenure |
Increasing food security through agricultural productivity |