The Inter-American Development Bank announced the approval today of $500,0000 from its Fund for Special Operations for its Pilot Program for the Diffusion of Information Technologies for Social Programs, designed to improve efficiency, reduce poverty, and achieve greater equity in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The regional technical cooperation program will provide grants to public sector and civil society institutions in the region responsible for social development in order that they may identify, analyze, design and implement the application of information technologies to achieve a greater social impact.
The program will also encourage the presentation of joint projects by Latin American institutions in association with European partners, which will have the support of a parallel financing of $1.5 million from the European Commission, through its General Directorate of Information Society Technologies (formerly G.D. 13).
The pilot program, to be carried out over a period of 30 months, will also finance the promotion of the initiative, evaluation and dissemination of best practices and their results. This will pave the way for implementing future IDB programs in the area of application of information technologies for social development and poverty reduction.