The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has launched the 2013 Call for Proposals of the Initiative for the Promotion of Regional Public Goods in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The Initiative is based on the premise that the countries of the region share challenges or opportunities for development that can be addressed or seized upon more effectively and efficiently by means of regional cooperation.
In 2013, the Initiative will provide up to $10 million in grants to finance regional public goods (RPGs) that are produced collectively by a group of IDB borrowing member countries. Even though the Initiative is open to the promotion of RPGs in any development area covered by the IDB, alignment with the IDB's operational priorities is a selection criterion. The other two selection criteria are the value added of a regional (vs. national) approach to addressing a development challenge or opportunity, and the prospects of sustaining the benefits of regional collective action beyond the support of the Initiative.
The Initiative is the Bank’s most prominent grant instrument to support intra-regional cooperation and the collective design of development solutions in LAC. Demand for its resources has intensified in tandem with the increasing importance of multi or bilateral South-South cooperation (SSC) in the development agenda of most LAC countries. The interest in SSC among the Bank´s borrowing members is a reflection of the fact that the region is a source of innovative development solutions that can be shared and replicated by other countries in LAC and in other parts of the developing world.
The IDB has a long-standing commitment with its borrowing member states to foster functional cooperation and the promotion of RPGs. Its 2011 Sector Strategy to Support Competitive Global and Regional Integration in LAC reaffirms the importance of intra-regional cooperation as a corollary of economic integration and the “missing link” that often allows the countries to fully realize the benefits of economic integration.
Information regarding the Call for Proposals can be accessed here. All proposals must be presented in accordance with the Call for Proposals Guidelines and must be submitted online before 11:59 pm (US Eastern Standard Time) on August 15th, 2013.