The Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank today approved a realignment of the IDB’s organization in order to respond more efficiently to the challenges of development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The purpose of the overhaul, presented by IDB President Luis Alberto Moreno, is to enhance the effectiveness of the Bank so that it can better respond to these challenges. To this end, the IDB will deepen its country focus and sector expertise and enhance its effectiveness with a renewed emphasis on risk management and attainment of results.
"This is a major change in the way the IDB faces the challenges that lie ahead. We want to bring the Bank closer to the countries, to both its national and regional constituencies. And above all we want the Bank to be an agent of real change in the lives of people in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Moreno.
During its annual meeting held in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in April, the IDB’s Board of Governors endorsed the Bank’s new vision for the coming years. According to this vision, the Bank should help reduce poverty and inequality by promoting growth and sustainable development; foster social cohesion by creating opportunities for the majority; support private sector development and job creation; and promote regional integration.
The new organization, the success of which will depend to a great extent on changing the Bank’s institutional culture, is designed to increase the Bank’s responsiveness by strengthening its strategic and technical capacity and organizing its activities under four vice-presidencies: Vice-president of Countries; Vice-president of Sectors and Knowledge; Vice-president of Private Sector and Non-sovereign Guaranteed Operations; and Vice-president of Finance and Administration. These vice-presidents will report to the President and to the Executive Vice-president of the Bank.
"The IDB has the professional knowledge and human resources to address the challenges of the 21st century. What we needed was a realignment of its organization so that it can leverage and deploy these competencies and capabilities effectively in benefit of the region,” said Moreno.
Among the strategic areas in which the Bank’s knowledge and technical expertise will be deepened are the following:
- Expanding opportunities for the majority, which includes developing policies, strategies and programs that provide greater access to housing, financial services, basic infrastructure, jobs, information and communication technologies, and further the identification and registration of the undocumented population. Such activities will improve living conditions and economic and social participation by the majority of the population in the countries of the region.
- Achieving the Millennium Development Goals by implementing effective social policies that are conducive to poverty reduction, human capital development and better living conditions for the neediest segments of the population.
- Supporting development of science and technology and their application in productive processes, to raise productivity and promote innovation.
- Boosting investment in infrastructure to attract additional investments, make the region more competitive and enhance its physical and energy interconnection, improving prospects for integration within the region and with the broader world.
- Developing clean, sustainable energy sources, by promoting the production and use of biofuels, expanding other renewable sources, and integrating national networks.
- Promoting private sector development and job creation, by implementing the Bank’s expanded mandate to lend to private initiatives in all sectors, and to state-owned enterprises and sub-national entities without sovereign guarantees.
The IDB will pay special attention to supporting the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean in achieving environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive development with good governance, eradicating corruption and supporting cooperation and regional integration.
Implementation of the new organizational model will begin immediately.