• Date:  6/8/2016    Paragraphs: -

Through the Regional Public Goods Initiative, the IDB protects traditional Maya Chorti knowledge in Guatemala and Honduras, through climate change adaptation strategies, and biodiversity protection. The project also promotes the bi-national Traditional Knowledge Network based on the active participation of community leaders and their organizations with government institutions to protect Mayan cultural heritage. In 2015, the IDB organized the first indigenous peoples Regional Policy Dialogue with participation of government representatives and community leaders from ten countries. The dialogue highlighted the contributions of indigenous peoples to the social and environmental development of their countries.

Women´s City is a new model of empowerment for women that integrates the provision of high quality services under one roof. Women´s City originated in El Salvador under the leadership of the Secretariat for Social Inclusion; currently, there are six Women´s City Centers operating in El Salvador and at least three more will open in coming years. Women´s City offers services for women survivors of violence, as well as to promote economic empowerment and better health outcomes, with a focus on sexual and reproductive health. Child care is offered for children while their mothers make use of Women´s City services. The IDB supported the expansion of Women´s City in El Salvador with two loans and is financing its adaptation in Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

• Date:  4/14/2017    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: Publication and dissemination of best practices in Civil Registry and Identity

The project aims to produce and disseminate new and updated information on civil registration and identification that will contribute to the upgrading and standardization of registration procedures.

Activities:
1.) Co-organization and launch of the “Inter-American Identity Week – Mexico 2016”. The Inter-American Identity Week involved three complementary events:
(i) the Third LAC regional conference on the right to an identity and universal civil registration;
(ii) the XIII LAC Council on civil registration, identity and vital statistics (CLARCIEV), and
(iii) the First Council of ministers and government officials about the right to an identity.

The Mexico 2016 edition of the Inter-American Identity Week was co-organized by UNICEF, OEA, PLAN, CLARCIEV, SEGOB and the IDB. The events addressed key topics of the region’s civil registration and legal identity agenda such as:
(i) status of civil registration in LAC and barriers to universal registration;
(ii) developments and challenges in measuring under-registration;
(iii) lessons learned in countries’ strategies to attain timely and universal civil registration;
(iv) innovations and use of digital technologies for civil registration and legal identity services;
(v) immigration and impact on civil registration;
(vi) the right to an identity and the sustainable development goals;
(vii) harmonization of civil registration legal frameworks and policies, and
(viii) identity country systems.

Webpage: http://clarciev.com/es/primer-encuentro-ministerial-y-de-autoridades-nacionales-de-las-americas-sobre-el-derecho-a-la-identidad/

2.) Launch of the “Measuring the quality of public services” Workshop. The workshop objective was to discuss the results of the “Simplificando vidas” project which measures service quality and citizen satisfaction for key services such as birth registration and identity document renewal. The project developed and implemented a methodology to measure service quality (government’s perspective on service management and delivery) and satisfaction with these services (citizen’s perspective on service attributes that matter the most). The methodology was applied in six countries (Chile, Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay). Results were discussed in the workshop with the participation of government officials responsible for these services, the academia, and IDB specialists.

Website: http://blogs.iadb.org/gobernarte/2016/06/22/taller-de-medicion-de-la-calidad-de-los-servicios-publicos/


Beneficiaries: (Regional) Latin America and Caribbean countries.

Partnership and financing: Canadian Fund for Universal Legal Identity In Latin America and the Caribbean

• Date:  4/14/2017    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: Technical Management of the Canadian Fund for Universal Legal Identity in Latin America and the Caribbean (RG-T2575)

The project aims at enhancing the impact of CCR-financed activities by:
(i) developing technical knowledge to leverage and support civil registry and legal identity projects;
(ii) disseminating the Fund’s activities and results, and
(iii) identifying and consolidating innovative practices to increase the capacity of civil and legal registries of LAC countries to close the identity gap.



a. Alignment of CCR-funded projects’ results matrices with the CCR Performance Measurement Framework (PMF). In order to further improve alignment of projects’ expected results with the CCR PMF, technical assistance was provided to:
(i) prepare, for all projects in the active portfolio, aligned results matrices-ARM (i.e. matrices aligned with the PMF); and
(ii) assess the expected contribution of these projects to the PMF targets.

b. Identification of benchmarks for key capacity building activities and civil registration and/or legal identity goals. As a complement to the aligned result matrices, technical assistance was provided to:
(i) prepare, for all projects involving country-specific interventions in the active portfolio, work plans (WP) containing timelines and milestones for training/capacity building activities and civil registration and/or legal identity goals; and
(ii) ensure consistency between aligned results matrices and work plans. Both tools (ARMs and WPs) will contribute to assess annual implementation progress and identify corrective measures to enhance this progress. Thus, WPs will allow tracking the results that would be achieved once projects are fully implemented, contingent on the institutional capacity of the respective government counterparts and executing agencies.

c. Publication of “Civil registration and vital statistics as a tool to improve public management”. The discussion paper provides a knowledge base to better understand the links between civil registration and legal identity and public sector management. To this end, the paper
(i) assesses the basic and expanded uses of civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS), and
(ii) explains how developing a comprehensive CRVS information system provides benefits for public planning, policymaking, and more broadly government performance. Thus, the paper provides recommendations for effective CRVS systems as well as issues that governments should consider when expanding the use of CRVS systems.

Website: www.iadb.org/ccr
http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project-description-title,1303.html?id=RG-T2575

Beneficiaries: (Regional) Latin America and Caribbean countries

Partnership and financing: Canada Fund for Universal Legal Identity in Latin America and the Caribbean

• Date:  4/14/2017    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: Strengthening of the Civil Registry of the state of Coahuila de Zaragoza - Mexico (ME-T1293)

The project aims to strengthen the state civil registry and improve the performance of the oficialías (civilians entrusted by the Civil Registry with the responsibility of delivering registration services at the local level). To reach this goal the project will:
(i) diagnose and map under-registration in the state;
(ii) deploy mobile brigades;
(iii) deploy birth registry electronic kiosks; and
(iv) evaluate the oficialías service model and build capacity based on the evaluation recommendations.

Activities:
Timely registration across the state. The state Dirección Estatal del Registro Civil (DERC) has focused on actions aimed at strengthening timely registration, which recently was legally reduced from six to two months in the state. Project activities were adjusted accordingly to meet this requirement. Thus, since the beginning of project activities, 19,164 children have been timely registered, and the late registration of 3,116 children was addressed. Actions on different fronts lead to these initial results.

(i) The first goal was to maintain the state performance with regards to timely registration under the new deadline of two, instead of six, months. This entailed cross-cutting technical assistance to speed up the provision of registration services through oficialías, hospitals and brigades. This line of action accounts for about 16,740 timely registrations and most late registration results.
(ii) The second goal was to enhance birth registration in hospitals. The DERC recruited skilled professionals to monitor the performance of registration modules and provide technical assistance to officials in charge of registering newborns. Thus, during a period of five months the DERC has registered 2,095 children through registration modules in five hospital of the state. These preliminary outcomes are promising considering that between 2013 and 2015 these facilities registered only 1,487 births on average yearly.
(iii) A complementary goal was the enhancement of birth registration brigades to increase registration in rural and peri-urban areas. By coordinating actions with key partners including DIF, SEDESO and PRONNIF, the project was able to leverage additional equipment and technical assistance for an adequate performance of these brigades. So far, the DERC has deployed brigades that made possible the registration of 329 children and 376 adults.

Webpage: http://www.bid.org.br/en/projects/project-description-title,1303.html?id=ME-T1293

Beneficiaries: Population of Coahuila de Zaragoza - Mexico

Partnerships and Financing: Canadian Fund for Universal Legal Identity in Latin America and the Caribbean

• Date:  4/14/2017    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: Plan for the identification of children and adolescents in border areas in El Salvador (ES-T1248)

The project aims to contribute to reducing late birth registration and improving legal identity in border areas, by gathering registration data of children, teenagers and adults living in five border municipalities with Honduras.

Activities:

1.) Birth registration census: The census was carried out in the border municipalities of Arcatao and San Fermando (Chalatenango Department), and Arambala, Perquín and San Fernando (Morazán Department). The objective of this activity was to collect updated information on the population living in these areas, focusing on variables that can help identify the main causes of under-registration and lack of identification. Approximately 3,900 households were surveyed. Activities and a toolkit to carry out the census included:
(i) training of 26 census takers (58 percent women and 42 percent men);
(ii) a questionnaire and implementation manual; and
(iii) a workshop to train 30 National Registration and Identification office (RNPN) officials on the census implementation, out of which 10 joined the survey takers activities.
Now RNPN officials are able to generate files of unregistered people based on the information captured by the census.

2.) Citizen experience with registration and identification services. The project collected and systematized information on the citizens' experience during the process of registering a birth and getting a legal identification document. To accomplish this objective, approximately 45 personalized interviews were carried out in the five municipalities where the census was implemented, using the design thinking methodology. Preliminary results regarding challenges affecting birth registration point to factors such as cost of services (including late registration fees) and transportation, and parents’ nationality.

3.) Communication campaign. Promotional material to inform urban and rural communities about the census and the importance of sharing information about families’ registration and identity status was prepared. Five audio slots were launched to keep communities informed on the census implementation and progress.

Webpage: http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project-description-title,1303.html?id=ES-T1248

Beneficiaries: Residents of the municipalities of Arcatao, San Fernando (Chalatenango Departament), Arambala, Perquín y San Fernando (Morazán Departament)

Partnerships and Financing: Canadian Fund for Universal Legal Identity in Latin America and the Caribbean

• Date:  6/8/2016    Paragraphs: -

In 2015 IDB approved loan operations totaling US$ 253 million to support its borrowing countries in their efforts to fight corruption, by strengthening their integrity frameworks and promoting transparency. In addition, in 2015 IDB’s Transparency Fund provided grant resources totaling US$3 million to fund projects to enhance access to information and transparency in 8 countries. IDB also provided technical assistance to 12 countries to conduct national risk assessments, and improve compliance with anti-money laundering recommendations.

During 2015 and early 2016, IDB committed grant resources totaling US$ 4.9 million from the Canadian Fund for Universal Legal identity in Latin America and the Caribbean to finance 8 projects to reduce under-registration and promote legal identity in 6 countries. In addition, to expand knowledge and raise awareness on the topic, IDB has sponsored international events and competitions aimed at improving identity management and recognizing creative approaches to meet the challenges of lack of identity documents and birth registration in the region. Furthermore, IDB authored publications related to universal birth registration and international identity management and launched the online course “Right to an Identity, Civil Registry and Vital statistics” in collaboration with OAS.

In 2015, the IDB supported the implementation of initiatives to promote open government in 6 countries and promoted policy dialogue, knowledge exchange and collaboration among countries by funding the Second Regional Policy Dialogue on Open Government in Paraguay. In 2016, the Bank will fund the Third Regional Policy Dialogue on Open Government in Colombia to discuss how innovation labs, open data and big data can improve efficiency and effectiveness in public management.

• Date:  4/28/2014    Paragraphs: 3

Implementation of IDB Disaster Risk Management Policy (OP-704)
The IDB Disaster Risk Management Policy (OP-704) was approved by the Board in 2007. The policy applies to the IDB’s activities in public, private and to the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF). In its directive A-1 (programming) states “The Bank will seek to include the discussion on proactive disaster risk management in the dialogue agenda with borrowing member countries” and additionally “The Bank will identify countries according to their level of exposure to natural hazards based on existing indicators and Bank experience”. Under these requirements, the IDB has developed the two technical inputs: (1)Indicators of Disaster Risk and Risk Management, and (2) Country Disaster Risk Profiles, in order to assess the borrowing member countries’ national risk and risk management performance. As a result of these technical inputs, together with the sector dialogues with the national authorities, some member countries have requested from the Bank loan facilities including: policy based loan; investment loan; and contingent loan facility for disaster emergency. These five instruments (two technical inputs and three loan facilities), including recent activities underway (2013-2014) respond to the disaster risk reduction and management theme of the VI Summit thematic area. Details are explained in the next section of this document.

Activities:
There are two technical inputs and three loan facilities. Technical inputs: (i) Indicators of Disaster Risk and Risk Management, which have been applied to 22 countries* and are currently being applied in 4 additional countries**. These indicators, originally developed by the IDB in 2003-2004, have become a regional reference to evaluate risk and risk management, and are recurrently used by OECD, IPCC, the World Bank and other international agencies. With the current application in 4 additional countries the Bank will complete a database of its 26 borrowing countries. Additionally, the IDB has developed in 2013 a new Index of Governance and Public Policies for DRM, in order to assess the existence of legal, institutional and budgetary conditions that are considered fundamental for an effective implementation of DRM in each country. The indicator is being applied for the first time in 12 countries*** and it will be presented in UN-ISDR Regional Platform meeting in Guayaquil in May 2014. * Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, México, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago and Uruguay. ** Brazil, Guyana, Surinam and Venezuela. (ii) Country Disaster Risk Profiles have been developed in 7 countries (Belize, Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica and Peru) in order to assess the countries’ disaster risk (based on probabilistic risk calculations). In 2014 the IDB has started to conduct the same study in four additional countries: Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Venezuela. Loan facilities: (iii) Policy Based Loans, contributing to the countries’ policy reforms on disaster risk management, have been approved in Panama (two loans since 2010) and Peru (two loans since 2010 and a third expected in July 2014). The experience of Peru is observed as a successful example of policy reform that should be disseminated in the UNISDR’s Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Platform to be held in Guayaquil, Ecuador in May 2014. (iv) Investment loans, support implementing the countries’ risk reduction measures, have been approved in Honduras (2009), Nicaragua (2010) and Barbados (2010). These programs include prevention and mitigation measures targetting the most vulnerable local areas, and institutional strengthening activities especially for national and local governments. Contingent Loan Facility: (v) To support the country’s financial protection by increasing the availability, stability and efficiency of contingent financing to deal with emergencies caused by catastrophic events, Contingent Loan Facilities have been approved for a total amount of US$ 986 million in 7 countries including Dominican Republic (2009), Panama (2010), Ecuador (2010), Honduras (2011), Costa Rica (2012), Nicaragua (2013) and Peru (2013). In order to disburse the eligible amount, countries must have Integrated National Disaster Risk Management Program in place and implemented in a satisfactory manner.

http://www.iadb.org/en/topics/natural-disasters/natural-disasters,1441.html

Beneficiaries:
In 2013-2014: policy reform loans have benefited two countries (Peru and Panama); contingency loans benefited two countries (Peru and Nicaragua); investment loans benefited three countries (Honduras, Nicaragua and Barbados); and technical studies benefited 18 countries (see above sections for details).

Partners and financing:
Since 2007 the Bank has approved around US$1,500 million of loans on disaster risk management, including policy based loans, contingent loan for disaster emergencies, and investment programs. The indicators and disaster risk profiles have been funded through grants supported by the Multidonor Disaster Prevention Fund capitalized with $14.9 million in contributions from Japan, Spain, Korea, and Canada.

• Date:  4/14/2017    Paragraphs: 3

Initiative: SUMMA, Laboratory of Education Research and Innovation for Latin America and the Caribbean, is a joint initiative of the IDB, Fundación Chile, and the Governments of the region to improve the quality of information that influences decision-making as well as the development of education policies.

SUMMA is the first laboratory dedicated to education research and innovation for Latin America and the Caribbean. Created in 2016 by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Fundación Chile, with the support of the Education Ministries of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, SUMMA’s mission is to contribute to and increase the quality, equity, and inclusion of the educational systems in the region, through the improvement of the decision-making process regarding educational policies and practices. For this purpose, SUMMA works in the following areas:
(a) generating knowledge and evidence through cutting-edge research on key matters of education policy,
(b) boosting innovation in education through the promotion of policies that are innovative and have proven effectiveness, and
c) stimulating the collaboration and exchange of knowledge between policy makers, academics, innovators, directors, and educators.

To accomplish its mission, SUMMA organizes its actions in three strategic pillars that allow the promotion, development, and dissemination of:
(1) cutting-edge research aimed at diagnosing the main challenges in the region and promoting shared work agendas;
(2) innovation in education policies and practices aimed at providing solutions for the main education problems in the region;
(3) collaborative spaces that allow the exchange between policy makers, researchers, innovators, and the school community, based on a consensual regional agenda.

Activities: In recent months, SUMMA has:
(i) established a small technical team, based in Fundación Chile, to implement the initiative;
(ii) developed a web portal, summaedu.org;
(iii) held launch events to disseminate the initiative in Washington, D.C. (in the IDB’s Regional Policy Dialogue meeting in November, 2016) and in Santiago, Chile (in March, 2017);
(iv) initiated research on regional education financing, to bring to the region an application of the Global Commission on Education Financing’s 2016 report; and
(v) convened a group of global experts to serve in its Advisory Council.

Beneficiaries: As a Regional Public Good, SUMMA will benefit all countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Partnerships and financing: Inter-American Development Bank, Fundación Chile, Governments of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay.

www.summaedu.org

• Date:  6/8/2016    Paragraphs: -

Since the Summit, the IDB has advanced an initiative, SUMMA: Innovations for Education, which is the first education innovation lab for the Latin America and Caribbean region. With around US$1 million from the Regional Public Goods Fund of the IDB, SUMMA is a public-private partnership to promote innovative, scalable programs to raise education quality in the region. Specifically, SUMMA’s goals are to:
• Promote innovation in education.
• Provide access to evidence-based information to improve decision-making.
• Create networks and strengthen the link between policy makers, social innovators and knowledge generators.

To achieve these goals, SUMMA will work through a network of national and local innovation labs, private sector organizations, and governments to implement innovations in education systems to improve student learning in preschool, primary and secondary education. Founding member countries include: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay.

• Date:  6/8/2016    Paragraphs: -

Since 2015 the IDB has been part of the Inter-American Task Force on Non Communicable Diseases (IATF), a group that jointly with PAHO, the OAS, including the Inter-American Commission of Women and the Inter-American Children’s Institute, IICA, ECLAC, and the World Bank, promotes collaboration across various sectors of government in the Americas for a comprehensive response to Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) at the national, sub-regional and regional levels. In 2016 the IATF aims to: i) support Member States in strengthening their national capacities for NCD policies and programs through enhanced interagency collaboration; ii) seek synergies and harmonization among the participating agencies and their relevant activities and strategies to support Member States in implementing actions to prevent and control NCDs; and iii) coordinate with the multi-sectoral NCD actions of related global and regional initiatives to ensure complementarity of purpose and optimal use of resources.

The IDB is also part of the Salud Mesoamerica Initiative (SMI) - a public-private partnership which aims to reduce maternal and child health inequalities through a results-based financing model which is based on: targeting the poorest 20%; financing evidence-based interventions; 50% average cost-sharing; and, independent verification of results. As of today, five countries achieved their targets and received a cash incentive. Countries have approved pro-poor policies and increased allocation of funding to the poorest individuals. Countries showed significant progress in availability of critical supplies in more than 1,000 facilities; 200,000 children are receiving micronutrients for the first time; and three countries are reorganizing their service network. In the coming years, countries are committed to reach population-based targets focused on effective coverage and quality.

• Date:  10/15/2015    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: Improving Education through Broadband: Best Practices for Policy Design
It is well recognized that technology can produce substantial improvements in the learning process by allowing personalized instruction, increasing student engagement, providing real-time monitoring, and generating immediate feedback to students. However, there is limited analytical work on how identify best practices regarding how to leverage technology access effectively for educational purposes and disseminate such practices.
This initiative presents two main products: First, a high-level policy workshop titled “Schools Ready for Change: Technology to Improve Learning in Latin America and the Caribbean”, and second, the collaborative work of a team of experts in education, technology and economics to produce an e-book on promising models to improve Math learning using technology. These products contribute to the identification and sharing of best practices regarding how to effectively use technology for educational purposes in the LAC region.
Finally, the described e-book has produced a deep analysis of the underlying educational problems faced by students in our region and has synthetized knowledge from different disciplines to guide governments on the critical challenge regarding how to leverage technology effectively to promote student learning.

Activities:
Review of research evidence and successful programs:
- Identification of learning gaps and promising instructional strategies
- Summary of the quantitative evidence
- Documentation of successful and promising programs
- Analysis of challenges and solutions of specific inputs
Production of best-practices toolkit:
- Organization of workshops
- Production of toolkit

Website: Video: https://vimeo.com/126055258

Beneficiaries: Latin America and the Caribbean countries

• Date:  4/28/2014    Paragraphs: 3

Low-income Students' Access to Higher Education.
The Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola (USIL), a leading private university in Peru, will receive a loan from
the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), as a non-sovereign guaranteed loan, to double its capacity
and expand access to affordable education programs for low-income students.

Activities:
IDB financing will allow USIL to double its capacity from approximately 12,000 to 25,000 students over the
next ten years. Moreover, the loan will help USIL establish a new student guarantee fund, support a new
technical training institute, and increase its participation in Beca 18, a Peruvian government flagship
scholarship program targeting economically disadvantaged youth. It will also help expand and upgrade
USIL’s infrastructure using green technology that permits the reduction of water and energy
consumption.

Beneficiaries: Low-income Students' in Peru

• Date:  11/8/2012    Paragraphs: 4

Initiative:
New Employment and Opportunities (NEO)

Description:
The New Employment and Opportunities (NEO) project intends to expand employment opportunities for youth, with particular emphasis on those who are economically disadvantaged and/or at-risk. While employers struggle to find qualified workers, youth unemployment stands at nearly 3 times that of adults. Many youth lack critical skills to make them attractive job candidates – both technical skills and, most importantly, “life skills” such as communication, reliability and teamwork – long-term skills that are needed in any kind of job or career. To this end, the NEO alliance brings together key private, public, and civil society partners to provide high-impact, market-relevant youth training and job placement services on a large scale.

Activities:
10-YEAR GOALS:
• Train one million disadvantaged youth, ages 16-29, using models that incorporate best practices of job training programs.
• Achieve job placement rates of at least 50 percent for graduates of the new program.
• Ensure that 50 percent or more of the youth trained are girls and young women.
• Promote the adoption of high-impact training models in at least 10 countries in the region.
• Mobilize 1,000 companies to offer internships and employment opportunities for youth.
• Strengthen the capacity of 200 job-training providers.

Partnerships:
International Youth Fellowship, Multilateral Investment Fund, CEMEX, Microsoft, Arcos Dorados, Caterpillar, Walmart

• Date:  4/14/2017    Paragraphs: 4

EXPANSION AND STRENGTHENING OF NICARAGUA’S ELECTRICITY TRANSMISSION SYSTEM - NI-L1091 (US$43 million)

The general objective of the project is to promote an increase in the population’s welfare by strengthening the transmission infrastructure in order to connect new clients, improve the quality of supply, and move forward on optimization of the regional infrastructure.
The specific objectives of the program include:
(i) ensuring the continuous supply of electricity in the areas benefited by the expansion of electricity coverage under the National Sustainable Electrification and Renewable Energy Program (PNESER);
(ii) increasing load transmission capacity to meet electricity demand and carry the power generated in the expansion area under the PNESER program; and
(iii) optimizing the load capacity of the regional transmission line on the segments located in Nicaragua.

Activity I: Improvement of the transmission infrastructure to support increased comprehensive coverage, including the construction of 3 substations (138kV each) and related 90km of transmission lines and works.

Activity II: Improvements in the national transmission system to support the capacity of the regional system, including the construction of 65 km of transmission lines.

Website: http://www.iadb.org/es/proyectos/project-information-page,1303.html?id=NI-L1091

• Date:  4/14/2017    Paragraphs: 1

SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FACILITY (SEF) FOR THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN (US$20 million)

The objective of the Sustainable Energy Facility (SEF) for the Eastern Caribbean (the program) is to contribute to the diversification of the energy matrix in the Eastern Caribbean Countries (ECC) in an effort to reduce the cost of power generation and electricity tariffs by promoting the implementation of Energy Efficiency (EE) and Renewable Energy (RE) technologies to reduce the region’s dependency on liquid fossil fuels. The IDB will provide a Global Credit Loan (GCL) to the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to finance eligible sub-loans and sub-grants.

Activity I: Promotion of Energy Efficiency, including building retrofitting, street lighting and reduction of system losses.

Activity II: Promotion of regulatory frameworks, institutional strengthening and capacity building activities for the development of Sustainable Energy in the countries.

Activity III: Promotion of Renewable Energy and PPP mechanisms for solar PV, wind farms, geothermal, waste-to-energy and hydro.

Website: http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project-description-title,1303.html?id=RG-L1071

Beneficiaries: Eastern Caribbean Facilities

• Date:  6/8/2016    Paragraphs: -

The IDB aims to increase access to efficient, sustainable, reliable, and affordable energy, providing a diversified and secure energy source while reducing poverty, promoting improved quality of life, and fostering competitiveness, economic growth and development. In the last 5 years, the IDB has approved an average of over $1 billion dollars per year in public and private sector lending to support the region’s energy needs. In addition, the IDB has catalyzed additional investments from the public and private sector and provided grants and technical cooperation resources.
Examples of IDB’s work in the region include:

• Access: The National Sustainable Electrification and Renewable Energy Program (PNESER) in Nicaragua, (co-financed with 7 other organizations), which has led to 55,500 new households connected, 5,000 efficient public lighting fixtures replaced, and 40 km of new transmission lines built
• Renewable Energy: EURUS, a 250.5 MW wind farm in Oaxaca, is one of the first wind farms in Mexico and the largest one operating in Latin America.
• Energy Security and Regional Energy Integration: The Central American Electrical Interconnection System (SIEPAC) connecting Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama, with funds from the IDB, CABEI, BANCOMEXT, CAF, and share capital and loans from shareholders.

• Date:  10/15/2015    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: SUPPORT FOR THE INTEGRATION OF HONDURAS IN THE REGIONAL ELECTRICITY MARKET
(US$22,93 mill. Loan). The program’s objective is to support the start-up of commercial operation of one of the segments of SIEPAC and to improve physical infrastructure conditions in Honduras so as to enable the country to participate effectively in the Regional Electricity Market (MER). The specific objectives are to: (i) reestablish the operating conditions of the only SIEPAC electric interconnection between Guatemala and Honduras, one of SIEPAC’s central connections; and (ii) strengthen ENEE’s operations and management so as to maximize the benefits of marketing electric power in the MER.

Activities: ACTIVITY I: Investment in works related to the integration of Honduras into SIEPAC (US$ 19.7 million). two parts:
- (A) Construction of the La Entrada substation (US$14.9 million). This part includes: (i) building a substation with capacity to convert from 50 MVA to 230 kV/34.5 kV, along with its associated outgoing lines, in order to create a link between SIEPAC and the transmission network in Honduras; (ii) installing three towers for the incoming transmission lines; (iii) improving the associated distribution lines; and (iv) purchasing land for construction of the substation.
- (B) Investments in electric transmission infrastructure (US$4.8 million). This will make it possible to complete the works and achieve the outcomes planned under previous Bank's loans. The works to be completed under these loans are: (i) two 69-kV transmission lines: Las Flores–Erandique (62 km) and Danli–Chichicaste (33 km); (ii) one 138-kV transmission line: San Pedro Sula Sur–Naco (23 km); (iii) expansion of the Las Flores and Danli substations ; and (iv) the Amarateca substation, with capacity to convert from 150 MVA to 230 kV .

ACTIVITY II. Strengthening ENEE for energy marketing in the MER (US$1.7 million). Activity II will help ENEE enhance its management capacity, including: (i) creating an electricity marketing and transactions unit at the ENEE National Dispatch Center so as to enhance the benefits from ENEE’s marketing of energy in the MER; and (ii) improving ENEE’s financial management for the proper handling of information on commercial transactions in the MER.

Website: http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project-description-title,1303.html?id=HO-L1039

Beneficiaries: Republic of Honduras, Empresa Nacional de Energía Eléctrica (ENEE)

• Date:  10/15/2015    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: Natural Gas in the Caribbean, Feasibility Studies
(US$1mill.) The objective of the program is to analyze the overall feasibility of establishing a commercial supply chain for Natural Gas (NG) in the Caribbean region considering in particular the potential role or regional suppliers such as Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) and regional small economies as off-takers. The Program will include technical, economic, financial and commercial aspects, with particular focus on the resulting costs of investments and of the end cost of the delivered gas. These studies are expected to support the decision making processes at the level of governments in the region, as well as other important stakeholders.

Activities: Activity I, Assessment of Potential Natural Gas Market in the Caribbean: (i) to analyze the T&T NG reserves and resources, (ii) to analyze the USA NG production and proven and potential NG reserves and its potential to supply the Caribbean region, (iii) to analyze the Guyana-Suriname Basin NG reserves and resources, (iv) to identify additional potential markets in the Caribbean region for shipped NG, and (v) to analyze the principal target markets in the Caribbean and evaluate these markets as off-takers under different scenarios of demand for NG.

Activity II, Economic Analysis of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Application: (i) analysis of the global LNG market, (ii) analysis of the market for CNG and LNG in the Caribbean, (iii) analysis of the electricity market in the Caribbean, (iv) examination of the economics of converting existing HFO or diesel plants from to NG, (v) estimation the impacts of the introduction of other feasible energy technologies and (vi) examination of the macroeconomic implications of the application, its potential fiscal savings and impacts on account sustainability for the Caribbean countries

Activity III: Technical Analysis of Natural Gas (NG) Applications in the Caribbean. (i) identify infrastructure and technologies based on CNG and LNG potentially suitable for the region's countries, (ii) to identify the preferred technologies for each country, (iii) to analyze of the complete commercial cycle, (iv) dimension the most efficient infrastructure solution, (v) cost of the dimensioned infrastructure for trading NG from T&T to the Caribbean region, and (vii) a complete financial analysis.

Activity IV: Socio-environmental Impact and Risk Analysis.

Activity V: Develop Technical Terms of Reference for developing the selected solution.

Website: http://www.iadb.org/es/proyectos/project-information-page,1303.html?id=RG-T2243

Beneficiaries: Caribbean Governments

• Date:  10/15/2015    Paragraphs: -

Iniciative: REGIONAL HUB FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR ALL (SE4ALL) IN LAC
(US$700,000) The general objective is to provide support to Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries to achieve the three goals of the United Nations (UN) initiative Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All): universal access to modern energy; greater Energy Efficiency (EE); and increased use of Renewable Energy (RE). The specific objective is to provide technical and financial support for implementation of the Work Plan for the regional hub of SE4All in the Americas.

Activities:
Activity 1, Support for Implementation of SE4All in Countries: support of the government efforts, in at least two countries, including (i) support to prepare SE4All targeting setting,(ii) technical assistance or advisory services supporting priority actions such as policy, financial, technical assistance, capacity development, and/or planning needs on specific topics or issues in response to the specific requests from countries and (iii) knowledge sharing and communications.

Activity 2, Energy Knowledge Products and Dissemination: (i) development of a toolkit for Universal Access Planning, (ii) regional monitoring of SE4All goals in countries, (iii) EE Booklets Series will continue the knowledge series of best practices in EE measures to public and private sector actors and (iv) dissemination activities of knowledge products.

Activity 3 ,Sustainable Energy Project Preparation Facility: (i) support in promoting sustainable energy(renewables, efficiency and/or access) projects in at least 3 countries, (ii) establish an Energy Project Preparation Facility aimed at improving the financial structuring and presentation of some projects as they seek to acquire financing, (iii) design an online tool that will function as a virtual marketplace of SE projects seeking finance and (iv) a SE project preparation guide.

Website: http://www.iadb.org/es/temas/energia/se4allamericas/inicio,17743.html

Beneficiaries: Latin America and Caribbean countries

• IDB Energy Sector

• Date:  6/8/2016    Paragraphs: -

Since 2012, the IDB has allocated approximately US$1.6 billion to projects supporting sustainability, including helping LAC mitigate and adapt to climate change, enhancing sustainability of natural capital, and funding conservation and the preservation of ecosystem services.
• Helping LAC mitigate and adapt to climate change. The IDB helps strengthen LAC countries’ capacity to study, plan and invest in responses to climate change, and provides financing for investments ranging from renewable energy and mass transit to climate-resilient agriculture through public and private sector initiatives. Over the 2012-2015 period, the IDB reported financing an average of 14% of its nearly US$12 billion annual loan portfolio to operations addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation programs. The IDB’s Board of Governors announced recently it decided to raise its level of ambition to dedicate 30% of its loan portfolio to climate action by 2020 in order to help countries implement the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change and achieve their national targets of greenhouse gas reductions and other mitigation and adaptation priorities.
• Enhancing sustainability of natural capital. IDB supports policies, institutions and investments to achieve a more efficient and sustainable use of the region’s natural capital through projects that: (i) define property rights and improve legal certainty in land tenure in order to promote better management of natural resources; (ii) focus on sustainable and productive agriculture, food security, optimizing use of water and soil, and improving equity in their distribution; (iii) improve environmental governance, effective and efficient regulations and instruments, including stronger capacity for integrated management of water resources, land use planning and zoning; and (iv) make available adequate information and improve the quality of monitoring and enforcing mechanisms.
• Funding conservation and the preservation of ecosystem services. In 2013 IDB established its Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Program, which funds projects to provide needed knowledge resources and orient future investment in this area. IDB is also funding a host of tourism investment projects to generate income based upon this natural capital.

• Date:  4/14/2017    Paragraphs: 5

Initiative: Inter-American Task Force on Non Communicable Diseases-NCDs (IATF)

The IATF promotes collaboration across various sectors of government in the Americas for a comprehensive response to NCDs at the national, sub-regional, and regional levels. It includes the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Organization of American States (OAS), including the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) and the Inter-American Children’s Institute (IIN), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the World Bank.

Activities: The Inter-American Task Force on NCDs was officially launched on June 17, 2015 at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS). The task force has sought to support countries in Latin America and the Caribbean with policy advice, technical assistance, resource mobilization, and capacity-building while also facilitating a common and harmonized approach, optimal use of resources, and networking and information exchange among agencies of the Inter-American system and partner institutions to ensure maximum impact.

During 2016, the IATF:
(i) mapped the work of all the agencies in the prevention and control of NCDs;
(ii) held a side event on “Social Inclusion and Health in All Policies,’’ hosted by the IATF in Paraguay on the margins of the Third Meeting of Ministers and High level Authorities of Social Development (III REMDES), which was highly successful to sensitize the Social Development Ministers about role in reducing NCDs;
(iii) launched a PAHO-World Bank publication on Economic Dimensions of NCDs;
(iv) established technical cooperation between PAHO and the IDB to evaluate the economic impact of NCDs.

Plans for 2017 include:
(i) to develop a proposal from Caribbean countries to promote healthy diets with inputs from IIC;
(ii) to further economic studies;
(iii) to complete assessments of country capacity and country progress to meet the global and regional NCD targets;
(iv) to identify areas of opportunities to advance the PAHO Regional NCD Plan of Action by leveraging finance and through loans/grants.

Website: http://www.paho.org/Hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11085&Itemid=40276&lang=en

Beneficiaries: (Regional) All countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Partnership and financing: PAHO/WHO chairs the IATF, working collaboratively with the Partnerships: Organization of American States (OAS) and other partners including the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the World Bank.

• Date:  4/14/2017    Paragraphs: 5

Initiative: Regional Multiagency Coordinating Mechanism (RMCM)

The RMCM is a partnership between the IDB, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank, PAHO, USAID and UNAIDS aiming to facilitate the implementation and achievement of targets of the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents' Health 2016-2030 ("The Strategy") in the context of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Strategy was launched by the United Nations Secretary-General in September 2015, during the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit. An Operational Framework was presented during the 69th World Health Assembly and approved by all the World Health Organization Member States. The focus is on sustainable development and equity, emphasizing the need to put the "furthest behind" first. It is expected that the proposed regional multiagency coordinating mechanism will specifically support countries in tackling the root causes of maternal, child and adolescent mortality and morbidity, including health inequities and related social determinants.

Activities: The RMCM will be formally launched in July 2017 in Chile in a meeting called by President Bachelet, as co-chair of the Global Strategy. Planned initial activities include:
i) establish an inter-sectorial multiagency technical working group;
ii) roll-out three sub-regional and national consultations (Mesoamerica, Caribbean, South America) to determine a critical path and assistance needs towards achieving targets of the health strategy;
iii) organize a high level regional summit to obtain national commitments towards the implementation of the global strategy in the context of the Americas.

Beneficiaries: (Regional) All countries of Latin America and the Caribbean

Partnerships and Financing: IDB, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank, PAHO, USAID, and UNAIDS

• Date:  4/14/2017    Paragraphs: 5

Initiative: Regional technical cooperations for response to public health emergencies

IDB collaborates with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) to strengthen country capacity to respond to public health emergencies by supporting regional technical cooperations (TCs). One TC is "Support to Strengthen Preparedness, Readiness, and Response to Ebola Virus Disease in Latin America and the Caribbean" (RG-T2571), which seeks to strengthen capacity to quickly respond to and contain the potential spread of Ebola to the region. Another TC is "Strengthening Regional Health Security" (RG-T2870), which aims to strengthen International Health Regulatory capacities of several Caribbean countries, focusing on the detection, response, and prevention of infectious and vector-borne diseases.

Activities:
Since 2015, RG-T2571 has:
(i) trained on clinical practices for isolation and treatment of suspects, containment of dangerous infectious agents, and risk communication and social mobilization;
(ii) supported development of coordination mechanisms for infectious disease response in the Caribbean.

Since 2016, RG-T2870 has focused on:
(i) improvement of biosafety and biosecurity capacities;
(ii) strengthening of emergency operations centers;
(iii) development of specialized workforce;
(iv) rigorous gap analysis and costing estimation for IHR country readiness plans.


Website (RG-T2571): http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project-description-title,1303.html?id=RG-T2571
Website (RG-T2870): http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project-description-title,1303.html?id=RG-T2870


Beneficiaries: (Regional) All countries of Latin America and the Caribbean

Partnerships and Financing: IDB, CARPHA and PAHO

• Date:  4/28/2014    Paragraphs: 5

Strengthen the region’s energy security.
The IDB is providing non-sovereign guaranteed financing to expand the use of renewable energy in Latin America and the Caribbean. Recent examples include projects in Peru, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico and Uruguay among others. As well, the IDB is mobilizing funds to support the development of renewable energy and climate-friendly private sector investments in the region.

Activities:
1. Canadian Fund for the private Sector in the Americas: Canada has committed US$250 million to create the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in the Americas which is managed by the IDB. The fund finances private sector climate mitigation and adaptation projects in the region that need some concessional financing to become financially attractive to the private sector. It aims to mobilize private sector investment in cleaner technologies, which often have higher initial costs and longer pay-backs than fossil fuel technology. Over the fund’s 25-year life it is expected to contribute to a reduction of up to 50 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The fund will make up to half of its capital available for loans and guarantees in local currency. 2. Isolux (Peru and Brazil): A non-sovereign guaranteed loan is supporting projects in Peru and Brazil to expand renewable energy and energy infrastructure. The corporate loan will finance the new Majes and Repartición Peruvian solar plants, with a total 40MW of installed capacity, which are the first large-scale solar installations in Latin America reducing 40,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually while creating 260 construction jobs. As well, it supports the new 500 kV Taubate-Nova Iguaçu transmission line between the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. 3. Alto Maipo Hydroelectric Power Project (Chile): The project consists of the construction of two run-of-the-river hydroelectric facilities designed to provide base load electricity to the Chilean electricity grid. Ninety percent of the project's infrastructure, including the power houses and 67 km of tunnels, will be located underground. Once operational, the project will contribute an annual average of 2,300 GWh to the Chilean grid. 4. Pozo Almonte and Calama Solar Photovoltaic Power Project (Chile): A non-sovereign guaranteed loan is financing the construction, operation, and maintenance of three photovoltaic solar power plants in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. The financing consists of a loan for $20.7 million from the IDB’s ordinary capital and a loan for $20.7 million from the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in the Americas. The project’s major benefits will be to help develop local energy sources to diversify Chile's energy matrix and replace fossil fuels with a renewable energy resource for power generation for the mining industry, reduce CO2 emissions by 56,000 tons annually and support Chile’s National Energy Strategy. 5. Wind Projects in Uruguay: The Palmatir Wind Project, will diversify Uruguay’s energy matrix and reduce its dependence on hydroelectric generation which, during the dry season, forces the country to boost electricity generation from fossil fuels. This project is the first, IDB-financed wind farm within the program launched by UTE, the state-owned electricity company. The IDB is also financing the Carapé I and II wind farms in Uruguay that consist of a wind farm divided into two subprojects of 50 MW and 40 MW, respectively. These projects are expected to avoid the emission of about 561,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. 6. Reventazon Hidroelectric Power Project (Costa Rica): Construction of a 305.5 MW hydropower plant in the Limon Province in Costa Rica is Central America’s biggest renewable energy project. The IDB non-sovereign guaranteed loan will help finance the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the plant and its associated facilities, including transmission lines, substations and access roads. The plant will use waters from the Reventazón River to generate an average of 1,407 gigawatt-hour (GWh) of electricity per year. Once completed, the plant will represent approximately 10 percent of Costa Rica’s total installed electricity generation capacity. The project will be the first to establish an offset for river habitat in Central America, which could be replicated in other projects throughout the region. It will also contribute to the Jaguar Corridor Initiative and long term preservation of the largest living cat in the Americas. 7. BNS2 Wind Power Corporate Loan (Mexico): A non-sovereign guaranteed loan of up to $76 million will support an investment in a 74-megawatt (MW) wind farm in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, in the Mexican State of Oaxaca. The wind farm, known as Bii Nee Stipa II, is Enel Green Power’s first wind farm in Mexico. The project supports growing efforts to harness wind energy in the “La Ventosa” region of Oaxaca, one of the world’s best regions for wind resources, and to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels to generate electricity. Bii Nee Stipa II, the fourth wind farm to be financed by the IDB in Oaxaca since 2009, has 37 wind turbine generators, with an expected annual net generation of 278 gigawatt-hours. The project, whose construction was completed in June 2012, is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 172,265 metric tons per year.

Beneficiaries:
Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Mexico and Chile will benefit from increase their generation energy capacity of renewable energy, reduce the carbon emissions and generate jobs.

Partners and financing:
Government of Canada, Private Sector Companies

• Date:  4/28/2014    Paragraphs: 5

Sustianble Energy for Haiti
To support the Government of Haiti (GoH) in developing a Sustainable Energy Matrix that promotes access to electricity through Renewable Energy (RE) sources and Energy Efficiency (EE) measures, as a way to reduce Haiti’s dependency on fossil fuels, encouraging efficient use of this nonrenewable resource


Activities:
Improve access to electricity through renewable energy demonstrative projects, efficient use of fuels and support for regulatory framework

Beneficiaries: Energy users, small businesses

Partners and financing: Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Initiative (SECCI IDB), Knowledge Partnership Korea Fund (KPK), Haiti Reconstruction Fund (HRF)

• Date:  4/14/2017    Paragraphs: -

Information available in Spanish

• Date:  6/8/2016    Paragraphs: -

The governments of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala have started the implementation of the Plan of the Alliance for the Prosperity of the Northern Triangle launched in 2014, to respond to those structural issues that sustain the irregular and undocumented migration towards the USA. The Plan focuses on 4 pillars: (i) Human Capital Development; (ii) Fostering the Productive Sector; (iii) Improving Citizen Security and Access to Justice; and (iv) Institutional Strengthening and Greater Transparency. The governments of the countries of the Northern Triangle have committed approximately US$2.5 billion for high priority projects and the US Government has recently approved US$750 million for Central America that will also support the Plan.

The IDB has been a strong supporter of this regional effort and has mobilized resources to support the design of specific projects. Furthermore, the IDB has provided a dedicated team of specialists that constitute the Technical Secretariat of the Plan of the Alliance. The Technical Secretariat is in charge of providing technical assistance for the prioritization of high-impact projects and has promoted dialogue amongst the Northern Triangle countries, donor countries and other stakeholders to address such issues as training security forces and fighting organized crime.

• Date:  6/8/2016    Paragraphs: -

For the past two decades, the IDB has supported countries’ efforts in the area of citizen security and justice. Currently, the IDB’s loan portfolio includes more than 19 projects in implementation in 15 countries, adding up to a total investment of approximately US$750 million.

In addition to its traditional lending instruments, the IDB through the Citizen Security Fund (CSF), offers countries of the region a unique grant-making mechanism specifically dedicated to (i) generating and disseminating crime and violence data; (ii) strengthening the capacity of state entities to manage and evaluate public policies on citizen security; and (iii) promoting dialogue and exchange of knowledge and good practices. Total contributions to the CSF between 2012 and 2015 have amounted to US$26.9 million, which have financed a total of 61 projects.

Among other achievements, the CSF has improved the quality and availability of statistics on crime and violence against women, promoted innovation in the management of correctional facilities, generated new knowledge related to cybersecurity, and advanced regional cooperation and dialogue related to citizen security issues and lessons learned.

• Iniciatives - Security 2014

• Date:  4/28/2014    Paragraphs: 6

Women entrepreneurshipBanking (weB)
women entrepreneurshipBanking (weB) is an initiative to work with financial institutions in the region to help them put in place lending models that support growth in women-led businesses. The weB encourages banks and other financial institutions to test innovative, inclusive lending models by offering two kinds of incentives. First, the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), through its Line of Activity for Promoting Small Enterprise Financing, offers up to $5 million in technical assistance grants to transfer knowledge of effective lending models for women-owned SMEs and to train loan officers and credit managers in these products and services. Second, the Structured and Corporate Finance Department (SCF), through its beyondBanking program, targets up to $50 million in credit lines, partial credit guarantees and risk-sharing mechanisms to strengthen tenor and liquidity in financial institutions seeking to expand loans offered to this underserved client group. This unique combination of capital and technical assistance maximizes the success of forward-looking financial institutions to ensure that women-owned SMEs have equal access to finance.

Activities:
Already, weB has achieved several early-stage results, enrolling a number of institutions to receive financing and/or technical assistance. The number of institutions enrolled has been much higher than anticipated (SCF’s aggregated approval amount has exceeded the initial target of $50 million, while the original MIF contribution to weB will be fully committed in 2014) and many financial institutions are already beginning to implement products to directly target women entrepreneurs. At the project level, there are 11 projects in 9 countries. The weB pipeline for 2014 and 2015 remains strong. Additionally, the enthusiasm for weB generated demand to launch a panel on ‘’The Women’s Market: Are you overlooking the world’s largest emerging economy” sponsored in part by MIF and SCF, in November 2013 at the largest Latin American Banking Conference hosted by the Latin American Banking Federation (FELABAN). Taking the advantage of this momentum, the weB team has also launched several studies to learn firsthand about women’s access to financial products and services. For example, in partnership with Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (EFL) the team will be assessing the differences in characteristics between male and female entrepreneurs, given the rich database constructed by the use of EFL’s psychometric credit assessment tool. Also, the team has been designing a study on the importance of access to savings on women’s business start-ups and their growth. Furthermore, to accelerate implementation among financial intermediaries, the MIF became a sponsor of the Global Banking Alliance for Women (GBA), a leading knowledge exchange platform of financial institutions driving women’s wealth creation around the world. GBA facilitates knowledge transfer to LAC financial institutions that implement IDB projects under the framework of weB initiative. GBA organizes study tours and best practices workshops, and develops practical “how-to” manuals; benchmarks and performance indicators; case studies; research; and mentoring programs among member financial institutions. So far, four LAC banks became GBA members, two more are in the process of becoming members, and more are expected to follow. Based on this growing LAC presence in GBA, the IDB decided to host the next GBA Annual Summit (September 2014). With the purpose of knowing better the market conditions for women-owned businesses, the MIF launched Women's Entrepreneurial Venture Scope (WEVentureScope). The WEVentureScope is an index that assesses the environment for supporting and growing women's micro, small, and medium-sized businesses in 20 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. It is a dynamic benchmarking model that measures business operating risks, access to finance, capacity and skill-building opportunities, and the presence of social services. According to the study, Chile, Peru, and Colombia have the best environments for female entrepreneurs.

www.weventurescope.com

Beneficiaries: Women-owned SMEs

Partners and financing: Global Banking Alliance for Women, The Economist Intelligence Unit, Women’s Finance Hub of the SME Finance Forum, Entrepreneurial Finance Lab.

• Date:  4/28/2014    Paragraphs: 6

Technical Support Network of Employment Services in LAC
The overall objective of this technical cooperation (TC) is to improve the institutional and technical capacity of the Public Employment Services (PES) to expand its potential to support workers to get jobs faster and better than those obtained without support intermediary services. The specific objectives to improve the management and monitoring and evaluation of labor market policies of the Public Employment Services, in partnership with training institutions and the private sector. Currently, the Red SEALC has 16 member countries. The first phase of the Red SEALC concluded in April 2013. This second phase of the Red SEALC incorporates the best practices of the first phase grouped in four components and continue to operate under the model of exchange and technical support horizontally between PES and ministries of labor in the region, with the guidance and support Bank. Efforts will also be made during this second stage of the Red SEALC, to affiliate all member countries of the Bank. The TC seeks to improve labor markets in member countries of the Red. LAC countries need initiatives that contribute to improving the performance of labor markets by increasing the ability to create more productive jobs, higher paying and increasing, sustainably, the social security coverage.

Activities:
Activities will include: i) organizational development and association with the private sector; ii) employment and training integrated services through a single window; iii) training of employment and firms counselors; iv) unemployment insurance; v) information and monitoring systems for employment management, employment portals and labor observatories; vi) quality systems based on ISO, competencies, and other international systems; vii) management for results and impact evaluation studies; and viii) documenting best practices.

Beneficiaries:
Bahamas, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Panamá and Dominican Republic

Partners and financing:
The governments of the member countries co-finance the operation of the Red SEALC providing in-kind support through technical assistance provided by officials of the PES.

• Date:  4/28/2014    Paragraphs: 2, 5

Salud Mesoamérica 2015 Initiative
The Salud Mesoamérica 2015 Initiative (SM2015) is an innovative public/private partnership which seeks to reduce health equity gaps in Mesoamerica faced by those living in extreme poverty. The Initiative’s goal is to back the efforts of Mesoamerican governments in reaching the health Millennium Development Goals through investments in projects with proven effectiveness for the poorest 20 percent of the population, mainly women and children under five years of age. The Initiative will implement transformative solutions by expanding coverage as well as increasing the quality and use of the basic public health services in the areas of reproductive, maternal, neonatal and child health care, maternal and child nutrition, and immunization. The Initiative expects to close the health coverage and quality gap for the poorest 20 percent of the population. This is a five-year Initiative scheduled for completion in 2017. SM2015 is implementing evidence-based health interventions for improving health among the poor through its results-based financing model. In this model, a portion of the funding is disbursed after governments reach their targets for (a) broadening coverage, (b) improving the quality of health services provided and (c) adopting evidence based technical and fiscal health policies. Targets are measured independently from time to time for disbursement of the performance portion of the funding.

Activities:
Nutrition: Chronic malnutrition and anemia are common problems in the Mesoamerican region, especially among children under five years of age and women in their reproductive years. To overcome this situation in the region, the main intervention package includes provision of micronutrients, education on breastfeeding, hygiene and immunization, and appropriate complementary feeding practices, vitamin A, zinc, and prenatal supplements with a focus on areas where there is a high prevalence of stunting, micronutrient deficiencies, food insecurity and poverty. Immunizations: Although diseases that can be avoided through vaccination are close to being eliminated, complete, timely vaccination of children between 12 and 24 months of age in the poorest 20 percent of the population continues to be a significant challenge. To broaden coverage and strengthen immunization systems, these high-impact actions have been proposed: 1.- Develop projects that allow knowledge gaps to be filled in the area of increasing coverage in hard to reach areas. 2.- Strengthen immunization policies, procedures and permanent availability of supplies. 3.- Implement evidence based best practices, such as integrating vaccination with other health-related services. Maternal child health / Reproductive health: There have been considerable improvements in the basic indicators in maternal, child, and reproductive health in the Mesoamerican region in the past years. In order to reduce maternal and neonatal deaths, especially among the poorest population in rural areas, the following interventions are recommended: 1.- Implementation of quality basic service in obstetric emergencies and interventions related to infections, eclampsia, hemorrhages, and miscarriages, as well as community training in these aspects. 2.- Basic services for newborns, especially those who are underweight at birth and/or have health complications. 3.- Providing at least five methods of family planning, as well as counselling for women and men to make informed decisions on contraceptive choices, and increasing competences of providers in service delivery.

http://www.iadb.org/en/salud-mesoamerica-2015/

Beneficiaries:
Mesoamerica countries: seven countries of Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) as well as the State of Chiapas of Mexico.

Partners and financing:
142m donation funding plus 55 m from domestic funding from countries • The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carlos Slim Health Institute (ICSS), the Government of Spain, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the eight beneficiary countries to also contribute with domestic funding.

• Date:  4/14/2017    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: Broadband Training Center sustainability (Phase III) (RG-T2271)

Since 2013, the IDB and the Government of Korea have supported the development and operation of the Broadband Training Center, “Centro de Estudios Avanzados en Banda Ancha para el Desarrollo” (CEABAD), located in Managua, Nicaragua. The Center aims at increasing the capacity of government officials of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panamá, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic to better develop:
(i) strategic regulations that drive competition and fosters investment; and
(ii) policies that focus not only on access but also on demand.

The Broadband Training Center sustainability (Phase III) project builds on previous activities, and is expected to execute specific actions to ensure the Center’s sustainability while continue developing skills and capacities among governmental officials of the region.

Since its creation, the CEABAD has been expanding the catalog of services offered and has strengthened the collaboration with key partners such as ITU, the GSMA or Internet Society, among others. As of today, some highlights of this initiative’s results are:
(i) more than 600 public officials from the region trained in key topics for the region such as spectrum, broadband plans or infrastructure sharing, through regional and local workshops
(ii) 625 students enrolled in 12 virtual courses, with a 96% completion rate and who, according to surveys, are satisfied by 95%.

Activities:
Development of Content and Brand Awareness
(i) Organization of two regional workshops
(ii) Development of seven on demand training Courses
(iii) Development of the first regional Hackathon in CEABAD
(iv) Publish two studies on topics of interest for the region

Development of the Business and Operating Plans for CEABAD
(i) Development of strategic partnerships with different stakeholders
(ii) Definition of an organizational and operating plan for CEABAD

Website: www.ceabad.com
http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project-description-title,1303.html?id=RG-T2271

Beneficiaries: Central American countries, and the Dominican Republic

Partnerships and Financing: Government of Korea

• Date:  4/14/2017    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: Technical Support Network of Employment Services (RED SEALC, for its initials in Spanish)

The overall goal of this technical cooperation (TC) is to improve the institutional and technical capacity of the Public Employment Services (PES) to expand its potential to support workers to get jobs faster and that are of better quality than those obtained without support of labor intermediation services.

Red SEALC was created in 2009 to support the efforts of governments in the region to build and strengthen their PES. The initiative aims at improving the labor opportunities for workers and increasing the productivity of businesses and countries' economies. Currently, 19 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have PES entities that are members of RED SEALC.

Red SEALC finances programs so that PES can learn from the successful experiences of countries within the region and the rest of the world. The activities financed by Red SEALC include training programs, workshops, technical assistance provided by government officials, and private consultants. Since 2009, Red SEALC have funded 42 expert visits among countries within the region, 20 technical assistances with countries from outside the region, and have trained over 600 government officials.

One important achievement of RED SEALC was the publication of the book, "The World of Public Employment Services," in 2016 in collaboration with WAPES and the LEED initiative from the OECD. In the case of the Americas, the publication offers the first standardized and comparable data set on PES from 23 LAC countries.

Activities:
Technical assistance through technical visits, courses and workshops in the following areas:
(i) Labor Market Information Systems;
(ii) Single window service schemes;
(iii) Engagement with private sector;
(iv) Special attention scheme for vulnerable groups;
(v) Governance;
(vi) Performance management;
(vii) Impact evaluation;
(viii) Quality management systems;
(ix) Human resources management of PES staff ;
(x) Multichannel management;
(xi) Cooperation with Labor Market stakeholders (e.g., private employment agencies, training institutions, education institutions, academia, social security agencies).

Website: http://www.iadb.org/en/topics/labor-and-pensions/redsealc/home,18644.html

Beneficiaries: Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and The Dominican Republic.

Partnerships and Financing: The governments of the member countries co-finance the operation of the Red SEALC providing in-kind support through technical assistance provided by officials of the PES from inside and outside the region.
Through developing partnerships, the initiative has received additional technical and financial resources for activities as described below:

World Association of the Public Employment Services:
(i) Co-publication of the book, "The World of Public Employment Service" (2016);
(ii) Co-organizer of event launching the book, "The World of Public Employment Service";
(iii) Co-organizer of workshop training program on management of labor mobility by PES;

OECD:
(i) Co-publication of the book, "The World of Public Employment Service" (2016);
(ii) Co-organizer of event launching the book, "The World of Public Employment Service";

International Organization for Migration:
(i) Co-organizer of workshop training program on management of labor mobility by PES;

Pacific Alliance Business Council (PABC):
(i) Co-organizer of workshop, “Labor mobility under the Pacific Alliance: the role of the productive and public sectors through Public Employment Services“.

• Date:  4/14/2017    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: Digital Marketplace for Government Solutions - DigiGob (RG-T2802)

With the goal of supporting governments to address their citizens’ needs in a more efficient and transparent manner, this project will focus on accelerating the adoption of technological solutions on the part of public institutions, by way of setting up a digital solutions marketplace (DigiGob). DigiGob is a regional platform where public and private sector actors will interact, creating the right dynamics for increasing choices and facilitating the decision making process of the public sector.

Activities:
(i) Design of the business model, governance structure, and sustainability plan of DigiGob.
(ii) Development and implementation of the DigiGob platform.
(ii) Dissemination and communication activities to attract countries to the platform.
(iii) Development and adoption of three solutions in key areas of public intervention.

Website: http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project-description-title,1303.html?id=RG-T2802

Beneficiaries: IDB member countries

• Date:  4/14/2017    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: Support for the Definition of Digital Policies in Latin America and the Caribbean (RG-T2784)

The overall objective of this project is to support countries in the region in the formulation and implementation of public policies and regulations to promote their integration into the digital economy. This project will:
(i) identify digital policy best practices in areas such as spectrum management, development of human capital, and use and adoption of digital technologies and infrastructure;
(ii) support the design of Action Matrices for facilitating digital inclusion in the region; and
iii) promote dialogue between the private and public sectors.

Activities:
(i) Identification of best practices for the formulation and implementation of digital policies and regulatory frameworks, and assessment of Latin America and the Caribbean countries policy initiatives;
(ii) Definition of Action Matrices to guide the design and implementation of digital policies in at least three countries;
(iii) Regional workshops;
(iv) Creation of a network for public- private dialogue; and
(v) Dissemination activities.

Website: www.iadb.org/digilac
http://www.iadb.org/en/projects/project-description-title,1303.html?id=RG-T2784

Beneficiaries: IDB member countries.

• Date:  6/8/2016    Paragraphs: -

Access to credit geared toward human development

The IDB supports access to credit geared toward human development on two fronts. First, we promote access to small-scale finance in rural areas through the funding and strengthening of financial entities that serve poorer households. Second, we support the development of digital financial ecosystems that can provide financial entities with information to feed new credit scoring models for those without previous credit history in order to improve access to credit. In both instances, the target population is low-income segments of the population with the intended impact of reducing vulnerability and creating economic opportunities.

Broadband access to overcome the digital gap

Between 2013 and 2015, the IDB’s broadband special program financed 32 Technical Cooperation (TC) projects with a total allocated amount of US $10.4 million, prioritizing projects with a focus on dialogue and applications for development as well as support for institutional strengthening. Examples of projects are the ministerial meeting that took place in Punta Cana in 2015, the second year of operation of the training center for Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic and the recently approved loan for US $50 million which aims to increase broadband penetration in Nicaragua with the ultimate goal of contributing to the economic and social development of the country.

• Date:  10/15/2015    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: Hackathon digiLAC
The Hackathon digiLAC aimed to stimulate the development of creative and innovative applications, and the exchange of knowledge to help develop technological solutions that benefit the citizens of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Hackathon digiLAC brought together companies, government entities, and entrepreneurs of the Andean region around the exchange of open knowledge, and the development of technology solutions with the aim of responding to social problems in education, health, energy, environment, and social and financial inclusion, and thus help bridge the digital divide in our region.

Activities:
- Content design of workshops
- Review of innovative proposals, and selection of participants
- Entrepreneurship and innovation workshops
- ICT Bootcamp
- Design an space for developers, designers, and entrepreneurs to develop a innovative broadband application
- Innovative presentations where companies such as Google, Cisco, Microsoft, Ruta N, Apps.co, JuntoSalimos, among others, presented their initiatives and products regarding entrepreneurship and ICT

Website: www.hackathondigilac.com

Beneficiaries: Andean countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela)

• Date:  10/15/2015    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: Platform of visualization of the IDBA and the associated reports
Update of the broadband index and of the infrastructure maps. The main objective of this initiative is to undertake the needed improvements on the platform (www.iadb.org/digiLAC), as well as update the information present in the IDBA, the infrastructure maps and their corresponding reports.

Activities:
Update of the platform and maintenance:
- Platform visualization web parts
Update of the Broadband Development Index (IDBA) and its reports:
- IDBA updated Excel model
- IDBA Quarterly Reports
- IDBA Annual Reports
Update of the infrastructure maps and its reports:
- Updated infrastructure map tables
- Infrastructure map reports
Dissemination and edition of the results of the IDBA and the infrastructure maps:
- Dissemination workshop in regional dialogues
- Edition and printing of copies of both the IDBA and infrastructure maps reports

Website: www.iadb.org/digilac

Beneficiaries: Latin America and the Caribbean countries

• Date:  10/15/2015    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: Technical Support Network of Employment Services
The overall of this technical cooperation (TC) is to improve the institutional and technical capacity of the Public Employment Services (PES) to expand its potential to support workers to get jobs faster and that are of better quality than those obtained without support of labor intermediation services. The specific objectives include the support of institutional and technical strengthening of the PES in the management of labor intermediation services; the improvement of their services´ monitoring and evaluation systems; and the fostering of partnerships between private sector organizations, vocational training institutions (VTI) and government agencies.

Activities: Technical assistance through technical visits, courses and workshops in the following areas: i) Organizational development, partnerships with the private sector and VTIs; ii) coordination and integration of service delivery through a single window schemes; iii) training of job and businesses counselors; iv) unemployment insurance; v) information and monitoring systems for employment management, employment portals and labor observatories; vi) quality systems based on ISO, competencies, and other international systems; vii) results-based management and impact evaluation studies; and viii) documenting good practices on institutional and operational areas in the PES inside and outside the region in collaboration with the World Association of Public Employment Services and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development through: a. Design of an indicators system of institutional and operational characteristics of PES; b. Database containing PES institutional and operational information compiled through the data collection; c. Set of country profiles obtained based on the data collection; D. Publication of a report on the state of art of Public Employment Services at the global level.

Website: http://www.iadb.org/en/topics/labor-and-pensions/redsealc/home,18644.html

Beneficiaries: Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, and Dominican Republic.

Partnership and financing: The governments of the member countries co-finance the operation of the Red SEALC providing in-kind support through technical assistance provided by officials of the PES from inside and outside the region. The World Association of Public Employment Services and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development co-financed the development of the indicators system of institutional and operational characteristics of PES and the publication of the report The World of Public Employment Services.

• Date:  10/15/2015    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: 2nd Ministerial Forum for Broadband Development in Latin America and the Caribbean
The objective of the initiative is to transfer knowledge, and develop strategic partnerships and cooperation in the field of broadband development to Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) countries under the framework of the broadband special program of the IDB. To do so, this project supports the 2nd Ministerial Forum jointly held by the IDB and the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning of Korea in Dominican Republic on September 10 - 11, 2015. By learning from the best practices of developed countries and international organizations, the highest-level officials in ICT related Ministries from the LAC Region would get to utilize specific approaches to address their countries’ broadband priorities.

Activities:
Broadband priority assessment and partnership building:
- Evaluate broadband priorities for each LAC participant
- Establish preliminary strategic partnerships to effectively address priorities and develop support mechanisms
Knowledge sharing, training and partnership building during the 2nd Ministerial Forum for Broadband Development:
- Experiences in broadband development - Case Study
- Broadband priority matchmaking and strengthening of partnerships
Technical notes on broadband priorities:
- Dissemination of the results from the Forum

Beneficiaries: Latin America and the Caribbean countries

• Date:  10/15/2015    Paragraphs: -

Initiative: Development of the comprehensive Broadband Policy Toolkit
This initiative responds to the need to develop an enabling public policy environment as part of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) strategy to accelerate broadband deployment, adoption and use by governments, businesses and individuals. It also addresses the Bank’s priority to strengthen the institutional capacity of governments to perform fundamental functions, such as the design and implementation of public policies.
The objective of this initiative is to improve the variety, quality and effectiveness of broadband public policies (both on supply and demand sides) in the LAC Region. To that objective, this project is building a broadband toolkit specific and customized to the LAC Region

Activities:
Data Analysis
- Collect input information and validate assumptions and conclusions
- Summary of best practices
Detailed structure and design of the broadband policy toolkit
Development of the modules of the toolkit and training materials

Beneficiaries: Latin America and the Caribbean countries

Partnerships and Financing: OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)

• Date:  11/8/2012    Paragraphs: 7

Initiative:
Investment and Innovation in the Americas
Description:
To assist Latin America and the Caribbean to advance economic growth with social inclusion, in 2012, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank, and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) committed to invest an average of US $35 billion annually to support projects that generate greater competitiveness for production in the region.

Partnerships:
World Bank
Development Bank of Latin America

• Date:  6/23/2011    Paragraphs: 7

Since the Fifth Summit, IDB Members have agreed to a 70% capital increase in new resources into the Bank, which will allow the IDB to double its pre-crisis lending program.

• Date:  6/23/2011    Paragraphs: 13

The IDB has implemented interventions in Colombia to strengthen the competitiveness of the productive sector. The Bancoldex Conditional Credit Line Investment Project (CCLIP) has allowed the private sector to improve its performance by helping reduce the bureaucratic, legal, regulatory, and institutional barriers to trade, and has fostered the development of businesses and access to financing. The total cost of the project is US$ 650 million.

• IDB's Website

• Date:  4/28/2014    Paragraphs: 1, 2, 4

Using Technology to Include Children with Disabilities in Ecuador
The project set out to facilitate the access to education for 60 children with disabilities, in a school of Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas in Ecuador, through the use of technology. But more importantly, this project has positively impacted the sense of opportunity of children with disabilities, changing the perception of these children as a burden and increasing the likelihood that they attend college and yield positive economic returns

Activities:
To establish a baseline study and conduct outreach activities with children, measuring the child's level of happiness. Train teachers in ICT tools and provide software and hardware equipment.

Beneficiaries: Fe and Alegría special education center in Santo Domingo de Los Tsáchilas in Ecuador, and set out to expand the number of children with disabilities attending the center, including small children attending their outreach clinics.

• Date:  4/28/2014    Paragraphs: 8

Emerging and Sustainable Cities and Competitive, Technology and Innovation
Design of Integrated Operating and Control Center (IOCC) as part of the transformation of municipalities to become "Smart City".

The IOCC is a platform solution, powered with modern technologies operated by experts from multiple government agencies and concessions that work collaboratively to provide integrated solutions for complex urban challenges.

The IOCC receives large quantities of data, in real time, from connected devices (surveillance cameras, devices and sensors) installed within the city; process this data to support focused responses for routine events (e.g. mobility, transportation, public safety, energy, etc.); and, most importantly, allows integrated responses in cases of emergency events that require intense collaboration.

The management of large amounts of data, from multiple sources, through the collaboration of different experts allows faster and better responses to urban routine events and emergencies, where the resolution of a problem doesn’t necessarily come from one single entity. Furthermore, the data analysis from the connected devices allows the identification of behavior patterns, the generation of knowledge to anticipate future events and evaluate government interventions, and provides evidence to support the development of public policy and operational responses that improve traffic and transportation management (connectivity and mobility), disaster risk management and public safety and crime prevention.

An integrated and collaborative solution to manage urban issues will be increasingly required as the number of connected devices and quantity of data continues to increase.

The IOCC solution allows municipalities to effectively handle incidents of traffic, public security, natural disaster, etc. which are associated with rapid urbanization. While most of the proposals are concentrated within the urban sustainability dimension, the IOCC proposal also addresses the environmental sustainability dimension in terms of early warning systems that allow for some amount of mitigation. The linkage of the various systems of the IOCC allow for better disaster preparedness management.

Activities: Technical studies and implementation plans for IOCC

Beneficiaries: LAC Cities

Partners and financing: Korean Knowledge Sharing Program (KSP), Saab, Cisco

• Date:  4/28/2014    Paragraphs: 3

Information available in Spanish

• Date:  4/28/2014    Paragraphs: 1

Central American Broadband Network
This technical cooperation (TC) proposes the development of feasibility studies to support future investment in the deployment of an optical fiber ring to improve the interconnection among the Central American countries. In the same logic, the studies conducted under this TC will also support countries in their efforts to reduce international Internet connectivity charges through the creation of Inter-Connection Provider (IXP) that allows content aggregation.

Activities:
1. Market Study
• Study of the current supply of telecommunications services in each beneficiary country
• Study to estimate the current demand for those services
2. Technical Study
• Orographic study and population distribution
• Assessment of the existing available infrastructure
• Design of the logic diagram node of the network
• Forecast of the expected traffic according to socio-demographic and economic conditions
• Identification of technological alternatives
• Determination of the requirements in terms of capacity and sizing of the network
• Selection of the best technology to attend the estimated traffic
• Deployment Plan and Implementation Schedule
• Environmental and social impact assessment

Beneficiaries:
Countries in the Central America Region

• Date:  4/28/2014    Paragraphs: 1

Broadband Development for Competitiveness and Integration
The proposed regional public good are public policies for broadband development in the Central American region, which are an essential complement for all other sectorial policies, especially public administration, health, education, productivity, trade, science, technology and innovation.

Activities:
1. Análisis de las alternativas de despliegue de banda ancha
2. Desarrollo Regulatorio
• Revisión del marco regulatorio en cada país
• Diseño de propuestas de mejoras a la normativa existente
• Diseño de propuestas de nueva reglamentación
• Identificación de nexos en común entre los distintos países
3. Fomento de la oferta y desarrollo de la demanda de banda ancha
• Revisión de las políticas existentes en materia de conectividad y agenda digital, y benchmark respecto a buenas prácticas
• Diseño de iniciativas de fomento de la oferta
• Diseño de acciones de desarrollo de la demanda
4. Fortalecimiento Institucional
• Preparación de propuestas de fortalecimiento, reorganización y capacitación en cada país

Beneficiaries: Countries in the Central American Region

• Date:  4/28/2014    Paragraphs: -

Roadmap for the Digital Switchover in the Andean Group
The proposed Roadmap for the Digital Switchover attempts to capture the current situation, existing or future constraints and needs in regards to spectrum policies and regulations in the CAN Region. Most importantly, the TC will provide solid guidance to countries for the so called ¿analogue switchover¿, a complex process through which all countries in the region are going through. The switchover is the transition from analog television to digital television, which creates policy and regulatory challenges to governments.

Activities:
1. Assessment of the spectrum status quo in CAN
2. National and regional 700MHz frequency band analyses and plan
3. Design and elaboration of a Digital Switchover Roadmap
4. Disseminating the deliverables in the Region

Beneficiaries: Countries in the Andean Region

• Date:  4/28/2014    Paragraphs: 1

Broadband Infrastructure and Public Awareness in the Caribbean
The regional public good being proposed is the definition of a regional strategy that will address aspects of demand for and supply of broadband technology, infrastructure and services. This initiative will support Caribbean countries in improving their broadband connectivity, as well as their policy and regulatory frameworks.

Activities:
1. Project launch
2. Diagnostic of available infrastructure
3. Development of the socio-demographic and economic analysis and identification of areas subject to public-private partnerships
4. Workshop to present results
5. Review of current sector trends and identification of corresponding institutional strengthening needs
6. Review of the Reg. Framework with focus on access, interconnection and tariffs
7. Workshop to present results
8. Development of documents on ICT in Health, Education, Trade/SMEs, Government and Finance to create awareness among citizens, SMEs and Public Administration

Beneficiaries: Countries in the Caribbean Region

• Date:  4/28/2014    Paragraphs: 4

Infrastructure for Competitiveness and Social Welfare" and "Competitive global and Regional Integration" Strategic Priorities of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
The Ninth General Capital Increase (GCI-9) of the Inter-American Development Bank established "Infrastructure for Competitiveness and Social Welfare" and "Competitive global and Regional Integration" as two of the five institutional strategic priorities to achieve the Bank’s overarching objectives of reducing poverty and inequality and promoting sustainable growth. The GCI-9 also sets an annual lending target of 15 per cent to support integration and regional cooperation in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) by the end of 2015. The IADB approved it corresponding sector strategies for "Infrastructure for Competitiveness and Social Welfare" and "Competitive global and Regional Integration" which emphasize the Bank needs to act simultaneously on the software (policy and regulatory frameworks) and the hardware (physical integration) of integration, ensuring coherence between national and regional interventions. Though software investments require fewer resources, they can make integration infrastructure more efficient and unlock investments in hardware.

Activities:
During 2013, the IDB approved 168 projects for a total value of $14 billion, increasing from for a total of $11.4 billion in funding in 2012. In terms of resources approved, 33 percent of IDB approvals in 2013 supported regional cooperation and integration. The IDB has a dedicated Fund for Initiatives for Regional Infrastructure Integration (FIRII), which has allocated US$46M for infrastructure project preparation studies and coordination of regional integration and it has also mobilized US$21M through its parallel multi-donor (Canada, USA, Mexico, Colombia and Spain) Fund (RIIF) for the same goal. FIRII has supported among others, the Initiative for the Integration of South American Regional Infrastructure (IIRSA) and the Mesoamerica Project (MIDP) and it has leveraged loans accounting for US$1.25 Billion, with $31 in loans per dollar allocated to technical assistance. The IDB is currently supporting the studies for the interconnection between Colombia and Panama. The IDB has supported The Electricity Interconnection System for Central America (SIEPAC) is a regional Program in which multiple stakeholders of the six countries (Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala) in Central America are involved. The total cost of the electricity infrastructure for the SIEPAC is US$494 million, of which the IDB has contributed with more than half (US$235 million) plus nearly with US$19 million in technical assistance for the institutional structuring and regulatory framework of the regional electricity market (known by its Spanish-language acronym, MER). To date, commercial transactions of electricity are on the rise in Central America. The MER exchanged 134.5-GWh in March 2014, the highest amount traded in the last twelve years. Regarding the physical infrastructure, the tramo Panaluya (Guatemala) – San Buenaventura (Honduras) is already operational and, during late 2014, the Tramo 17 in Costa Rica will be finished, allowing the system to operate at 100% of its commercial capacity. Tasks ahead for the SIEPAC are the implementation of the regulatory framework for long-term transactions, maintain regional capacities needed for the market, and continue efforts on regional expansion planning, among others. Building upon the experience of SIEPAC, the IDM is currently supporting The Andean Electricity Interconnection System (SINEA) was born as part of an agreement between governments of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru in late 2010. The countries agreed on a project with three main components: (i) establish mechanisms to facilitate the legal framework the development of regional infrastructure and international transactions of electricity, (ii) identify the required infrastructure for an electricity corridor in the Andean Region, and (iii) advance on specific bilateral agreements for commercial and financial mechanisms for the electricity exchange. During 2012, the IDB approved a US$1.5 million regional technical assistance to support the SINEA by financing studies regarding the regulatory framework, and infrastructure needs for the interconnection. With the IDB as a Technical Secretary, the Andean countries have held 6 physical meetings plus 10 virtual ones to discuss the studies. The methodology adopted by the countries consists in a phased integration analysis, starting with exchanges of electricity from bilateral contracts in the first phase and scaling-up to a regional market. Preliminary results have identified interconnection projects that are economically attractive at a bilateral and regional level, including also the possibility of strengthening the connections between countries that show significant benefits in the first stage of its operation. Countries will continue their work based on an Integration Roadmap to be approved at the next Council of Ministers to be held in the city of Lima on April 25, 2014. The IDB approved on May 2013 the “Pre-Feasibility Study for the Arco Norte Interconnection Project”, a non-reimbursable technical assistance of US$1.9 million to assess the potential development of an electrical interconnection among Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana and the northern Brazilian cities of Boa Vista (State of Roraima) and Macapá (State of Amapá). In this technical assistance, the IDB is working jointly with the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the energy agencies and electricity utilities companies of Suriname (Energiebedrijven Suriname – EBS), Guyana (Guyana Energy Agency – GEA), French Guiana (Electricité de France – EDF), and Brazil (Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras - Eletrobras). The aim of the studies is to determine the feasibility, alternatives, risks and mitigation measures of the development of an electrical interconnection to enhance regional integration, accessibility and to have a positive impact on the economic development of the region.

Beneficiaries: All the borrowing member countries of the IDB

Partners and financing: Canada, USA, Mexico, Colombia and Spain