Development Cooperation Fund

English
Español

This site
All OAS Sites

Development Cooperation Fund

The OAS Development Cooperation Fund (OAS/DCF) is an innovative non-reimbursable technical cooperation instrument that optimizes multi-sectoral partnerships and alliances to provide targeted technical cooperation initiatives that are community based, locally delivered and responsive to the specific capacity building needs of member states. The OAS/DCF, formerly known as FEMCIDI, was established in 1997 and restructured in 2014 for greater effectiveness and cost efficiency.

The Fund, which is capitalized primarily through the voluntary contributions of Member States, also receives contributions from other multi-lateral organizations and partners. In keeping with the organizational approach to integral development, it provides member states options for securing development assistance, as they lead and manage their own socio-economic development based on the priority areas established in the OAS Comprehensive Strategic Plan (Development Pillar). Since its restructuration, the Fund works in 4-year program cycles under thematic areas defined and approved by the member states according to their own needs.

Over the period 2014 – 2017, 18 programs were implemented in the areas of Social Inclusion/Social Protection and Productive Employment, with Education, Science and Technology as cross cutting subjects, with a total seed funding of $3.2 Million. The diversity of programs under cycle 2014-2017 supported an extensive reach across different sectors of society and supported SEDI’s objective of delivering inclusive development throughout the Americas. As a result, more than 40,000 people in Latin America and the Caribbean benefited from DCF program implementation through programs related to training and integration of vulnerable youth into the labor market, financial empowerment of low-income families, development of inclusive policies for people with disabilities, sustainable livelihoods for farmers, among other areas of interest for member states.

By December 31, 2021, 17 programs in Education finished the implementation in the framework of the 2017-2021 programming cycle, with a total of $1.5 million allocated, with 3 lines of action related to the priority areas of the Inter-American Education Agenda (IEA) with science and technology as crosscutting subject. The areas of action were: (i) Quality, inclusive and equitable education; (ii) Strengthening of the teaching profession; and (iii) Comprehensive early childhood care. The projects were designed to strengthen the quality of education being offered in member states, as well to expand access of vulnerable groups such as women, youth, indigenous people, and rural communities. They also supported the efforts of member states in the development and strengthening of policies to meet Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Currently, a total of $1.8 million have been allocated to support the implementation of 18 programs across the region for the 2021-2024 programming cycle under the Area “Inclusive Resilience for an Effective Recovery, with a Focus on Science and Technology” with education and science and technology as crosscutting subjects in 4 program themes: (i) Retooling micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through innovation and technology; (ii) Innovative Reskilling for Tourism sector recovery and regional economies; (iii) Scientific and technological innovation for building resilience; and (iv) Science for decision making in disaster risk planning. The programs, which are in the early stages of implementation, are expected to contribute to the Member States in their recovery process from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In general terms, and consistent with the OAS Strategic Plan, programs funded and supported by the DCF are aligned with framework instruments such as the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, among other international instruments endorsed by member states.

Essential Documents

This section provides access to relevant background documents related to the decisions made by Member States on the Fund’s purpose and structure.

DCF Programs

The list below provides information about DCF-funded programs since it was restructured in 2014. Development programs are featured by country, and marked by a symbol on the map. Users may find the programs’ title, general and specific objectives, and the name of the local executing agency. Major results are only available for the past cycle.

OnePager_17

Program Name	General Objective	Link
Argentina
Scientific and technological innovation for building resilience	Promote scientific and technological innovation among key actors to support the post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery process and build long-term resilience.	Summary DCF Argentina
Bahamas
Science for decision making in disaster risk planning	Promote evidence-based decision making to support the social and economic recovery from a compounding impact with other multi-hazards, whether biological, natural, technological or man-made, and shocks (external and internal) as well as secondary or chain disasters.	Summary DCF Bahamas
Barbados
Scientific and technological innovation for building resilience	Foster and promote scientific and technological innovation to support the recovery post- COVID-19 pandemic and build resiliency.	Summary DCF Barbados
Costa Rica
Scientific and technological innovation for building resilience	Promote scientific and technological innovation among key actors to support the post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery process and build long-term resilience.	Summary DCF Costa Rica
Dominica
Innovative reskilling for tourism sector recovery and regional economies	Support skills diversification and repurposing of the workforce to ensure comprehensive tourism recovery and strengthen regional economies.	Summary DCF Dominica
Dominican Republic
Retooling MSMEs through innovation and technology	Improve access and dissemination of technological and non-technological tools and resources for Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) entrepreneurs to support the reactivation of the economy while addressing diverse challenges imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic.	Summary DCF Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Retooling MSMEs through innovation and technology	Improve access and dissemination of technological and non-technological tools and resources for Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to support the reactivation of the economy while addressing diverse challenges imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic.	Summary DCF Ecuador
El Salvador
Scientific and technological innovation for building resilience	Promote scientific and technological innovation among key actors to support the post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery process and build long-term resilience.	Summary DCF El Salvador
Guyana
Innovative reskilling for tourism sector recovery and regional economies	Support skills diversification and repurposing of the workforce to ensure comprehensive tourism recovery and strengthen regional economies.	Summary DCF Guyana
Honduras
Retooling MSMEs through innovation and technology	Improve access and dissemination of technological and non-technological tools and resources for Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to support the reactivation of the economy while addressing diverse challenges.	Summary DCF Honduras
Jamaica
Retooling MSMEs through innovation and technology	Improve access and dissemination of technological and non-technological tools and resources for Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to support the reactivation of the economy while addressing diverse challenges imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic.	Summary DCF Jamaica
Panama
Retooling MSMEs through innovation and technology	Improve access and dissemination of technological and non-technological tools and resources for Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to support the reactivation of the economy while addressing diverse challenges imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic.	Summary DCF Panama
Peru
Scientific and technological innovation for building resilience	Promote scientific and technological innovation among key actors to support the post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery process and build long-term resilience.	Summary DCF Peru
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Retooling MSMEs through innovation and technology	Improve access and dissemination of technological and non-technological tools and resources for Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to support the reactivation of the economy while addressing diverse challenges imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic.	Summary DCF St. Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Retooling MSMEs through innovation and technology	Improve access and dissemination of technological and non-technological tools and resources for Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to support the reactivation of the economy while addressing diverse challenges imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic.	Summary DCF St. Lucia
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines
Resilience through Innovation and Technology (RIT)	Support MSMEs achieve economic recovery and sustainable development by promoting change in strategies and business practices through technology and innovation.	Summary DCF St. Vincent and The Grenadines
Uruguay
Innovative reskilling for tourism sector recovery and regional economies	Support skills diversification and repurposing of the workforce to ensure comprehensive tourism recovery and strengthen regional economies.	Summary DCF Uruguay

Area of Action	Program Name	Executing Agency	General Objective	Program Objective
Antigua and Barbuda
Strengthening of the Teaching Profession	Teacher Empowerment for Nation Building	Ministry of Education, Science and Technology	Strengthen teacher professional development to improve the quality of education	Through in-service programs, build capacity among teachers to design intervention strategies to better cater to at risk students.
Argentina
Strengthening of the Teaching Profession	Programa de Formación de Formadores	Instituto Nacional de Formación Docente (INFoD) del Ministerio de Educación de la Nación	Strengthen teacher professional development to improve the quality of education	Implement an innovative strategy for training trainers that promotes the development of professional learning communities and pedagogical innovations in the Higher Institutes of Teacher Training throughout the country (state and/or private management with state subsidy), which dictate Primary Level Teachers and Secondary Level in the areas of language and mathematics.
Bahamas
Comprehensive Early Childhood Care	Bahamas Early Start Project (BES)	Ministry of Education	Promote universal access to and strengthen the equitable delivery of comprehensive and quality early childhood development for all children from the earliest stages of development.	Increase the capacities of teachers, teacher’s aides, caregivers and parents on ten islands (New Providence, Grand Bahama, Abaco, Andros, Cat island, Eleuthera, Exuma, Berry Islands, Long Island and Crooked Island) to execute appropriate practices in the education and care of young children.
Barbados
Strengthening of the Teaching Profession	Strengthening of Teacher Professional Development to Improve the Quality of Education	Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (METI)	Strengthen teacher professional development to improve the quality of education	Establish a Profesional Development Centre to ensure access to initial and continuous professional development that meets the emerging needs of teachers through the development of face to face, online, and blended programmes.
Costa Rica
Quality, Inclusive and Equitable Education	Proyecto "Profes Comunitarios" de la Estrategia YO ME APUNTO	Ministerio de Educacón Pública	Promote the creation of opportunities to ensure universal access to quality, inclusive and equitable secondary education for vulnerable and low-income students.	Contribute to increase the permanence and educational success of 540 students in the III cycle of Basic General Education who belong to 18 educational centers located in districts of priority attention, areas with unsatisfied basic needs and low family education, through the implementation of comprehensive and innovative pedagogical strategies with the student body and their families, developed by the Community Teacher.
Ecuador
Quality, Inclusive and Equitable Education	Formación Docente y Prácticas Educativas Inclusivas en las Escuelas Ecuatorianas	Universidad Nacional de Educación (UNAE)	Promote the creation of opportunities to ensure universal access to quality, inclusive and equitable secondary education for vulnerable and low-income students.	Develop skills in teachers to implement innovative methodologies of educational inclusion in public institutions of initial and basic education in the provinces of Azuay, Cañar and Morona Santiago (Zone 6), replicable throughout the educational system.
El Salvador
Quality, Inclusive and Equitable Education	Educación Inclusiva: Construyendo espacios de participación y aprendizaje para la vida	Ministerio de Educación	Promote the creation of opportunities to ensure universal access to quality, inclusive and equitable secondary education for vulnerable and low-income students.	Improve the educational offer for the development of learning, general skills, and life skills of 5.000 adolescents and young people between 13 and 21 years of age that have some disability condition, and which are being served in the 14 departments of the country, and are at risk of exclusion and social vulnerability in the Salvadoran educational system.
Guyana
Quality, Inclusive and Equitable Education	Improving Technical/Vocational Education in Secondary and Post Secondary Institutions	Ministry of Education	Promote the creation of opportunities to ensure universal access to quality, inclusive and equitable secondary education for vulnerable and low-income students.	1. Enhance the capacity of six(6) teachers to deliver level one Occupational programme in Heavy Duty Equipment Maintenance and Repairs programme of the Linden Technical Institute(LTI). 2. Develop the capacity of 10-15 teachers to deliver the Caribbean Vocational Qualification (CVQ) Level 4 Programme in Occupational Health Environment and Safety.
Honduras
Comprehensive Early Childhood Care	Padres y Madres Criando a sus Hijos con Amor	Secretaría de Desarrollo e Inclusión Social (SEDIS)	Promote universal access to and strengthen the equitable delivery of comprehensive and quality early childhood development for all children from the earliest stages of development.	1. Strengthen the capacities of 397 facilitators and 3,970 volunteers of the Community Strategy “Criando con Amor” to replicate their knowledge to other facilitators, parents, mothers and community actors in the promotion, knowledge and implementation of the 14 behavioral changes. 2. Create standards and the respective system for measuring results in behavioral changes in pregnant mothers, fathers, mothers and/or caregivers of children under 6 years of age.
Jamaica
Comprehensive Early Childhood Care	Child Care Education and Development Intervention System (CCEADIS)	Early Childhood Commission	Promote universal access to and strengthen the equitable delivery of comprehensive and quality early childhood development for all children from the earliest stages of development.	Generate updated and systematized information on key indicators to inform/strengthen policy decisions in Early Childhood Development.
Nicaragua
Quality, Inclusive and Equitable Education	Fortalecimiento de las capacidades y habilidades tecnológicas de estudiantes docentes y directores de Educación Secundaria a Distancia en el Campo.	Ministerio de Educación	Promote the creation of opportunities to ensure universal access to quality, inclusive and equitable secondary education for vulnerable and low-income students.	Develop capacities for the proper use of digital teaching tools in the disciplines of mathematics, English, language and literature, natural sciences and social sciences, aimed at 63 teachers, 21 directors and 3,526 students in 21 centers that impart the Distance Secondary School modality in Rural areas, specifically in the municipalities of Matagalpa, Zelaya Central (New Guinea) and Mining Sector (Siuna).
Panama
Comprehensive Early Childhood Care	La Eduación de la Primera Infancia es Importante porque Primero es lo Primero	Ministerio de Educación	Promote universal access to and strengthen the equitable delivery of comprehensive and quality early childhood development for all children from the earliest stages of development.	Expand the activities of the workshops of the program "La educación de la primera infancia es importante porque primero es lo primero" to 18 communities of the Province of Chiriquí, to develop the capacities of 579 parents, 111 relatives, 65 caregivers, and 61 pregnant women, to improve parenting guidelines for children to support them in their role as primary educators.
Peru
Strengthening of the Teaching Profession	Fortalecimiento de capacidades de formadores de formación inicial docente en metodologías multigrado en el Perú	Ministerio de Educación	Strengthen teacher professional development to improve the quality of education.	Identify and socialize sustainable models of good teaching practices that allow teachers in service to improve their performance and effectiveness in the classroom, while strengthening the social recognition of the teaching profession.
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Strengthening of the Teaching Profession	Professionalizing the Teaching Force	Ministry of Education	Strengthen teacher professional development to improve the quality of education	Strengthen professional development and performance management processes for 889 teachers serving the early childhood to secondary level education.
Saint Lucia
Comprehensive Early Childhood Care	Towards a more quality assured ECD sector	Department of Education, Innovation and Gender Relations	Promote universal access to and strengthen the equitable delivery of comprehensive and quality early childhood development for all children from the earliest stages of development.	Strengthen the Early Childhood Sector in Saint Lucia through the implementation of regulations, adherence to minimum standards of operations, and establishment of a body for institutional support.
Saint Vincent and The Grenadines
Comprehensive Early Childhood Care	Restructuring the Early Childhood Curriculum in SVG	Ministry of Education, National Reconciliation and Information	Promote universal access to and strengthen the equitable delivery of comprehensive and quality early childhood development for all children from the earliest stages of development.	Create a unified, project- based, and student-centered curriculum that effectively integrates ICTs in Early Childhood Education.
Uruguay
Comprehensive Early Childhood Care	Integración Interinstitucional de Sistemas de Información para la Atención y Educación a la Primera Infancia en Uruguay	Administración Nacional de Educación Pública (ANEP) - Consejo de Educación Inicial y Primaria (CEIP)	Promote universal access to and strengthen the equitable delivery of comprehensive and quality early childhood development for all children from the earliest stages of development.	Strengthen intersectoral and inter-institutional collaboration to improve the quality of care and integral education for early childhood, through: the integration of their information systems, the inclusion of quality indicators and the legal and operational training of teachers and operators.

Area of Action: Social Development and the Creation of Productive Employment

Program & Execution Agency	General Objective	Specific Objective	Major Results
Antigua & Barbuda
Social Inclusion/Social Protection - Ministry of Social Development	Promote the creation and strengthening of comprehensive social protection systems.	A financial empowerment program geared towards targeted indigent households developed and piloted within the context of the National Social Protection Strategy.	39 low-income families with improved financial situation through personalized guidance at ther Center for Financial Empowerment established by the project.
Argentina
Productive Employment - Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva	Promote the creation of opportunities for productive employment, particularly among vulnerable groups.	Retain and increase employment through the introduction of new technologies in industrial sectors highly impacted by technology, and the creation of companies based on new technologies; by supporting and improving governmental mechanisms that transfer technology to existing SMEs.	Improved governmental mechanisms for strategic management and transfer of technology to existing SMEs in 4 regions for the development and consolidation of new technologies in industries that are highly impacted by technology.
Barbados
Social Inclusion/Social Protection - Ministry of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment and Community Development	Promote the creation and strengthening of comprehensive social protection systems.	Improved Government capacity to measure and appraise performance in the delivery of social services by 2017.	Enhanced Government's capacity to measure and appraise performance in the delivery of social services through the development of a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Framework.
Belize
Social Inclusion/Social Protection - Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation	Promote the creation and strengthening of comprehensive social protection systems.	By 2017, 50% of households participating in the Wraparound Service Model (WSM) are enjoying an improved quality of life and exit extreme poverty as evidenced by external evaluation of the pilot scheme and triangulated via the direct application of parallel poverty measures (MDI and money metrics) and level of achievement of family goals and targets.	400 households living below the extreme poverty line covered through a comprehensive Wraparound Service Model (WSM) of the Social Protection System.
Chile
Productive Employment - Servicio Nacional de Capacitación y Empleo	Promote the creation of opportunities for productive employment, particularly among vulnerable groups.	Access to employment through the implementation of a self-diagnosis and labor orientation module for vulnerable population, preferably belonging to the first three income quintiles.	Piloted self-test labor orientation module for vulnerable persons, which improved knowledge on labor market management aimed at increasing access to employment.
Costa Rica
Productive Employment - Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio (MEIC)	Promote the creation of opportunities for productive employment, particularly among vulnerable groups.	Creation of employment opportunities through the strengthening of national SMEs that establish productive linkages to provide goods and services to public sector institutions.	Strengthened government capacity to support the development of the productive chains of 314 SMEs identified as potential suppliers of goods and services for the public sector.
Dominica
Productive Employment - Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and Investment	Promote the creation of opportunities for productive employment, particularly among vulnerable groups.	The employment and income earning capacity of farmers and unemployed youth enrolled in the National Employment Program in the North-Eastern region of Dominica increased through innovation in agriculture, life-skills and entrepreneurship skills training.	Enhanced the capacity of 103 farmers to generate their own income from farming activities through training conducted by the Farmers Field School created in the North East Agricultural region of the country. 170 persons from the pool of National Employment Program trained in workplace skills to aid their transition to the workplace.
Ecuador
Productive Employment - Ministerio de Industrias y Productividad (MIPRO)	Promote the creation of opportunities for productive employment, particularly among vulnerable groups.	Increase the employability of the small producers --individual and/or groups-- of coffee and fine aroma cocoa, by strengthening institutional and local capacities through technical assistance and technological support in the value chain.	488 small coffee and fine aroma cocoa producers trained in strategies to improve value chain processes that will increase productivity and contribute to economic development. 296 government technical experts trained as trainers to replicate new technologies and good manufacturing practices.
El Salvador
Productive Employment - Ministerio de Economía (MINEC)	Promote the creation of opportunities for productive employment, particularly among vulnerable groups.	Contribute to reduce the youth unemployment rate through a program to strengthen the education of young people and facilitate their insertion into the labor market. The project aims to design and systematize a methodology to train and develop the skills required by the video game industry, which has great potential to sell services outside and inside the country.	75 youth trained on the development of video games to meet the labor market needs of the entertainment industry and reduce youth unemployment.
Honduras
Social Inclusion/Social Protection - Dirección de Discapacidad, Secretaría de Desarrollo e Inclusión Social (SEDIS)	Promote the creation and strengthening of comprehensive social protection systems.	Create the capacity to provide comprehensive care to people with disabilities through the creation of a system of identification and georeferencing of the population with disabilities in specific areas of the country.	Over 17,000 persons with disabilities identified and classified through a Geographic Information System (GIS) in 28 municipalities.
Jamaica
Productive Employment - The Clarendon Parish Development Committee (CPDC)	Promote the creation of opportunities for productive employment, particularly among vulnerable groups.	By 2018 Peckham will be producing and exporting at least one bamboo bi-product (bamboo charcoal), by putting into production 40 hectares of land and training and employing 80 young persons.	80 young people from 1 rural agricultural community trained and certified in the production of bamboo by-products and infusion of bamboo in light-emitting diode (LED) technology to improve their employability, entrepreneurship prospects and income potential. Refined Policy Framework for New Bamboo Industry developed.
México
Social Inclusion/Social Protection - Secretaría de Desarrollo Social (SEDESOL)	Promote the creation and strengthening of comprehensive social protection systems.	Facilitate and promote the inclusion and financial education of beneficiary families of the PROSPERA Social Inclusion Program, generating financial competences, promoting their economic security, facilitating the mobilization of their savings, and seeking the empowerment of the families that receive subsidies from the State, in a scalable and cost-effective way.	1,485 low-income families improved their financial management skills through digital education. The project was scaled-up with support from USAID reaching 13,465 people.
Nicaragua
Productive Employment - Sistema Nacional de Producción, Consumo y Comercio	Promote the creation of opportunities for productive employment, particularly among vulnerable groups.	Contribute to the creation of productive jobs by improving the technical, organizational, business and productive capacities of the participants in 20 established Community Seed Banks (BCS), considering the experiences of the other participants linked to the 267 Community Seed Banks.	Improved the technical, organizational business management skills of 209 producers from 20 community seed banks to increase their production capacities, food security and income generation.
Panama
Social Inclusion/Social Protection - Ministerio de Desarrollo Social	Promote the creation and strengthening of comprehensive social protection systems.	Minimize the unequal access to life and human development opportunities through the implementation of a new model of social intervention. The model is based on the articulation of communities with governmental, non-governmental organizations, and/or public-private partnerships in three modalities (urban, rural and county).	11,026 people in 3 regions mapped in pilot plan for a holistic and inclusive social intervention model to minimize asymmetries and socio-territorial gaps in those areas.
Peru
Social Inclusion/Social Protection - Ministerio de Desarrollo e Inclusión Social	Promote the creation and strengthening of comprehensive social protection systems.	Implement an intersectoral and intergovernmental intervention initiative aimed at promoting the autonomy of the elderly, especially those who are in a vulnerable situation such as women, those living in rural areas, people with disabilities, those who are over 80 years old, or live in single-person homes, among others; through the establishment and/or articulation of interventions by the Comprehensive Care Centers for the Elderly, in coordination with the National Program of Solidarity Assistance "Pension 65" in the areas of education, health and nutrition, employability, entrepreneurship, social security and housing.	Designed management information system to strengthen comprehensive care centers for the elderly living in poverty and extreme poverty.
Dominican Republic
Productive Employment - Ministerio de Trabajo	Promote the creation of opportunities for productive employment, particularly among vulnerable groups.	Train 550 at-risk youth aged between 18-29 years in the Basic Competencies Development (DCB) and Youth Entrepreneurship modalities, as well as promote the Public Employment Service to increase their labor competencies and facilitate insertion in the labor market of at least 1,000 young people.	575 at risk youth trained in basic development skills and entrepreneurship to aid their integration into the labor market.
Saint Lucia
Social Inclusion/Social Protection - Ministry of Social Transformation, Local Government and Community Empowerment	Promote the creation and strengthening of comprehensive social protection systems.	By 2017, 100 persons with disabilities will benefit from active participation in community based workshops that will strengthen their resilience and better enable them to utilize Local Economic Development (LED) tools and practices to facilitate their participation in the creation of micro-business enterprises for sustainable development.	75 persons with disabilities trained in basic vocational and ICT skills to support their integration into the labor market and self-sufficiency.
Uruguay
Social Inclusion/Social Protection - Dirección Nacional de Gestión Territorial. Ministerio de Desarrollo Social	Promote the creation and strengthening of comprehensive social protection systems.	Contribute to strengthening the management capabilities of the resources and devices for the territorial deployment of social protection.	96 government staff trained on planning, management and monitoring in order to strengthen social protection interventions at the local and regional levels.

A

C

D

E

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

V

W

Y

Development Cooperation Fund