People have the right to know what is being planned for their communities in order to make informed decisions about development processes that affect their lives. Concerned citizens can access information about the Inter-American Development Bank through several sources: the IDB itself, their government, and civil society organizations.
Getting Info:
1. Information Disclosure
2. IDB website
3. Public Information Centers
4. Country Offices
5. Annual Meetings
Information Disclosure Policy
The IDB first adopted an Information Disclosure Policy in 1994, updated it in 2004 and informally made several changes since the 2007 realignment. In line with 9th Capital Increase, the IDB will update the Disclosure Policy again in 2010. The current Policy details: principles of disclosure; exceptions to disclosure; routine disclosure; ad request-driven disclosure. See BIC's World Bank Transparency webpage for more details on the model disclosure standards that civil society expects the IDB to assume in the 2010 review.
Key Disclosure Contacts in IDB External Relations
George De Lama:
Luis Felipe Polo:
John Ferriter:
IDB website
Much of the information about the Inter-American Development Bank operations is routinely available through the IDB websites: www.iadb.org
Some useful World Bank webpages:
Bank Staff Directory - searchable directory for names, office, title and telephone of Bank staff.
Project pages and Project document search page The Projects Database links visitors to information thousands of IDB documents on projects, including relevant project documents. The new documents webpage lists newly released operational documents.
IDB Country Office Contacts and Country Pages provide information on current projects and priorities in borrowing countries, and link visitors to relevant country and project documents.
Statement of Approved Loans (by Country) updated monthly - The IDB's monthly operational summary statement of operations includes brief information on approved projects, amount disbursed, canceled and repayments.
Debt Service Projects by Country or Project - provides up to date balances of outstanding debt and scheduled principal and interest payments by country or project
Evaluations (Office of Supervision and Evaluation, OVE) - provides an inventory of recent independent evaluations by country program, selective sector policies, and Bank instruments.
Public Information Contacts
The IDB has a Public Information Contact in almost every borrowing country, where the public has access to information about IDB operations.
PICs should provide the following:
■Direction on how to acquire information on Bank activities and Bank documents in local languages
■Publicly available Bank documents and publications, including those regarding projects in that country
■Adequate and accessible facilities with at least one computer with internet access
■Many PICs also provide a reference library with government and NGO publications on economic, statistical, and development topics, and conduct outreach programs to raise awareness about Bank operations and to disseminate information locally.
If you have trouble locating or accessing your country’s PIC, contact the Bank’s disclosure team, the Country Director or your Executive Director.
IDB Executive Director Contact list 2010 (PDF, 115KB)
Making requests to the IDB Public Information Contacts:
The IDB’s main Public Information Center is located in Washington, DC. Any information not available through the IDB website can be requested through the DC PIC by email, fax, telephone or mail, at the addresses listed below.
Public Information Center in Washington, D.C.
- Tel (202) 623-2096
- Fax (202) 623-1928
- Email
Tips on making a request:
■ Be specific
■ Start local. Contact the Bank office in your country first.
■ Put your request for information in writing.
■ If your request is denied, ask for a written explanation.
■ Be persistent
To request information that’s more than 10 years old, contact the IDB archives department.
Country Offices
Find contact information for each Country Office at the IDB website.
Annual Meetings
The Board of Governors of the IDB hold an Annual Meeting of their member governments in the Spring o feach year. The meetings are held in Latin America, Europe, Asia and the U.S., usually two of every three years they are hosted by a borrowing member country. More information on IDB Annual Meetings can be accessed through the Bank’s website at and from a civil society perspective at BIC's IDB Resource Page.