Civil Society and The IMF
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IMF commitment and modes of engagement
- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is committed to being transparent about its work, to explaining itself, and to listening to the people whom it affects.
- The IMF engages with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Parliamentarians, Think-Tanks and Youth Leaders through information sharing, dialogue, and consultation at both the global and national level.
- Contact and outreach channels noted by the IMF include personalized news and updates sign-up and publicaffairs@imf.org for questions and comments.
Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF) — purpose and recent occurrences
- The Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF) is a key event during the IMF-World Bank Group Spring and Annual Meetings, providing an open space for CSOs to dialogue and exchange views with IMF and World Bank Group staff, peers, government delegations, and other stakeholders on a wide range of development issues.
- As part of the Spring Meetings 2023, the CSPF took place from April 11 to April 14; recordings of sessions are available (recordings noted by the IMF).
- Sample CSPF sessions listed with date/time and room/format:
- Tuesday, October 13 | 9:00–10:30 am ICT — Room 2-210A — The Political Economy Evaluation: The Politics of Successful Economic Reform in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States (Zoom link)
- Tuesday, October 13 | 11:00 am–12:30 pm ICT — Following the Money: Beneficial Ownership Transparency for Financial Integrity and Competitive Markets in Southeast Asia (Zoom link)
- Tuesday, October 13 | 2:00–3:30 pm ICT — Beyond Disclosure: Making Fiscal Governance Work for People in Asia and Pacific (Zoom link)
- Tuesday, October 13 | 4:00–5:30 pm ICT — Regional Integration Agendas: Tax and Trade Cooperation in an Uncertain Global Economy (Zoom link)
- Wednesday, October 14 | 9:00–10:30 am ICT — The 3-Pillar Approach Turns Two Assessing the IMF-World Bank Response to Debt Liquidity Challenges (Zoom link)
- Wednesday, October 14 | 11:00 am–12:30 pm ICT — Whose Buffers? New Global Evidence on Fiscal Austerity, the Cost of Adjustment and Rearmament (Zoom link)
- Thursday, October 15 | 9:00–10:30 am ICT — Making Adaptation Count in Debt Sustainability Analysis: Lessons for the LIC-DSF Review (Zoom link)
- Thursday, October 15 | 11:00 am–12:30 pm ICT — Rethinking IMF Surveillance and Lending in an Era of Overlapping Shocks (Zoom link)
- Friday, October 16 | 9:00–10:30 am ICT — Debt Governance 2.0: Governing Risk Beyond the Debt Perimeter (Zoom link)
- Friday, October 16 | 11:00 am–12:30 pm ICT — Rethinking the Impossible Trinity: Managing Financial Openness in the Global South (Zoom link)
- Friday, October 16 | 2:00–3:30 pm ICT — Closing the Gap: Designing and Financing Social Protection Systems for the Most Impacted, Vulnerable Groups (Zoom link)
Recent and notable engagements and workshops
- February 10, 2023: IMF climate change team met with CSOs working on climate issues to update CSOs on implementation of the IMF climate change strategy, helping member countries address policy challenges, and provided an introduction to the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST).
- January 28-29, 2018: On the sidelines of the regional conference “Opportunity for All: Promoting Growth, Jobs, and Inclusiveness in the Arab World”, the IMF held a CSO workshop in Marrakech, Morocco with about 30 civil society organizations from the region. Workshop focus areas included energy subsidies and social safety nets, fair taxation and public wage bill management in the Middle East and North Africa region. CSOs participated actively, moderated innovation lab sessions, and issued a statement welcoming IMF outreach and sharing perspectives on IMF policies in the region, including work on inequality and inclusive growth.
Fellowship and participation support
- CSO and Youth Fellowship Program:
- Over the past 14 years, the IMF has sponsored more than 700 CSOs from low income countries and emerging markets to come to Annual and Spring Meetings.
Policy work, strategies, and analytical outputs highlighted
- 2026 Review of IMF Program Design and Conditionality — Public Consultation open from March 26, 2026–May 14, 2026.
- Progress in Implementing the Framework for Enhanced Fund Engagement on Governance:
- Provides an interim update on implementation of the 2018 Framework for Enhanced Fund Engagement on Governance.
- The update is in advance of a comprehensive formal review of the Framework scheduled for mid-2021.
- Review of Implementation of IMF Commitments in Support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:
- Reviews implementation of IMF initiatives committed in 2015 to support developing countries in pursuing the 2030 agenda, including:
- (i) strengthening national tax systems;
- (ii) tackling large infrastructure gaps;
- (iii) promoting economic inclusion;
- (iv) the development of domestic financial markets;
- (v) intensifying engagement in fragile and conflict-affected states;
- (vi) improving economic statistics;
- (vii) expanding the financial safety net for developing countries; and
- (viii) addressing macroeconomic aspects of climate change.
- A Strategy for IMF engagement on social spending:
- Outlines a strategy to guide IMF engagement on social spending issues going forward in response to intensified interest over the last decade related to rising inequality and support for vulnerable groups.
- How to Operationalize Gender Issues in Country Work:
- Provides examples of good practice for coverage of gender issues in country reports and lays out resources available to country teams, including existing analytical work, data, and tools.
- How to Operationalize Inequality Issues in Country Work:
- Provides examples of good practice for coverage of inequality-related issues in country reports and lays out resources available to country teams, including existing analytical work, data, and tools.
- Fiscal Monitor: Tackling Inequality:
- Discusses how fiscal policies can help achieve redistributive objectives and focuses on three policy debates: tax rates at the top of the income distribution, the introduction of a universal basic income, and the role of public spending on education and health.
- IMF Framework for Engagement on Governance/Anti-corruption:
- Designed to promote more systemic, effective, candid, and even-handed engagement with member countries regarding governance vulnerabilities, including corruption, that are judged to be macroeconomically critical.
- A Post-Pandemic Assessment of the Sustainable Development Goals:
- Staff Discussion Note assessing funding for SDGs in five development areas—education, health, roads, electricity, and water and sanitation—using a newly developed dynamic macroeconomic framework.
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