Consultation on 2015 Guidelines for the IMF Staff Engagement with Civil Society Organizations
The IMF thanks the organizations and individuals who provided comments for the online consultation on the 2015 Guidelines for the IMF Staff Engagement with Civil Society Organizations. The online consultation ended on September 18, 2015. If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to IMFConsultation@imf.org.
Background
In 2003, the first guidance note for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff’s outreach to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) was prepared, focusing primarily on issues arising from interactions with CSOs that influence the IMF’s operational Work. The guidance note presented the main strategy behind building relations with CSOs and outlined the basic parameters to build positive relationships with CSOs.
The guidance is being revised and updated to reflect the evolving role of the Fund and its engagement with CSOs. The new guidelines aim to strengthen a mutually beneficial exchange between the IMF and civil society organizations. On that basis, the 2015 paper builds on the 2003 guidelines to provide general principles and best practices for IMF staff on how to prepare and undertake such activities in a meaningful and systematic way. The revised guidelines also strengthen existing processes for public consultations with CSOs on policy issues stemming from the IMF’s policy agenda.
Questions for Consultation
We are seeking your comments and views on the 2015 Guidelines for the IMF Staff Engagement with Civil Society Organizations.
Some specific questions you may wish to address include:
1. In your view, how effective is the IMF’s engagement with CSOs at country, regional and international levels?
2. Do you have views on the process of the IMF’s public consultation?
3. Do you have views on the nature and procedure for the IMF’s consultations?
Procedures and Next Steps
The IMF staff will review all submitted comments, and will post a summary of those received. Senders may request that their comments remain confidential. All interested stakeholders are encouraged to submit input through the following channels:
- E-mail: IMFCONSULTATION@imf.org
When submitting your comments via email, please include the following information so that your comments are registered: name of sender; organization you represent; address; country; phone number; and e-mail address.
Comments should be submitted no later than Friday, September 18, 2015.
The IMF Staff will organize a session at the annual meetings CSOs policy forum (October 2015) on the guidelines. Additionally, staff will continue to welcome input into, and as always comments upon, our engagement with civil society organizations.