Press Release No. 12/156

Press Release: IMF Launches Institute for Capacity Development

May 1, 2012

The International Monetary Fund launched the Institute for Capacity Development today to spearhead its enhanced strategy for capacity-building services for its member countries. These capacity-development efforts are aimed at helping member countries develop their skills base and build more robust economic and financial institutions. The Institute, a new department incorporating the former IMF Institute and Office of Technical Assistance Management, will enable stronger synergies and better coordination between IMF technical assistance, training, and other elements of capacity development, to better adapt to member countries’ priorities and needs, and facilitate fund raising.

“Technical assistance and training are a core mandate of the Fund, along with surveillance and lending,” IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde stated. “I am confident the new Institute for Capacity Development will take our activities in this area to a new level, making the best use of our own resources and those contributed by our donor partners.”

The IMF announced its decision to launch the new department in January 2012 following the Executive Board’s discussion in November 2011 of the Report of the Task Force on the Fund’s Technical Assistance Strategy (see Press Release No. 12/20). The Institute for Capacity Development is mandated to further define and develop the Fund’s strategy on capacity building; coordinate the provision of technical assistance and training; deliver world class training to the Fund’s global membership; and strengthen partnerships with donors. Bringing the oversight over technical assistance and training activities under one umbrella will also enable closer coordination across different capacity-building services at both country and regional levels, as well as with the Fund’s surveillance and lending operations.

“This is good news for our members, as it will allow us to meet their capacity development needs more effectively,” said Ms. Sharmini Coorey, who is Director of the new department and formerly led the IMF Institute (see Press Release No. 11/468).

In addition, a Strategy and Evaluation Division created within the new department will ensure that the Fund’s evolving capacity-building strategy is aligned with members’ requirements, and report regularly to the IMF’s Executive Board on the delivery and quality of capacity-development services. Fund-raising and relationships on these matters with donors, who have financed an increasing share of the IMF’s capacity-building operations in recent years, will be consolidated under a Global Partnerships Division within the Institute to ensure better coordination.

In addition to delivering technical assistance and training services from its Washington, D.C. headquarters, the IMF supports capacity development in the field through a network of eight regional technical assistance centers and seven regional training centers around the world.

For additional information see:

IMF Key Issues: Technical Assistance

FACTBOX: Technical Assistance

FACTBOX: IMF Regional Technical Assistance Centers

FACTBOX: IMF Regional Training Centers