Availability

20. The Fund’s transparency policy has led to the release of a vastly increased volume of policy and country papers and summaries of Board discussions, with the Fund’s external website (www.imf.org) being the primary vehicle for dissemination. (This is apart from historical material provided by the Archives and Records Section of the Technology and General Services Department (TGS).) As reported to the Board and the IMFC in September 2002, over 60 percent of staff reports for Article IV consultations and over half of stand-alone reports on the use of Fund resources have recently been published.⁸ Nearly three-fourths of all completed Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSCs) modules have been published. Nearly all members have been giving consent to the publication of their policy intentions documents (letters of intent and memoranda of economic policies) when requesting Fund financial assistance, and Public Information Notices (PFNs) have recently been published following over 80 percent of Article IV Board discussions. Most papers on general policy issues discussed by the Executive Board are published, and the Board recently adopted the principle of “presumed publication” of policy papers and the associated PINs. All Board documents authorized to be released are posted on the Fund’s external website, and print copies of country papers can also be ordered from EXR’s Publication Services Section for a nominal charge (intended to cover printing and shipping costs). Most other Board documents become accessible under the Fund’s archives policy after five, ten, or twenty years, depending upon the type and classification of the document.

21. Comprehensive information on the Fund’s finances is now published on the external website. The “IMF Finances” section includes extensive data on members’ financial positions with the Fund, quarterly Fund financial statements, monthly data on financial resources and liquidity, and weekly data on financial transactions, all of which are kept up to date by the Treasurer’s Department. In addition, the public can access important policy papers on financial matters, such as the quota reviews and safeguards assessments, as well as background papers on the Fund’s financial structure and operations, written in accessible language. Outside observers have acknowledged that the IMF is now the leader among international institutions in financial transparency.

22. Fund research is being published in growing quantities not only by the Fund itself, but also by academic journals and commercial publishers.⁹ The World Economic Outlook (WEO), the Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR), and IMF Staff Papers (IMFSP) are among the main Fund publications based on staff research. The Working Paper series (WPs) provides a ready outlet for quick dissemination of the latest staff research via the external website and in print (copies may be ordered for a charge intended to cover average printing and postage costs). Policy Discussion Papers (PDPs), reviewed by the Fund’s Working Group on Research, do the same for short papers on policy issues.¹⁰ The quarterly IMF Research Bulletin, authored in the Research Department (RES) and made available in print and on the external website, highlights selected Fund analytical output. Finance & Development and the IMF Survey (both available on www.imf.org) showcase Fund research, and the Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department now contributes a column (“Straight Talk”) to Finance & Development. Manuscripts addressing particular topics may be published by the Fund as books or in the Occasional Papers series.

23. Publication by the Fund of statistical data in various formats, and providing links to data posted by authorities on their websites, is another important dimension of transparency. The Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board maintained by the Statistics Department (STA) is key to the sharing of statistical standards and data globally.¹¹ The Fund’s main statistical data series (Balance of Payments Statistics (BOPS), Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS), Government Finance Statistics (GFS), and International Financial Statistics (IFS)), currently available by subscription in print versions and on CD-ROM, will also be made available on the Internet, as information technology (IT) projects are completed that are either already underway or planned in the Fund’s IT budget.¹² International Financial Statistics (IFS) has recently been made available online for subscription at www.imfstatistics.org with a differentiated price structure designed to facilitate access by users in developing countries and academic institutions while, at the high end, market-based rates are charged to commercial users in industrial countries. (The practice of charging fees for access to major online databases is followed by most international organizations, including the World Bank, UN, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

24. The Fund’s increased transparency has been widely appreciated by the public, winning praise even from frequent critics. More could be done to increase the reach of the Fund’s current transparency, however.¹³ Two areas in which some Executive Directors have contributed are (1) arranging activities in their countries coordinated with the Fund’s release of country-related material so as to encourage greater media attention; and (2) encouraging their authorities to post on their official websites policy intention documents related to Fund-supported programs in domestic non-English languages, to which the Fund’s external website can provide links. More could be done in both cases. Coordinating and supporting the release of country material to promote media coverage requires early discussion in each case between EXR and the office of the Executive Director concerned. The Media Relations Division could provide journalists with advance access to the material under embargo for a short period; indeed, EXR is planning to establish an “extranet” for journalists that would facilitate such embargoed releases. The Executive Director or national authorities could arrange a media statement, interview, or press conference in conjunction with the release of the material by the Fund. The opportunity to facilitate public access to local language versions by establishing links from www.imf.org to non-English country policy intention documents on authorities’ websites was announced by the Director of EXR in a memorandum to Executive Directors on March 19, 2002. Each link will include a standard disclaimer to indicate that the Fund has not verified the accuracy of the non-English language texts.¹⁴

Accessibility—Making Fund Material More Available and User-Friendly

25. Merely releasing documents and data will not necessarily help to improve the public’s understanding of the Fund’s work, which is the key to the communications strategy. Most of the Fund’s output is prepared for the officials of member countries or for internal deliberation, often in specialist language, and the scale of the output adds to the difficulty that outsiders can face in trying to absorb it or draw the essence from it. Much of it needs to be summarized and explained for outside audiences. As the Fund’s transparency policy has prompted the release of more documents and data, this need for explanation has become larger and more urgent. Even journalists who specialize in monitoring the Fund say that the Fund’s policy advice and program conditions are often difficult to understand and, consequently, not reported as accurately or as widely as they might be. Users of Fund documents on the external website often ask the Fund to provide explanatory material in more accessible language, using less jargon, and giving background and context. Users of statistical data are requesting more “help desk” support than in the past, especially when using CD-ROMs and on-line versions.

26. The problem with documents could be addressed by employing more writers and editors to ‘translate’ official papers into publications in accessible language. But it is less costly and more practical to address the problem largely at the source, by recognizing that many documents are not as well-organized or well-written as they should be. EXR and other departments (principally the Human Resources Department (HRD) and the Secretary’s Department (SEC)) have been working with the main authoring departments to help staff write more clearly and develop self-editing skills. Staff have appreciated “The Guide to Clear Writing” produced by EXR and distributed Fund-wide in hard copy and placed on the Intranet. EXR and other departments are also considering adoption of a software package that will help Fund authors review and edit their own work and avoid some of the more common pitfalls in writing. The Fund’s online Redbook, spell check, and grammar check, as well as formal training offered through HRD in writing and editing skills, are all also intended to help to improve writing in the Fund.

27. Editing documents before presentation to the Board is a critical second step in rendering them suitable for later public distribution. Authoring departments are responsible for editing papers to be submitted to the Board. EXR does not have sufficient staff resources to edit such papers during the interdepartmental review process, with a few notable exceptions. The WEO and the GFSR, for example, are edited prior to the Board discussions in order for them to be printed and placed on the external website promptly afterward.

28. EXR has begun to work more closely with authoring departments to strengthen intradepartmental editing of material destined for publication. EXR and STA have collaborated on a common format and editing guidelines for STA manuals and guides. EXR and RES have together revised the guidelines for authors of IMFSP articles and streamlined the editing and production process. EXR and other departments have also made use of the Temporary Assignment Program (TAPs) to strengthen departmental editing.

29. The third stage—preparing clear summaries and other supplementary explanatory material for released documents—is also challenging, especially where Board decisions are concerned. Many decisions, Summings Up, and consequently sections of PINs, are complex, and written in legal language, with intricacies that can be difficult to explain to outside audiences seeking to understand what the Board is saying. Legal and technical expressions should be reduced to a minimum in statements intended for publication, and consideration might be given to the routine “translation” of legal language in decisions, etc., into language that could be more readily understood, without having to read between the lines. A degree or two of precision might be sacrificed in the interest of clarity, brevity, and the more effective delivery of messages to the press and general audiences. Fund management, staff, and Executive Directors should all be diligent in working to clarify and simplify documents—here executive summaries tailored more for public audiences would be helpful—Summings Up, and PINs.¹⁵ EXR will continue its efforts to make language clearer in the Fund’s press releases. (To eliminate confusion among journalists and the public arising from the variety of types of news releases published by the Fund, EXR at the beginning of 2003 discontinued the “News Briefs” series and special news releases, and consolidated all media releases into a single series, “Press Releases,” a name previously reserved for releases referring to Board decisions.)

30. The fourth stage—presenting and explaining Board actions and policy deliberations to the public through the media and the Fund’s external website— involves Fund management, and senior staff in EXR and other departments, as well as Executive Directors and, in some cases, Fund Governors.¹⁶ The Managing Director speaks for the Fund in his dual capacity as Chairman of the Executive Board and head of Fund staff but the time he can devote to speaking to the press and public is limited. The Deputy Managing Directors also use public speeches, press briefings, and interviews, plus occasional op-ed articles, to help deliver the Fund’s messages. The Director of EXR, as the chief media spokesperson, holds regular, usually biweekly, press briefings to help guide media coverage and interpretation of Fund actions and policies. The Director of EXR and other senior Fund staff, including those stationed in regional offices, also provide ad hoc media briefings and interviews, in line with a media strategy approved by management, when direct comment by management is not considered appropriate or necessary. Staff brief media at the conclusion of some Article IV consultations or missions, and this practice could be expanded. Executive Directors have also participated in press briefings and interviews, and authored op-ed articles and letters to the editor on various issues. There is scope for Executive Directors to take a more active role in explaining the work of the Board, and EXR is prepared to help them do so.

31. The fifth stage is preparing and disseminating information that explains and defends persuasively the work done by the Fund. EXR and other departments have increased their output of information products providing user-friendly explanations, but more is needed. The increased emphasis on such products responds, in part, to Directors’ comments supporting a recommendation in the Edelman report that the Fund shift its publishing efforts somewhat toward educational material from technical publications. EXR and other departments have prepared a large quantity of expository material in recent years for the print and electronic publications program, the video program, and as handouts for seminars and briefings including:

• Pamphlets, such as “Fiscal Dimensions of Sustainable Development” prepared by the Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) for the Johannesburg Summit, “A New Approach to Sovereign Debt Restructuring” by Ms. Krueger, and “Governance of the IMF” by the Fund’s former Secretary (a pamphlet on Fund conditionality, prepared by the Policy Development and Review Department (PDR) is in process);

• the Economic Issues series—summaries of WPs and other Fund research on topical issues:

• Issues Briefs—short discussions of key policy issues of interest for the Fund and its critics;

• Factsheets—one-or two-page summaries of specific Fund policies and activities on which EXR receives frequent inquiries.

• Videos on selected Fund issues have been prepared and distributed through educational and commercial television networks in a host of countries and through sales to educational institutions.

• The IMF Survey and Finance & Development make a special effort to include articles and interviews that discuss key economic issues in layman’s language. Finance & Development introduced a new feature (“Picture This”) in 2002 that summarizes a key development message through charts and an artistic layout.

• The IMF Center has developed and distributed on the Fund’s external website and in hard copy basic educational modules about the Fund in several languages. The material is designed for use in primary and secondary schools.

32. Accessibility also depends on effective distribution of communications products. Unfortunately, distribution not only through the Internet, but also of the print versions of explanatory material, including non-English versions, has been limited, especially in developing countries. Fund resident representatives, regional offices, and Executive Directors could assist EXR by identifying ways and opportunities to distribute such material. Resident representatives should also consider having short explanatory material prepared in local languages (languages that are not among those for which the Fund normally provides translations) and printed locally in low-cost formats in order to deliver information more widely and efficiently to priority audiences in their countries.¹⁷ To increase electronic distribution, resident representatives who have not so far used the Fund’s external website to distribute information are being encouraged to take up EXR’s offer to help create Resident Representative website segments on the Fund’s external website.

Communicating with Legislatures, the Private Sector, and Civil Society Organizations

33. The purposes of the Fund’s engagement in outreach and dialogue beyond official circles include listening and learning as well as informing and persuading interlocutors on Fund-related matters. Inviting comments from the public on Fund policy proposals via the external website and in specially-convened meetings and conferences has become routine—some major recent examples include the PRSP and PRGF reviews, the development of the HIPC (debt reduction) policy, the review of Fund conditionality, the establishment and work program of the IEO, and the proposal for an SDRM. The Fund now, more actively than in the past, seeks to take into account the views of its critics as well as supporters in revising and improving Fund policies, practices and advice, especially in low-income countries through the PRSP process.¹⁸

34. Given its limited resources, the Fund, like other international organizations, has to be selective in expanding its outreach and dialogue with nonofficials, and may also need to strike a balance between outreach and improving its communications with the authorities of member countries. The Executive Board’s discussion of external communications in 1998 and 2000 indicated that Directors generally agreed that the Fund’s strengthened external communications effort should include more proactive engagement with national legislatures and important groups and organizations in the private sector and civil society. At the same time, however, Directors recognized the impossibility of the Fund’s carrying out face-to-face or even indirect communications and dialogue with more than a small fraction of groups and prominent persons who might welcome such interaction. Accordingly, Directors advised the Fund’s management and staff to be proactive but selective in initiating dialogue as well as in responding publicly to its critics. In fact, in some cases, enhancing the dialogue with governments beyond the Fund’s main counterparts (ministries of finance and central banks) to ministries responsible for social and sectoral policies and the judicial system, for example, may have higher priority than increasing the Fund’s interaction with the private sector and civil society. Moreover, the Fund might encourage some authorities to increase their own outreach and dialogue activities, and not only in PRSP countries where the authorities’ consultation mechanisms with all stakeholders are an important element of the process.

Legislatures

35. A common theme emerging from the 2002 biennial surveillance review and conditionality review was the need for the Fund to develop a dialogue with legislative bodies in member countries to promote better understanding of the Fund and the policies it supports. In PRSP countries, in particular, as legislative input in monitoring and implementing poverty reduction strategies has become more critical, the need for communication between the Fund and legislatures has grown.

36. The Fund has begun to increase its outreach to parliamentarians. In April 2000, Fund staff, working with the Zambian authorities, organized a seminar for parliamentarians, alongside one with civil society organizations, in Lusaka. In April 2002, Fund staff, together with the Kenyan authorities, organized a workshop for Kenyan parliamentarians. At both events, economic policy issues were actively debated and discussed. The Fund is also working jointly with the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (an informal group of parliamentarians from both industrial and developing countries who are interested in development issues), including participating in visits by parliamentarians to PRSP countries. The Fund also provides training opportunities for legislators through its regional institutes; for example, over the past two years, six seminars on macroeconomic policy and structural reform issues were offered at the Joint Vienna Institute for parliamentarians from transition countries. In addition, management and staff have often met at Fund headquarters with visiting groups of legislators. The Managing Director has also spoken in capitals to members of national parliaments—for example, in 2001, the Deutsche Bundestag, and in 2002, the Treasury Select Committee of the UK House of Commons,¹⁹ members of the Dutch parliament, and the Chilean Senate. He also met with EU parliamentary committees of the European Union (EU) in Brussels in 2000. The Fund, in consideration of the role of the United States as host country and largest shareholder, has been highly responsive in communications with the U.S. Congress, in collaboration with the U.S. Executive Director.

37. Looking ahead, more sustained and systematic interaction with legislators could, over time, bring important benefits by improving understanding of the Fund among members of society who are not only important because they represent public opinion, but who are also influential in the policymaking process and in the formation of public opinion. Such interactions must, of course, always be arranged with the concurrence of the relevant authorities and tailored to the circumstances of the individual country. Outreach to legislators who are closely involved in policymaking in areas such as budgets, civil service reform, and financial sector reform is likely to be particularly productive. Regional seminars and individual country seminars for parliamentarians could be organized in collaboration with country authorities, resources permitting. In addition, it would be desirable for country teams/resident representatives to maintain contacts with key legislators and parliamentary committees. In a recent survey, about one-half of country teams and a quarter of resident representatives report having no recent contact with legislators. Of the rest, an overwhelming majority of the cases where staff meet legislators more than once per year (one-half of resident representatives and a quarter of country teams) are transition countries (see Annex II). Executive Directors can also play an important role by briefing legislators within their constituencies, especially in program countries. In some countries, the executive branch provides a periodic report to the legislature on relations between the Fund and the country—a practice that could be replicated in other countries. ²⁰

Private Sector

38. The Fund’s interactions with the private business and financial sector at the country level often include meetings by its mission teams and resident representatives with employer associations, private companies, banks, and other financial institutions. Data have not been collected on such meetings, but a recent survey of country outreach (Annex II) indicates that country teams meet with business and trade associations (some of which might qualify as civil society organizations rather than strictly private sector entities—see next section) an average of twice per year, while resident representatives, on average, meet with such groups once every two months. As might be expected, there is a great deal of variation across the membership, as some resident representatives speak to such groups almost weekly, while some have little or no such contact. Globally, the International Capital Markets Department (ICM) maintains an extensive informal network of communications with private financial market participants. At the management level, the semiannual meetings of the Capital Market Consultative Group (CMCG) provide opportunities for informal discussion of key topics of mutual interest. Other Fund departments maintain contacts with the private financial sector to exchange information. A systematic communication effort by the Fund with the private financial sector on the SDRM proposal is underway.

Civil Society Organizations

39. The definition of civil society organizations (CSOs) used in the Fund focuses on voluntary, not-for-profit organizations, including labor organizations, business associations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), faith-based organizations (FBOs), and academic and policy research institutions (“think tanks”). Officialdom, legislatures, the media, and private enterprises are not included under this definition of civil society.²¹

40. The IMF has significantly increased outreach and dialogue with CSOs in recent years. IMF staff and management now meet often with CSOs both at headquarters and in member countries. In low-income countries, the PRSP process has firmly established CSOs as participants in formulating and implementing better policies to fight poverty. In many Article IV consultation missions, efforts are made to consult with broad elements of civil society on the economic situation. The terms of reference for IMF offices abroad and resident representatives often include maintaining contact and dialogue with CSOs. In practice the extent and forms of in-country communication vary greatly from country to country. This diversity was documented in a survey of the outreach activities toward CSOs of mission teams and resident representatives (see Annex II).²² Many resident representatives and even some country teams reported dozens of contacts with media and CSOs. In general, the Fund’s dialogue with CSOs appears well-established in PRSP countries and in the transition countries of eastern Europe and central Asia. In other regions, however, contacts and dialogue are less extensive.

41. The Fund’s dialogue with CSOs covers a wide range of issues, including macroeconomic policy and other related policies, structural adjustment and the poor; debt relief and poverty reduction; trade and capital account liberalization; globalization and the governance of the global economy (including discussions on new rules for the global financial system); promoting good governance; and fighting corruption. CSOs have been especially effective in shaping public opinion in many countries in support of more debt relief for low-income countries and in promoting discussion of how to achieve better globalization. It is becoming increasingly apparent that interaction with CSOs is taking on a country focus, reflecting, among other things, the participatory process associated with PRSPs, and the increased emphasis on national ownership of policies. A planned priority in the period ahead is to compile a set of best practices and guidelines for Fund staff outreach to CSOs that pays particular attention to the issues arising in interaction with civil society that influence the Fund’s operational work. Some of the considerations that will arise in this context are reviewed in Annex III.

42. Staff contact with national labor unions in the context of Article IV or program discussions has become much more common in recent years, although not a universal practice. According to a recent survey conducted by the Policy Development and Review Department (PDR), 69 percent of Fund missions had contacts with labor unions or other labor representatives at least once in the previous two years, for the purposes of hearing the views of labor unions and explaining and discussing the Fund’s policy advice. Nearly all Fund missions considered the discussions useful.

43. The Fund maintains a constructive dialogue with the international labor movement, represented mainly by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labor (WCL), through workshops, regional seminars, and leadership meetings held in Washington, D.C. jointly with the World Bank. The Fund and Bank have agreed with the ICFTU and WCL to hold such leadership meetings at intervals of 18 to 24 months (the most recent leadership meeting was held in October, 2002, and included 90 trade union representatives from 40 countries), with stafflevel meetings on particular issues to be interspersed between general leadership meetings. Fund staff preparations for such meetings have been led by EXR and PDR. This enhanced dialogue with the international trade union organizations is constructive without being excessively formalized.

44. Although the Fund does not have an NGO consultative group or grant permanent accreditation to NGOs as some international organizations do, it has increased its efforts at dialogue with NGOs engaged in research and policy advocacy on development, debt, environmental, and other related economic issues. The Fund’s practice is to respond positively, resources permitting, to all requests from NGOs interested in engaging in constructive dialogue but to concentrate upon communications with NGOs having a leadership role within the NGO community on issues directly related to the Fund’s work. During the Annual Meetings, for instance, NGOs are provided space and opportunities to discuss issues on the Meetings agenda with IMF and other officials, as well as to participate in the Program of Seminars. More than 160 NGO representatives were accredited at the September 2002 Annual Meetings.

45. At the international level, a number of major advocacy NGOs are in regular touch with Fund staff to discuss policies and programs. Numerous meetings on a variety of issues ranging from debt relief and PRSPs to transparency, governance, and the environment take place regularly in Washington and in Europe (about 310 meetings with NGOs and other civil society organizations were held at Fund headquarters in 2002). NGOs are also invited to participate actively in reviews of IMF policies—recent examples include their involvement in the conditionality, transparency, trade, and PRSP reviews—and are often invited to conferences organized around these reviews (EXR arranged NGO participation in the January 2002 PRSP conference, for example, and PDR arranged two roundtables on trade with NGOs/CSOs in Washington, two in Europe, and numerous individual meetings with NGO delegations at which the NGOs provided their views on Fund trade policy advice ahead of an internal review of this area). NGOs also always have the option of submitting views and comments via the Fund’s external website or through direct contact with NGO liaison staff in EXR.

46. The Fund is making a greater effort to increase its outreach to NGOs in developing countries (“Southern NGOs”) because of the important role they can play in the PRSP process and in contributing to consensus on economic policies, but also because even well-established Southern NGOs tend not to have good access to information about the Fund and economic policy analysis, and fewer resources for research than their Northern counterparts. To the extent that resources and other priorities allow, EXR organizes workshops and seminars for NGOs (especially in the South), often in collaboration with resident representatives and regional offices, to explain the Fund and the role it plays in the formulation of policies in program countries. Given their limited opportunities for face-to-face contact with Southern NGOs, EXR staff responsible for liaison with NGOs are in frequent contact with them by e-mail and telephone (the email address is “ngoliaison@imf.org“). EXR also prepares a quarterly newsletter to NGOs and other CSOs that is distributed by mail and e-mail to some 700-800 recipients around the world in English, French, Spanish, and Russian and published in all these languages except Russian on the Fund’s external website at http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/cs/eng/index.asp. The newsletter aims to keep CSOs up-to-date with developments at the Fund and to refer them to resources offered to them by the Fund. Resident Representatives are encouraged to distribute the letter to their CSO contacts, and those who have done so have received positive feedback.

47. The extent to which different faith-based organizations (FBOs), and religious leaders more generally, take an active part in advocacy of social and economic policies varies greatly. Some faiths take less interest in secular matters and do not seek dialogue with the Fund, but the Fund is at pains to avoid giving any appearance of favoring contact with one faith over another. The Christian organizations, both Catholic and Protestant, have been the most activist, and many Catholic and Protestant church leaders and lay persons have petitioned the Fund on various issues, but especially on debt relief and poverty reduction. The Jubilee 2000 movement was in large part a church-based movement, with clergy and congregations working together to build support for deeper debt reductions for low-income countries.

48. The Fund has had limited, sporadic communications and meetings with FBOs in the past, primarily with Christian organizations at their request at events held in Washington, D.C. and in Western Europe. These discussions have generally been cordial and constructive. There may be opportunities to expand the dialogue with FBOs somewhat. The World Council of Churches has shown renewed interest in dialogue with the Fund, and management has responded positively with suggestions for a combination of workshops and seminars designed to allow the two institutions to exchange information and views. Meetings and activities of the World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD) led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the President of the World Bank may also provide future opportunities to participate in dialogue with leaders of a range of faiths.²³ Generally, there would seem to be considerable potential for FBOs to increase their support for good governance, increased aid and trade liberalization, as well as poverty reduction—all important parts of the Fund’s agenda as well.

49. Communication with academic researchers and policy research institutes (“think tanks”) around the world is mainly the responsibility of RES and the IMF Institute (INS) but supplemented significantly by the work of Fund offices and missions. European I Department, for example, reports that almost all missions maintain contacts with national academic and policy research communities, and the Offices in Europe and Asia have been active in communications with universities and research institutes, as well as in outreach to NGOs. Because of the prominence in recent years of public statements by some academics and policy researchers critical of the Fund, EXR has increased its collaboration with other Fund departments to initiate more Fund staff participation in policy seminars and discussions over the past two years, especially within the Washington, D.C. area but also elsewhere when resources permit. The purpose is to broaden and deepen the understanding among influential policy analysts of the Fund’s policies, as well as bringing outside views and expertise into the Fund. EXR initiated a series of pre-Spring/Annual Meetings briefings for university audiences in 2001 and a “Think Tank Briefing” at Fund headquarters in September 2002. Both feature presentations by senior staff on some of the key issues to be addressed at the Meetings. Greater participation by Fund management, senior staff, and Executive Directors would strengthen this outreach effort.

50. The Economic Forum series also serves to expand policy dialogue. EXR organizes 10 to 12 Economic Forums at IMF headquarters each year to promote informed discussion on issues confronting the Fund and the international community. These events, which have occasionally been covered by the local press and reported in the IMF Survey, bring together Fund senior staff, and occasionally Fund management and Executive Directors, with counterparts in the academic, think tank, and policymaking communities. Topics of recent Economic Forums have included the euro, IMF governance, direct foreign investment in China, social safety nets, capacity building, crisis early warning systems, and transparency. Transcripts and video replays of Economic Forums are made available on the external website.

Responding Rapidly to News and Views

51. In line with the Edelman Report’s recommendations, EXR has developed over the past few years a rapid-response approach to major news developments. Unbalanced or inaccurate stories can be damaging and are more difficult to counteract after they have been reported. Devising ways to ensure that the Fund’s side of the story is told, particularly when reporters do not initially approach Fund officials for comment, is a key element of EXR’s media relations work. This means responding quickly to the demands of reporters— and initiating contact in some cases before news reports appear—in order to ensure balanced coverage of Fund-related issues. After reports appear, misrepresentation of the Fund’s role or position often demands immediate response through direct feedback to reporters and/or letters to the editor. Because private sector and civil society organizations frequently serve as sources for journalists, rapid and direct responses to these are often needed as well.

52. The Fund has also been responding to its critics more promptly and forcefully, especially to incorrect statements, but selectively not reflexively. Letters to the editor, op-ed articles, media interviews, and public speeches have all been employed to set the record straight and debate influential critics. Responses to criticism appearing in the media must always be prompt, brief, and focused. Delayed and detailed rejoinders are less likely to be accepted by publishers and broadcasters, and less likely to be effective even if they are accepted. When false charges are aired about the Fund’s work in a member country, Executive Directors and Governors could be especially effective respondents, particularly in their national media. See Box 1 on the Fund’s rapid response to charges regarding its alleged role in the Malawian food shortage.

Expanding material on the Fund’s external website and in print

54. The Fund has consciously developed and designed its external website so that English-speaking audiences in developing countries have easy access. The focus of the website is content, not graphics or special effects, which would slow down access. In the past two years the website’s search feature has been improved, and links between related material have been substantially increased. Entry pages in French, German, and Spanish have been posted. In addition, more basic information has been added for non-specialist users. Features that require special software or may be difficult to open or download from slower Internet connections and older computers have been kept to a minimum. Improving access to and increasing the amount of material in non-English languages on the Fund’s website (or links to such material) is possible; however, a number of policy and budget considerations would need to be addressed (discussed in Annex I).

55. Further development of the external website might include further increases in the use of webcasts (of press briefings, the Economic Forum series, and other seminarstyle events, for example), and more Fund participation in online discussion forums on IMF policy issues. The Office in Europe, for example, could be used for real-time participation by European journalists in press conferences and briefings at Fund headquarters. Expanding the reach of the Fund’s website by offering live and taped audio and video webcasts in more than one format would have resource implications. Given that the demand from outside the Fund for such features still seems to be very limited compared with the interest in textual information, the cost of expanding the Fund’s webcasting capacity should be considered carefully and tradeoffs with other initiatives weighed.

56. A narrower application of technology would involve extranets (an extranet is a private network that uses the Internet protocol and the public telecommunication system to securely share part of an organization’s information or operations with others) for participation by selected groups through password-protected access. This is being done to a limited extent at present via an extranet for Executive Directors and authorities. EXR has proposed that an extranet be instituted in 2003 for journalists that would expand current ad hoc arrangements through which they can obtain advance copies of certain Fund publications under embargo.²⁵ The goal is to establish a reliable system for selectively highlighting and disseminating accurate, timely information of special interest to media globally or in individual countries. By enabling the Fund to target the placement of important information in the media, the new extranet will indirectly enhance the Fund’s communications with the public and civil society organizations that rely on the media for information about the Fund and related issues. Fund staff and Executive Directors will be able to reach out to specific media audiences via real time webcasts, and additional cost-effective technology features can be introduced in future years to better serve media in all member countries. The extranet for journalists will also allow EXR to monitor consumption of press releases and other publications efficiently, and this enhanced feedback on media uptake will be taken into consideration in adapting the Fund’s external communications more closely to meet specific media goals.

57. Recognizing that many individuals and organizations, especially in low-income countries, will not have for many more years the reliable access and high-grade equipment needed to take advantage of material published on the Fund’s external website, the Fund should continue its print publication program and seek to improve the distribution of both complimentary and priced publications. One step underway has been the initiation of a depository library program (launched with the help of the Joint Library) to place copies of all Fund print publications in libraries where they will receive wide readership. Each library will be sent an initial inventory of IMF research and data, and receive copies of virtually everything the IMF publishes, including CD-ROM databases. Invitations to apply to this new program have already been sent to more than 150 libraries, research institutes, and information centers throughout the developing world. Formal agreements have been established in 58 locations. The goal is to expand the program over the next two years to 400 locations. Executive Directors are invited to nominate institutions to participate in this program.

Increasing In-Country and Regional Communications

58. EXR has established arrangements with each area department to increase the coordination of external communications done in-country. EXR media relations officers and other staff have been designated to advise each area department on media contacts and public outreach, and to monitor and follow up on external communications activities. The bilateral discussions between EXR and area departments include reaching understandings about the roles of mission chiefs and resident representatives in external communications in-country, especially in conjunction with missions. Mission teams have been asked by Fund management to consider in advance of each mission whether they should meet with legislators, labor representatives, NGOs, and others, and whether a press conference should be held or press interviews given, or other actions taken with the agreement of the authorities to increase public awareness and understanding of the Fund’s analysis and policy recommendations. EXR can often provide specific recommendations on what media and public outreach activities are most likely to be successful, drawing upon the experience of its staff, many of whom have extensive media and other contacts in the region. In addition, it should be noted that PDR and other departments will continue to organize regional PRSP learning events that combine outreach, capacity building, and opportunities for Fund input into the PRSP process.

59. The Edelman report recommended that the Fund make greater use of its field offices as outreach platforms. EXR responds to requests received regularly from resident representatives for advice and support in organizing outreach events in their countries. EXR also supports occasional travel by headquarters staff to participate in outreach events organized by resident representatives, with priority in recent years given to PRGF countries. Executive Directors could help national authorities to understand better the benefits of increased outreach in conjunction with Fund missions, especially in PRGF and other program countries where “national ownership” implies making policy choices more transparent and raising public understanding of the respective roles played by the Fund, the national authorities, and other institutions.

60. Particular regional issues need to be addressed consistently in communications throughout a region. Also, what works best in terms of in-country external communications tends to vary across regions. Accordingly, EXR and area departments have begun to develop regional external communications strategies that can be reviewed and updated as warranted but provide a framework for coordinating external communications work of the area department, EXR, resident representatives, and other staff who may visit the region. Suggestions from Executive Directors on regional external communications priorities and opportunities would be welcome, and Executive Directors might wish to meet informally with EXR and area department senior staff regularly to discuss external communications approaches for their region.

61. Although external communications are important in all regions and member countries, three regions would seem to warrant particular focus in 2003: Africa, because of the large number of PRGF and HIPC countries; Latin America, because of the special economic challenges facing several economies in the region; and the Middle East, because of the Annual Meetings to be held in Dubai in September.

• The strategy for Africa is likely to focus on building basic knowledge of Fund policies through seminars and workshops, and on media and publications to support PRGF/HIPC and new initiatives in Africa; including investor councils and technical assistance centers and monitoring progress under NEPAD.

• The strategy for communications in Latin America will necessarily focus on media relations related to the countries in the region having Fund programs. Contacts with journalists who report for Spanish and Portuguese language media in the region are likely to continue at the current high level of frequency and intensity. Publications and outreach will also have an important role to play. A report prepared by an internal task force tentatively entitled “Managing Financial Crises: Recent Experience and Lessons for Latin America” will be published in spring 2003.

• The strategy for communications in the Middle East will be geared to preparations for the 2003 Annual Meetings and will include seminars and press briefings by staff from the Middle Eastern Department, EXR, and other departments in several locations in the region prior to the Meetings. The Program of Seminars at the Annual Meetings will focus partly on regional themes and seek keynote speakers from the region. EXR and MED will collaborate on efforts to disseminate Fund publications, especially material in Arabic describing the work of the Fund, and to increase publicity throughout the region in advance of the Meetings on the positive contributions of Fund work in the region.

Educating the General Public about the Fund

62. The prominence of the Fund in the media together with controversy over globalization and related economic issues has brought growing demand from the general public for basic information about the Fund. Much of the explanatory material published by the Fund, including pamphlets, Issues Briefs, Finance & Development, the IMF Survey, and videos, are widely used by students at the university level, including ones not majoring in economics. Teachers and students at the middle school and high school levels have also requested educational material that could be used in their classrooms. EXR has begun a very modest and low-cost effort to respond to these needs through special web postings of educational material in several languages (the material has been developed and tested by the IMF Center with the help of local educators).²⁶ A book on the Fund for high school students (ages 14 to 17) is being developed for release in 2003. It will explain the work of the Fund in an engaging and thought-provoking way intended to make macroeconomics and globalization relevant for the students. EXR would be pleased to provide Executive Directors with sample folios or online demonstrations of this educational material. Looking ahead, the costs and benefits of developing short distance-learning courses on the website and CD-ROM on the work of the Fund for educational purposes for CSOs as well as students, customized for regions and produced in different languages, will be assessed.

63. The Fund also receives e-mail requests and comments from the public on specific issues—a very large number of messages was received in 2002 from Argentina, for example—although in many cases the communications reflect a lack of basic information about the Fund and how it works. In many cases, EXR responds through template-based e-mail messages that can be adapted to individual questions or to e-mail “campaigns” or “petitions.” (Hard-copy responses to letter and postcard campaigns are normally too costly to be considered.) EXR will continue to explore new software developments that may improve the efficiency of sorting and responding to incoming e-mail from the general public. Increasingly, however, EXR will need the assistance of other departments in crafting effective and timely responses that provide substantive answers to the growing volume of more technical and nuanced questions received from the public.