The Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF) has become an integral part of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group Spring and Annual Meetings, providing an open space for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to dialogue and exchange views with World Bank Group and IMF staff, their peers, government delegations, and other stakeholders on a wide range of topics.
The CSPF took place in Washington DC from Tuesday, October 10 to Friday, October 13, 2017. The program included an orientation session on the World Bank Group; a roundtable discussion with World Bank Group Executive Directors; and about 40, mainly CSO-organized, policy dialogue sessions that reflect the diversity of CSO policy concerns. These sessions will be selected from submissions from CSOs sent to us during a call for proposals, which closed on August 18, 2017.
What are CSOs?
CSOs include non-governmental organizations, community groups, labor unions, indigenous peoples movements, faith-based organizations, professional associations, foundations, think tanks, charitable organizations, and other not-for-profit organizations. Representatives from the private sector, academia or governmental bodies must apply for accreditation through the "Guests" or other respective registration category as clarified on the main 2017 Annual Meetings website.
The Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF) is open to CSO representatives who have been accredited to the 2017 Annual Meetings through online registration.
Registration for CSOs opened on July 31, 2017 and closed on September 22, 2017.
Costs
Registration and participation in the CSPF is free, but please be aware that participants are responsible for covering their own travel, accommodation, and per diem costs. Participants are also responsible for applying for their entry visa to the USA. Unfortunately, we have come across some entities offering to register participants for a fee. If you come across any such entity, please report them to civilsociety@worldbank.org so we can take appropriate action.
Application Process
All CSO applications go through an initial review by the Civil Society Team of the World Bank Group to ensure that the applicants represent CSOs involvement in international development policy operations and/or dialogue on issues relevant to the work of the Bank Group and IMF. (See "What are CSOs?" paragraph in the overview page)
Once this criteria is met, applications are reviewed by the relevant Executive Directors' offices (based on the country where the CSO is based or mainly operates and/or the nationality of the requester) for clearance. The Executive Directors have eight working days to review the requests for registration.
At the end of this process, the participants will be notified of the final decision by the Civil Society Team. There is no limit on the number of applicants from a single organization, but each applicant must apply individually.
Since the applications approval process can take up to 21 days, we encourage CSOs to apply early, to allow for the relevant reviews and clearances, and to give themselves enough time to make travel and visa arrangements.
Visas
If you need a visa to enter the United States, please request registration as soon as possible, noting that the approval of your registration request can take up to three weeks. The World Bank Group and IMF do not assist with the visa application process in United States Consulates as this is the responsibility of each traveler.
Following registration approval, you can use your confirmation email as evidence of the purpose of your visit to Washington during your visa interview. The Bank Group and IMF will not be responsible for delays in visa processing.
THE CALL FOR SESSION PROPOSALS IS NOW CLOSED.
The call for proposals ran for 5 weeks, from July 17 to August 18, 2017.
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INSTRUCTIONS
A core component of the Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF) is some 40, mainly CSO-organized policy dialogue sessions that will run concurrently throughout the Forum.
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and CSO networks who are interested in organizing sessions were invited to submit their applications during the Call for Proposals which ran until Friday, August 18, 2017. Relevant materials and instructions can be found below.
Session organizers will be notified if their session has been selected for inclusion in the CSPF, prior to posting the preliminary CSPF program schedule online by Wednesday, September 6, 2017.
Please note that we cannot guarantee that every proposal will be accepted. Due to the growing demand for sessions in recent years and space constraints, we ask that each organization sponsor only one session, although you may co-sponsor additional sessions that other organizations are leading on. Proposals jointly sponsored with other CSOs - especially from other regions of the world - are highly encouraged!
If you want to submit a joint proposal, and/or would like to work on your proposal offline, please follow these two steps:
| 1 | NOW CLOSED: Word file - Proposal Submission Form (for drafting) |
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| Download this Word version of the submission form to work on your proposal offline with your partners. |
| 2 | NOW CLOSED: Online Proposal Submission Form (for final version) |
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| Once your final proposal is ready, please submit it electronically using this online form. |
All proposals, without exception, must be submitted electronically using the online form above.
The deadline for submitting a session proposal is Friday, August 18, 2017.
The purpose of the CSPF is to provide a balanced program with valuable sessions for all participants attending the CSPF. The review committee will therefore select proposals that contribute to a diverse and comprehensive forum. The committee will pay close attention to the thematic relevance of session proposals, and will prioritize sessions that invite debate beyond the focus of one CSO or a single country. To this end, the review committee may decide to ask some organizations to refine their proposals and consider merging sessions with other organizations that submitted similar proposals. The committee may also ask the community at large to vote on a few select sessions.
REMINDERS
