Financing for Development (FfD) and innovative mechanisms for financing development

The origins of Financing for Development (see FAQs) go back to the Asian crisis of the late nineties and led to a summit Conference in Monterrey, Mexico in March, 2002. The Conference had an extensive and far-reaching agenda. It entailed an ongoing multi-stakeholder process involving a range of multilateral institutions, governments, civil society organizations (CSOs) and the private sector. Its consensus was challenged by a parallel civil society process.

The United Nations has agreed to hold a review conference, evaluating progress on the Monterrey “consensus” in Doha, Qatar in late 2008. This section provides information to support civil society engagement with the preparatory process for that event as well as on the particular issues on its agenda.

Parallel to this official multilateral meeting is a second informal, collaborative, multistakeholder process to identify “innovative mechanisms for financing for development”. Initiated by Presidents Lula of Brazil and Chirac of France in 2004, it continues today through a Leading Group ("on Solidarity Levies for Development") comprised of more than 40 governments.

Through technical groups and one or more working groups, the Leading Group has examined a number of different possibilities for financing development, including the following:

• a levy on airline tickets and a joint drug purchasing agency (both are in operation);
  
• a Currency Transaction Tax;
  
• measures to reduce tax evasion;
  
• a new version of special drawing rights (See Glossary of Financial Terms);
  
• and, many other ideas.