UN-DESA • MCDS • UNDP Ecuador

Inception meeting and training workshop
Quito, Ecuador
10-12 May 2011

The project application in Ecuador was initiated during inception meetings, followed by a training workshop, on 10-12 May, 2011, in Quito, Ecuador. Activities were jointly organized by DPAD/UN-DESA, the Ministry of Social Development Coordination (Ministerio de Coordinación de Desarrollo Social, MCDS) and the UNDP Country Office in Ecuador.

The meetings served to discuss the main stakeholders’ expectations of the project and institutional arrangements for its implementation. Key agreements include:

• institutionalization of the use of the project’s methodology in key institutions, under the leadership of MCDS;
• formation of a “technical unit” consisting of staff from the MCDS, the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of Ecuador, and the National Secretariat for Planning and Development (SENPLADES).

During the workshop DPAD/UN-DESA:

• presented an overview of the project’s modeling methodology, including the theoretical foundations, data requirements and simulation results that can be used to address policy questions;
• addressed key policy questions of the project.