(17 August 2007) Field visits to 20 projects selected as semi-finalists will be conducted from 1 to 21 September in the next phase of the 2006-2007 round of the Experiences in Social Innovation competition organized by ECLAC and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. 

The 20 projects chosen by the Selection Committee will be evaluated by specialists and, in some cases, by ECLAC staff. The semi-finalists come from Argentina (2), Bolivia (2), Brazil (6), Chile (1), Colombia (2), Ecuador (1), El Salvador (2), Honduras (1), Mexico (2) and Peru (1). 

Most of the projects are carried out by national or international non-governmental organizations and municipal authorities, and cover the following areas: education (7), rural development (4), youth (3), volunteer work (3), health (2) and corporate social responsibility. 

The Selection Committee has chosen these initiatives from 10 countries for their high degree of innovation, replicability and sustainability under conditions that are often adverse. Other criteria include the project’s capability to build associativity and community leadership, elements that contribute to building social capital. 

Information gathered in on-site visits will be used to select the top prize-winners, who will be invited to the Innovation Fair, to be held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from 4 to 6 December. 

Winning projects will receive the following awards: first prize, US$30,000; second prize, US$20,000, third prize, US$15,000, fourth prize, US$10,000; and fifth prize, US$5,000. Finalist and prize-winning projects will be widely disseminated throughout the region. 

Launched in 2004, the competition identifies new initiatives in the field of social development to learn from and disseminate successful experiences on behalf of the poorest sectors in the countries of the region. To date, some 3,500 projects have been submitted in three rounds. Submissions for the fourth round will open next 6 December. 

First-prize winner of the 2005-2006 round was a programme for community response to domestic violence in Peru. Second-prize was awarded to an Argentine project to rehabilitate juvenile lawbreakers through an efficient mentoring system. Third-prize winner was a project to produce trout in the Peruvian highlands. Other prize-winners include a municipal health project in Paraguay and a programme to integrate visually-impaired students into normal schools in Brazil. 

In the 2004-2005 round, the first-prize winner was Haiti’s “Leche Agogó” milk production project, which combines modern technology with traditional wisdom. An Argentine project to cultivate Andean grains was awarded second place. Third prize went to a gang and drug abuse prevention programme among disadvantaged Guatemalan youths; fourth prize was awarded to a cooperative of organic family farms in Brazil; and fifth place went to a community health project, also in Brazil.

Links to:
Press release

	Evaluarán en terreno veinte proyectos innovadores del concurso CEPAL- Fundación Kellogg
	Los programas seleccionados provienen de Argentina, Brasil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, México y Perú.

Vinte projetos inovadores serão avaliados na fase final do concurso CEPAL-Fundação Kellogg
Ils evalueront sur place vingt projets innovateurs dans la dernière fase du concours Cepalc - Fondation Kellogg