The Latin American and Caribbean Institute for Economic and Social Planning (ILPES) is a permanent body with its own identity within the system of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). It was established in the early 1960s to support the governments of the region in the field of planning and public administration through the provision of training, capacity-building, advisory services and research.
ILPES supports member States in their efforts to strengthen their planning and public administration capacities, in particular through human resources training. The Institute, as the convener of the planning authorities of all countries, is in a privileged position as an observer of public administration and management for development in the region. Leveraging this position, ILPES performs two key functions: (i) it operates as a knowledge management centre for planning for economic, social and environmental development; and (ii) it provides capacity-building to strengthen public administration. To this end, the Institute works in close collaboration with the other ECLAC divisions, subregional headquarters and country offices, capitalizing on their vast pool of knowledge, data and analyses relating to the major challenges with respect to economic, social and environmental development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The main areas of work of ILPES are public administration, territorial development, forecasting and building long-term country visions, the assessment of policies, programmes and projects and open government.
Mission
ILPES is the lead entity in the ECLAC system for research, technical cooperation and training in the areas of planning, economics and public administration for the development of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. It provides a forum for discussion and reflection on the challenges that States face in their development strategies and contributes to national and subnational efforts to improve public policies and strengthen institutional capacities.
Vision
To be recognized as the region’s foremost centre of excellence in generating knowledge and proposals on the role of the State in development processes and in improving public management and planning. To become the leading coordinator of networks in these areas.