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The Public Communications Policy of the Asian Development Bank: Disclosure and Exchange of Information

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Introduction

1. ADB is engaged in one of the great endeavors of our time—the fight against poverty. It works in a region that is home to almost 700 million people who survive on less than $1 dollar a day and almost 1.9 billion, well over a quarter of humankind, who live on less than $2 dollars a day.

2. ADB works to reduce poverty in two main ways.¹ It gives financial support to specific projects and programs to reduce poverty and promote economic growth and it provides ideas and insights to member country governments as they shape the policies and the institutions that will help people improve their lives.

3. If it is to be effective, ADB must work with a broad range of people and organizations. If it is to create strong and productive partnerships, ADB must be widely known, its motivations and objectives must be clear and well understood, and it must be respected as a professional, results-oriented, and practical institution. To gain trust and to support participatory development, ADB must demonstrate openness and accountability by proactively sharing information with, and seeking feedback from, all of its stakeholders.² ADB must also respond to information requests from its stakeholders.

4. Effective external relations and disclosure of information—i.e., more open and proactive public communications—are central elements in building these partnerships. ADB recognized this in its Long-Term Strategic Framework (2001-2015)³ and its knowledge management framework.⁴

5. In the past decade, there has been a clear global trend toward greater openness and access to information⁵ and it is now widely accepted that information sharing is essential to participatory development. This trend toward transparency and the global communications revolution have raised public expectations about the type, range, and delivery of information provided by institutions in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. ADB must adapt to the new era of greater openness to remain in step with its comparator institutions,⁶ the practices of many governments and the private sector in member countries, and public expectations.

6. As ADB's existing policies in this area⁷ date back to the mid-1990s, an update is due. In May 2003, ADB's President appointed a steering committee, chaired by the Principal Director, OER, to review the Policy on Confidentiality and Disclosure of Information (Disclosure Policy) and the Information Policy and Strategy (Information Policy) and to consult proactively with stakeholders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors on developing a new, unified policy.

7. In addition to soliciting written comments, ADB held 15 consultations in a number of member countries to hear the views of a broad range of interested parties within and outside the region. Altogether, more than 430 people participated in the workshops and a videoconference. About one quarter of the participants were public officials. Further details of the review process and a summary of external opinions are in Supplementary Appendix A.

8. This document reports the results of this review and presents ADB's new policy on its communications with the public. It will replace the existing policies.

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