Welcome to the FOCAL archive
The Canadian Foundation for the Americas (FOCAL) is no longer in operation. This website documents FOCAL's activities and accomplishments throughout its existence. Thank you for your interest in the work of FOCAL.
Hemispheric Think-Tank Initiative |
The Hemispheric Think-Tank Initiative created a network of think-tanks from across the hemisphere that combined efforts to provide research and insight into the Fifth Summit of the Americas. The group aimed to reinforce and complement the efforts of official agencies by mobilizing needed intellectual and policy resources to inform the Summit process. Following the Fifth Summit a group of think-tanks met to discuss best practices, lessons learned and ways to move forward. These meetings sparked the creation of a task force to explore options for civil society consultation including public opinion polling. This was a joint initiative of FOCAL and the Inter-American Dialogue (Washington, D.C.) with the support of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), the OAS Summits of the Americas Secretariat and the Fifth Summit of the Americas Office of the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. The Think-Tank Initiative conducted several meetings:
Participating Institutions: U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) |