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Become the next Superhero!

If you are helping to improve lives in the region, we want to hear your story and highlight your work. Share your experiences and lessons learned so that your learnings become timely knowledge for other teams.

FINALISTS

1

Mariluz's Journey Toward Recycling: The Power of Social Participation in Sustainability

Window: IDB

Country: Bolivia
2

Circular Socioeconomic as a vector for local development using Waste from the Sururu supply chain

Window: IDB Lab

Country: Brasil
3

Social and Economic Entrepreneurship for the Fight Against Deforestation

Window: IDB

Country: Colombia
4

Xochi, Flower Corridor

Window: IDB

Country: Honduras
5

Xochi, Corredor de las Flores

Window: IDB Invest

Country: Guatemala

What do you need to be a Superhero of Development?

Be part of an executing agency of a project (co) financed by the IDB or be a client of IDB Invest or IDB Lab. In addition, you must highlight your ability to:



Face challenges

What challenges did you face and what impact did they have on project performance?

Generate solutions

What creative and/or innovative solutions were established to address those project challenges?

Identify lessons learned

What experiences and learnings can you share so that the teachings become applicable and timely knowledge within everyone's reach?

Why should you participate?

Share learnings

Systematize the lessons learned and share that practical knowledge with other teams so that it can be used in other projects.

Publicize the impact of your operations

Participate in the Grand Finale in Washington, D.C. to publicize the effort you make every day in the implementation of your operations. Managing development projects is not an easy task.

Being part of a prestigious community

It integrates a select group of project executors. Get the recognition you deserve and build new networks.

If you are one of the finalists


Gain visibility

Participate in the event in Washington D.C. where winners of the seventh edition of Superheroes of Development will be selected.

Take advantage of the IDB Group communication channels to showcase your operations. Be part of the Superheroes of Development publication, which has an average of 50,000 downloads.

* Visa arrangements for the United States will be the responsibility of project finalists.




Show your recognition


Earn a digital Superheroes of Development credential.
Earn recognition and share your achievements on profesional and social channels




When?

20

may

Applications open

28

june

Applications close

13

september

Finalists are announced



Dates
The application will be open until June 28th, 2024.


participation
form
Complete all the information requested in the form. Click here.


TERMS AND
CONDITIONS
To participate please read the Terms and Conditions. Click here.



Panel
There are different evaluation instances, led by various panels of experts from the IDB Group.


Process
Finalists travelling to Washington, D.C. will be selected, where 2 winners will be chosen.


Focus
  1. Projects that have had an agile and effective execution and that have demonstrated innovation and/or creativity in addressing the challenges faced

  2. Closed Operations that faced and solved challenges such as:
    • Government transition
    • Staff turnover in Executing Agency/Client
    • Change in priorities
    • Fiscal space (limited available public resources)
*With special focus on identifying and sharing lessons learned and operational learnings from project execution.

Eligibility criteria and general description
A technical team from the IDB Group verifies that all the requested requirements are met and that there is a correct description of challenges, solutions, results, and lessons learned.


IDB Group Officials
An interdepartmental panel of the IDB Group will evaluate the proposals and the finalists will be chosen.


Top administration
The finalists present their projects to a panel of IDB Group senior management at an event at the Bank's headquarters in Washington, D.C. In this instance, the 2 winning projects are chosen.

Finalists
The finalists will have the opportunity to make their projects visible through the IDB communication channels. From a publication with their stories, and their lessons learned, to a dissemination campaign on social networks. Finalists and winning projects will get the recognition they deserve.


Preparation
Led by IDB communication specialists, finalists and winners will have the opportunity to train in preparing their pitches and presentations.


High level event
The finalists will have the opportunity to share their learnings and experiences at an event in Washington, D.C. with senior management of the IDB Group, which will also be broadcasted through a series of online channels.

Become the
next Superhero of Development today!


*Create an account to start application process

Meet the current Superheroes

Frequently Asked Questions about
Superheroes of Development

The objectives of this initiative are:
  1. Recognize executing agencies and clients that have successfully addressed the challenges that arise during the execution of IDB development projects or have achieved a development impact related to the financing of IDB Invest or IDB Lab.
  2. Systematization and exchange of lessons learned to improve the effectiveness of projects and share this practical knowledge with other teams.

This call is for executing agencies/clients that are currently executing - or have been since 2016 - a project that includes IDB Group financing. In the case of Haiti, we accept teams in charge of donations.

IDB Group specialists or staff are not eligible to participate. They may be consulted as part of the process and may participate in the preparation of the execution challenge narrative, but the award will be given to the clients and personnel of the executing agency.

The IDB will review the executing agency/client's eligibility and recognize the executing agency/client team.

You can, but it is not required. All submissions must reference all relevant individuals and institutions involved in the specific challenge and solution described but are not required or limited in terms of the number of individuals or organizations involved in any one submission. The team submitting the story is responsible for sharing credit and acknowledging the contributions of different agencies and individuals.

Entries may involve other individuals; however all award entries must be made by staff of the executing agency or eligible project client. The solution or innovation described in the application must be at least reviewed or have been reviewed by the executing agency/client and must have (have had) a direct impact on the performance or results of the project.

Yes. There is no limit to the number of stories that the executing agency or eligible client can submit.

You must fill out a form following the corresponding steps. The forms are on the Open IDB platform, where you must register. Only stories submitted through this form will be considered for the awards platform, where you must register. Only stories submitted through this form will be considered for the awards.

You may submit your application in any of the four official languages of the Bank (English, French, Spanish or Portuguese).

While it is permissible to submit additional relevant information to your story as part of the entry, the panel will not consider this information for their evaluation (however, it can be used for knowledge sharing purposes.) It is therefore recommended to ensure that all critical information is included in the suggested format.

Changes and updates to your application are possible up to the closing date and time of the application stage (June 28th, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. EDT). Applications received after the closing date will not be considered by the evaluation panel.

All applications will be carefully evaluated by a panel of IDB experts. Projects financed by the IDB (sovereign guaranteed loan), IDB Invest and IDB Lab will be selected based on the following criteria: challenge in execution; solutions and achievements; and lessons learned.

One of the key objectives of this initiative is to promote the exchange of knowledge among development specialists in Latin America and the Caribbean. To this end, any application received by the IDB may be formatted and published for public disclosure

The winners and finalists will have the opportunity to participate in a discussion at the IDB Group headquarters in Washington, D.C., which will be broadcasted online, where they will share their stories and give visibility to their project, achievements, and experiences. They will also receive digital credentials that can be shared on different professional and social platforms, as well as a diploma and statuette of recognition.

May 20th
Applications open

June 28th
Applications close

September 13th
Finalists are announced

Learn more about the winning projects in past editions

Publication:
2023 edition

Publication:
2022 edition

Publication:
2021 edition

Publication:
2020 edition

Publication:
2018+2019 edition

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