Presidency of the Leading Group

The Leading group is chaired by a different country every year. Chile has chaired the Leading group in 2014-2015. The next president of the group will be appointed shortly.

The chair is designated by consensus, on the basis of expressed candidates, following a principle of geographic rotation. The chair the Leading group entails the following responsibilities :

(1) Act as a leader in promoting innovative financing for development, especially within the UN (General Assembly of the United Nations in particular) and become the spokesman of the Leading group to disseminate its messages to the international community. (2) Establish, in collaboration with the Permanent secretariat (France), a work program for the year. (3) Organize and host a plenary session at the end of term.

Permanent Secretariat

Since the beginning of the Leading group, founded at the end of the Paris Conference on Innovative Financing in 2006, France (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development), has hold the permanent secretariat of the group. This means that France coordinated the network of actors involved in the Leading group, offers work topics in relation with the rotating presidency and supports the logistical aspects of meetings and events.

Joining the Leading group

The Leading group is an informal forum, and each member brings his expertise and specificity. Being a member does not imply any obligation of implementing a mechanism of innovative financing. It does not either constrain the revenues of any already existing mechanism.

Any country or organization may request accession to this enclosure by verbal note or letter to the Presidency of the Leading Group and the Permanent Secretariat.

Meeting Formats

The Leading group may meet in different formats during the year :

Plenary Sessions  : Traditionally held annually in the capital of the Chair country, a plenary session allows to address in depth all the topics related to innovative financing, present existing initiatives and share lessons learned and experience feedback of the pilot projects. Members are represented at political level (ministerial) and technical levels. The last plenary session was held in 2014 in Abuja under the Nigerian presidency.

Technical workshops can also be programmed at the initiative of the permanent secretariat or another member of the group on a topic related to international agenda. This type of event intends to examine at technical level the financial tools specifically dedicated to chosen themes. The result of these exchanges among experts is then made available in order to facilitate political decision making about the most suitable financial options to the different national contexts and objectives.

Side events  : This is the main meeting format of the Leading group. These events allow to act on the sidelines of major summits and international conferences on development by communicating - through the intervention of a high-level panel - on the benefits of investing in innovative sources and mechanisms of funding for sustainable development and climate. Latest events : September 28, 2015 on the sidelines of the opening of the 70th UNGA and 14 July 2015 on the sidelines of the 3rd UN Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa.