Message from the Director November 2022

2022 has been another challenging year, but it is ending on a positive note: after more than two years of virtual training delivery, we are now back in the classroom in Vienna, and hopefully for good! While our course participants appreciated continued access to training through virtual delivery during the Covid-19 pandemic, they also underscored its limitations. With the return to the classroom and the harnessing of IT, the JVI and its partners will be able to better support capacity building in public sector economic institutions in the countries of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Iran, and Türkiye. 

We continue to be particularly grateful to the JVI’s Primary Members—the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), the Austrian National Bank (OeNB), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)—for their strong intellectual and financial support. Our Contributing Members—the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO)—as well as the European Commission have also provided critical support to the JVI over many years. In addition, JVI has benefited from its increasing cooperation with many other partners, such as the Deutsche Bundesbank, Banque de France, Bank of England, European Central Bank, US Federal Reserve, National Bank of Poland, National Bank of Slovakia, and International Labor Organization. 

Looking back at 2022. Despite continuing challenges related to the pandemic, 80 courses will have been delivered by end-2022, of which close to half in the classroom. This outcome has required continued agility from the JVI and its partners, as new challenges have arisen with the resumption of in-person delivery. An important one has been to provide a safe environment for participants and lecturers. Demand for JVI training increased in recent months, reflecting the return to in-person courses. Several new courses were delivered for the first time, covering topics like central bank digital currencies and the EU’s Green Deal. Well-attended webinars have continued to be held, focusing on new emerging issues (e.g., the impact of the war in Ukraine, managing higher inflation) and on complementing courses in the JVI curriculum. 

What to expect in 2023. We expect all courses to be delivered in the classroom, but we will no doubt continue experimenting with hybrid delivery and blended learning, like in our flagship Applied Economic Policy course. The JVI will offer next year a wide variety of hands-on, policy-oriented training courses, workshops, and webinars covering general macroeconomic issues; monetary, fiscal, financial, and structural policies; and various other specialized topics. Our curriculum and webinar series also reflect emerging needs, with for instance new courses on Nowcasting and Building Institutions to Fight Corruption.

The IMF courses will provide a broad introduction to macroeconomic and financial sector management, with some of them focusing on more specific topics. The courses delivered by the Austrian Authorities will cover a broad range of issues such as: competitiveness and FDI policies, public sector reforms, taxation, euro area integration, climate change and green finance, but also financial education and diversity and inclusion. All these courses build on Austria’s own experience and that of other EU countries, involve many practitioners, and include an important peer-learning component. Our Contributing Members and the European Commission will offer courses or contribute to joint courses in their areas of expertise. The JVI will continue to join forces with other partners to mobilize their deep and broad expertise.

Our course schedule for 2023 can be found here. With over 50 course offerings that are free, self-paced, and entirely internet accessible, the IMF’s Online Learning Program is an excellent complement to JVI’s in-person training. 

We hope to see you soon in Vienna!

Hervé Joly
Director, Joint Vienna Institute
November 2022