The Foundation for Development Planning, Inc (FDPI) was founded to support and implement programs that lead to the sustainable development of Caribbean communities.  The objectives and purpose of the FDPI are to be achieved through engagement with “relevant stakeholders to foster sustainable development in the Caribbean, integrating social, economic, and environmental dimensions“.

Public engagement, in the larger development context, is understood to be the process of shared decision making and partnerships through which public agencies, civil society organizations, private institutions, and citizens work together to achieve project or program goals.

Beyond projects and programs, the collective action required to solve complex social problems has to be founded on a practice of participatory decision-making and public engagement. That requires the maintenance of governance systems that proactively support participatory processes.  The sustainability of shared governance systems is in turn dependent on the constant replenishment of individuals of integrity and institutional cultures and practices that underpin just societies.

The FDPI functions in a number of roles, ranging from information sharing to participation in collective impact processes.  The FDPI endeavors to become an Institution of Place in the Caribbean.  The FDPI defines an Institution of Place, as “an institution that serves as a steward of the communities and region in which it functions, a publicly engaged institution that plays an essential role in addressing issues of importance and facilitating the development of the communities and region it serves“.

The FDPI recognizes that, in order to function effectively in its various roles and achieve mission success, its programming must be supported by an appropriate public engagement strategy.

The priorities and mechanisms for engagement by the FDPI includes; information sharing, institutional partnerships, inter-governmental arrangements, youth in development, and networking.  See collaborative arrangements.

The Caribbean Family and Friends Engagement Initiative is designed to facilitate participation of the Caribbean diaspora in Caribbean development initiatives.

Information is routinely shared with a range of institutions in the public and civil society sectors, as well as with development practitioners in the Caribbean region via virtual networks.  The Foundation also established a LinkedIn Group and a Facebook Page to facilitate information dissemination and discussion of Caribbean Development issues.

The FDPI also facilitates public discussion of important development issues in the Caribbean by providing a Guest Articles page within this site.  Guest articles are meant to inform and encourage public discussion of all aspects of Caribbean development.  Persons interested in submitting articles for publication on this site should first read the guidelines for submitting guest articles.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, the FDPI facilitates public discussion of development issues through several mechanisms. Of these, public briefings are used to explore the implications to the U.S. Virgin Islands of global and regional sustainable development compacts and initiatives. Of note are the public briefing in 2012 on the outcome of the third United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) and the public briefing in 2013 on the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States.