This workshop, held January 23, 2001, in Ottawa, Canada, was designed primarily for the IISD Board of Directors and senior government officials. The workshop had two objectives:

1. to sensitize invited policy-makers, especially those involved in Canadian aid, to the strengths and uniqueness of the sustainable development framework as a policy tool to address poverty alleviation in many developing countries; and

2. to identify and formulate a working model to address poverty alleviation policy strategies within a sustainable development framework.

The model IISD proposes brings together the fundamental elements of Joseph Stiglitz's new development paradigm and the World Bank's four pillars-to-growth doctrine. Formulating the working model of the strategic vision is a challenging and significant task. The workshop was a response to this challenge. The idea was to assemble a varied group of experts with experience in the field as well as senior foreign aid policy-makers. The aim was to formulate such a framework and inform the direction of new aid policies.