A Brief History of the JVI

The Joint Vienna Institute (JVI) is a cooperative venture of six international organizations and the Austrian Authorities (Oesterreichische Nationalbank and Ministry of Finance). The JVI began operations in 1992 to provide training to officials and managers from former centrally planned economies to assist them with the transition to market-based systems. In addition to the sponsoring organizations, a number of bilateral donors support the financial operations of the JVI. Since its establishment, over 49,000 course participants have been trained at the JVI.

While the operations of the JVI were originally subject to a sunset clause, demand for training in the JVI-eligible countries proved higher than originally envisaged. In 2002, the IMF and Austria therefore decided to tum the JVI into a permanent training institution to support and supplement the national efforts of JVI-eligible countries. The 2002 understandings between the IMF and Austria are reflected in the Memorandum of Understanding on the Continuation of the Joint Vienna Institute (MoU), which was signed by the IMF and Austria on March 13, 2002. These understandings are also reflected in the amended Agreement for the Establishment of the JVI, which was signed by the IMF, Austria and several other international organizations, and which came into effect on May 1, 2003.

The MoU of 2002 was reviewed and amended on June 26, 2006. An additional amendment was signed on November 26, 2008, following agreement between the IMF and Austria to expand their training at the JVI by offering more advanced courses in economics and finance and to open selected courses to a broader audience, recognizing the need for the JVI to continue to respond to the evolving training needs in the beneficiary countries.

The 2010 MoU between the IMF and Austria on the JVI came into effect on July 1, 2010. With this MoU, Austria and the IMF decided to expand training at the JVI further by increasing the teaching staff and opening selected courses to a more global audience. Pursuant to this agreement, Austria and the IMF renewed their commitment for another 4 years in 2014, 2018, and again in 2022.

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The original sponsoring organizations were the Bank for International Settlements (until 2004), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The World Trade Organization became a sponsoring organization in 1998, the European Investment Bank joined as a Contributing Member in 2013, and the European Commission has had observer status since 2007.