25 Years JVI: Austrian Authorities Proud to Host this Outstanding Training Institute

The decision taken by Austria 25 years ago to invest financial and in-kind resources into the establishment of a training institute to provide capacity building in economic and financial management in transition countries has been a wise and forward looking one. After the fall of the Iron Curtain, in an atmosphere of change and enthusiasm, Austria, in cooperation with a number of international organizations, decided to actively support the transition process. Thus, the Joint Vienna Institute (JVI) was officially opened in October 1992.

JVI as a role model for other international training institutes

From the very beginning, “jointness” was a key driver behind the comprehensive training offered by the JVI and its members. Furthermore, hands-on, policy-oriented training can be seen as one of the main factors to make the JVI “a true success story“ and a role model  for other international training institutions. Roughly 40,000 course participants since 1992 give an idea of how much the training offered by the JVI was needed, and looking at the increasing numbers in recent years of how much it is still needed.


Capacity building needs are changing over time

Of course, capacity building challenges have changed. Providing an up-to-date training program means continued efforts to develop new course curricula to meet the economic challenges we are faced with. A quarter of century ago, the aim was to support countries in their transition to market-based economies. When a number of Central and Eastern European countries started to prepare for EU membership, there was a shift in content requirements from general topics of economic policymaking to specific topics related to EU accession.  Nowadays, we encounter many young participants who have grown up in market economies, studied abroad, and need to develop and strengthen very specific skills, especially in response to the global financial crisis, but also to specific challenges in their respective countries.

Training offered by Austrian Authorities at the JVI

The courses offered by the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), including training commissioned to the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw), cover a broad spectrum of topics. The OeNB’s focus is on core central banking topics, such as monetary policy implementation, cash and payment systems, monetary and financial statistics, financial stability, stress testing, banking supervision and financial education. Three OeNB courses, which are designed and delivered in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Finance and/or the ECB, deal with international relations and economic integration. The BMF courses focus mainly on public financial management and inclusive growth while the training conducted by wiiw experts covers competitiveness, foreign direct investment, structural reforms and public private partnerships. The emphasis in all these courses is put on peer-to-peer learning, with participants exchanging views and sharing experiences and best practices.

During the last decades, the region has seen an impressive economic catching-up process and institutions have improved. Immediately after the financial crisis this catching-up process came to a standstill, but for the forthcoming years economic prospects are quite good and even outperform those of the euro area. It is fair to say that training offered at the JVI contributed to this process and can do so in the future by continued course development to meet the needs of the region.

Technical assistance provided by Austria to JVI countries

Besides training at the JVI, the OeNB has a long tradition in providing technical assistance (TA). In recent years, TA programs implemented in cooperation with Eurosystem central banks have focused on candidate countries and potential candidates of the Western Balkans. These projects typically follow a two-tier approach, starting with a needs analysis which is followed up by an implementation program. The Federal Ministry of Finance is engaged in providing technical assistance on customs and tax issues.

Relationship building another key role of the JVI

The JVI has been and still is an institution not only focusing on training in economics but also on relationship building among JVI countries as well as between them and us. Whenever we travel to JVI target countries or meet officials from these countries - many of them JVI alumni in high-level positions - we are met with warmth and sincere gratitude. Of course, we are proud of having the JVI as an international organization in Vienna, but even more we are convinced that JVI training and relationship building is of huge mutual benefit.

Doris Ritzberger-Grünwald, Oesterreichische Nationalbank
Harald Waiglein, Federal Ministry of Finance of Austria