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The Government of Japan contributed to the establishment of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) through a Grant of US$490,000. Additionally, the IBRD secured a grant of US$650,000 in 2005 from the Japanese Policy and Human Resource Development (PHRD) Fund towards financing the cost of preparatory activities for the Inner City Basic Services Project.
The Japan Policy and Human Resources Development Fund (PHRD) Fund was established in 1990 as a partnership between the Government of Japan and the World Bank. The PHRD supports a wide range of poverty alleviation and capacity building activities within member countries of the World Bank.
Grant Agreement No. TF054629-JM was signed between the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, acting as administrator for the grant, and the Government of Jamaica on May 10, 2005 with a Closing Date of December 31, 2005.
On October 2, 2007 the Japanese Government and the GoJ signed Grant Agreement No. TF090322-JM, in the amount of US$500, 000; for the preparation of the 2nd National Community Development Project. The Closing Date for the grant was April 20, 2009.
In June, 2009 through a consultative process, with a coalition of over a dozen leading Jamaican NGOs and community groups, active in community crime and violence prevention, the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) project emerged. The Grant was financed by the Japan Social Development Fund through the World Bank to be implemented by the JSIF. The Grant sought to support the JSIF’s efforts in reducing the incidence of crime and violence in high risk and vulnerable inner city communities in Jamaica, and had two main components:
Component A: of the Grant was implemented with the support of the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA), to assist in the development and implementation of a Crime and Violence Information System, in addition to strengthening the planning capabilities of the Project communities.
Specifically, the Component aimed to produce the following:
- An integrated crime and violence information platform or web based crime observatory; Integrated Crime and Violence Information System (ICVIS) for the twelve (12) communities captured by the Inner City Basic Services Project (ICBSP), which served as a platform to host and share crime and violence information with stakeholders in a secure system, designed within international standards.
- The Production and implementation of community action plans aimed at strengthening the planning capabilities of the project communities, for crime and violence prevention.
- Funding of subproject activities identified in the community action plans, focusing on vulnerable and high risk populations in the project communities.
This Component was expected to roll out over a two year period; coinciding with the closure of the ICBSP in 2011.
Component B: The Jamaica Violence Action (JAVA) Fund - utilized the JAVA Fund to finance crime and violence prevention activities in high-risk areas along the Kingston-May Pen metropolitan corridor in the southeastern region of the island.
Specifically, the JAVA Fund supported innovative approaches to crime and violence prevention, through demand-driven subprojects, developed and implemented by NGOs and CBOs with established track records in community-based crime and violence prevention. The JAVA Fund targeted subprojects in three thematic areas:
- Mediation and conflict resolution
- Social programmes for youth at risk, aimed at violence prevention
- Social support services for vulnerable families in the selected communities
The JAVA Fund aimed to fund an estimated sixteen (16) sub grants between January 2010 and December 2011.
Overall the Grant aimed to directly and indirectly benefit approximately 93,500 residents of high risk neighborhoods; through participation in targeted crime and violence prevention activities and improved public safety.
