Managers and Chairpersons of projects being funded under the Caribbean Development Bank's (CDB) Basic Need Trust Fund (BNTF), are meeting in Barbados on October 30 -31, to share developments and discuss priorities for accelerating the start-up of the 7th cycle of the BNTF programme. This meeting, which follows a series of BNTF 7 national project launch workshops held earlier this year, also serves to reinforce new corporate priorities and operational efficiency and effectiveness. It immediately follows a gender training workshop tailored to the same country officials. Featured presentations will include status reports and actionable plans by country officials on BNTF 6 and 7, and raising the focus on standards and compliance. A demonstration of the BNTF web-based Sub-Project Monitoring Report and Completion Report will promote the roll out of results-oriented monitoring aligned with CDB's Results Based Monitoring. There will also be a preview of the new user-friendly BNTF Operations Manual Flipbook which incorporates the latest guidelines and procedures governing the Programme. Interactive and instructional sessions on Procurement and sub-project monitoring and a special Learning Event involving a panel discussion will also be part of the exercise. Other highlights include remarks by Ms. Deidre Clarendon, Division Chief, Social Sector Division and a presentation by CDB's Chief Risk Officer, Mr. Malcolm Buamah on managing risk in the BNTF Programme. BNTF Portfolio Manager, Mrs. Darran Newman Belgrave, will highlight the latest shift in thinking and the need to respond in changing times so that the Programme can better meet its objectives. Participants are drawn from the BNTF participating countries; Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as from two CDB-financed Community Driven (CDD) Projects in Haiti - PRODEP (Rural Community Driven Project) and PRODEPUR (Urban Community Driven Project). CAPTION: Participants in CDB's BNTF Programme's 2013 Regional Meeting.