In order to incorporate a greater number of CSOs in the preparatory process for the Quebec City Summit of the Americas, Corporación PARTICIPA (Chile), in partnership with the ESQUEL Group Foundation (United States) and the Canadian Foundation for the Americas - FOCAL (Canada) coordinated a six-month consultation process with almost 900 CSOs throughout the Hemisphere. This process, which included 17 national consultations, generated 243 proposals on issues from the Quebec City Plan of Action, which were discussed and prioritized at a hemispheric meeting that took place in Miami in January 2001. The recommendations were then presented at the XXI meeting of the SIRG.

This collaborative effort continued after the Quebec City Summit of the Americas. Corporación PARTICIPA, with the help of the Regional Coordinator for Economic and Social Research (CRIES), the Universidad de Los Andes, FLACSO-Chile, FOCAL, and ESQUEL Group Foundation held a Workshop on "Evaluation of the Summit Process and Design of a Strategy to Monitor Implementation of the Quebec Plan of Action" in Buenos Aires on May 23-24, 2002. Based on the results of this workshop, these civil society organizations designed a "Strategy for the Civil Society Follow-Up of the Quebec Plan of Action."

At the Third Summit, the Heads of State and Government expressed appreciation for civil society’s contributions to the Quebec City Plan of Action and recognized civil society’s important role in the consolidation of democracy and its participation in government programs, as one of the vital elements for the success of development policies.

The Heads of State and Government entrusted the OAS and other multilateral organizations and development banks with developing strategies to enable civil society to participate more fully in the inter-American system. Said measures have increased the institutional capacity of the member state governments to receive, absorb, and act on CSO input and advocacy.

The leaders also promoted the role of CSOs–together with technical and educational professionals–in the development and implementation of disaster management policies at both the national and community levels. Moreover, they recognized the contributions made by CSOs to the promotion of national strategies for the sustainable development of agriculture and the improvement of living standards in rural areas.

Lastly, bearing in mind the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the Heads of State and Government asked the CSOs for contributions to promote the principles and practices that strengthen democratic culture in the Hemisphere. The Quebec City Plan of Action recognized that democracy is a way of life based on freedom and on improved economic, social, and cultural conditions for the people of the Americas in a context of good governance, management, and values, taking into account the inputs of CSOs.