IMG was established in 1994 at the initiative of UNHCR as an ad-hoc technical group to address the specific technical and infrastructure problems faced in Bosnia Herzegovina at the height of the conflict. With the financial and in-kind support of ECHO, UNHCR and several countries(*) – mainly, but not only EU member states - IMG set about assessing the damages to the Bosnian infrastructure and making recommendations and proposals for remedial action.

In November 1994, Madame Sadako Ogata, then the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, convened a working-level meeting of the Humanitarian Issues Working Group (HIWG) in Geneva to review the future of IMG. The result of this meeting was that IMG was granted a legal status and was empowered to function as an independent body. Subsequent meetings in Geneva defined the IMG Statute, which still regulates its status and operation.

A major part of the reconstruction programme for Bosnia Herzegovina (particularly in the sectors of transportation, water, energy, telecommunication and housing was developed in 1995 – 1996 by IMG experts in the field. The first World Bank – EC programme presented to the donors in 1996 clearly states it was prepared by the World Bank, the European Commission and IMG. Four of the Donor Task Forces for managing sectoral reconstruction were managed by IMG – Transportation, Energy, Water, and Housing.

During this period IMG also managed directly reconstruction funds for many donors such as The European Commission (DG Relex and ECHO), Austria, Norway, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Finland, Switzerland and Turkey. Since 1996, lot of projects have been directly implemented by IMG in addition to the various other monitoring and task force management activities undertaken. IMG still is active in Bosnia Herzegovina.

In the autumn of 1998, at the request of the European Commission, IMG undertook the design and execution of the total rehabilitation of Priština University in Kosovo (FRY) as part of a negotiated settlement between the Yugoslav authorities and the Albanian community. In November 1998, IMG was further requested by The European Commission to immediately commence a damage assessment in Kosovo to quantify the damages to housing being wrought by the ongoing conflict between the Yugoslav security forces and the Kosovo Liberation Army.

In the aftermath of the NATO engagement in the spring of 1999, IMG returned to Kosovo and, financed by the European Commission, prepared a full and comprehensive multisectoral damage assessment of the province. This assessment catalogued all damages and the estimated reconstruction costs for housing and all infrastructures (energy network, roads, bridges, railways, airport, water, sewage, health care facilities). IMG activities in Kosovo were gradually during 1999/2000 fused into the activities of the newly-formed European Agency for Reconstruction (EAR).

In the Winter of 1999, in response to a request from the European Commission to support an action designed to demonstrate the support of the EC to the-then opposition controlled municipalities in Serbia, IMG set up and managed a programme called “Fuel for Democracy” which successfully supplied heating fuel to those cities run by democratically elected authorities opposed to the ruling regime. This programme was expanded to also include the rehabilitation of schools and embraced more and more municipalities after the change of regime in Serbia in October 2000, becoming a countrywide programme known as “Schools and Towns for a Democratic Serbia” which lasted until the summer of 2002. IMG has continued to operate in Serbia and Montenegro since 2000 and has been managing programmes and projects for, among others, Austria, Spain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, UK and also the OSCE.

FYROM and has managed or continues to directly manage projects for Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Hungary, and the European Commission.

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(*) Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK

In the spring of 2002, IMG has been engaged by the European Commission to undertake a comprehensive damage assessment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and to quantify the damages done to infrastructure. This resulted in the creation of a very sophisticated damage and reconstruction database known as the DARD which has just recently been transferred to the ownership of the Palestinian Authority. In addition, during subsequent missions, IMG has monitored and provided technical assistance to the Commission-funded municipal reconstruction projects implemented directly by local municipalities.

In 2004, IMG has signed with the Italian Directorate General for Development Cooperation, an Agreement on Cooperation which has permitted IMG to expand its geographical reach and to provide the DGCS with an effective instrument for implementing difficult and complex projects world wide. As a result of this cooperation, IMG is present or has been present and managing projects in Latin America (Uruguay), Africa (Sudan & Somalia) and Asia (Afghanistan & Laos) in addition to managing projects in the Western Balkans.

In 2006, IMG, at the request of the European Commission, has established an office in Iraq to assist with the development of an EC –bilateral action for the country, to provide technical assistance to identified authorities and to assist with the monitoring of projects implemented with Commission funds through the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq (IRFFI)

Also in 2006, IMG has undertaken two damage assessment missions in Lebanon to assess the damages done to infrastructure during the recent Israeli invasion. In early autumn 2007 IMG has opened a mission office in Beirut to assist with an EC-funded reconstruction programme. Since 1994, IMG has managed almost 500 Contracts with an approximate value of €560 million to directly project manage, coordinate or otherwise provide technical support to more than 2000 projects with a total value of €3.9 billion.

Since 1994, when it was granted legal status and empowered to function as an independent body, IMG as an intergovernmental organization dedicated to the facilitation and management of various development efforts, has grown considerably and is now operating in almost 20 countries worldwide.

IMG is governed by a Standing Committee composed of donor governments as well as international/regional organizations that cooperate with IMG not only as contributors but also as implementing partners.

The status and operations of IMG are regulated through its Statute - officially adopted in 1994. As stipulated therein, IMG is headed by a General Manager who acts in the capacity of executive director and oversees implementation of all activities carried out by the organization. Individual programmes are managed by well-trained professional teams of local personnel under the supervision of experienced international officials with particular areas of expertise.

In 2008, IMG has commissioned a prestigious legal firm, Lovells LLP, to analyse the status of IMG under international law and to ascertain whether it was effectively operating as a recognizable body. The conclusion of this review has been that IMG is indeed a recognizable International Organization recognized under international law.

IMG continues to focus on supporting the efforts of the host countries where it is engaged, by implementing projects which clearly meet their development objectives. In doing so, IMG always seeks to cooperate closely with authorized government bodies and agencies and relevant Ministries.

IMG hopes to increase its area of activity and expand to manage new projects in new regions worldwide. The organization will continue to maintain both its professional and technical integrity by cooperating with all project stakeholders, thereby acting as a crucial link between Donor and Beneficiary.