Other Infrastructure Study
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Publication
Transport Data Readiness Assessment: The Kyrgyz Republic
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018)The globalization of the economy is influencing not only internal and external migration and demographic processes but also urbanization in almost all countries. Big cities are growing fast, increasing the critical role of the transportation. Today, digital technologies and data analytics techniques provide tremendous opportunities to urban planners, central and municipal governments, and residents and the business sector to share and reuse data from various sources to jointly solve problems associated with transportation. The latest global trends in urban planning and management demonstrate significant increase of technology deployment, expansion of Big Data, Open Government Data (OGD), cloud computing, wide spread of mobile devices, and the internet of things. This report presents key findings of the Transport Data Readiness Assessment conducted in the Kyrgyz Republic, with special focus on urban transportation in Bishkek, the capital city. Based on the analysis of the situation, the report identifies obstacles and challenges and provides a set of recommendations to be considered by the central government and the Bishkek city administration, including relevant smart digitally enabled solutions. -
Publication
Support to National Capacity Development: Framework for Improving Water and Sanitation Services in Bangladesh
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-12-23)The objective of this World Bank technical assistance has been to support the Government of Bangladesh’s (GoB) national capacity development framework for improving water and sanitation services (WSS) in Bangladesh, focusing on demand-responsive peer-to-peer or horizontal learning processes and improve horizontal accountability communication and monitoring systems to track progress in the sector. This technical assistance is in line with the World Bank country assistance strategy (CAS) which seeks to support the GoB target of ensuring safe drinking water and sanitation for all. It has contributed to strengthening the long-term capacity of the government, in particular the union Parishad (UP) which is responsible for ensuring water and sanitation services for all in Bangladesh. -
Publication
Fostering a Digitally Inclusive Aging Society in China : The Potential of Public Libraries
(Washington, DC, 2014-07-08)The World Bank has been supporting this policythrough theprogram China Rural Information and Communications: Technical Assistance on Design and Impact Evaluation, which aims to support the government make decisions about potential scaling up of innovative ICT pilot projects and to generate and disseminate knowledge about the impacts of ICT in rural China. Three activities were undertakenwith a focus on a trio of provinces (Guizhou, Jilin, and Shandong): (a) a demand survey to assess rural ICT access and attitudes; (b) a library study including scoping the status of ICT use in rural libraries; and (c) a limited impact evaluation to examine how ICT interventions have affected rural users. -
Publication
ICT as an Enabler of Transformation in Ethiopia
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-01)Over the last two decades, Ethiopia has achieved remarkable progress toward social and economic indicators. Analytical evidence shows that development projects with a significant information and communication technology (ICT) component have a higher potential to achieve greater outcomes on the ground than the ones not supported by ICT. This is why the Government of Ethiopia sees ICT within the broader context of its socioeconomic development objectives and believes that it should take advantage of today's most innovative and reliable technologies to accelerate the rate of economic growth and alleviate poverty in the country. The Government of Ethiopia has requested the ICT sector unit of the World Bank to prepare a comprehensive report on how ICT can be used to achieve a true transformation of the Ethiopian economy and society. Therefore, this report explores how ICT can be leveraged to foster the development of an ICT-enabled industry and the private sector in general, to enhance public sector performance, to develop the agriculture and health sectors, and finally how all these efforts can lead to the emergence of an open innovation ecosystem. This report takes stock of current and recently-launched ICT initiatives in Ethiopia and develops sector-specific recommendations based on international best practices that help leverage the transformative power of ICT to improve the social and economic well-being of citizens and achieve rapid and sustainable socioeconomic development. The report explores following topics: background in chapter one, presents fostering the development of ICT-enabled industry and the private sector in chapter two. Chapter three deals with enhancing the performance of the public sector. Chapter four is developing the health sector. Chapter five deals with agricultural and rural development. Chapter six helps in creating an open innovation ecosystem; and chapter seven presents recommendations for ICT-enabled transformation in Ethiopia. -
Publication
Philippines Conditional Cash Transfer Program : Impact Evaluation 2012
(Washington, DC, 2013-11)The specific objectives of the program are to: a) keep children in school, b) keep children healthy, and c) invest in the future of children. It reflects the Government's commitment to promoting inclusive growth by investing in human capital to improve education and health outcomes for poor children and pregnant women. The program is based on the premise that poverty is not about income alone but is multi-dimensional, and factors such as access to basic social services and social environments matter. This report presents the findings from an analysis that assessed program impact by comparing outcomes in areas that received Pantawid Pamilya with outcomes in areas that did not receive the program. The impact evaluation applied two analytical methods: 1) Randomized Control Trial (RCT), which compared randomly assigned program areas and non-program areas to assess program impact, and 2) regression discontinuity design, which compared the outcomes of poor households who received the program with similar poor households just above the poverty line. This report presents the findings from the RCT component only. It should be noted that although 2.5 years of program implementation is generally considered enough time to observe impacts on short-term outcomes, it is not long enough to assess impacts on long-term outcome measures. The program is also achieving its objective of enabling poor households to increase their investments in meeting the health and education needs of their children. Although the study found that the cash grants were reaching beneficiaries, the study did not find an overall increase in per capita consumption among the poor benefiting from the program, although there was some evidence that poor households are saving more in certain provinces. -
Publication
Enhancing Transparency and Accountability through Citizen Feedback : Lessons from the E-ISR+ Pilot
(Washington, DC, 2013-01-14)The External Implementation Status and Results Plus (E-ISR+) system is a feedback, transparency, and accountability tool for the World Bank. E-ISR+ is intended to disclose current project information to external stakeholders, to obtain feedback from non-state players on project progress and results, and to systematically reflect external feedback in implementation reporting. In doing so, it incorporates concepts from social accountability, third-party monitoring, and participatory monitoring and evaluation to emphasize increased transparency, accountability, and stakeholder involvement in World Bank projects. The main sections of the ISR became accessible to the public, reflecting the Bank s new access to information policies and an effort to open up more information about Bank operations to the external public. Moreover, reflecting the overall trend toward more open development, the ISR process tests a new pilot effort in several African countries. E-ISR+ is designed to contribute to an improved environment for accountability generally within the host country and particularly where civil society monitoring strengthens the ability to hold government and other institutions answerable for their expected roles in a project. An improved environment for transparency and accountability is a long-term goal; it is also dependent on variable factors. -
Publication
Mobile Applications for Agriculture and Rural Development
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-05)The dynamic growth of mobile communications technology is creating opportunities for economic growth, social empowerment, and grassroots innovation in developing countries. One of the areas with the greatest potential impact is in the contribution that mobile applications can make to agricultural and rural development (ARD), by providing access to information, markets, and services to millions of rural inhabitants. For both agricultural supply and demand, mobile phones can reduce waste, make delivery more efficient, and forge closer links between farmers and consumers. This report provides policymakers and development practitioners with a guide that facilitates the development and deployment of mobile applications for ARD. It also informs their understanding of the key drivers for promoting such applications and services in their countries. Using James Moore’s (1996) revised definition of ecosystems: economic communities based on interacting organizations and individuals the report identifies a wide range of players in the ecosystem for m-ARD apps, such as mobile network operators, m-app (mobile applications) providers, content providers, and various types of users. M-apps are software designed to take advantage of mobile technology and can be developed for technology besides mobile phones. But mobile phones have many key advantages: affordability, wide ownership, voice communications, and instant and convenient service delivery. As a result, there has been a global explosion in the number of m-apps, facilitated by the rapid evolution of mobile networks and by the increasing functions and falling prices of mobile handsets. M-apps are markedly different in developing countries because they typically run on second-generation (2G) phones rather than smartphones, which are far more common in developed countries. The report reviews country examples and extracts policy lessons and good practices. It also presents detailed studies of cases from Kenya, Philippines, and Sri Lanka, as well as summarizes 92 case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The goal is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the development impact, ecosystem, and business models for mobile applications in ARD. The report is intended to complement the recent ICT in Agriculture eSourcebook. One of the main findings is that an enabling platform (or platforms) is probably the most important factor for the development of m-ARD apps. Platforms can facilitate interactions among ecosystem players, increase access to users, provide technical standards, and incorporate payment mechanisms. -
Publication
Making Benefit Sharing Arrangements Work for Forest-dependent Communities : Overview of Insights for REDD+ Initiatives
(Program on Forests (PROFOR), Washington, DC, 2012-02)This overview paper positions the question of benefit sharing in the context of REDD plus. It shares findings from a cursory review of a sample of Readiness Preparation Proposals (RPP) for REDD plus submitted to the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF). It deconstructs the concept of benefit sharing. It also provides a summary of the main findings from three recent studies on benefit sharing that were financed by the Program on Forests (PROFOR). The PROFOR studies build on existing research. They also use primary and secondary data collected from a literature review, key informant interviews, structured surveys, and case studies. The studies: a) explore the substantive legal issues and procedural options for identifying legitimate and intended beneficiaries in situations where rights are unclear; b) provide information and tools to assist policy makers and development partners to design and develop nationally appropriate arrangements for transferring REDD plus benefits; and c) provide the local partners' perspective on benefit sharing and the process involved in determining benefits and establishing arrangements for sharing the benefits. -
Publication
Making Benefit Sharing Arrangements Work for Forest-dependent Communities : Insights for REDD+ Initiatives
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012)As donors pledge growing support for protecting and managing forests to address climate change, the question of how to pay tropical countries to reduce their emissions from deforestation and forest degradation assumes greater urgency. Depending on the detailed implementation of REDD plus at a national and international level, forest nations may be able to secure funding from a range of sources, including donors and multilateral funds (a funded approach) and the voluntary and compliance carbon markets (a carbon markets-based approach). These payments are supposed to act as financial incentives that will engender changes in behavior and policy frameworks, spur the development of appropriate institutional arrangements and needed technologies, and motivate both national and international coordination to achieve REDD plus objectives. These pages provide a brief synthesis of four papers financed by the Program on Forests (PROFOR). All four papers are included in a CD enclosed at the end of this booklet. The papers are: making benefit sharing arrangements work for forest-dependent people: overview of insights for REDD plus Initiative (Chandrasekharan Behr, 2012); identifying and working with beneficiaries when rights are unclear (Bruce, 2012); assessing options for effective mechanisms to share benefits (PwC, 2012); and benefit sharing in practice. -
Publication
Preparing for the Next Crisis : Establishing a Vulnerability and Shock Monitoring and Response System in Indonesia
(World Bank, Jakarta, 2010-10)Economic and natural crises and shocks are unfortunately recurring events, but the better a country is prepared for such eventualities, the lesser the impact may be. In 2009, in the wake of the global economic crisis, the Government of Indonesia piloted a Crisis Monitoring and Response System (CMRS). The CMRS experience provides valuable inputs for the design of a long-term Vulnerability and Shock Monitoring and Response System (VSMRS). The CMRS covered the whole country, which meant that there was no need for a priori guesses on where crisis impacts might be worst. This report is intended to provide inputs to a discussion within Government of Indonesia agencies, and between the Government and other interested parties (such as donors, international agencies, etc), on what a nascent VSMRS could look like, and how it could operate. It should be stressed that this document does not provide a blueprint for a fully-fledged VSMRS, primarily because such a system could develop in so many ways that much of what would be elaborated in detail might be of little use. The focus is therefore primarylyon discussing general aspects of a VSMRS, to build a common perception on the general direction of such an initiative between the key stakeholders, and to elaborate the concept later on together with a technical working group tasked to do this.