OBApproaches

45 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9422

OBApproaches is a forum for discussing and disseminating recent experiences and innovations in supporting the delivery of basic services to the poor. The series focuses on the provision of water, energy, telecommunications, transport, health, and education in developing countries, in particular through output- or performance-based approaches.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 45

OBA in Infrastructure: The Experience So Far

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2017-06) World Bank

Increasing access to basic infrastructure services is critical to reducing poverty and enabling poor and marginalized people to participate in and benefit from economic development. Too often, however, the gap between the cost of the initial service connection and a user’s ability to pay for that connection prevents the poor from availing of basic services. Output-based aid (OBA), a form of results-based financing (RBF), addresses this gap, supporting poor people in accessing services such as household connections to the water supply or electricity grid, renewable energy systems, or solid waste management. By promoting the inclusion of people who may otherwise be left out of development gains, as well as encouraging utility sector reform, OBA supports the goal of universal access to basic services, one of the aims of the Sustainable Development Goals. This paper highlights the BA experience in infrastructure so far and the results achieved.
Output-Based Aid in Mali Rural Electrification Hybrid System Project

( 2015-06) World Bank

Electrification can be a significant driver for improving livelihoods in rural communities. In rural Mali, where more than 80 percent of the country’s population lives, the electrification rate is only 15 percent. Increasing access to electricity in rural Mali is crucial for economic development, social cohesion, and reconstruction following the country’s recent period of conflict, political instability, and food insecurity. This note discusses an innovative output-based aid (OBA) project in rural Mali, the first such project in the energy sector to support development of mini-grids on a large scale. The project complements an innovative hybrid-system model supported by the International Development Association (IDA) and climate investment funds and scaling up renewable energy in low income countries program (SREP) to expand rural access to modern energy services and increase renewable generation.
Using Output-based Aid in Urban Projects

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-06) Ahmed, Wajiha ; Menzies, Iain

Against the backdrop of rapidly rising urbanization in the developing world and the growing demand for basic services such as water and power, there is an increasing need to improve service delivery, particularly in low-income urban settlements. Output-based aid (OBA) approaches, with their pro-poor targeting, have been piloted in cities around the world. This note discusses the benefits and challenges of using an OBA approach in urban projects for low-income residents, provides examples of successful innovations, and highlights features that will improve the likelihood of success.
Independent Verification in Results-Based Financing

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-05) Loening, Esther ; Tineo, Luis

With pressure for greater accountability and value for money in public budgets, widening the use of results-based financing (RBF) and setting up adequate independent mechanisms to verify results is becoming increasingly important. In January 2012, the World Bank launched the Program-for-Results (PforR), an innovative financing instrument that disburses funds upon delivery of verified results in developing country programs. Until now, the use of independent verification has been limited to output-based aid (OBA), which is one of the RBF modalities; however, there is potential for more widespread use of independent verification. This note highlights lessons from projects funded by the Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid (GPOBA) and the World Bank, and discusses elements that can best ensure the independence and effectiveness of a verification system.
Output-based Aid in Bangladesh : Solar Home Systems for Rural Households

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-04) Kumar, Geeta ; Sadeque, Zubair

A renewable energy program in Bangladesh that brings solar power to rural households is one of the most successful solar home system (SHS) programs in the world. It has demonstrated an inexpensive and reliable way to bring electricity to rural households. Several output-based aid (OBA) features have contributed to the success. Notably, the subsidy payment makes the installation of a working solar home system affordable to poorer households, and is combined with longer-term consumer credit. This note explores the distinctive features and results of the program and draws lessons for future projects.
Output-Based Aid in Vietnam : Access to Piped Water Services for Rural Households

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-08) Suardi, Mario

In Vietnam, achieving sustainable provision of water services for communities in rural areas has been a challenge for years. About 74 percent of the Vietnamese population is concentrated in rural areas, yet just 48 percent of households have access to clean water, compared with 82 percent in urban areas. Only 30 percent of small towns have piped water systems, and even then the proportion of connected households can be as low as 20 percent. Many settlements have no water systems, and during the dry season residents have to rely on polluted sources for basic household needs. This paper reviews the successful implementation and subsequent scale-up of an Output-Based Aid (OBA) scheme to provide access to safe, clean water for low-income, rural households in central and southern Vietnam, through local communities and small private operators.
Strengthening Fiscal Transfers in Indonesia Using an Output-Based Approach

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-01) Ellis, Peter ; Mandri-Perrott, Cledan ; Tineo, Luis

In 2010 the World Bank approved a US$220 million loan for a Local Government and Decentralization project in Indonesia. The project aims to improve the accountability and reporting of the central government's Specific Purpose Grants (DAK). Piloted in four infrastructure sub-sectors-irrigation, roads, sanitation, and water the project is the World Bank's first to apply innovative Output-Based Aid (OBA) design principles on a large scale to target improvements in inter-governmental fiscal transfers. Under the project, the DAK grants will work in a similar way to OBA subsidies, which reimburse service providers for independently verified, pre-agreed physical outputs. Up to 81 local governments in five provinces are eligible to take part in this project. This note presents an overview of the project objectives and design.
Output-Based Aid and Sustainable Sanitation

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-11) Trémolet, Sophie ; Evans, Barbara

Output-Based Aid (OBA) ties the disbursement of public funding to the achievement of clearly specified results that directly support improved access to basic services. OBA has emerged as an important way to finance access to basic services, but experience with OBA approaches in the sanitation sector has remained limited and there have been mixed results. Evidence from existing projects suggests that OBA could improve the targeting and efficiency of subsidy delivery, and help to develop and strengthen sanitation providers. OBA subsidies could be packaged to support services along the 'sanitation value chain,' from demand promotion to collection/access, transport, treatment, and disposal/re-use. OBA approaches for sanitation are no panacea, however, and they need to go hand-in-hand with broader reforms in the sanitation sector.
Output-Based Aid and Energy : What Have We Learned So Far?

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-11) Kumar, Geeta ; Mumssen, Yogita

Worldwide, nearly 1.4 billion people live without access to electricity and nearly 2.7 billion people use traditional biomass fuels for cooking. One challenge to increasing reliable energy access for the poor is their limited ability to pay the up-front connection fees for electricity and natural gas. Output-based aid (OBA) approaches in which subsidy payments are linked to predefined outputs, such as installation of a working household connection or solar home system offers a potential solution that has increased energy access for more than 6.8 million poor beneficiaries. A recent World Bank review of OBA concludes that there is a case to adopt OBA more widely, where there is an enabling environment (Mumssen, Johannes, and Kumar, 2010). This note discusses lessons learned and best practices in implementing OBA in the energy sector.
Output-Based Aid in Water and Sanitation : The Experience So Far

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-10) Kumar, Geeta ; Mugabi, Josses

Output-Based Aid (OBA) has been used since the early 2000s to deliver basic infrastructure and social services to the poor, typically through public-private partnerships. Given the limited experience with OBA in the water and sanitation sector, Global Partnership OBA has made a concerted effort to test OBA approaches in the sector. A growing number of regional and local private providers have emerged, and some projects involve public providers. This note is based on the World Bank study 'Output-Based Aid: Lessons Learned and Best Practices' and aims to share experiences so far with the use of OBA in water and sanitation.