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    An Evaluation of World Bank and International Finance Corporation Engagement for Gender Equality over the Past 10 Years: Approach Paper
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-11-14) Independent Evaluation Group
    This Approach Paper proposes an independent evaluation of the results achieved by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in supporting countries (understood as governments, private sector, civil society, and citizens at large) to address gender inequalities and the contribution of the gender strategy for fiscal years (FY)16–23.
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    Learning and Adapting for Outcomes through the Management Action Record 2023: A World Bank Group Management Report on Implementation of IEG Recommendations
    (Washington, DC, 2023-10-30) World Bank
    The Management Action Record (MAR) provides Management’s annual self-assessment of World Bank Group (WBG)-wide progress in implementing recommendations from the Independent Evaluation Group's (IEG) major evaluations to deliver outcomes in key priority areas. The MAR is an important vehicle for monitoring the uptake of IEG evaluations; it aims to ensure that recommendations lead to targeted actions that help shape the WBG’s strategic directions, improve its development effectiveness, and ultimately help countries achieve their development goals. This year’s MAR report provides updates on 59 recommendations from 22 IEG evaluations issued between FY19 and FY22, covering a diverse range of areas of strategic importance to the WBG. Building on progress achieved over the previous reporting cycles since the 2020 MAR Reform, this year’s MAR process featured enhanced candor in the self-assessment, a broader evidence base, and a widening of the teams involved in providing feedback to IEG for richer reporting. During this year’s MAR update cycle, Management continued its more intensive engagement approach, with more touchpoints, to enhance the MAR’s learning focus and build understanding between evaluators and technical staff. This has included the facilitation of dozens of evaluation-specific working meetings with IEG, involving over 130 participants from across the WBG, with representation from all relevant WB Global Practices, IFC, and MIGA regional and industry teams.
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    Independent Evaluation Group Validation of the Management Action Record 2023
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-10-30) Independent Evaluation Group
    The report provides the Independent Evaluation Group’s (IEGs) validation of World Bank Group management’s report Learning and Adapting for Outcomes through the Management Action Record 2023: A World Bank Group Management Report on Implementation of IEG Recommendations for the period July 2022 to June 2023. The purpose of the Management Action Record (MAR) assessment system is to support accountability, learning, and adaptation for the Bank Group’s implementation of recommendations from IEG evaluations. This validation document presents IEG’s assessment of progress toward achieving the intended outcomes of evaluations and the evidence in management’s MAR report. The Bank Group made steady progress in implementing IEG recommendations through delivering internal products and adapting processes; in some cases, it has achieved meaningful change of direction that shows that the outcomes of recommendations are being achieved. The validation assessed the evidence for all 22 IEG evaluations included in the MAR, that is, all evaluations reviewed by the Board Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE) between FY19 and FY22. These 22 evaluations contain 59 recommendations.
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    Building a Better Future: IFC Annual Report 2023 Financials
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, D.C., 2023-10-19) International Finance Corporation
    This Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) discusses the financial results of the International Finance Corporation (IFC or the Corporation) for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023 (FY23). The MD&A contains forward looking statements which may be identified by such terms as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans”, “aims” or words of similar meaning. Such statements involve a number of assumptions and estimates that are based on current expectations, which are subject to risks and uncertainties beyond IFC’s control. Consequently, actual future results could differ materially from those currently anticipated. IFC undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. Certain reclassifications of prior years’ information have been made to conform with the current year’s presentation.
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    IFC Annual Report 2023: Building a Better Future
    (International Finance Corporation, Washington, D.C., 2023-10-19) International Finance Corporation
    IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets and developing economies. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, mobilization capacity, expertise, and influence to create jobs and raise living standards, especially for the poor and vulnerable. In fiscal year 2023, IFC committed a record 43.7 billion dollars to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to improve people’s lives as economies grapple with the impacts of global compounding crises.
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    Evaluation Insight Note: Elements that Enhance Institutional Capacity Development in World Bank Projects and Country Partnerships in Sub-Saharan Africa
    (Washington, DC, 2023-10-18) World Bank
    Evaluation Insight Notes (EIN) offer new insights from existing evidence on important strategic and operational issues. This EIN draws on Independent Evaluation Group evidence to identify lessons for addressing institutional capacity development needs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Institutions shape how countries foster poverty reduction, support sustainable growth, and respond during crises. World Bank projects and country partnerships operating in challenging contexts in Sub-Saharan Africa routinely integrate and show results in institutional capacity development. Addressing institutional challenges in these and similar contexts involves multiple organizations and is like running through a labyrinth because of the need for quick decisions, unclear processes, shifting objectives, and trial and error. The cases reviewed for this EIN consistently supported institutional reforms in a variety of challenging contexts with, for example, compromised financial systems, corruption, and civil conflict. To help navigate institutional capacity development, this Evaluation Insight Note (EIN) answers the question: How can the World Bank help address institutional capacity development needs in Sub-Saharan Africa based on the body of work of the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) from 2008 to 2022 Although an overall framework has not been defined to guide institutional capacity, the World Bank has often usefully diagnosed and addressed institutional capacity development needs by applying the Institutional Change Assessment Method. Using this method helps harness four elements that can enhance both the process and the results of institutional capacity development: (i) Routine integration of institutional capacity development in World Bank projects provides multiple entry points for enhancing processes of institutional change. (ii) Interventions with better institutional capacity development results tend to have higher outcome ratings. This implies that analyses from the Institutional Change Assessment Method can be used to adapt country portfolios in a way that improves outcome ratings. (iii) Because strengthening the ownership of interest groups is the most important dimension of institutional change in World Bank projects and country programs, its prioritization can help enhance results. (iv) Support for commitment, coordination, and cooperation helps improve institutional capacity development processes. (v) Support for commitment, coordination, and cooperation helps improve institutional capacity development processes.
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    MIGA Annual Report 2023
    (Washington, DC, 2023-10-17) Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
    Celebrating thirty-five years since its founding, in FY23 MIGA issued a record 6.4 billion in new guarantees across forty projects. Through these projects, the Agency remained focused on encouraging private investors to help host governments manage and mitigate political risks. In FY23, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, MIGA demonstrated its agility to respond to crisis, employing multiple products during the year to assist the embattled people of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion. An institution of the World Bank Group, MIGA is committed to strong development impact and supporting projects that are economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable. MIGA helps investors mitigate the risks of restrictions on currency conversion and transfer, breach of contract by governments, expropriation, and war and civil disturbance. It also offers trade finance guarantees, as well as credit enhancement on obligations of sovereigns, sub-sovereigns, state-owned enterprises, and regional development banks.
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    Creating an Enabling Environment for Private Sector Climate Action: An Evaluation of World Bank Group Support, Fiscal Years 2013–22
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-09-26) World Bank
    The private sector has a critical role to play in addressing climate change by investing in low-carbon technologies, developing new technologies, and building climate resilience into its investments and operations. Private sector financing will also be critical for meeting the needs for global finance flows, but climate finance from the private sector has been very low. One reason for this is that most countries lack a conducive enabling environment for the private sector to engage in climate action. This evaluation assesses the World Bank Group’s efforts to improve the enabling environment for private sector climate action (EEPSCA). The evaluation defines the private sector enabling environment for climate action as the set of policies (laws and regulations), incentives, standards, information, and institutions that encourage or facilitate the private sector to invest or behave in ways that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or adapt to the current or anticipated impacts of climate change. The private sector includes large, medium, and small firms; domestic and international financiers; and smallholder farmers or other producers. The evaluation assesses the relevance and effectiveness of Bank Group support to EEPSCA and aims to identify lessons applicable to the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation to inform implementation of the Bank Group Climate Change Action Plan 2021 and subsequent Bank Group climate activities. The evaluation also aims to inform discussions on the evolution road map, which considers further increasing the prominence of the role the Bank Group plays on global public goods, such as climate change.
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    The World Bank Group’s 2018 Capital Increase Package - An Independent Validation of Implementation and Results
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-08-29) Independent Evaluation Group
    This report presents the Independent Evaluation Group’s validation of the World Bank Group’s 2018 capital increase package (CIP). It assesses the World Bank Group’s progress in implementing the CIP’s policy measures and achieving its targets, as well as the quality of management’s CIP reporting. The 2018 CIP boosted the Bank Group’s financial firepower with a $7.5 billion paid-in capital increase for the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), $5.5 billion paid-in capital increase for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), $52.6 billion callable capital increase for IBRD, and internal savings measures. The CIP also included a policy package that committed Bank Group management to policy actions linked to the Bank Group’s 2016 Forward Look strategy. The CIP committed to reporting annually on its implementation and an independent assessment after five years. This report fulfills the commitment to an independent assessment. This validation builds on management’s own reporting and other complementary evidence to assess the World Bank Group’s progress in implementing the CIP’s policy measures and achieving its targets. The report also assesses the quality of management’s CIP reporting. The report points to lessons on developing, implementing, and reporting corporate initiatives and commitments, such as the importance of having clear strategies or action plans, explicit buy-in from senior management, and accurate reporting with meaningful indicators and realistic targets.
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    Financial Inclusion: Lessons from World Bank Group Experience, Fiscal Years 2014–22
    (World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-08-28) Independent Evaluation Group
    This evaluation explores how and with what effect the World Bank Group has supported financial inclusion for the microenterprises, poor households, women, and other excluded groups. Financial inclusion is defined as the use of financial services by individuals and firms. It encompasses financial access—owning an account—and the use of financial services. There has been an impressive growth in account ownership globally, from 55% of adults in 2014 to 71% in 2021, although usage is more limited as some accounts are inactive. Critically, both financial access and the use of financial services remain major challenges for microenterprises, poor households, women, and other excluded groups. The objective of the evaluation is to assess whether the Bank Group has been doing the right things and whether it has been doing things right on financial inclusion. The evaluation captures lessons from the World Bank’s experience supporting financial inclusion for microenterprises, poor households, women, and other excluded groups and updates a 2015 financial inclusion evaluation. The evaluation includes a retrospective look at the drive for universal financial access and examines progress and challenges in women’s access to financial services. The evaluation also assesses the Bank Group’s support for digital financial services as vehicles for financial inclusion. Finally, the report examines the World Bank’s response to COVID-19 as it relates to financial inclusion. The evaluation proposes three recommendations: (i) The World Bank and IFC should further encourage account use by underserved groups, including women and rural poor people, and emphasize this more in their strategies and projects. (ii) The World Bank and IFC should design and implement more comprehensive approaches that address constraints in the enabling environment for DFS to reach underserved and excluded groups. (iii) To enhance learning on what works to increase the beneficial use of financial services at the MPWEG, the World Bank and IFC should collect outcome data across different underserved and excluded groups, initially on a pilot basis.