01. Annual Reports & Independent Evaluations

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Knowledge Flow and Collaboration Under the World Bank’s New Operating Model: An Independent Evaluation

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019) Independent Evaluation Group

This evaluation reviews how well the World Bank's operating model has enabled knowledge flow and enhanced collaboration to deliver integrated solutions. The evaluation also looks at the incentives and behaviors the model inculcates. Evidence comes from both sides of the matrix.The evaluation finds that certain aspects of the operating model have shown value, especially its enabling of global knowledge flow. This is the effect of setting up GPs that operate more globally than before and GTs that provide useful strategic directions and coherence to cross-cutting priorities. The World Bank is able to provide integrated solutions addressing clients' important development problems because of the leadership of Country Directors supported by Program Leaders.However, evidence from the early years of implementing the model indicates that its structure and processes tend to inhibit collaboration and cause inefficiency, fragmentation, and internal competition. The interface between GPs and Regions has weakened. Some GPs lack coherent and systematic approaches to managing and investing in knowledge. There are concerns with insufficient contestability in the quality assurance process for operations and ASA products. If left unaddressed, these issues pose risks to the World Bank's ability to deliver for clients.IEG acknowledges management's proactive course correction of the operating model. The evaluation finds that this could be enhanced by continuously collecting and reviewing data on organizational effectiveness.These findings have led to six recommendations: (1) Strengthen the approach to knowledge in the GPs and GTs with clear goals, roles, and mechanisms, budgets commensurate with mandates, and metrics for knowledge uptake, quality, and influence; (2) improve budgeting systems to better incentivize knowledge flow and collaboration; (3) better link the GPs and Regions to improve coordination and enhance responsiveness to clients; ( 4) ensure a stronger and more consistent use and role of the Program Leaders as a mechanism for cross-sectoral collaboration, integrated solutions, and complex client dialogue; (5) review the existing quality assurance arrangements to improve the quality of knowledge embedded in advisory and financing services; and (6) ensure there is ongoing monitoring of the operating model and more continuity in change management efforts to enhance the organization's ability to attain its knowledge flow and collaboration goals.
Mexico Country Program Evaluation: An Evaluation of the World Bank Group’s Support to Mexico (2008–17)

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-06-27) Independent Evaluation Group

This evaluation assesses the development effectiveness of the Bank Group’s country program in Mexico between 2008 and 2017 to inform the next CPF (FY19). The country program evaluation (CPE) will deepen knowledge on what has and has not worked and provide timely feedback on upcoming operational choices. The report will inform not only the Bank Group’s Mexico Country Management Unit and Mexican government but also a wider Bank Group audience, focused on middle-income countries (MICs) and other development practitioners. The evaluation examines the relevance and effectiveness of the Bank Group program in Mexico in its core areas, and also, as a methodological innovation, examines four overarching areas: (i) the extent to which the Bank Group contributed to identifying Mexico’s binding development constraints and to promoting sound policy choices; (ii) Bank Group contributions to Mexico’s results in reducing poverty and promoting shared prosperity; (iii) the effectiveness of Bank Group use of lending, knowledge, and convening power services in shaping its role; and (iv) the extent to which Bank Group support to Mexico’s development innovations was beneficial to the Bank Group’s knowledge base and to other Bank Group member countries. Overall results reflect both program results in core areas and the answers to the overarching questions. The overview of this report is also available in Spanish.
Results in the Latin America and Caribbean Region 2018, Volume 11

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-04) World Bank

The Latin America and the Caribbean region has turned the corner, growing again after six years of economic slowdown. Economic growth is key to continue making progress on the social front and return to the poverty reduction gains that the region achieved over the first one and a half decades of the new century, when poverty was nearly halved. Moreover, now that growth is picking up it will be possible to focus even more on other areas that are also critical for the development of the region over the long-run, such as human capital, disaster risk management, good governance, and ensuring that the most vulnerable groups in society also benefit from growth.
Tax Revenue Mobilization: Lessons from World Bank Group Support for Tax Reform

(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2017-02-16) Independent Evaluation Group

The mobilization of domestic resources through reforms in taxation is essential to ensuring sustainable financing of development. The World Bank Group is engaged in several international initiatives that focus attention on constraints to growth, particularly in low-income economies, where domestic taxes and foreign private and market-related borrowing do not expand enough to compensate for declining flows of official development assistance. This Learning Note reviews existing IEG evaluative evidence on World Bank Group support to tax policy and administration reform over FY2005-15. Over FY2005-15, the vast majority of World Bank support to tax policy and administration reform has been provided through programmatic DPOs. For most of the operations, the tax reform component was a minor part of the operation, predominantly in the 10–14 percent range. In terms of project numbers, the majority of the approved operations were in the Latin America and the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa Regions. IFC Advisory Services in business taxation are usually a small part of investment climate advisory services addressing other issues related to regulatory environment. Tax components in World Bank operations have been designed mostly to enhance revenue to enable fiscal consolidation or create/maintain fiscal space for priority expenditure and/or to improve investment climate or strengthen export competitiveness. With a few exceptions, reviewed DPOs did not specifically address the efficiency and equity of tax systems. The review draws lessons for both the design and implementation of operations and for country programs and World Bank Group strategic engagement in tax reform mobilization.
Supporting Transformational Change for Poverty Reduction and Shared Prosperity: Lessons from World Bank Group Experience

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016-02-25) Independent Evaluation Group

Transformational engagements are a critical pillar of the World Bank Group’s strategy for achieving its twin goals of extreme poverty elimination and shared prosperity. This learning product uses evaluative evidence from the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) to understand the mechanisms and conditions for transformational engagements and the implications for the World Bank Group if it seeks to rely on such engagements to more effectively pursue its goals.
Regional Program Evaluation of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2016) Independent Evaluation Group

The six independent members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)— Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines—face major development challenges and vulnerabilities. Their small size entails diseconomies of small scale in infrastructure, institutions, and markets. They are highly vulnerable to natural disasters, especially hurricanes, and to climate change. Their open but undiversified economies expose them to shocks. Tourism, now the dominant activity, faces eroding competitiveness and a loss of market share. A vicious circle has prevailed of low growth, high debt levels from weak public finances, and frequent shocks. During the FY06–14 evaluation period, the World Bank Group engaged with the OECS on two pillars of development: strengthening resilience and improving competitiveness. Program design was relevant and had laudable attributes, such as a good instrument mix in several cases, support for regional solutions with a strong economic rationale, flexibility to address risk, effective use of partnerships, and provision to confront capacity constraints. Bank Group program objectives however, were broad-ranging, involving many sectors and numerous activities. Greater selectivity would have allowed greater consistency and continuity of Bank support in priority areas, likely bringing better results. This evaluation rates the program’s progress toward achieving its objectives during FY06–14 as moderately satisfactory. Bank Group support helped strengthen areas such as fiscal and debt management, disaster risk management, social resilience, and the financial sector in the wake of the 2008–09 global crisis. A particularly important contribution drew on the Bank’s comparative advantage to help overcome a market failure through the establishment of a self-supporting, sustainable insurance mechanism against disaster events, the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility. Looking ahead, it will be necessary to ensure selectivity and specificity in the objectives of new Bank lending, and simplicity and flexibility in its design, with appropriate provision for the institutional capacity that it requires. The Bank Group should also continue supporting OECS-wide development solutions, but only where the economic rationale and support among country stakeholders are strong. It should also continue consolidating its portfolio of activities, ensuring complementarity within clusters of lending and nonlending products, and seek to strengthen and showcase collaboration by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation.
2015 Sustainability Review

(Washington, DC, 2015-10) World Bank

The 2015 Sustainability Review provides insights into activities undertaken to manage environmental, social, and economic impacts in the World Bank’s internal business operations. The content and data in this document relate to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), together the World Bank.
2015 GRI Index

(Washington, DC, 2015-10-01) World Bank

This 2015 index of sustainability indicators has been prepared in accordance with the internationally recognized standard for sustainability reporting Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines and complies with the ‘core option.’ The GRI Index provides an overview of sustainability considerations within the World Bank’s lending and analytical services as well as its day-to-day operations and management of staff. The World Bank aims to be comprehensive in its reporting and thus the Index includes indicators from GRIs financial sector supplement. The GRI Index covers activities from fiscal 2015, July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015.
World Bank Group and World Bank Corporate Scorecards, October 2015

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-10) World Bank Group

In July 2013, the World Bank Group launched its Strategy, outlining how it will partner more effectively with clients to help them achieve the ambitious goals of eradicating extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity through economic growth, inclusion, sustainability and resilience. In April 2014, the World Bank Group Corporate Scorecard was launched for the first time and the World Bank Scorecard revised to monitor the implementation of the strategy. The World Bank Group Scorecard provides view of the results and performance indicators of the three World Bank Group institutions: the World Bank (WB), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). This brochure presents the scorecards, updated with the latest data available in fiscal year 2015. The scorecards are structured in three tiers. A tier one and two presents indicators monitoring aspects of growth, inclusiveness, and sustainability and resilience. Tier three captures the progress in implementing the World Bank Group strategy and includes measures of both operational and organizational effectiveness.
Managing Environmental and Social Risks in Development Policy Financing

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-07-27) Independent Evaluation Group

Effective environmental and social risk management in development policy financing (DPF) is central to achieving the World Bank’s goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner. If the World Bank is supporting far-reaching member country reforms that are intended to contribute to the twin goals, then it should seek to understand the impact of those reforms on the poor. It should also ensure that the country’s natural capital and long-term growth prospects will not be undermined. The objective of this learning product is therefore to assess the application of the elements of the World Bank operational policy (OP 8.60) governing DPF related to the implementation of the environmental and social risk management requirements of the policy, and identify lessons learned and good practices. The focus of the study is on Bank actions, policies, procedures, and guidance for environmental and social risk management, based largely on a desk-based portfolio review of a large, random sample of development policy operations (DPOs), complemented by assessment of other relevant documents, and interviews with key stakeholders. This approach requires the Bank to determine whether specific policies supported by a DPO are likely to have significant poverty and social or environmental effects. The Bank emphasized the potential of OP 8.60 to promote positive environmental and social development from the time the policy was approved in 2004.