01. Annual Reports & Independent Evaluations
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Publication
FY 2022 Panama Country Opinion Survey Report
(Washington, DC, 2023-05-08)The Country Opinion Survey in Panama assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Panama perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Panama on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Panama; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Panama; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Panama; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Panama. -
Publication
FY 2022 Angola Country Opinion Survey Report
(Washington, DC, 2023-05-08)The Country Opinion Survey in Angola assists the World Bank Group (WBG) in gaining a better understanding of how stakeholders in Angola perceive the WBG. It provides the WBG with systematic feedback from national and local governments, multilateral/bilateral agencies, media, academia, the private sector, and civil society in Angola on 1) their views regarding the general environment in Angola; 2) their overall attitudes toward the WBG in Angola; 3) overall impressions of the WBG’s effectiveness and results, knowledge work and activities, and communication and information sharing in Angola; and 4) their perceptions of the WBG’s future role in Angola. -
Publication
Making Waves: An Evaluation of the World Bank’s Support for the Blue Economy (2012–23) Approach Paper
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-05-03)Marine and coastal resources are critical for human survival. The economies of many coastal developing countries and small island developing states rely heavily on maritime industries, associated trade, and tourism. In coastal and island developing countries, small-scale fisheries and other ocean sectors support a significant number of jobs and livelihood opportunities. Marine and coastal resources also provide critical ecosystem services on which the ocean economy relies. Yet historically, ocean-based sectors have expanded without sufficient consideration for sustainability, negatively impacting marine and coastal environments. Moreover, the negative impacts of climate change are exacerbating the serious threats posed to ocean economies. Coastal developing countries and small island developing state economies that heavily rely on tourism were negatively affected by COVID-19, and while there were some positive environmental effects, these have been short lived. Critical knowledge and skills gaps undermine the ability of many countries to sustainably manage their marine and coastal resources. Addressing the threats posed to marine and coastal resources is politically challenging since coastal areas attract many competing uses and diverging interests. The purpose of this evaluation is to assess how well the World Bank is supporting the sustainable and inclusive development of ocean and coastal economies to inform the future development of the blue economy approach. -
Publication
International Finance Corporation Additionality in Middle-Income Countries: An Independent Evaluation April 17, 2022
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-05-03)Additionality is a core feature of private sector development finance institutions (DFIs). It is the unique contribution that a DFI or a multilateral/ bilateral bank brings to a private investment project that is not offered by commercial sources of finance. The key idea is that the investment project should add value without crowding out private sector activity. Identifying and articulating project additionality is particularly important in middle- income countries (MICs) since financial markets in MICs are more developed, and private investment far exceeds official development assistance. This evaluation report examines the relevance and effectiveness of IFC’s approach to additionality in MICs and seeks to explain the factors that contribute to or constrain its realization. While the evaluation focuses on IFC’s additionality on the level of the project, it also applies the lens of country and sector context to draw additional learning. Thus, it considers whether additionality can occur beyond the level of a single project—for example, at the country and sector level. Both at the project level and beyond the project, the evaluation derives lessons and offers recommendations on how IFC can further strengthen its additionality. -
Publication
Evaluation of the World Bank’s Support to Procurement and Its Principles (Approach Paper)
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-05-03)In 2015, the World Bank approved a new procurement framework, which aimed to reform its approach to procurement. The World Bank’s reform was intended to reform its procurement systems and the way procurement is supported in client countries. The procurement reform emphasized seven core principles of value for money for decision-making, efficiency, economy, integrity, fairness, transparency, and fit for purpose. Anchoring the reform in a set of principles was intended to promote greater flexibility and more effective operational procurement. The procurement reform is a continuous change management process. The objective of the evaluation is to assess the results, successes, and challenges of the World Bank’s procurement since the reforms made in 2016 and thus help inform its continuation. -
Publication
The Rigor of Case-Based Causal Analysis: Busting Myths through a Demonstration
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-05-02)Several myths persist within research and evaluation circles about the power and limitations of evaluation designs that use cases (or case studies) as their primary empirical material (case-based evaluation designs). Using a real-world application, this paper busts two myths regarding the use of case-based designs in evaluations that aim to answer effectiveness questions and unpack the relationships between interventions and observed changes in outcomes (broadly known as causal analysis): that case studies cannot be used for causal analysis and that it is impossible to generalize from case studies. Through a detailed demonstration of how the evaluation of the World Bank’s support to carbon finance has been designed and implemented, the paper undoes these preconceived ideas about the inferential, explanatory, and generalizability power of case-based evaluation designs. -
Publication
The World Bank’s Role in and Use of the Low-Income Country Debt Sustainability Framework: Independent Evaluation Group
(Washington, DC, 2023-05-02)This evaluation, requested by the Committee on Development Effectiveness of the Executive Board of the International Development Association (IDA), is intended to provide input and insight into the upcoming World Bank–International Monetary Fund (IMF) review of the Low-Income Country Debt Sustainability Framework (LICDSF) currently planned for fiscal year 2023. The sharp rise in debt stress among low-income countries and a changing global risk landscape leading up to and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic have pushed concerns with debt sustainability to the top of the global policy agenda. This evaluation assesses the World Bank’s inputs into the LIC-DSF and how it uses LIC-DSF outputs to inform various corporate and country-level decisions. Main findings and recommendations include: (i) Expectations of the World Bank in taking the lead on long-term growth prospects should be clarified. (ii) Recently increased attention to debt data coverage should be sustained and extended; greater attention is needed to assess data quality. (iii) The DSA should be more directly and consistently used to inform priorities for the identification of fiscally oriented prior actions in development policy operations and SDFP performance and policy actions. (iv) The World Bank should continue to give increasing attention in the LIC-DSF to the long-term implications of climate change, in terms of both growth and fiscal requirements of adaptation and mitigation. -
Publication
Next Generation Africa Climate Business Plan. First Progress Report: Forging Ahead on Development-Centered Climate Action
(World Bank, Washington DC, 2023-05-02)The Next Generation Africa Climate Business Plan (NGACBP), launched in 2020, provides a platform to further galvanize climate action by prioritizing its focus on Sub Saharan Africa’s development challenges and priorities. The plan focuses on food security, energy, and environmental and water security while also proactively supporting countries to manage climate shocks and harness the urban transition through climate smart pathways as core strategic directions. Strategic areas of emphasis include the cross-cutting issues of climate-informed macroeconomic policies and green and resilient infrastructure. Two years after the plan’s release, this progress report aims to provide an update on the status of the NG-ACBP, highlighting key accomplishments and success stories, defining emerging areas of engagement, and setting out a roadmap for the next four years of the plan’s delivery. The latter is especially important as we ensure full alignment with the International Development Association (IDA) 20 policy commitments, the World Bank’s Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), and regional priorities for Eastern and Southern Africa (AFE) and Western and Central Africa (AFW). -
Publication
World Bank Group Support to Somalia, Fiscal Years 2013–22 - Country Program Evaluation (Approach Paper, March 2, 2023)
(Washington, DC, 2023-03-22)Somalia is today among the poorest and most fragile countries in the world, facing myriad development challenges related to ongoing conflict, climate change, food insecurity, natural disasters, and displacement. Overlapping crises related to the COVID-19 pandemic, a prolonged drought, and macroeconomic shocks from rising food and fuel costs have worsened socioeconomic conditions (World Bank 2022). Seventy-one percent of Somalis lived in extreme poverty in 2021, compared with 28 percent for Sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank 2021). Average life expectancy was 57.4 years, and maternal mortality stood at 734 for every 100,000 births (World Bank 2018d). The country’s Sustainable Development Goal ranking was 160th out of 163. The Somalia Country Program Evaluation (CPE) will assess the evolution of the World Bank Group’s support over fiscal years (FY)13–22 and the extent to which the Bank Group adequately prepared for an eventual normalization of relations with Somalia, tailored its support to the conflict and fragility situation in Somalia and evolving circumstances and country priorities, and learned from experience. It will seek to inform the preparation of the next Somalia Country Partnership Framework (CPF) and may be relevant to broader Bank Group engagement in countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV). -
Publication
The World Bank Group in Mozambique, Fiscal Years 2008-21 - Country Program Evaluation
(Washington, DC, 2023-03-22)Between 1993 and 2013, Mozambique became one of the fastest-growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa boosting incomes and living standards. Political and macroeconomic stability provided the foundation for robust growth led by a rebounding agricultural sector and significant donor support. Growth, however, decelerated beginning in 2016 in the face of low commodity prices, a hidden debt crisis, and natural disasters. In FY18, Mozambique was formally classified as a fragile country. The Covid-19 pandemic further eroded growth. In light of the country’s evolving context, this Country Program Evaluation (CPE) reviews the World Bank Group’s engagement in Mozambique over the period FY08 into FY21. The CPE assesses the extent to which the Bank Group’s support was relevant to Mozambique’s main development challenges and drivers of fragility as well as how Bank Group support evolved and adapted over time. The evaluation delves into four themes that are relevant to Mozambique’s pursuit of the Bank Group’s Twin Goals of Poverty Reduction and Shared Prosperity: (i) low agricultural productivity; (ii) unequal access to basic services; (iii) weak institutions and governance; and (iv) vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters. The evaluation presents findings from each of the four themes covered and distills lessons from Bank Group experience in Mozambique to inform future strategies and engagements.