Publication: The Effectiveness of World Bank Support for Community-Based and -Driven Development
Abstract
This report analyzes the effectiveness of the World Bank's lending support for the growing area of community-based development (CBD) and community-driven development (CDD). The latter supports the empowerment of the poor by giving communities control over subproject resources and decisions, while CBD gives communities less responsibility and emphasizes collaboration, consultation, or sharing information with them on project activities. Since the late 1990s, the focus of Bank-supported CBD/CDD projects has shifted toward CDD, though many CDD projects also include CBD components.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Operations Evaluation Department. 2005. The Effectiveness of World Bank Support for Community-Based and -Driven Development. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7410 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Community-Driven Approaches in Lao PDR : Moving Beyond Service Delivery, Volume 2. Main Report(Washington, DC, 2008-04)This report reviews Community Driven Development (CDD) projects in Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) to determine their effectiveness in channeling resources to communities for poverty reduction. The study examines three CDD projects in depth: the Poverty Reduction Fund, the Village Investment for the Poor (both supported by the World Bank), and the Government-financed Village Development Fund. Through close analysis of these projects and cursory analysis of other CDD projects, the report concludes that overall, the CDD approach in Lao PDR improves the well-being of communities in a cost-effective manner. The study, however, identifies three challenges that remain for CDD projects to be wholly successful. The first challenge is a call for harmonization of CDD mechanisms within the country. CDD approaches are not currently coordinated geographically, technically, or financially. This leaves communities who need help without resources, an excess of skills in some areas and a dearth of skills in others, and funding allocated towards operations, which could be redirected to communities. The report recommends coordinating and consolidating CDD approaches. The second challenge is the achievement of inclusive participation. While empowerment has proven to improve the well-being of communities, not all local officials recognize the benefits of a participatory approach. The report recommends operating in districts on a long-term basis to develop sustained empowerment and extensive training to local officials and communities on participatory approaches. The final challenge for CDD projects is the funding of livelihood activities, which is necessary for sustained poverty reduction. Evidence has demonstrated that CDD backing of livelihood activities through loans, however, is unsuccessful. The report recommends administering grants for livelihood activities and ensuring technical support along with a participatory approach.Publication Community-Driven Approaches in Lao PDR : Moving Beyond Service Delivery - Summary Overview(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-10)This report reviews Community Driven Development (CDD) projects in Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) to determine their effectiveness in channeling resources to communities for poverty reduction. The study examines three CDD projects in depth: the Poverty Reduction Fund, the Village Investment for the Poor (both supported by the World Bank), and the Government-financed Village Development Fund. Through close analysis of these projects and cursory analysis of other CDD projects, the report concludes that overall, the CDD approach in Lao PDR improves the well-being of communities in a cost-effective manner. The study, however, identifies three challenges that remain for CDD projects to be wholly successful. The first challenge is a call for harmonization of CDD mechanisms within the country. CDD approaches are not currently coordinated geographically, technically, or financially. This leaves communities who need help without resources, an excess of skills in some areas and a dearth of skills in others, and funding allocated towards operations, which could be redirected to communities. The report recommends coordinating and consolidating CDD approaches. The second challenge is the achievement of inclusive participation. While empowerment has proven to improve the well-being of communities, not all local officials recognize the benefits of a participatory approach. The report recommends operating in districts on a long-term basis to develop sustained empowerment and extensive training to local officials and communities on participatory approaches. The final challenge for CDD projects is the funding of livelihood activities, which is necessary for sustained poverty reduction. Evidence has demonstrated that CDD backing of livelihood activities through loans, however, is unsuccessful. The report recommends administering grants for livelihood activities and ensuring technical support along with a participatory approach.Publication A Review of the Literature on Participatory Approaches to Local Development for an Evaluation of the Effectiveness of World Bank Support for Community-Based and Driven Development Approaches(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-11-17)This paper explores the available literature on participatory approaches to development as an input to the operations evaluation department (OED) evaluation of World Bank-supported community-based development (CBD) and community-driven development (CDD) interventions. Participatory approaches to development have gained substantial support in the international community over the past quarter century, and have become increasingly important in the work of the World Bank and other donors. Undertaking this literature review has been a particularly challenging exercise for two reasons. The Bank categories CDD approaches in a three-fold typology, which encompasses both community participation efforts and participatory governance initiatives. This paper is primarily concerned with regularized participatory spaces, in which community members deliberate over the provision of services and the allocation of resources, rather than transient spaces, which entail one-off events or exercises aimed at generating discussion on specific policy issues with no direct link to decision making. This review was undertaken with a four-fold objective. First, to simply bring to the ongoing CBD and CDD evaluation information on the kind of evidence that is out on participatory approaches to local development, qualitative, quantitative, and anecdotal. Second, to draw on the evidence in the literature to understand the different kinds of participatory spaces that Bank's CBD and CDD interventions have fostered at the local level. Third, to explore the evidence in the literature on factors that has a bearing on development effectiveness of CBD and CDD-type interventions. Finally, to provide a means for testing the findings emerging from other study components, particularly case study countries and the portfolio review both of which indicate several challenges that donor agencies face in implementing participatory projects. This review proceeds in six sections. Section one gives introduction; section two examines the evidence in the literature on the extent to which participation in decision-making has promoted inclusiveness; section three explores factors that are likely to facilitate or hinder participatory and collective undertakings; section four assesses the development effectiveness of participatory interventions; section five explores key issues related to the institutional contexts of CBD and CDD-type interventions; and finally section six draws on the evidence in the literature to explore the main challenges that donors and lenders are likely to encounter in the promotion of the CDD approach.Publication Monitoring and Evaluation(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2004-09-01)Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of development activities provides government officials, development managers, and civil society with better means for learning from past experience, improving service delivery, planning and allocating resources, and demonstrating results as part of accountability to key stakeholders. Within the development community there is a strong focus on results, this helps explain the growing interest in M&E. Yet there is often confusion about what M&E entails. The purpose of this M&E overview is to strengthen awareness and interest in M&E, and to clarify what it entails. The M&E overview discusses: performance indicators, the logical framework approach, theory-based evaluation, formal surveys, rapid appraisal methods, participatory methods, public expenditure tracking surveys, cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, and impact evaluation.Publication Influential Evaluations(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2004-09-22)This report presents 8 examples of evaluations that had a significant impact. In many cases it was possible to compare the costs of conducting the evaluation with the economic benefits produced and to show that the evaluation was a highly cost-effective management tool. The cases describe the following evaluations: Improving the efficiency of the Indian employment assurance scheme; Using citizen report cards to hold the state to account in Bangalore, India; Assessing the effectiveness of water and sanitation interventions in Flores, Indonesia; Broadening the policy framework for assessing the viability of large dams; The abolition of wheat-flour ration shops in Pakistan; Improving the delivery of primary education services in Uganda; Enhancing the performance of a major environmental project in Bulgaria; Helping re-assess China's national forest policy.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Making Procurement Work Better – An Evaluation of the World Bank’s Procurement System(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-12-06)This evaluation assesses the results, successes, and challenges of the World Bank 2016 procurement reform. Procurements acquire the works, goods, and services necessary to achieve the World Bank’s project development outcomes. The World Bank’s procurement processes must ensure that clients get the best value for every development dollar. In 2016, the World Bank reformed its procurement system for Investment Project Financing and launched a new procurement framework aimed at enhancing the Bank’s development effectiveness through better procurement. The reform sought to reduce procurement bottlenecks impeding project performance and modernize procurement systems. It emphasized cutting edge international good practice principles and was intended to be accompanied by procurement capacity strengthening to help client countries. This evaluation offers three recommendations to scale up reform implementation and enhance portfolio and project performance: (i) Improve change management support for the reform’s implementation. (ii) Strategically strengthen country-level procurement capacity. (iii) Consistently manage the full spectrum of procurement risks to maximize project success.Publication MIGA Annual Report 2011 : Insuring Investments, Ensuring Opportunities(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2011)The report highlights Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency's (MIGA's) innovation, flexibility, and ability to deliver on its own modernization agenda. This year, the agency secured significant amendments to its Convention that enhances its value as a multilateral provider of political risk insurance. These amendments, approved by the Council of Governors in August, have already enabled MIGA to support projects that would not previously have been possible. In fiscal year 2011, MIGA provided $2.1 billion in new guarantee coverage a record high for the agency, and a 43 percent increase over the previous year, which indicates renewed interest in political risk-mitigation products. MIGA has shown renewed diversification and regional outreach from its support for a manufacturing plant in Iraq, to an agribusiness venture in Liberia, to a mining feasibility study in Indonesia, and to banking endeavors supporting small and medium enterprises in 14 countries. MIGA's concerted efforts to encourage foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Middle East and North Africa region have been especially important this year. This report also notes important amendments to MIGA's convention, approved by the Council of Governors, which took effect in November 2010. These historic amendments greatly enhance our ability to support clients. Now MIGA able to cover stand-alone debt and some existing investments, putting us in a better position to support investors in times of uncertainty. Clients have responded very positively to MIGA's expanded authority, which has also contributed to this year's increased business volume.Publication IFC Annual Report 2012 : Innovation, Influence, Demonstration, Volume 2. Results(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2012)This annual report of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) summarizes the innovation and leadership roles in the private sector during fiscal year 2012. The IFC invested a record $20.4 billion in 103 developing countries, reflecting a doubling of annual commitments over the last five years. Those investments included nearly $5 billion mobilized from other investors, and an investment for Sub-Saharan Africa totaling $2.7 billion, nearly twice as much as five years ago. The advisory services program expenditures grew to $197 million, up more than 50 percent over the last five years. Advisory services also helped 33 client governments introduce 56 investment-climate reforms that will improve access to basic services for more than 16 million people. IFC investment clients helped support 2.5 million jobs in 2011 and made 23 million loans totaling more than $200 billion to micro, small, and medium enterprises. Net income before grants to the International Development Association (IDA) totaled $1.66 billion. The IFC has invested more than $23 billion in IDA countries, nearly $6 billion of it in fiscal year 2012 alone.Publication IFC Annual Report 2011 : I Am Opportunity(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2011)This annual report of the IFC reviews the years accomplishments. IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. We help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by fi nancing private sector investment, mobilizing capital in international fi nancial markets, and providing advisory services to businesses and governments. We play a catalytic role by demonstrating the profi tability of investments in emerging markets. Established in 1956, IFC is owned by 182 member countries, a group that collectively determines our policies. Our work in more than 100 countries allows companies and fi nancial institutions in emerging markets to create jobs, generate tax revenues, improve corporate governance and environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities. IFC’s vision is that people should have the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives.