Publication: Gaining Traction or Spinning Wheels?: Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Grievance Mechanisms in World Bank-Financed Projects
Loading...
Files in English
170 downloads
Published
2021
ISSN
Date
2022-07-06
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This paper explores which factors influence the success of a GM and under what circumstances GMs trigger, or fail to trigger, improvements in project design, changes in power dynamics, or community relations. By doing so, it aims to produce clearer insights into the roadblocks as well as the dynamics of positive change achieved through GMs (Aslam, Grandvoinnet, and Raha 2015: 70). Although the World Bank offers several avenues for grievance redress to project beneficiaries, this paper focuses on project-level GMs in IPF, which are the responsibility of the World Bank’s clients, that is, public sector agencies and ministries. The key research question explored is: What factors influence the effectiveness of project-level GMs? This paper relies on a mixed-methods approach. Fifteen qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted over a six-week period in February and March 2020 by the author with World Bank practitioners specializing in social safeguards policies and the supervision of social aspects, including GM implementation, in World Bank-financed projects. In April 2020, an online survey of 94 GM focal points in implementing agencies was conducted in 24 countries; its 23 questions probed the design, track record, strengths, and weaknesses of project-level GMs (World Bank 2021a). Follow-up discussions were then held with eight project implementation unit (PIU) members from two projects. Finally, the paper also relies on extensive case study analysis.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2021. Gaining Traction or Spinning Wheels?: Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Grievance Mechanisms in World Bank-Financed Projects. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37643 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Strategic Framework for Mainstreaming Citizen Engagement in World Bank Group Operations(Washington, DC, 2014)The objective of this strategic framework is to mainstream citizen engagement in World Bank Group (WBG)-supported policies, programs, projects, and advisory services and analytics to improve their development results and within the scope of these operations, contribute to building sustainable national systems for citizen engagement with governments and the private sector. This framework will capture the diverse experiences, assess lessons learned, and outline methods and entry points to provide a more systematic and results-focused approach for the WBG. Progress toward this objective will be assessed using indicators included in program, project, and corporate results frameworks. The WBG strategy incorporates citizen engagement, including beneficiary feedback, specifically in its treatment of inclusion, which entails empowering citizens to participate in the development process and integrating citizen voice in development programs as key accelerators to achieving results. This framework builds on stocktaking and lessons learned from WBG-financed operations across regions and sectors. A key lesson is the importance of country context, government ownership, and clear objectives for citizen engagement. The approach to mainstreaming citizen engagement in WBG-supported operations is guided by five principles: 1) it is results-focused; 2) it involves engaging throughout the operational cycle; 3) it seeks to strengthen country systems; 4) it is context-specific; and 5) it is gradual. Under the right circumstances, citizen engagement can contribute to achieving development outcomes in support of the goals the WBG aims to support through all of the operations it funds: eradicating extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner.Publication Citizens and Service Delivery : Assessing the Use of Social Accountability Approaches in the Human Development Sectors(World Bank, 2012)Efforts by governments, donors, and civil society alike to improve governance, accountability, and development results on the ground have heightened attention to the idea that citizens can contribute to better public services by holding their policy makers, providers, and program managers accountable. While the use of social accountability to improve services in low- and middle-income countries is not new, the topic has gained currency in recent years. This book looks at how this works in practice. It aims to learn from the experiences gained from the implementation of World Bank projects and from the small, but growing, set of impact evaluations. The review is a first step to identify lessons, knowledge gaps, and questions for further research that can improve the use of these tools in government policies and through programs supported by civil society and donors, including the World Bank. The book documents a diverse and exciting set of cases the rapid adoption of access-to-information laws, the use of public expenditure tracking surveys by civil society organizations to 'follow the money' from central government budgets to schools and health clinics, and the incorporation of grievance redress mechanisms into the design of conditional cash transfer programs. Many of the examples discussed here are new initiatives, and some are being evaluated now. Much will be gained from more evaluation and the sharing of experiences across countries developed and developing alike.Publication Issues and Options for Improving Engagement between the World Bank and Civil Society Organizations(Washington, DC, 2005-03-01)The purpose of this paper is to assess the World Bank's recent relations with civil society organizations (CSOs), that is, nongovernmental organizations and not-for-profit organizations, and to propose options for promoting more effective civic engagement in Bank-supported activities and managing associated risks in the future. The analysis in this paper points to four main issues and challenges for the Bank as it seeks to achieve more constructive and effective engagement with CSOs in the future: 1) Promoting best practices for civic engagement; 2) Closing the gap between expectations, policy and practice; 3) Adapting to changes in global and national civil society; and 4) Achieving greater Bank-wide coherence and accountability. To attain these objectives, the report proposes ten priority actions: Establishing new global mechanisms for Bank-CSO engagement to help promote mutual understanding and cooperation; establish a Bank-wide advisory service/focal point for consultations and feedback; piloting a new Bank-wide monitoring and evaluation system for civic engagement; Conduct a review of Bank funds available for civil society engagement in operations and policy dialogue, and explore possible realignment or restructuring. reviewing the Bank's procurement framework; instituting an integrated learning program for Bank staff and member governments as well as capacity-building for CSOs on how to work effectively with the Bank and its member governments; holding regular meetings of senior management and periodically with the Board to review Bank/civil society relations; developing and issuing new guidelines for Bank staff on the institution's approach, best practices, and a framework for engagement with CSOs; emphasizing the importance of civil society engagement in preparing Country Assistance Strategies (CAS) as well as in CAS monitoring and evaluation; and developing tools for analytical mapping of civil society.Publication How, When and Why to Use Demand-Side Governance Approaches in Projects(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012)This note offers a process-oriented guide to strengthening demand-side governance approaches in World Bank projects with a step-by-step approach for determining how demand for good governance (DFGG) tools and approaches can be applied to different types of Bank-funded projects. The objective of this note is to help task teams anticipate demand-side governance considerations early in the project preparation process, identify potential entry points for introducing DFGG tools to address these considerations, provide guidance on selecting DFGG tools which will improve governance, transparency and service delivery, assist borrowers to introduce DFGG tools in Bank projects, and to measure their impact. The core guidance is presented in the form of a simple five-step process for determining activity in a given project context. The annexes contain a glossary of DFGG tools, checklists, website links and other resources for task teams that will assist them in introducing and deepening DFGG work in Bank projects.Publication One Year On(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2015-02)The roll-out of devolution has been formally underway since March 2013 when county governments were established under the 2010 Constitution. The period under review is April 2013 to June 2014, which enables observations of public engagement in preparation of the 2013-2014 county budgets (between April-June 2013) and the 2014-2015 county budgets (between September 2013-June 2014). This paper reviews initial county initiatives on public participation and possible interventions to improve the overall design and implementation of participatory systems going forward.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.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 Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, Fall 2024: Better Education for Stronger Growth(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-17)Economic growth in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) is likely to moderate from 3.5 percent in 2023 to 3.3 percent this year. This is significantly weaker than the 4.1 percent average growth in 2000-19. Growth this year is driven by expansionary fiscal policies and strong private consumption. External demand is less favorable because of weak economic expansion in major trading partners, like the European Union. Growth is likely to slow further in 2025, mostly because of the easing of expansion in the Russian Federation and Turkiye. This Europe and Central Asia Economic Update calls for a major overhaul of education systems across the region, particularly higher education, to unleash the talent needed to reinvigorate growth and boost convergence with high-income countries. Universities in the region suffer from poor management, outdated curricula, and inadequate funding and infrastructure. A mismatch between graduates' skills and the skills employers are seeking leads to wasted potential and contributes to the region's brain drain. Reversing the decline in the quality of education will require prioritizing improvements in teacher training, updated curricula, and investment in educational infrastructure. In higher education, reforms are needed to consolidate university systems, integrate them with research centers, and provide reskilling opportunities for adult workers.Publication Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, Spring 2025: Accelerating Growth through Entrepreneurship, Technology Adoption, and Innovation(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-23)Business dynamism and economic growth in Europe and Central Asia have weakened since the late 2000s, with productivity growth driven largely by resource reallocation between firms and sectors rather than innovation. To move up the value chain, countries need to facilitate technology adoption, stronger domestic competition, and firm-level innovation to build a more dynamic private sector. Governments should move beyond broad support for small- and medium-sized enterprises and focus on enabling the most productive firms to expand and compete globally. Strengthening competition policies, reducing the presence of state-owned enterprises, and ensuring fair market access are crucial. Limited availability of long-term financing and risk capital hinders firm growth and innovation. Economic disruptions are a shock in the short term, but they provide an opportunity for implementing enterprise and structural reforms, all of which are essential for creating better-paying jobs and helping countries in the region to achieve high-income status.Publication Country Partnership Framework for Nepal for the Period of FY2025-2031(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-06-06)This Country Partnership Framework (CPF) outlines the strategic approach to the WBG's proposed engagement in Nepal for FY25-31. The design and priorities of this CPF are informed by a comprehensive analytical and evaluation program, 4 a broad-based consultative process, and, critically, the Government of Nepal's 16th Development Plan (FY24/25-28/29) which lays out its national development priorities. Two critical development challenges: (i) job-creating growth and (ii) resilience to natural disasters, including those caused or exacerbated by climate change - are the foundation upon which the World Bank Group (WBG) is building its FY25-FY31 engagement. The CPF will span a seven-year cycle, with the first five coinciding with Nepal’s 16th Development Plan. Although the main challenges remain broadly the same as in the previous CPF, this CPF incorporates several shifts based on the WBG evolution and lessons learned. It builds on two principles: an exclusive focus on two development challenges - job-creating growth and resilience to 9 natural disasters (Principle 1) and balancing ambition for transformation and the need for near-term results (Principle 2). The CPF uses the three standard selectivity criteria: (i) WBG Mission to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet; (ii) Country development goals and demand; and (iii) WBG Capacity and Competence.