Publication: Learning and Results in World Bank Operations : How the Bank Learns, Evaluation 1
Loading...
Files
657 downloads
88 downloads
7 downloads
7 downloads
11 downloads
Date
2014-07
ISSN
Published
2014-07
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Knowledge, learning, and innovation are one of eight objectives that will be monitored in the Bank's new strategy. The independent evaluation group (IEG) is conducting a program of learning and results evaluations to promote a better understanding of how the World Bank acquires, captures, and transfers knowledge and learning in its lending operations, and what scope there is for improving. The objective of the program is to delineate attributes of effective learning in World Bank lending. These attributes refer to learning into lending (inputs into project design); learning while lending (feedback and modifications of design and implementation while the project is underway); and learning from lending (lessons from the project that were transmitted to other projects). The evaluation program will assess how the Bank can become better at generating, accessing, and using learning and knowledge in its lending operations. It acknowledges the importance of the feedback from knowledge to learning and from learning back to enhanced knowledge. The report is organized as follows: chapter one gives approach and context. Chapter two explores two essential aspects of learning - knowledge exploitation and knowledge exploration and the factors influencing them. Chapter three examines the contribution of mentoring. Chapter four addresses the extent to which incentives, leadership, and culture are aligned to promote learning in lending. Chapter five considers the implications of the report's findings, for the Bank's change process, for IEG, and for the design of the second evaluation in IEG's learning and results series.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Independent Evaluation Group. 2014. Learning and Results in World Bank Operations : How the Bank Learns, Evaluation 1. © http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19982 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 Learning and Results in World Bank Operations(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-01)This report is the second in a program of evaluations that the independent evaluation group (IEG) is conducting on the learning that takes place through World Bank projects. Learning and knowledge are treated as parts of a whole and are presumed to be mutually reinforcing. The evaluation program addresses the following overarching questions: how well has the World Bank learned in its lending operations?; and what is the scope for improving how it generates, accesses, and uses learning and knowledge in these operations? Evaluation two includes findings from seven country case studies and interviews with Bank staff about their early experience of working within the Bank’s new global practices structure, which became operational on July 1, 2014. The aim is to assess the pre-FY2015 evidence in light of the new structure and roles, and to ask how long-term trends are likely to be modified as reforms evolve. Surveys and interviews reveal that, when it comes to managing projects, Bank staff rely first and foremost on a process of informal learning, leading to a gradual accumulation of tacit knowledge. Informal learning and tacit knowledge are built on the behaviors that flow from mindsets and from the characteristics and operating rules of the groups that individuals belong to. These behavioral underpinnings are mediated by incentives that institutions like the Bank provide to staff. The Bank has launched several important learning initiatives, such as the operational core curriculum. Chapter one presents approach. Chapter two mines the academic and management literature to examine the behavioral underpinnings of informal learning and tacit knowledge. Chapter three examines how individual and team behavior is mediated by the incentives that the Bank offers staff. Chapters four, five, and six examine three operational orientations of particular relevance to the new Bank: balancing of global and local focus, adaptiveness, and results focus. Chapter seven presents recommendations.Publication Knowledge Sharing : A Review of the Literature(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2003)A successful knowledge-sharing effort requires a focus on more than simply the transfer of the specific knowledge. Instead, many of the activities to be undertaken need to focus on structuring and implementing the arrangement in a way that bridges both existing and potential relationship issues, and examining the form and location of the knowledge to ensure its complete transfer. In other words, while the activities used to share knowledge, such as document exchanges, presentations, job rotations, etc., are important, overcoming the factors that can impede, complicate and even harm knowledge internalization are equally important in determining the ultimate results of a knowledge-sharing effort. Accordingly, any evaluations of the Bank s knowledge-sharing efforts need to incorporate assessments of its use of activities related to understanding the form and embedded knowledge, establishing and managing appropriate administrative structures, and facilitating the transfer of the knowledge.Publication The Capacity Development Results Framework(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-06)The Capacity Development Results Framework (CDRF or the Framework) is a powerful new approach to the design, implementation, monitoring, management, and evaluation of development programs. Originally conceived to address well-documented problems in the narrow field of capacity development, the Framework can be profitably applied to assess the feasibility and coherence of proposed development projects, to monitor projects during implementation (with a view to taking corrective action), or to assess the results, or even the design, of completed projects. The framework can also be used as a step-by-step guide to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of projects and programs designed to build capacity for development at a national or sub-national level. That is how it is illustrated here. We chose this approach because such a guide was sorely needed, and because it allowed us to illustrate the full set of tools and processes provided by the framework. The framework is compatible with a broad range of situations and approaches to change management. But in all cases key actors in the change process must be identified and offered the knowledge and tools that they need to produce change in the direction of the desired goals. Critical points in the change path must be identified. At each such point, new information and experience must be assessed to guide subsequent decisions. Building capacity, driving change, and achieving development goals will typically be iterative processes.Publication The Matrix System at Work : An Evaluation of the World Bank's Organizational Effectiveness(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2012-04)The 1997 Bank reforms that introduced the matrix management concept aimed to adapt the organization to changing circumstances and address concerns among external stakeholders about the role of aid in development. The reforms were motivated largely by widespread recognition that the Bank's development programs were excessively driven by a culture of lending, with insufficient attention to client needs and the quality of results, which are crucial to development effectiveness. A previous round of reforms in 1987 had strengthened the country focus, but quality remained a concern. Furthermore, access of developing countries to development finance from the private sector had increased significantly, leading to a decreasing share of official development aid, including Bank financing, in total flows to developing countries. This trend has continued after slight interruption by the Asian financial crisis. In 1987, World Bank lending represented 15 percent of all external financing for developing countries. By 2002 Bank lending had declined to 4 percent of external financing (organizational effectiveness task force: final report, 2005). Changes in the external environment indicate that the matrix system is even more relevant today than when it was introduced. Client needs have diversified, with greater differentiation among countries, even within the regions; the growth of global public goods and corporate priorities is creating tensions and has given rise to new challenges which need to be reconciled with the country model; demand for cutting-edge knowledge is growing, both to enhance quality of lending and as a business line for policy and program advice to clients; and new global practices have emerged to meet needs such as information, communication and technology, and disaster management. The Bank's ability to renew itself and function as a truly global Bank is critical to its success.Publication The Art of Knowledge Exchange : A Results-Focused Planning Guide for Development Practitioners, Second Edition Updated(Washington, DC, 2015)Knowledge exchange, or peer-to-peer learning, is a powerful way to share, replicate, and scale up what works in development. Development practitioners want to learn from the practical experience of others who have gone through, or are going through, similar challenges. They want to be connected to each other and have ready access to practical knowledge and solutions. When done right, knowledge exchange can build the capacity, confidence, and conviction of individuals and groups to act. Examples of these direct results or intermediate outcomes from a knowledge exchange include: i) technical water specialists in several sub-districts of Bangladesh learn new skills to replicate good practices (shared by their peers) for building and maintaining a safe water supply; ii) dairy sector and ministry of agriculture officials in Tanzania reach agreement on a blueprint of potential dairy sector reforms because of a new shared understanding and improved collaboration; and iii) farmers in Kenya adopt an innovative rice growing methodology, System of Rice Intensification (SRI), to increase the yield from their land after learning from the experience of countries that pioneered this methodology. This edition contains a full revision of the original art of knowledge exchange as well as new chapters on implementation and results. It draws lessons from over 100 exchanges financed by the World Bank South-South Facility, analytical work conducted by the World Bank Institute and the Task Team for South-South Cooperation, and reflects the experiences of dozens of World Bank Group staff, learning professionals, government officials, and other international development practitioners who have brokered and participated in South-South knowledge exchange activities.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Media and Messages for Nutrition and Health(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06)The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) has experienced rapid and significant economic growth over the past decade. However, poor nutritional outcomes remain a concern. Rates of childhood undernutrition are particularly high in remote, rural, and upland areas. Media have the potential to play an important role in shaping health and nutrition–related behaviors and practices as well as in promoting sociocultural and economic development that might contribute to improved nutritional outcomes. This report presents the results of a media audit (MA) that was conducted to inform the development and production of mass media advocacy and communication strategies and materials with a focus on maternal and child health and nutrition that would reach the most people from the poorest communities in northern Lao PDR. Making more people aware of useful information, essential services and products and influencing them to use these effectively is the ultimate goal of mass media campaigns, and the MA measures the potential effectiveness of media efforts to reach this goal. The effectiveness of communication channels to deliver health and nutrition messages to target beneficiaries to ensure maximum reach and uptake can be viewed in terms of preferences, satisfaction, and trust. Overall, the four most accessed media channels for receiving information among communities in the study areas were village announcements, mobile phones, television, and out-of-home (OOH) media. Of the accessed media channels, the top three most preferred channels were village announcements (40 percent), television (26 percent), and mobile phones (19 percent). In terms of trust, village announcements were the most trusted source of information (64 percent), followed by mobile phones (14 percent) and television (11 percent). Hence of all the media channels, village announcements are the most preferred, have the most satisfied users, and are the most trusted source of information in study communities from four provinces in Lao PDR with some of the highest burden of childhood undernutrition.Publication Global Economic Prospects, January 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16)Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.Publication Business Ready 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-03)Business Ready (B-READY) is a new World Bank Group corporate flagship report that evaluates the business and investment climate worldwide. It replaces and improves upon the Doing Business project. B-READY provides a comprehensive data set and description of the factors that strengthen the private sector, not only by advancing the interests of individual firms but also by elevating the interests of workers, consumers, potential new enterprises, and the natural environment. This 2024 report introduces a new analytical framework that benchmarks economies based on three pillars: Regulatory Framework, Public Services, and Operational Efficiency. The analysis centers on 10 topics essential for private sector development that correspond to various stages of the life cycle of a firm. The report also offers insights into three cross-cutting themes that are relevant for modern economies: digital adoption, environmental sustainability, and gender. B-READY draws on a robust data collection process that includes specially tailored expert questionnaires and firm-level surveys. The 2024 report, which covers 50 economies, serves as the first in a series that will expand in geographical coverage and refine its methodology over time, supporting reform advocacy, policy guidance, and further analysis and research.Publication Remarks at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-12)World Bank Group President David Malpass discussed biodiversity and climate change being closely interlinked, with terrestrial and marine ecosystems serving as critically important carbon sinks. At the same time climate change acts as a direct driver of biodiversity and ecosystem services loss. The World Bank has financed biodiversity conservation around the world, including over 116 million hectares of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas, 10 million hectares of Terrestrial Protected Areas, and over 300 protected habitats, biological buffer zones and reserves. The COVID pandemic, biodiversity loss, climate change are all reminders of how connected we are. The recovery from this pandemic is an opportunity to put in place more effective policies, institutions, and resources to address biodiversity loss.Publication Economic Recovery(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-04-06)World Bank Group President David Malpass spoke about the world facing major challenges, including COVID, climate change, rising poverty and inequality and growing fragility and violence in many countries. He highlighted vaccines, working closely with Gavi, WHO, and UNICEF, the World Bank has conducted over one hundred capacity assessments, many even more before vaccines were available. The World Bank Group worked to achieve a debt service suspension initiative and increased transparency in debt contracts at developing countries. The World Bank Group is finalizing a new climate change action plan, which includes a big step up in financing, building on their record climate financing over the past two years. He noted big challenges to bring all together to achieve GRID: green, resilient, and inclusive development. Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, mentioned focusing on vulnerable people during the pandemic. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, focused on giving everyone a fair shot during a sustainable recovery. All three commented on the importance of tackling climate change.