The Joint Japan/World Bank Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) began in 1987 as part of a special Japanese initiative to strengthen human resources in developing countries. It was set up by the government of Japan in partnership with the World Bank. Two decades of experience have shown that JJ/WBGSP is an invaluable resource for building skills and imparting competencies to development professionals—skills that are necessary in order for countries to prosper in the highly interconnected and competitive global economy.

Through graduate studies at top universities all around the world, they have had access to the best available knowledge and improved their skills in critical areas such as public management and finance, infrastructure planning and management, urban and rural development, agriculture and water resources management, environment protection, and public health. The record of scholars’ promotions after they return to their countries shows that the program has reinforced their capacity to make well-informed decisions and carry out effective socioeconomic reforms.

The JJ/WBGSP awarded a total of 3,554 during 1987-2006. The 2007 tracer study, the seventh in this series, addresses the performance of the scholars during these 20 years by investigating whether they:

• attained their degrees successfully and benefited from their academic programs
• returned to their home country or other developing countries
• achieved recognition for their enhanced skills, progression and mobility, higher income, and better grades and promotion in their jobs
• engaged in senior professional and managerial positions that provided them with the opportunity to disseminate their newly acquired skills and knowledge, and
• contributed to the overall socioeconomic development of their own country or of other developing countries.

The year 2007 marks the JJ/WBGSP's 20 years of investing in human capital in developing countries.

The booklet "Twenty Years of Investing in Human Capital: Celebrating our Alumni" highlights some of the program's alumni who have made remarkable career progress after completing their study under the JJ/WBGSP and who are making significant contributions to the development of their home countries.

Each profile is unique, yet each and every one of them assures us that the scholarships provided jointly by the government of Japan and the World Bank have been bringing about positive effects on development through human capacity building.

The first section introduces the alumni with diverse backgrounds who now occupy high positions in various institutions in their countries; the second part introduces the six alumni who, at the regional conferences held in May 2006 in Nairobi and Hanoi, received awards for the outstanding research they carried out under the JJ/WBGSP.

The booklet has been published and presented at JJ/WBGSP Tokyo Conference on June 6, 2007 in two languages: English and Japanese.

In 2005, the JJ/WBGSP launched the Scaling-Up Program as a better means for leveraging knowledge acquired by the sponsored scholars and to foster a network of development practitioners, including JJ/WBGSP scholars and alumni. During its first year of activity, the Scaling-Up Program held two regional conferences, in Kenyaand in Vietnam, where it provided an opportunity for alumni to hear outstanding papers presented by the scholars, and to network, share knowledge, and discuss current development issues in the presence of the World Bank staff, Japanese government representatives, and academic institutions. The publication "Awarded Theses 2006" includes six selected papers awarded at the above mentioned two regional conferences.

To date, the Scaling-Up Program has held four regional conferences that gave alumni opportunities to hear outstanding papers presented by the scholars; and to network, share knowledge, and discuss current development issues in the presence of the World Bank staff and Japanese government representatives. Two successful regional conferences were held during fiscal year 2007—one in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in March 2007 and one in Tokyo, Japan, in June of that year.

The conference in Tokyo where its graduates and some 150 distinguished guests from around the world gathered at Keio University marked 20th anniversary of the JJ/WBGSP. Many successful scholarship recipients shared testimonials regarding their experiences in the study program. The publication "Awarded Theses 2007" includes six theses presented and awarded in Dar es Salaam and Tokyo.