About the Task Force

Encouraged by the African Governors of the World Bank, Mr. Wolfensohn asked an Operational Taskforce to review and update the Bank’s approach to helping develop the capacities of African states and societies to secure the economic and social fundamentals of poverty reduction. The Taskforce - led by Mr. Callisto Madavo and supported by a Working Group drawn from operational units in the Africa Region and WBI, as well as the PREM Anchor and the African Executive Directors’ offices - focused on the practical and operational challenges of improving the responsiveness, efficiency, and efficacy of Bank support for Africa’s ongoing capacity building efforts. It is expected that such improvements would also serve as a catalyst for the larger international effort to scale up support to capacity development in Africa.

The work of the Task Force was achieved by (i) drawing on the growing body of empirical work on country experiences with capacity building in Africa, including internal and external reviews; (ii) reviewing and updating the Bank’s approach to support capacity development in Africa based on key PRSP-era principles including client ownership, strategic selectivity, aid effectiveness, and a results-orientation; (iii) identifying the implications for “how the Bank does its capacity building business” in Africa including how the Bank can better align support with client needs and priorities as expressed in PRSPs, improve the menu and mix of financial and knowledge products within CASs, develop harmonized approaches to scaling up support, and help clients measure the results of capacity building; (iv) recommending a plan of action for the Bank—consistent with the PACT approach—to support a sound platform from which multilateral, bilateral, and regional partners can reinforce and scale up homegrown efforts to develop capacities for collective action and private initiatives and (v) developing a robust monitoring framework for assessing the progress of capacity building efforts, as well as their impact on country institutional endowment and key poverty reduction objectives such as service delivery, empowerment, good governance, and investment climate Building on these outputs, the final product will be a report, Effective States and Engaged Societies: Capacity Development for Growth, Service Deliver, Peace & Security and Empowerment in Africa. It is envisaged that the report will serve as a guidance document for revitalizing and improving the Bank’s operational approach to capacity development in Africa. It could also help move forward the approach to capacity development across the wider donor community.

Task Force Composition

The Taskforce was chaired by Mr. Callisto Madavo and staffed by a technical Working Group comprising eleven World Bank staff drawn from the offices of the African Executive Directors (3 staff), the Africa Regional Vice Presidency’s operational units (4 staff), the PREM Public Sector Anchor (1 staff), and the World Bank Institute (3 staff). The Group will be responsible for the technical work is led by Mssrs. Benno Ndulu and Michael Sarris.

A. Taskforce Chair: Mr. Callisto Madavo

B. Working Group Composition

Region/Unit	Staff
Africa Region	1. Benno Ndulu (Team Leader)
	2. Navin Girishankar
	3. Armand Atomate
	4. Yongmei Zhou
	5. Pamela Khumbah
World Bank Institute	6. Michele de Nevers
	7. Michael Sarris
	8. Mark Nelson
	9. Nidhi Khattri
PREM	10. Poul Engberg-Pedersen
Executive Directors’ Office	11. Mamadou Woury Diallo
	12. Ita Mary Mannathoko
	13. Haruna Mohamed

In addition, an Advisory Group was constituted to ensure that the Working Group benefits from real time consultation with senior Bank managers and multilateral partners. The Advisory Group will comprise key senior managers and experts from within the Bank including sector managers and country directors from the Africa Region and WBI to ensure that the work of the Taskforce is rooted in the units that will be ultimately expected to implement its findings. In addition, the Advisory Group will include representatives from the offices of the African Executive Directors of the World Bank, and representatives from the IMF and UNDP. Regular discussions with the Advisory Group will be supplemented by the above-mentioned consultations with African institutions, the leadership in select African countries, bilateral agencies, and leading thinkers on the topic of capacity development.

Advisory Group Members

1. Alan Harold Gelb (World Bank)

2. Ali Khadr, (World Bank)

3. Brian David Levy, (World Bank)

4. Cheryl W. Gray, (World Bank)

5. David Craig (World Bank)

6. Hafez M. H. Ghanem, (World Bank)

7. Helga W. Muller, (World Bank)

8. Ishac Diwan, J (World Bank)

9. James P. Bond, (World Bank)

10. Judy M. O'Connor, (World Bank)

11. Michele E. De Nevers, (World Bank)