Regional Efforts

To establish and use GDLN effectively in a region as diverse as ECA, the Bank has to be responsive to varying levels of development and cultural differences while supporting the development strategies of its client countries.

In eight countries that joined the European Union in 2004—the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia—GDLN has supported capacity building initiatives. With finite schedules for aligning their systems of governance with EU requirements, these countries needed to increase the knowledge and skills of public and private regulators and professional organizations. GDLN has proved to be an effective medium for the wide scale dialogues and requisite training for these countries, and can perform the same role for other potential EU members. 

In order to expand the reach of development knowledge, GDLN is developing national networks that link capitals with smaller cities and municipalities. In Ukraine and Russia, civil service training academies are now able to extend their reach through secondary networks. A similar secondary network is also being developed in Bosnia.

In Central Asia, the Bank is working to establish an integrated group of GDLN centers in the capitals of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. To support integrated and cost-effective information flows, the Bank launched the Central Asia Knowledge Sharing Initiative (CAKSI) in 2002. CAKSI provides an institutional framework for increased regional communication, collaborative problem solving, and knowledge exchange. It also serves as a focal point for  identifying and linking the region directly with knowledge sources in other parts of the world.

There are many areas in the region where knowledge exchange is vital to reform. These include building capacity at local levels, attracting private investment, developing entrepreneurship, improving education, and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS. For all these areas and more, GDLN will continue to provide opportunities for dialogues between practitioners and experts.