Sharing Knowledge

© World Bank

The Bank assists client countries not only by funding projects and programs but also by providing access to its development knowledge resources. The Bank’s knowledge activities range from conducting country research, to developing analytic and conceptual frameworks for country assistance, to building the capacity for sustainable development within client countries.

Research

The Bank’s research program supports studies on the implications of a range of development issues. The resultant findings facilitate a deeper understanding of development challenges and can be used to influence policy, thereby leading to better outcomes for poor people. For example, a Bank survey revealing the extent of absenteeism among teachers and health workers in Bangladesh, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Uganda, and Zambia led to vigorous government campaigns in India to ensure that teachers and health service providers report to work, and to the inclusion of “citizen report cards” on health and education services in Africa as part of the Bank’s development assistance strategies in that region.

Environmental research has led to significant pollution reductions by industrial plants in Asia. Armed with evidence that public disclosure of factory emissions increases public pressure to reduce those emissions, the Bank supported trials in China, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam in which polluters’ emissions were monitored and performance ratings disclosed. In all four countries, rates of compliance with pollution regulations in test areas increased by 10 to 50 percent.

Economic and Sector Work and Nonlending Technical Assistance

Most of the Bank’s analytic and advisory activities consist of economic and sector work and nonlending technical assistance. Analytic and advisory activities are an integral part of overall country assistance programs, which increasingly emphasize country ownership, participatory processes, capacity building, partnerships, and results. For that reason, the Bank has sought to strengthen its capacity to share knowledge with the donor community, looking to harmonize its policies and procedures with those of other donors and produce joint analytic work in partnership with them. The Bank delivered 601 economic and sector work products and 307 technical assistance activities in fiscal 2006. Financial and private sector development and public sector governance were the leading themes for both economic and sector work and technical assistance.

Sector Strategies

In fiscal 2006, the Bank produced the second Sector Strategy Implementation Update, which provides an integrated assessment of progress across all sectors and thematic areas in which the Bank is engaged. This update also focused on strategies in four specific sectors: water supply and sanitation, health, rural development, and public sector governance. The Bank’s efforts also concentrated on implementing the HIV/AIDS action plan and the multisectoral Africa Action Plan, and two newly updated strategies in the social development and education sectors.

© 2006 The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank