The World Bank Institute's Parliamentary Strengthening Program

The World Bank Institute (WBI) has developed a program for parliaments that aims to assist parliaments in playing their constitutionally designated role in governance process. Areas of particular interest to the Bank include: financial oversight, poverty reduction, and public participation. The main objectives of the program are to (i) strengthen the capacity of parliaments to oversee the allocation and use of public funds; (ii) assist parliaments in better representing the interests of the poor in the policy process; (iii) support parliamentary learning networks on key policy issues related to development and facilitate leading research on the role of parliaments. For more information please see the program website: http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/governance/parliament/ 

New Project: WBI and Parliamentary Involvement in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)

The World Bank Institute, with support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has developed a set of activities which target national parliaments in the SADC region (in Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Mauritius) including committees and individual MPs focusing on a variety of learning events to help parliamentarians in the region play a role in realizing the goals of NEPAD.
http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/governance/parliament/c-nepad.html

The NEPAD Library Website contains resources for parliamentarians.


Contacts:

For information regarding WBI's Parliament thematic programs, please contact:
Rick Stapenhurst
1818 H Street, NW - MSN J4-403
Washington, D.C. 20433 USA
Phone: (202) 473-3210
Fax: (202) 676-9810
E-mail: fstapenhurst@worldbank.org