Parliamentarians and the World Bank Group

Parliamentarians can be powerful advocates for development. They pass laws, debate, and approve foreign aid budgets; review development policies; and hold governments accountable for World Bank-financed programs. The World Bank Group, in turn, is an important focus of parliamentary interest as it channels around one-fifth of all aid to the poorest countries. It is also an important source of knowledge and information on poverty reduction.

Although the Bank works with parliamentarians in various capacities, the Bank maintains its official relationships with the governments of its 186 member countries, whose ministers of finance, economy, development, or foreign affairs sit on its Board of Governors. As mandated by its charter, the Bank does not involve itself in the domestic political affairs of a country. This means that except in rare cases, Bank staff cannot testify before a legislative body. However, the Bank conducts a number of development-related activities with parliamentarians, who remain a vital constituency with an important role to play in sustainable development.

How does the Bank engage with parliamentarians?

Knowledge Sharing

As a knowledge institution, the Bank conducts and publishes development-related research on a range of issues including poverty reduction, the financial crisis, climate change, health, and education. It also conducts studies of the general functioning of parliaments and looks for ways to improve governance by strengthening parliaments. Parliamentarians can access this research through the Bank website (which has a special web page for parliamentarians) and numerous publications.

Capacity Building

During the past 10 years, the World Bank Institute (WBI) has trained more than 10,000 members of parliament in partnership with parliamentary organizations. Acting both as a knowledge broker and a center for action research, the Bank works with development partners around the globe to strengthen the capacity of institutions, individual parliamentarians, and parliamentary staff. The Bank’s aim is to enhance parliaments’ capacity to effectively fulfil their responsibilities, particularly with regard to budget oversight, policy implementation, and program performance. Consistent with the Bank’s mandate, the Parliamentary Strengthening Program focuses on issues related to the budget cycle and parliamentary administration, as well as the role of parliament in curbing corruption, reducing poverty, and preventing conflict.

Ongoing Dialogue

The Bank interacts with parliamentarians through conversations, informal briefing sessions, seminars, and video conferences. For example, the Bank may ask members of parliament to contribute to open consultations on Bank policies and country assistance strategies. The Bank also organizes events with parliamentary organizations and regularly receives parliamentary delegations at its headquarters in Washington, D.C., to link parliamentarians with development experts. Examples include the Annual Conference of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB) and the field visit program, through which the Bank and PNoWB bring together MPs, government officials, Bank staff, and donors to discuss poverty reduction strategy processes, visit project sites, and interact face-to-face with stakeholders. Another example is the global issues platform created by GLOBE[1] and the Alliance of Communicators for Sustainable Development (COM+, with which the Bank is a partner). Through this platform, legislators and others discuss environmental and sustainable development issues.

Who Works with Parliamentarians at the Bank?

The Parliamentary Relations Team is the Bank’s initial contact point for parliamentarians. The team acts a facilitator, connecting parliamentarians and parliamentary organizations with relevant Bank units and country offices. Through joint activities with organizations such as PNoWB, the Bank creates a platform for mutually beneficial dialogue.

The Bank’s country offices and country teams are also accessible to parliamentarians. Country office staff can help connect parliamentarians to relevant parties at Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C. 

Many country offices have Public Information Centres (PICs) where documents and reports on Bank-financed projects and other key publications can be found.

The World Bank Institute (WBI), the Bank’s knowledge-sharing arm, strengthens the capacity of parliaments in developing countries through structured learning events, knowledge exchanges, and support for parliamentary networks so that parliaments can contribute to better development results.

The Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network (PREM) aims to integrate the Bank’s poverty reduction efforts at the country level by strengthening the Bank’s operational and analytical knowledge. It also supports country teams that wish to engage with parliamentarians in the context of broader governance activities.

More Information

Please visit the World Bank’s website for parliamentarians (www.worldbank.org/parliamentarians).