| Below is the listing of studies, reports, publications, and other materials produced by the World Bank on its civil society engagement work as well as other development topics related to civil society and social development. These are produced by different regional, network, country, and other units throughout the institution. Full listing of all World Bank publications. Highlights:
World Bank - Civil Society Engagement: Review of Fiscal Years 2007 - 2009
Guidance Note on World Bank Multi-Stakeholder Engagement
Social Accountability Sourcebook
Civil Society Bank Publications
Bi-Annual Reviews on WB-Civil Society Engagement
These Reviews represent a comprehensive accounting of Bank – civil society relations across the institution within the period of review. It provides detailed information on global consultation processes, examples of operational collaboration, CSO funding mechanisms, and civil society outreach initiatives by region and constituency teams. World Bank-Civil Society Engagement. Review of Fiscal Years 2007 - 2009
World Bank-Civil Society Engagement. Review of Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006
World Bank-Civil Society Engagement. Review of Fiscal Years 2002-2004
World Bank-Civil Society Collaboration – Progress Report for Fiscal Years 2000 and 2001 top
General on WB-Civil Society Relations Issues and Options for Improving Engagement Between the World Bank and Civil Society Organizations (March 2005) The paper assesses the World Bank’s recent relations with civil society organizations, and proposes options for promoting more effective civic engagement in Bank-supported activities and managing associated risks in the future. Itanalyzes the Bank’s extensive experience over time in engaging CSOs in a broad range of development operations and in policy dialogue at the local, national and transnational levels. Working Together. World Bank-Civil Society Relations (2003) This 36-page booklet is composed of two sections. The first provides basic information on the Bank including its governing structure, project cycle, safeguard policies, and programs such as PRSP. The second section focuses on the Bank’s civil society engagement work including the rationale and nature of this engagement, civil society staff, and funding mechanisms for civil society.
Engaging Civil Society [brochure] (2003) This brochure provides a quick snapshot on the Bank’s civil society engagement work. It covers the three aspects of why, how, and who carries out these activities in the Bank. The brochure also has information on how the Bank supports civil society through information, training, and funding. "Government Social Funds in Brazil Bolster Civil Society Grassroots Initiatives" (2001) This 11-page article was written by John Garrison of the Civil Society Team. It describes the objectives, thematic priorities, operational characteristics, and participatory mechanisms of 14 government-managed social funds financed by the World Bank and valued at over $955 million dollars over a seven year period (1993 - 2001). The note demonstrates how these "small grants programs" funds in such areas as AIDS prevention, environmental conservation, and rural poverty reduction have begun to significantly change the relations between the government and civil society.
"From Confrontation to Collaboration: Civil Society - Government - World Bank Relations in Brazil " (2000)
This 107-page study written by John Garrison of the Civil Society Team examines the evolving relations between the World Bank, governments, and civil society in Brazil. The study provides a historic overview of the Brazilian civil society sector, information on the Bank's civil society outreach efforts including its objective and methodology, and examples of civil society involvement in Bank-financed loans. "The Challenges of Promoting Participatory Development in the Amazon" (1997) This 11-page note was written jointly by John Garrison, Civil Society Team, and Teresa Aparicio, Social Anthropologist at the Inter-American Development Bank. The piece provides background information and analyzis on one of the best known and controversial Bank loans to have been funded in the Brazilian state of Rondonia Planafloro. It provides background information on the region, details the problems plaguing the natural resource project, and describes how the project was re-designed after a participatory process involving local CSOs. top
Consultations guides Guidance Note on World Bank Multi-Stakeholder Engagement (2009): As part of the implementation plan to strengthen World Bank Group engagement on governance and anticorruption, the Bank has prepared a Guidance note on multi-stakeholder engagement. This note provides guidance to staff on demand-side good practice and mandate issues vis-a-vis civil society engagement. Part two of this note discusses the applicable legal and policy considerations in more detail. And finally, part three provides guidance on good practice for ensuring the effectiveness of Bank interventions and that they are performed in a manner consistent with the Bank's mandate, with a particular focus on working with media, parliament, and civil society. Consultations with Civil Society. A sourcebook - Working Document (February 2007) Produced by the Civil Society Team, the sourcebook presents knowledge and expertise of World Bank staff on how to engage civil society and promote participatory development. Its first version was published in 2001 and produced by the NGO Unit in the Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (ESSD) Newtork. It has evolved and has been revised over time as a result of being presented and discussed over time. Earlier versions of the sourcebook: May 2004, 2001version Consultations with Civil Society Organizations. General Guidelines for World Bank Staff (2000)
This first of a kind publication was prepared by the Bank's NGO and Civil Society Unit in an effort to provide more guidance and support in facilitating consultations with CSOs on projects, policy, and investment lending. Although non-mandatory, the guidelines reflect the advice and good practices distilled from experience of many Bank staff. top
Funding guides Guide to Resources for NGOs and Other Organizations of Civil Society (2003) The second edition of the document was prepared in partnership between the Small Grants Program of the World Bank and the International Youth Foundation. The publication is intended as a guide to technical and financial resources for CSOs.
Operations Evaluation Department's Reviews An OED Review of Social Development in Bank Activities. February 2004 (PDF, 0.4MB) This report presents the collected findings of several evaluative exercises: a literature review, an analysis of the organization of social development in aid agencies, surveys of Bank staff, and a meta-analysis of the previous and ongoing OED studies related to social development. Separate reports on each of these exercises are available on request.
Toward Country-led Development: a Multi-Partner Evaluation of the Comprehensive Development Framework. June 2003 (PDF, 2MB) The Comprehensive Development Framework - launched by World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn in early 1999 - has become an important influence on the global development agenda. This review is an extended multi-partner effort to evaluate the implementation of the CDF principles, to identify the factors that have facilitated and hindered it, and to assess the extent to which CDF implementation has affected behaviors and outcomes.
The CGIAR at 31: An Independent Meta-Evaluation of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. May 2003 This report on the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) is part of an independent review by the Operations Evaluation Department (OED) of the World Bank's involvement in global programs, and is in three volumes. The Overview Report (Volume 1) addresses strategic questions regarding the organization, financing, and management of the CGIAR as these have affected research choices, science quality, and the Bank's relationship to the CGIAR.
Debt Relief for the Poorest: An OED Review of the HIPC Initiative. February 24, 2003 (PDF, 2MB) This review focuses on the design and implementation of the HIPC Initiative. The purpose is to assess the prospect of the Initiative achieving its intended immediate objectives - reducing debt to sustainable levels and creating the fiscal space for increased spending for poverty reduction—and the potential for contributing toward its underlying development goals - sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.
"OED Prescis: Non-governmental Organizations in World Bank-Supported Projects" (1999)
This is a summary analysis of a larger study carried out in 1998 by the Operational Evaluation Department on the involvement of NGOs in World Bank supported activities at the country level. The study focused on five countries (Bolivia, Brazil, India, Kenya, and Mali) and found that while the level of NGO involvement is overstasted and uneven accross the Bank, the majority of projects studied showed potential for success because their preparation and early implementation were characterized by civil society organizations. "OED Lessons and Practices: Non-Governmental Organizations and Civil Society Engagement in World Bank Supported Projects: Lessons from OED Evaluations" The Bank's Operations and Evaluation Department has undertaken a series of studies on the civil society sector and its interaction with the World Bank. These include a major study undertaken in 1998 in five countries which sought to identify factors contributing to successful World Bank-NGO collaboration, as well as a number of other OED studies. This paper draws on that body of work to identify some of the important findings and recommendations that should inform the Bank as it attempts to broaden and consolidate its civil society engagement work.
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Other (poverty, social development, etc.) Agriculture and the WTO: Creating a Trading System for Development - This publication explores the key issues and options in agricultural trade liberalization from the perspective of the developing countries. Leading experts in trade and agriculture from both developed and developing countries provide key research findings and policy analyses on a range of issues that includes market access, domestic support, export competition, quota administration methods, food security, biotechnology, intellectual property rights, and agricultural trade under the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture. Material is covered both in summary and in comprehensive detail with supporting data, a substantial bibliography, and listings of online resources. The World Bank has consolidated its approach to social development into a single Bank-wide Strategy and Implementation Plan, entitled 'Empowering People by Transforming Institutions: Social Development in World Bank Operations,' which focuses on efforts to empower poor women and men through enhanced Bank support for social inclusion, cohesive societies and accountable institutions. Social development, is defined as transformation of institutions and as such, promotes better growth, better projects and better quality of life.The paper sets a vision, objectives, and a course of action for the longer term and suggests specific actions, targets, and institutional measures for the next five years. This paper was produced through a three-year effort involving extensive stocktaking, research, consultation. When is External Debt Sustainable? Policy Research Working Paper by the WB HIPC Team (Feb, 2004) - It analyzes the probability of debt distress in developing countries and examines the implications of the analysis for the lending policies of official creditors and the borrowing strategies of low income debtor countries. It shows that the likelihood of debt distress can be substantially explained using a small set of three factors: debt burdens, policy, and shocks. The results presented in the paper indicate that the probability of debt distress is already high in many low-income countries, and is likely to increase sharply if the large-scale development finance required to meet the Millennium Development Goals is provided in the form of concessional lending at historic levels. The paper argues for a new scheme of financing resource transfers to low-income countries in a way that controls the probability of debt distress, provides good incentives to borrowers, and does not involve additional donor commitments to finance large-scale new grants. top When is Growth Pro-Poor: Cross-Country Evidence - This paper is a product of the Investment Climate, Development Research Group of the WB, and is part of a larger effort in the group to better understand the dynamics of pro-poor growth. Its main finding is that growth in average incomes matters a great deal for reductions in both relative and absolute poverty. This suggests that a policy package focusing on known determinants of growth in average incomes, such as the protection of property rights, stable macroeconomic policies and openness to international trade, should be at the heart of pro-poor growth strategies. The results presented in the paper suggest that cross-country evidence is unlikely to be very informative about the policies and institutions that are likely to lead to poverty-reducing patterns of growth in relative incomes. This in turn suggests that more micro-level and case-study research may be useful in shedding light on the determinants of poverty-reducing distributional change. Partnerships in Development: Progress in the Fight Against Poverty (2004) - The report and booklet on poverty reduction. Both publications are entitled “Partnerships in Development: Progress in the Fight Against Poverty, 2004.” They are designed to provide a more comprehensive and externally focused assessment of how the World Bank Group works with others to help countries move towards the vision of poverty reduction embodied in the Millennium Development Goals and the Monterrey Consensus. Using country examples, the publications highlight the broad range of the Bank Group’s activities to promote growth, and to reduce poverty in its multiple dimensions.
The Millennium Development Goals for Health: Rising to a Challenge (2003) - With just over a decade left before the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) become due, the WB launches its new draft report "Rising to the Challenges - The Millennium Development Goals for Health" and presents it as a mixed half-time score. The health-related MDGs call on developing countries to reduce maternal mortality by three-quarters and child mortality by two-thirds, halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger, combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other infectious diseases, and improve access to safe drinking water and essential drugs. According to the publication, "the scale of death and ill health in the world is staggering ... a burden that is heavily concentrated in the world's poorest countries".
Water Resources Sector Strategy: Strategic Directions for World Bank Engagement (2003) - The publication focuses on how to improve the development and management of water resources while providing the principles that link resource management to the specific water-using sectors. The Strategy emphasizes the difficult and contentious issues upon which World Bank practice needs to improve and suggests that the main management challenge is not a vision of integrated water resources management but a "pragmatic but principled" approach.
Mainstreaming Participation in the PRSP This is a report of a study undertaken by Bank staff in the Africa region under the coordination of Paula Donnelly-Roark (Senior Social Scientist - Africa Region) to identify what factors lead to more effective participation by civil society in the PRSPs. The study was carried out in three countries -- Kenya, Cameroon, and Chad -- and identified a four-point iterative approach to participation which consists of: dialogue, collective analysis, action, and monitoring for feedback. top
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