|  What is the World Bank Institute?
What is the history of WBI?
What does WBI do?
Who does WBI serve?
Who finances WBI?
Does WBI award scholarships to help build local capacity?
What are WBI's Global Programs and how do they help countries?
How do I contact WBI?
What is the World Bank Institute?
The World Bank Institute (WBI) is one of the World Bank's training and capacity development instruments working closely with the Bank’s country teams to integrate capacity development activities into country assistance strategies. WBI helps increase its clients’ capacities to access knowledge from multiple sources, both local and global, and to use that knowledge to develop strategies, and to formulate and implement policies. WBI offers courses, seminars, and other knowledge-sharing activities on issues central to development, including: economic management and poverty reduction; environmentally and socially sustainable development; financial and private sector development; human development; infrastructure; governance; and knowledge for development. WBI supports professional knowledge networks and communities of learning; and administers the Joint Japan/World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program and the Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program.  The Institute’s learning activities are designed for policymakers in various sectors, technical specialists, parliamentarians, journalists, teachers, students, the private sector, and civil society leaders.  Learning delivery modes include print materials, instructional video, TV, two-way video-conferencing, CD-ROM, interactive multimedia and e-learning, and an increasing use of the Internet to sustain knowledge networks and communities of practice. 
What is the history of WBI?
The World Bank founded the Economic Development Institute (EDI) in 1955 to train government officials from developing countries in general development, as well as economic analysis and implementation of development projects and programs. Over the years EDI increased the number of subjects offered, and the type and number of clients who took part in its programs. In 2000, the Institute was renamed the World Bank Institute.
What does WBI do?
WBI helps World Bank client countries assess the areas in which their development capacities need to be strengthened, and designs and delivers multi-year programs of activities, using face-to-face and distance learning, aimed at building individual skills and strengthening institutions. The Institute develops learning materials in print and electronic form. The Institute builds the capacity of leaders, decisionmakers, and other development stakeholders to design and implement policies on poverty reduction, trade, environment, AIDS, governance and corruption, education, health, and more. WBI's professional networks connect decision makers around the globe, allowing them to share information and compare experiences. WBI delivered more than 570 learning activities to some 39,000 clients, and awarded nearly 300 scholarships in fiscal year 2008. WBI fosters and utilizes the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN), which links 120 distance learning affiliates in 80 countries with high-speed communications technologies, interactive videoconferencing and e-learning facilities. Under the Joint-Japan World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (JJ/WBGSP) and the The Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program (RSM Fellowships),  WBI also awards scholarships and fellowships to developing country nationals thereby fostering policymaking expertise.
Who does WBI serve?
WBI programs reach clients that include government officials and policymakers, staff from nongovernmental organizations, private sector representatives, journalists, academics, and other development specialists, as well as youth groups.
Who finances WBI?
WBI is funded by the World Bank. Donors provide nearly half of WBI's total working capital. They include bilateral aid agencies, foundations, the private sector, and other organizations. For more information see Partnerships.
Does WBI award scholarships to help build local capacity?
Since 1987, WBI has administered the World Bank's Joint-Japan World Bank Graduate Scholarship Program (more than 4,001 scholarships awarded for graduate study on subjects related to economic development). The program partners with Harvard University, Columbia University, McGill University, Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches sur Le Developpement International, University of Tsukuba, Yokohama National University, and Keio University.
The Government of Japan has provided more than 130 million dollars to the programs to help create an international community of trained professionals in the field of development. Scholars are required to return home on completion of their studies to apply their knowledge and skills to the development of their regions and communities.
WBI also manages the Robert S. McNamara Fellowships Program, established in 1982 with a $1 million contribution from the World Bank and $1.8 million from the governments of Bangladesh, China, India, Kuwait, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, and Yugoslavia. The program provides support to young researchers from eligible countries who are working in academic and research institutions and preparing their theses. Fellows are expected to advance their research by using the facilities and resources provided by the host institution and by interacting with peers. For the 2008/09 academic year, 17 scholars were selected. The Japan-Indonesia Presidential Scholarship (JIPS) program contributes to the Indonesian Ministry of National Education’s Presidential Scholars Program, which helps strengthen the qualifications and experience of staff, attract new talent to careers in higher education, and foster foreign and domestic academic partnerships. Launched in 2008, the JIPS is fundedby a $10 million grant from the government of Japan to support doctoral study for some 40 scholars. Eleven scholarships were awarded for the 2008/09 academic year.
What are WBI's Global Programs and how do they help countries? WBI's Governance programs combine action-oriented learning, capacity-building tools, and the power of data, usually in collaboration with other units in the World Bank Group, to support countries seeking to improve governance and control corruption. Action-learning methods link empirical diagnostic surveys, the practical application of those diagnostics through collective action, and prevention. This integrated approach is supported by operational research and a comprehensive governance databank. Following a decade of pioneering development in the field of governance metrics, the developers of the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) took this work to a new level by expanding the frequency and depth of reporting to better serve clients and colleagues. Produced by WBI in collaboration with the World Bank's Development Economics vice presidency (DEC), the July 7, 2006 release of the WGI provides electronic access to the underlying disaggregated governance data from each contributing institution. The WGI website contains a detailed data report for each indexed country with trending from 1996 to 2006. WBI and DEC also published accompanying papers that provided a detailed methodological and data report, with citations. With coverage of 212 countries and territories from 1996 to 2006, the WGI is one of the largest governances databases. Visit: www.govindicators.org WBI's Knowledge for Development Program (K4D) engages with countries that have both the will and the potential to stimulate growth and improve competitiveness by accentuating the role of knowledge in their economy. A notable example: the program's FY07 report on Enhancing China's Competitiveness through Lifelong Learning. The report discusses the issues and steps involved in building a lifelong learning system in China, among them a coherent policy framework, a sound incentive and institutional framework, a sound regulatory environment, a coordinated governance process, a timely and reliable management information system, a dynamic link with the evolving global system, and the optimal use of limited resources.
How do I contact WBI?
The Institute's head office is in Washington, DC. Contact: Mr. Christopher Neal
Email: Cneal1@worldbank.org
Address: The World Bank Institute Office of the Vice President
1818 H Street, N.W., MSN J4-403
Washington, D.C. 20433
Tel:Â (202) 473-2049
Fax: (202) 676-0858  WBI has representation in the field in China, France (Marseilles, Paris), Ghana, India, Russia, and South Africa. See Contact WBI for details.
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