Publications

WBI Socially Sustainable Development produces a range of academic and corporate publications.

WBI books, case studies, and working papers reflect the content of WBI's learning programs. Books are available for purchase from the World Bank's eCommerce site. Working papers and case studies are posted full text as PDF files.

Using Mixed Methods to Assess Social Capital in Low Income Countries: A Practical Guide  (pdf, 112kb) BWPI Working Paper 12

-Joanne Caddy, Tiago Peixoto and Mary McNeil

December 2007. 23 pages.

Social Accountability in Practice: From Tools to Outcomes-Presentation (October 2007)  (pdf, 2.7mb)

Beyond Public Scrutiny: Stocktaking of Social Accountability in OECD Countries  (pdf, 1.3mb) WBI Working Papers

-Joanne Caddy, Tiago Peixoto and Mary McNeil

2007. 194 pages. Stock No. 37265.

Empowering the Marginalized: Case Studies of Social Accountability Initiatives in Asia (pdf, 687kb) WBI Working Papers

-Public Affairs Foundation Bangalore, India and Karen Sirker and Sladjana Cosic

2007. 86 pages. Stock No. 37266.

 Demanding Good Governance: A Stocktaking of Social Accountability Initiatives by Civil Society in Anglophone Africa WBI Working Papers

-Mary McNeil and Takawira Mumvuma

In Africa discussions have intensified recently over the role of civil society in bringing about greater government accountability to its citizens, particularly with regard to the flow of public resources. Through the lessons of civic engagement, participation, and civic ownership, citizen groups in Africa are now beginning to hold a growing number of public officials and service providers accountable for their actions and behaviours.  Such social accountability is working to bring about more efficient and equitable governance by reducing corruption and improving delivery of public services to the poor. This report synthesizes a stocktaking of civil society-initiated social accountability practices in the public budgetary process in 10 Anglophone African countries—Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

2006. 109 pages. Stock No. 37261. Full text. PDF 591 Kb

  Analyzing Social Capital in Context: A Guide to Using Qualitative Methods and Data WBI Working Papers
-Lee Nora Dudwick, Kathleen Kuehnast, Veronica Nyhan Jones, and Michael Woolcock

Social capital, defined most practically as social networks and norms, mediates development opportunities and outcomes. As such, social capital research increasingly informs the design and evaluation of World Bank-supported projects and policies across diverse regions and countries. This paper assists researchers and development task managers in their efforts to better understand and incorporate the social sphere into their work. This document offers a set of qualitative tools and strategies that are useful for gauging the nature and extent of people’s interactions with each other and with key private, public, and civic institutions.

2006. 46 pages. Stock No. 37260.  Full text. PDF 618 Kb

Social Accountability in the Public Sector: A Conceptual Discussion and Learning Module WBI Working Papers

A growing number of authors and practitioners have proposed civic engagement as a way to improve the accountability of public institutions and office holders to their constituencies. This paper and learning module attempt to clarify one aspect of the growing literature on civic engagement: society’s role in improving government accountability—a process increasingly being termed as “social accountability.” The paper presents accountability as “a proactive process by which public officials inform about and justify their plans of action, their behavior and results and are sanctioned accordingly.” It then explores the various ways in which civil society can participate in strengthening accountability in the public sector. The paper also highlights two areas in which the World Bank can apply social accountability approaches: public sector reform and decentralization.

2005. 103 pages. Stock No. 37249. Full text 1.3 MB

Stocktaking of Social Accountability Initiatives in the Asia and Pacific Region WBI Working Papers
-Dennis Arroyo and Karen Sirker

The paper highlights a mix of forces, conditions, and motivating factors out of which some social accountability initiatives have developed, including the concern of increased development effectiveness, improved governance, and empowerment, particularly of the poor. It focuses on the specific tools and mechanisms that were used to improve social accountability. While many fall into the public expenditure management cycle, such as budget analysis, budget formulation, budget expenditure tracking, and performance monitoring, the stocktaking found evidence of other types of social accountability tools such as lifestyle checks, right to information, and social audits and those involving information and communication technology.

2005. 45 pages. Stock No. 37255.  Full text 244 KB

Capacity Enhancement for Social Development: Building on Local Context and Process WBI Working Papers
-Mary McNeil and Michael Woolcock

This paper attempts to provide a new conceptual framework and practical recommendations for capacity enhancement initiatives for social development. Most such initiatives have been conventional short courses or self-contained training modules for sharing “tools” and disseminating “best practices,” to enhance the technical skills of task managers and policymakers, whether they be donors, colleagues, or clients. All of these tasks are valuable, but need to be understood as part of a broader discussion that recognizes the range of decisionmaking involved in devising, implementing, maintaining, and evaluating effective responses to poverty. The paper argues that conventional capacity enhancement approaches and the underlying assumptions on which they rest—that the fundamental development problem is one of inadequate technical skills, which in turn give rise to “bad policies” and “weak institutions”—conspire against recognizing the importance and comparative advantage of social development. This advantage lies in social development’s emphasis on context and process.

2004. 37 pages. Stock No. 37245.  Full text PDF 488 Kb

Communities of Practice for Local Capacity in Central Asia: the Community Empowerment Network (pdf, 301KB)
Capacity Development Briefs, March 2005, Issue No. 11 by Erik Caldwell Johnson