Topic: Public Sector Governance Program

Program Description

Critical to the World Bank’s mission to alleviate poverty and help achieve the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) is a well-functioning public sector that delivers quality public services consistent with citizen preferences and fosters private, market-led growth, while managing its fiscal resources in a prudent manner. The Public Sector Governance Program (PSGP) offers guidance and lessons from practices that promote responsive, responsible, and accountable public governance in developing countries via multiyear learning and country-focused programs that support World Bank operations. 

 Program Objectives

The program is intended to achieve the following objectives:

• Support Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) objectives on governance reforms;
• Help implement the World Bank’s Governance and Anti-corruption Strategy ;
• Facilitate national, regional and global dialogues on policy and institutional reforms to improve service delivery performance and accountability;
• Contribute to consensus and coalition building for reform;
• Strengthen demand for good governance and government accountability 
• Enhancing skills for improved public governance through specialized courses.

The program objectives are achieved by sharing and documenting experiences and knowledge on principles and practices, which in turn inspires everyone to do better. Such learning and consensus building for reforms are achieved through local, national, regional and global  dialogues. These dialogues are fostered by multiyear learning programs delivered through seminars, workshops, conferences, specialized courses, networking, action planning, technical assistance, and support to World Bank operations on principles and better practices in public sector governance. 

The program also accommodates special on-demand learning events, which help developing-country institutions address their core mandates through exchange of views with international experts or discussion of high profile policy issues. The program reaches political leaders, senior policy makers, legislators, managers and practitioners at various levels, technical experts, civil society leaders, academics, and scholars. Courses are delivered face-to-face through videoconferences or can be Web-based or broadcast via digital radio.

The program addresses two interrelated themes: public sector management and institutions of accountability in governance.  The former theme covers local and municipal governnace, intergovernmental finance, fiscal management, public financial management, public administration, and anti-corruption. The latter theme covers legal and judicial reforms; governance and anticorruption at the sectoral levels;  parliamentary strengthening; and media, information and governance. The program addresses the MDGs by focusing on an efficient and accountable public sector and on the delivery of basic public services. It also promotes the the Bank’s corporate priorities in public sector governance; education, health, empowerment, security, and social inclusion especially the program supports the implementation of the Bank’s Governnace and Anticorruption Strategy.