Learning and Accreditation for Staff Acting under Delegated Authority

1. Learning and Accreditation for Staff Acting under Delegated Authority from World Bank Corporate Procurement a presentation by Stephen B. Gordon, Ph.D., CPPO, Education Program Officer, World Bank Corporate Procurement as part of a panel on “Introducing Reforms and Improving Processes: Focusing on Acquisitions, Procurements, and Contracts” at The International Consortium on Governmental Management's 20th International Conference and Training Program Miami, Florida May 9, 2006

2. World Bank Corporate Procurement • Institutional buying arm of World Bank Group • A unit of the General Services Department • Responsible for planning, formation (bidding), execution, and administration of all administrative contracts • Responsible for executing all administrative contracts and operational consulting contracts • Not responsible for planning or formation (bidding) of operational consulting contracts • $750 million in annual spend • 95% of procurements implemented at HQ • Staff complement of 35

3. More about Corporate Procurement • 5 Internal Teams • Production (vendor registration, contract execution, small purchases) • Country Office • Technology • Facilities • Services • 3 guiding principles: • Fairness • Transparency • Competition

4. “External” Participants in the Corporate (Administrative) Procurement Process • Three categories of external staff • Project managers/task team leaders • Country office staff • Transaction processors • Learning and accreditation programs (LAPs) planned for each group

5. Common Elements of the Forthcoming LAPs • Education (for awareness and understanding) • Training (for skills development) • Accreditation (to verify learning) • Performance monitoring and intervention (as necessary)

6. Why Learning and Accreditation? • To mitigate risk • To build: • Risk awareness • Capacity to support mission/vision attainment • President’s focus on governance and practice • Emphasis on combating corruption and unethical conduct

7. The LAPs will: • Align with existing efforts to drive: • Excellence in performance and results • Mission and vision attainment • Ethical conduct • Be mandatory • Require periodic re-accreditation • Provide for suspension/revocation

8. Underlying Concepts of the LAPs • A formal, defined body of knowledge • Related to demands and needs • Will continue to evolve • Effective and appropriate learning methodologies • Career-long learning

9. Body of Knowledge and Skills • Public sector contract management principles • Project management (broadly defined) • Ethics, integrity, and social responsibility • Individual/professional responsibility and accountability • Interpersonal skills and strategies • Bank rules, policies, and procedures

10. The LAPs will be Performance-Based • Goals: • Immediate 1: increased level of learning • Immediate 2: improved job performance • Ultimate: maximum contribution to Bank mission/vision attainment • Requirements: • Metrics to measure learning impact • Ongoing assessment • Program assessment / intervention

11. Other Details of the LAPs • Focused courses • Pre and post exams for each course • Opportunities for specialization • Course development: “make, buy, or adapt” • Linkage to other initiatives within the Bank • Other LAPs • Ethics Management • Detailed plan of approach; timing

12. Two Ways that the World Bank Seeks to Promote Ethical Conduct • Compliance-based ethical management • Integrity-based (value-based) ethics management

13. Compliance-Based Ethics Management • Clear rules and enforcement • Investigations and control mechanisms • Penalties for non-compliance

14. Compliance-Based Ethics System within the World Bank Group • Staff Manual • General obligations of Staff Members (Principle 3) • Standards of Professional Conduct (Staff Rules 3.01 – 3.05) • Disciplinary measures (Staff Rule 8.01) • Various other guidance • Conflicts of interest • Domestic issues • Misconduct • Financial disclosure • Outside interests (continued)

15. Compliance-Based System (continued) • The Department of Institutional Integrity (INT) • Preliminary inquiries of allegations • Investigations • Staff duty to report suspected fraud, corruption, or misconduct (Staff Rule 8.01, Paragraph 2.02)

16. The Staff Manual Specifies Ethical Issues that Must Be Reported to INT • Most listed issues are procurement-related • The procurement-related issues: • Relate directly to mission/vision attainment • Are addressed in the existing Values-Based Ethics System within the WBG • Will be addressed in the Learning and Accreditation programs

17. Examples of the Procurement-Related Issues that Must Be Reported • Contract irregularities; violations of procurement guidelines • Bid irregularities • Bid collusion • Fraudulent bids • Fraud in contract performance • Product substitution • Price manipulation

18. More Examples • Substandard or inferior parts and materials • Cost or labor mischarging • Kickbacks, bribery, acceptance of gratuities • Abuse of authority • Misuse of bank funds or entrusted funds • Conflict of interest • Forgery • Involvement of Bank staff in any of the above.

19. The Value-Based Ethics System within the World Bank Group • WBG Core Values • Code of Professional Conduct • Training in Ethics and Integrity • Internal System for Help and Advice • Conflict Resolution System • Human Resources Department • Respectful workplace advisors • Staff Association • Ethics Hotline • Fraud and Corruption Hotline

20. The Office of Business Ethics • Role: communicates WBG values, rules, and norms on ethics • Responsibilities: outreach and training, counseling, policy guidance, Ethics Helpline • Areas: staff misconduct, conflict of interest, financial disclosure, domestic/family issues

21. Collaboration with the OBE • In all planned LAPs • To address specific issues of strategic importance, as needed

22. Closing • Summary • Questions, comments, suggestions • Contact information: Stephen B. Gordon, Ph.D., CPPO Education Program Officer World Bank Corporate Procurement Phone: (202) 458-4930 Email: sgordon@worldbank.org