Uma Lele and Christopher Gerrard OED Conference on Approaches to Global Programs April 14, 2005

1. Addressing the Challenges of GlobalizationAn Independent Evaluation of the World Bank’s Approach to Global Programs Uma Lele and Christopher Gerrard OED Conference on Approaches to Global Programs April 14, 2005

2. Global Programs Are Growing Rapidly • Growing awareness of global issues • Dissatisfaction with traditional aid programs • Divergence between global & country priorities • New technologies for scaling up • New actors, advocates and constituencies • Recognized need for global collective action Global Programs are now an important line of Bank business

3. Scope and Methodology • Three major reviews of Global Programs since 2002 • Focus on cross-cutting lessons • Extensive consultation with ~ 800 stakeholders • Four evaluation dimensions • Nature of the international consensus • Development impact and value added • Review of governance, management and financing • Assessment of Bank performance

4. Case Study Characteristics • 26 global programs • Represent 90% of Bank expenditures in 2002 • Most programs are less than 10 years old • Programs span a wide range of sectors • Programs engage in a wide range of activities • Top 3: Knowledge, Advocacy, Capacity Building • Less often: R&D, Standards, Country-level Investments

5. Global Programs and Funding Corporate Advocacy Programs dominate in numbers BUT: Global Public Goods Programs command major share of expenditures

6. Most Global Programs Focus on Provision of National Public Goods

7. Governance and Management • Key for strategic direction, but no ‘standard’ model • Great diversity in partners • Donor governments play key role • UN agencies • Charitable foundations, CSO, private sector • Bank plays multiple roles in global programs • Top 3: lender, founder, member of governing body

8. Findings and Recommendations Selectivity Governance, Management, and Financing Value Added to the Bank’s Development Objectives Bank Performance

9. Selectivity Criteria Need Rigorous Application • “International consensus”: amorphous and often donor-driven • “Strategic focus”: does not always exploit economies of scale and scope • Subsidiarity principle: reveals gap in choosing between global and country-level approaches • Alignment: support poverty alleviation and poverty-reducing growth, but only implicitly

10. Value Added Relies on Global and Country Activities • Increasing evidence which global programs add value • Global Public Goods programs have positive impact • Programs close to Bank add more value • Global programs have revealed major gaps in investment… • … and gaps in Global Public Policy

11. Governance and Management Require Attention • Governance is weak in several programs • Voices of developing countries and regional managers are not adequately represented • Management of global programs requires new skills • Global programs have increased overall aid very little

12. Priority Setting Requires an Overall Strategy • Bank Management has recently undertaken reforms, but… • The Bank lacks an overarching strategy for global programs • Sector strategies are weak in developing approaches to close the gap between global concerns and country priorities • Independent oversight is needed and the Bank needs to better formulate and manage its exit from programs

13. Management and Board Response

14. Conclusions of the Dissemination Workshop: Assessing the Challenges of Globalization • Convened by OED on April 13th in Washington, D.C. • Approximately 40 global program practitioners involving Board Members and Staff of Global Programs, Developing Country counterparts, UN and Donor Agencies, and World Bank Management • Discussed key findings and recommendations of OED Report • Provided Feedback and Suggestions to Bank and OED for the Way Forward

15. Strategic Focus: Rationales and Priority-Setting • Global Programs should be aligned with MDGs at the Global Level and PRSPs at the Country Level: Global Programs should not be limited to the delivery of Global Public Goods • Greater Emphasis on “objective” technical assessments of needs and priorities relative to the influence of political imperatives which led to the establishment of global programs in the past • World Bank’s comparative advantage is ability to promote coherence among programs, which is important especially in tracking trends at multiple country levels so that international community can act before common problems reach crisis proportions (e.g. spread of HIV/AIDS)

16. Impacts and Evaluation • World Bank and OED are pursuing the achievement of a shared vision among donors, UN, developing countries, civil society and private sector partners on how to evaluate global programs • Strong call for streamlining, harmonization of evaluation standards and procedures for global programs • Results-Based Management and Evaluation need to emphasize impact assessment; require training and an appreciation of differences in objectives and contexts in which programs operate (baselines must be clear and fairly established); must assess possible negative impacts of (new global) programs on existing initiatives • Starting point should be needs and (realistic) objectives as defined jointly by stakeholders (not externally imposed)

17. Governance • Accountability should be framed not just in terms of donor requirements for the use of public funds but also framed in terms of outcomes as well as financial obligations. Explicit charters may be appropriate instruments to enhance performance by all actors. • Developing countries can increase voice through (1) membership in advisory bodies (2) membership in governing bodies with financial contributions on a sliding scale. • Build Capacity at country and regional levels to promote meaningful participation of developing country experts in global programs. • To enhance global-country linkages, increase developing country voice through strong consultative processes built into the Results Based CASs. • Increase Transparency and Clear and Ongoing communication are keys for increasing ownership and aligning expectations among all stakeholders.