Social Development in World Bank Operations: Results and Way Forward

1. Social Development in World Bank Operations: Results and Way Forward Steen Lau Jørgensen, Director, Social Development,World Bank SDAN Meeting – 19 Jan 2004 Stockholm

2. Update since Paris ESSD Sustainable Development, June 2003 • Management Committee (OPC) Review and Approval – 17 Nov 2003 • World Bank Board Review – 17 December 2003 • Completion of internal consultations with Sector Boards and Regional management • External Consultations – UN Third Committee – 6 Oct 2003

3. Social Development Principles • Based on Bank-wide consultations, the following Social Development principles were agreed upon: • Inclusion • Cohesion • Accountability • These are seen as the appropriate principles by which to engage in positive social change

4. Why these Social Development Principles? • Principles are operationally driven • Many in the development “business” address the three principles: • Health, education and social protection focus on individuals and the development and protection of human capital • Traditional governance and legal reform deal with formal institutions • But the contribution of Social development work or approaches is that it starts from the perspective of poor and marginalized people

5. Where does the Bank stand vis a vis Social Development? • World Bank public statements, operational policies and strategies accepts and supports global consensus on SD • Bank has started to incorporate social development • Projects involve e.g., social analysis, participation, community-driven development • Policy/country level – beginning with process, poverty and social impact analysis and social accountability

6. Social Development “Activities ” at the World Bank • Social Analysis • Participation and civic engagement • Community-driven development • Conflict prevention and reconstruction • Social safeguards (resettled and indigenous peoples)

7. Social Development Matters

8. SD’s Four Strategic Priorities • Strengthen policy dialogue and lending • Improve project effectiveness • Enhance the portfolio of social development projects • Building on foundation of capacity building, advocacy and research

9. Strengthen the Bank’s policy dialogue and policy-based lending • Improve the process of preparing and implementing policy dialogue and lending • Improve the social development content of policy analysis, working from positive experiences with Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) • Promote Country Social Analysis, thus a flexible menu driven approach builds on PSIA, conflict analysis and civil society assessments • Enhance freestanding, analytic work on the social dimensions of development seeking to better understand and address local level institutions, social capital, and local governance.

10. Improve theeffectiveness of Bank-supported investment projects A more systematic approach to social development and stronger follow-through: • Improve social analysis by relying more on upstream country and sectoral analysis; • Improve participation to include better monitoring and better sustainability; and • Adopt social development tools to improve efficiency by looking at systematic approach instead of transaction by transaction

11. Strengthen the social development thematic portfolio Enhance projects and studies that directly address the social development principles of: • inclusion (for instance, the Roma in Eastern Europe, youth in the Middle East and North Africa, Afro-descendants and Indigenous Peoples in Latin America and gender in South Asia); • cohesion (i.e., through reconstruction of war-torn societies), and • accountability (enhancing the ability of citizens to hold governments accountable (Peru, Philippines))

12. Priority Four: Improve the Bank’s capacity building, advocacy and research • Build the capacity of local networks of social development specialists, creating coalitions for social development and training local consultants to provide project support; • Align research priorities better with operational needs by supporting research that: • explores further the link between the social dimensions of development and economic growth, • refines indicators for social development, and • better evaluates the impacts of social development projects; and • Sustain advocacy based on better aligned research and clarify the aspects of social development the Bank will address directly.

13. Implementing the Strategy • Generate corporate business strategy by aggregating regional business strategies • Sustain and deepen ongoing corporate directions • PRSP, results, governance • Realign World Bank operational and human resource policies, procedures and practices • Operational policies on development policy lending and social analysis • Better policies on local hires, recognition of team membership • Strengthen external partnerships • Knowledge partnership (with DFID and GTZ/BMZ on PSIA, Norway and Finland on broad range) • DGF funded: Post-Conflict Fund, Small Grants Program, Global Fund for Indigenous Peoples

14. Implementing the Strategy • Improve internal collaboration • Country social scientists/ Country program coordinators • Relationship with gender, social protection, poverty and governance groups • Human resources • More and better skills, especially in • “macro” policy level, political analysis and implementation • Build professional association • Monitor results • Outcome in countries, Bank inputs, processes and outputs

15. Feedback (Dec 17, 2003) Group I • Nothing new and no new policies thus no need for strategy • The WB is already doing this so no need for strategy • Do not disclose to outside world • Group 2 • The current draft is not strategic enough • Improve and go ahead

16. Next Steps • Regional Business strategies – first half 2004 • External consultations – first half 2004 • Finalize corporate business strategy – third quarter 2004 • Dissemination after final Board/CODE endorsement - possibly late 2004