Bøger i Independent Evaluation Group Studies serien

Describes how mechanisms for integrating gender in projects and country strategies are working and to what extent they provide meaningful information about progress and results on gender. It aims to inform World Bank Group efforts to strengthen the approach to results as part of the new strategy rollout.

The unanticipated spike in international food prices in 2007-08 hit many developing countries hard. The food price increases were particularly hard on the poor and near-poor in developing countries. This evaluation assesses the effectiveness of the World Bank Group response in addressing the short-term impacts of the food price crisis and in enhancing the resilience of countries to future shocks.

The World Bank Group is currently engaged in reflection and debate on how to improve the delivery of development support. Part of this debate concerns strengthening the knowledge agenda. The findings of this evaluation are particularly relevant because they speak directly to questions that the institution is deliberating. In particular, they address four key aspects of the science of delivery: the role of local partners or local knowledge hubs; consultation with clients and other stakeholders in the process of designing knowledge services; delivery of knowledge on issues that are relevant to the client; and improving the way the Bank Group learns from upper-middle-income countries and intermediating this knowledge to other countries. The evaluation assesses knowledge-based activities in nine country programs selected from 48 knowledge-intensive programs supported by the Bank Group. It identifies the factors in the success or failure of those activities as they contribute to policy making or development outcomes. It also identifies areas of strength for the Bank Group as well as areas of weakness or risk. The main objective of the evaluation is to learn lessons from practices in a focus group of high-income and upper-middle-income countries that have knowledge-based programs with the Bank Group. The findings have implications for the Bank Group s knowledge work, including governance and incentives. Over the past 15 years, Bank Group country programs have shifted toward more intensive delivery of knowledge services relative to lending, and this trend is expected to continue. The evaluation was done on economic and sector work and non-lending technical assistance activities selected from a purposive sample of knowledge-intensive country programs. In addition, the evaluation assessed International Finance Corporation Advisory Services for their synergy with the Bank s analytical and advisory activities. The lessons from this evaluation could help leverage the Bank Group s global knowledge to meet the needs of countries that mainly rely on knowledge services and are not pressed for financing."

Fragile and conflict-affected states (FCS) have become an important focus of World Bank Group assistance in recent years as recognition of the linkages between fragility, conflict, violence, and poverty has grown. This evaluation assesses the relevance and effectiveness of World Bank Group country strategies and assistance programs to FCS.

As part of its strategy to support global trade, the World Bank Group seeks to help enhance trade finance in emerging markets. The International Finance Corporation, part of the Bank Group, introduced the Global Trade Finance Program to support the extension of trade finance. IEG's evaluation assesses the pr

This assessment underscores the strong countercyclical role that the World Bank Group has eventually played, with partners and countries, to help withstand the global downturn.