Project Management of World Bank Projects
Nov 30, 2009
CONTENTS
The Banks Overview The Project Cycle The Challenges
World Banks Overview
The World Bank Group, among the worlds largest development institutions, is a major source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world. Finances international projects on trade, finance, health, poverty, education, infrastructure, governance, climate change etc In fiscal 2009, the World Bank Group sponsored 767 projects with a total commitment of $58.8 billion, distributed in financial assistance.
The Banks Objectives
Reduce poverty, and Stimulate economic growth Provide Capital and Knowledge Services Manage resources (trust funds) Invest in people Build client capacity Promote economic reform Stimulate private sector growth Protect the environment Fight corruption
Lending by Sector
FY70 and FY09
FY70
Infrastructure 58% Human Development 4%
FY09
Finance/PSD 15% Multisector 3% Agriculture 20%
Todays Lending Context
IMF Financial instruments Loans Guarantees Bank Knowledge instruments Analytic/ESW Advisory/TA
International capital markets
Domestic private sector & capital markets
Country
Civil Society Organizations Bilateral s
Multilaterals
The Banks Current Business Approach
Client in drivers seat Partnerships Comprehensive diagnosis, strategic selectivity Concentration on poverty
Accountability and focus on outcomes/results
The Banks Business Products
Lending Products Manage financial resources (trust funds) and provide grants Donor Coordination
Knowledge Products & Services
Research products Technical assistance
Functions of Knowledge Services
Analytical/strategic basis for Bank/country dialogue & lending Technical advice Knowledge dissemination Lending Project preparation Country capacity building
Banks projects follow a predefined life cycle
CONCEPTUAL
CAS
Identification and Preparation
Appraisal and Negotiation
Supervision
Evaluation
Board
The Country Assistance Strategy spans a period of 3 4 years with defined goals and means
REAL EXAMPLE
Starts from a country-owned development vision and strategy
Includes a diagnosis of the countrys development situation, carried out in consultation with the Government and other partners, and drawing on their work Sets out a selective Bank Group program, reflecting the role that the Government requests the Bank to take with respect to its other partners
Provides a monitoring and evaluation framework to assess results
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Functions of the CAS
A business plan
REAL EXAMPLE
A summary assessment and diagnostic of the country
A precise internal covenant to manage creditworthiness and exposure A memorandum of understanding on the Banks work between the Bank and the government
An accountability tool to measure whether results have been achieved
An instrument for disseminating and advertising the Banks role
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During the Identification and Preparation phase, CAS goals are translated into a Project Concept Note
CAS
Identification and Preparation
Appraisal and Negotiation
Implementation and Supervision
Evaluation
Board
Translation of the Country Assistance Strategy into
actionable projects
Intensive discussions with the Countrys Government
officials to define projects scope, length, and specific components
Initial preparation of a Project Concept Note (PCN),
Concept-stage PID with the participation of internal peer reviewers (3 to 5 per project) and circulated within the Bank
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The Appraisal and Negotiation phase further details the project in order to go to the Board
CAS
Identification and Preparation
Appraisal and Negotiation
Implementation and Supervision
Evaluation
Board
Components of the PCN are further decomposed into activities,
each activity is scheduled for its length and its cost appraised
The project is evaluated by the Quality Assurance Team, and
environmental, social protection and indigenous people safeguards are applied
The overall project is detailed in a Project Appraisal Document
(PAD) of 100+ pages, the base of the project from now on
The Loan Agreement is negotiated with the Countrys
Government
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In the Bank, the Board is the key decision instance
CAS
Identification and Preparation
Appraisal and Negotiation
Implementation and Supervision
Evaluation
Board
The Board represents the Governments of the countries
that are members of the Bank (~150) through the different Chairs
All projects go through the Board, some on fast-track and
some require intensive discussion
A typical Board session will take 1 hour where the Chairs
make questions that are answered by the Task Manager of the project
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After Board and Government Approval, the project becomes effective and it is actively supervised by the Bank
CAS
Identification and Preparation
Appraisal and Negotiation
Implementation and Supervision Board
Evaluation
After Board Approval, the project is signed by the
Countrys high authorities and then locally approved, typically by the Congress, a process that takes 6 to 12 months
When all conditions in the PAD are satisfied, the project
becomes effective and begins to disburse
The Task Manager supervises the project making sure that
Bank policies are fulfilled, particularly in procurement of goods and consulting services
During the life of the project, it is periodically evaluated
through the Implementation Status Reports (ISR)
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After closing of the project, it is independently evaluated and the results are included in the ICR
CAS
Identification and Preparation
Appraisal and Negotiation
Implementation and Supervision Board
Evaluation
When project closes, it is independently evaluated to
assess at which degree the goals have been attained
The independent evaluation is consolidated into an
Implementation Completion Report (ICR)
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In summary, the Project Cycle in the Bank has some distinctive characteristics
Lengthy preparation involving the Government as well as
many internal areas of the Bank
The Board is actively involved in project decisions Projects are actually carried out by the Countries, the
World Bank supervises compliance with its rules
Major effort is underway to reform the Banks investment
lending model so that it responds better to borrowers needs and the changing global environment (e.g. single, flexible instrument that can encompass rapid response and emergency operations)
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CONTENTS
The Region The Project Cycle The Challenges
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Implementation of Bank Projects poses challenges compared to typical private sector projects
Private Sector
The Bank
Clearly defined:
Goals
Client satisfaction for generation of income
Poverty reduction
and development, difficulty in measurement
The client
Partners
The client
Government and its internal institutions, Developed countries, NGOs, several internal bodies
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Implementation of Bank Projects poses challenges compared to typical private sector projects (Cont.)
Private Sector
The Bank
Streamlined
Organization
towards achievement of the goal
10,000+ people,
matrix structure with multiple internal bodies
Streamlined
Processes towards achievement of the goal
Multiple internal
processes
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Lessons Learned
Clear identification of the problem
Project concept and objectives are based on stakeholder consensus and Borrower priorities obtained through stakeholder assessments and national working groups
Complexity of clients institutional structure (# of players, organizational structure)
Identify the roles of the various players in the clients intergovernmental framework Serious consideration of/and planning for the coordination necessary for successful implementation.
Incentives
Incentives (rewards) more important than punishments for noncompliance
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Lessons Learned
Pilot interventions
Implementation procedures are tested under pilot interventions with limited scope prior to expansion of the program to nationwide implementation
Absorptive capacity of client Implementation of socio-economic reforms requires large range of government institutions, and are highly technical (requiring specialized information) Overall governmental institutions skills set & ability to implement policies is essential for understanding and implementation Dedicated funding for capacity-building , or follow-on activities.
Linguistic Distance (from English) There are cases where language differences do not matter as much
This emphasizes the prevailing English-based global cultures, especially in technical domains
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Lessons Learned
Resource capacity, cost of implementation
Project should be built on a realistic assessment of implementation capacity is essential
One TTL described the difficulty in aligning the necessary parts: the right resources, the right project timing, the right team.
Political considerations
Political change can slow down and even paralyze project implementation Continuous and wide public dissemination of project objectives and gains might provide a partial insulation from political and budgetary fluctuations.
Actionable Information
Actionable information (or guides) refers to knowing how to do something through description of a task or procedures steps.
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Main Lending Instruments: Investment and Development Policy
Investment Lending
Provides financing for specific expenditures, activities, or outputs Finances capital investment, institutional development, sectoral and local capacity building Appropriate when achieving objectives requires inputs to be linked to outputs
Development Policy Lending
Provides quick disbursing policy-based financing in support of a borrowers program of policy and institutional actions Provides funding directly into the countrys overall budget
