WBI

Citizens’ Monitoring of the Education Sector in the Philippines

let's all jump on and have a look inside and see what we might see I have recently been involved in discussions with three countries that are considering *huge* new investments to introduce lots of new technologies in their primary and secondary education systems. Such discussions typically focus quite a bit on what technologies will be purchased; what additional products, services and support will need to be provided if the technology is to be used effectively; and how to pay for everything. Increasingly (and encouragingly), there is also talk of how to measure the impact of these sorts of investments. To measure 'impact' (however you choose to define it), you of course need to know what has actually happened (or not happened). When you are putting computers in all schools, or rolling out lots of new digital learning content, or training lots of teachers, how do you know that these sorts of things are actually taking place?

How about Evidence-based Policy at the Bottom of the Pyramid?

Proactive vs. Reactive Transparency

"Transparency, is transparency, is transparency I thought.

It is transparent is it not?

Well except when it is proactive, that makes it not reactive."

N.H. Coleman

My poetic dalliances aside, Helen Darbishire’s recent World Bank Institute commissioned and CommGAP financed working paper on standards, challenges and opportunities in transparency made me think. “Proactive Transparency: The Future of the Right to Information” looks at, among other things, the drivers of transparency, the best of transparency provisions on the national and international stage, and notable outcomes grown from the examination of transparency provisions. So, what exactly is proactive transparency and why is it important?

Donor Bureaucrats As Obstacles To Reform Initiatives

For two days last month (June 21-22) CommGAP and the Governance Practice in the World Bank Institute organized a workshop on the theme: The Political Economy of Reform: Moving from Analysis to Action. In attendance were practitioners and academics from around the world, including several leading donor agencies. While the insights from the very productive workshop are being organized - they will be made available as soon as they are ready - I want to share this report regarding an unanticipated leitmotif of the meeting.

Without prompting, several donor agency officials, and they were senior ones, turned their attention to the challenges posed to reform efforts by the behavior of donor bureaucrats. I have just been through the notes I took during the meeting, and what follows are some of the comments that were made. The meeting took place under Chatham House rules, so no names will be mentioned here:

Get Ready to Change the World!

Muster all your creativity and innovation, because now is your chance to solve real-world issues like hunger, poverty, disease, conflict and climate change. Get ready to play EVOKE.

EVOKE is a new game brought out by the World Bank Institute. It empowers you— young people all over the world—to plunge right into the challenge and look for creative solutions.

Political Efficacy and Citizen Participation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

A post from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), somewhere in the heart of the medieval section of this deeply multicultural city. I’m here with a team organized by the World Bank Institute (WBI), working with local partners on preparing a capacity building program for low income municipalities on increasing citizens’ participation in local governance. Colleagues from the WBI facilitated sessions on participatory budgeting and citizens’ feedback mechanisms. Two of us from the World Bank’s Development Communication Division contributed a few modules on participatory communication as a cross-cutting issue in enabling and sustaining citizen participation in local governance.

You are here

RESOURCES FOR