Informed decision making requires timely and relevant evidence. This holds for national 
decision makers as well as development practitioners. Here at the World Bank, we have been working on creative solutions that lower the cost of project monitoring and create feedback loops. These feedback loops allow decision makers to assess the impact of their actions and to plan course corrections where needed. They also serve as incentive to act, since most decision makers wish to avoid the possibility of their inaction being exposed in future rounds of feedback and data collection. Feedback loops thus improve development outcomes through two pathways: by providing timely and actionable information and by functioning as an accountability mechanism. SWIFT and IBM are two examples of new tools that make this kind of regular feedback affordable.
Category Archives: WBG News & Reports
Investing in Nutrition Smart Agriculture (NSmartAg) means everybody wins
While in Malange, Angola, we met Florinda Chilumbo, a farmer who has 200 hectares 
planted with fruits and vegetables.These are much-needed food groups in a region where malnutrition is common. But public policies favor the production of less-nutritious maize and soy, so she is thinking of dedicating more land to those crops. Indeed, there are no incentives for investing in Nutrition Smart Agriculture (NSmartAg) in Angola, or much of the rest of the world.
The Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian
I have never seen this level of destruction. I was deployed to Haiti after the 2010 
earthquake, New York after Superstorm Sandy, northeast Nigeria after the worst of the Boko Haram insurgency, and to Somalia and Malawi after devastating droughts and floods delivered destruction on a tragic level. But mere walking through the worst hit areas of Abaco in northern Bahamas in the wake of Hurricane Dorian provided a glimpse of what total devastation really looks like.
Call for Proposals: Fragility Forum 2020
GENERAL INFO
- When: March 2-4, 2020
- Where: 1818 H St. NW, 20433 Washington, D.C.
- Contact: fragilityforum@worldbank.org
- Call for proposals: Open until November 22
- Registration for participants: Opens on November 1, 2019
The Fragility Forum is a high-level event organized by the World Bank Group which brings together practitioners and policymakers from around the world to exchange knowledge and experience on engaging in environments affected by fragility, conflict and violence (FCV). Over three days, the Forum aims to provide an opportunity to harness the collective brain trust of stakeholders coming from government, international institutions, donor agencies, private sector, civil society, academia and media to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of development approaches to achieve lasting impact. The Forum has been held three times previously, in February 2015, March 2016 and March 2018. The Fragility Forum 2020 will focus on implementation: the concrete approaches that are needed to maximize our collective impact and more effectively respond to dynamic, multidimensional, and global challenges affecting countries around the world.
Doing Business 2020–Sustaining the pace of reforms
Regulation exists to protect workers, public safety, businesses, and investments. But
inefficient or inadequate regulation can stifle entrepreneurial activity and business growth and impact the ease of doing business. It takes over 200 hours to complete export border requirements for maritime transport in Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire. In contrast, it takes only 10 hours in Singapore. Border compliance costs for export at seaports in Gabon average over $1,600, but just over $300 in Mauritius.
How Statistical Capacity Building projects benefited Sudan
The Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building (TFSCB) Administrative Unit at the 
Development Economic Data Group (DECDG) launched a new blog series “TFSCB: Statistics for a Better World” earlier this year to share the impacts of the World Bank’s TFSCB in low- and mid-income countries over the last 20 years.
One of the projects that benefited from the TFSCB was the Sudan Statistical Capacity Building project.
Empowering Frontlines, Leveraging Technology: Basic Service Delivery in 21st century Indonesia
Summer may almost be over in Washington D.C. but in Indonesia, it’s summer all year
round. It’s Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, boasts the world’s fourth largest population with an archipelago of thousands of tropical islands. Its cultural heritage dates back millennia, and in keeping with the digital wave sweeping the globe, is also home to four unicorns that are leveraging technology to create jobs and improve livelihoods.
2019 Annual Meetings Live- Recap
Each Fall, the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund (IMF) hold the Annual Meetings to discuss a range of issues related to poverty reduction, international economic development and finance. World Bank Live brings the #WBGMeetings experience straight to you, wherever you are in the world.
As part of our Global Voices Interview Series, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag @SigridKaag from @MinBZ talked about empowering women and young people to achieve development goals: Rewatch
Rewatch all the other #WBGMeetings
Staying focused on better outcomes for the world’s poorest people
Global growth remains subdued, with the pace of investment and trade softening, and 
downside risks persisting due to policy uncertainty, trade tensions, financial volatility, and rising debt. The World Bank Group, in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, can help emerging and low-income countries bolster potential growth, increase their resilience to shocks, boost domestic revenues, and continue building policy buffers. The two organizations have an important role to play in addressing the increase in debt vulnerabilities, and they can help countries meet a range of challenges to the international financial system, including tackling corruption.
Study tour to the Netherlands offers new insights on nature-based solutions
Last week, government officials and specialists from Albania, Georgia, Ghana, Liberia 
and Romania came to the Netherlands for a World Bank study tour on nature-based solutions organized by the Netherlands Water Partnership. One of the participants was Ivane Vashakmadze, Tourism Expert and World Bank Consultant from Georgia. In his blog, he shares his experiences and his lessons learnt on nature-based solutions.
and Romania came to the Netherlands for a World Bank study tour on nature-based solutions organized by the Netherlands Water Partnership. One of the participants was Ivane Vashakmadze, Tourism Expert and World Bank Consultant from Georgia. In his blog, he shares his experiences and his lessons learnt on nature-based solutions.
Netherlands for the World Bank 
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