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ABCs of IDA—Governance and Institution Building

For almost 60 years, the International Development Association (IDA) has taken on the most difficult and complex challenges. Learn more about how IDA works and what it has achieved —explore our ABCs of IDA on Africa, gender, conflict and fragility, climate change, jobs and economic transformation, and governance and institutions.

Overview

Countries with strong institutions prosper by creating an environment that facilitates private sector growth, reduces poverty, delivers valuable services and earns the confidence of their citizens—a relationship of trust that is created when people can participate in government decision-making and know their voices are heard.

The International Development Association (IDA) helps build the systems that make assistance more effective by strengthening institutions and improving governance. IDA works with ministries, agencies, and departments on managing public institutions and finances. On broader governance issues, IDA works with the legislative and judicial branches and other institutions that promote public accountability and greater engagement with society. (In pdf: EN | AR | ES | FR | RU | ZH)

More effective policy implementation, better management of resources, strengthened service delivery, and greater openness and transparency equip IDA countries to create opportunities for citizen engagement, and help build and maintain trust between the state and citizens. Reducing poverty and promoting shared prosperity is predicated on institutions that are effective in not only solving the problems of the past but responding to the changing needs of the citizens they serve.

As a result, governments become more transparent, more accountable to their citizens, less susceptible to corruption, and better at delivering services.  IDA’s emphasis on long-term growth and capacity helps ensure that results are sustained and that countries are on a path where they can fund their own development.

Many challenges remain, but IDA’s work is yielding results. In Niger, for example, time to create a business decreased from 17 days in 2011 to 2 days in 2018.

The examples on the following pages illustrate how IDA-financed operations in governance and institution building are making a difference1. Be sure to see our other “ABCs” (achievements by country) of IDA, including highlights of our work on climate change, gender, fragile, conflict, and violence, and jobs and economic transformation at ida.worldbank.org/abcs.

The countries included in this brochure are currently eligible for IDA support. To learn more, please visit http://ida.worldbank.org/about/borrowing-countries

A

Afghanistan

  • From 2003–17, the National Solidarity Program and 31 partners, including IDA, have worked through community development councils (CDCs) to identify and implement 122,430 small-scale reconstruction and development activities.
  • The program has generated over 66 million days of work for skilled and unskilled workers and has helped establish 45,751 community development councils across Afghanistan that are democratically elected through secret ballot.
  • From 2015–18, 665 full-time academic staff were trained in outcome-based education and student-centered learning.
  • In 2018, 10 public universities have developed and implemented institutional development policies in line with the National Higher Education Strategic Plan.

B

Bangladesh

  • From 2015–18, 939,094 people benefited from a livelihood project, 95% of whom were women. 3,095 infrastructure sub-projects were completed with community participation, while 471,671 people were benefited from these sub-projects. 99% of the community-based decision were made by women.
  • From 2016–18, 3,500 lecturers were recruited, and 50,000 non-government teachers were accredited, benefiting 1.8 million students, of whom 828,000 were girls.
  • In 2018, 100 supervision officers from the Bangladesh Bank were trained on risk-based supervision techniques and 254 financial intelligence officers were trained on risk management, safeguards, and commercial practices in procurement.

Burkina Faso

  • From 2015–18, 1,787 government and CSO staff were trained in accountability, citizens engagement, and public financial management. Annual performance reports of key ministries, infrastructure, education, and health were published regularly to enhance transparency.
  • 17 timely and reliable statistics reports were produced in 2017, up from five in 2015. Eight annual products, such as national accounts, agricultural, environmental, industry income statements, human development, national annual statistics, were published on time.

Burundi

  • From 2015–17, 79% of ISTEEBU (Burundi Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies) staff were trained and evaluated in the design and analysis of statistics products, of whom 25% were women. In 2017, 60 statistics products were publicly available to users through the ISTEEBU website, up from 25 in 2015.
  • In 2018, 77% of coffee cooperatives were legally registered, up from 31% in 2015. From 2015-18, 21,739 farmers were using improved agricultural technology promoted by the project.

C

Cambodia

  • From 2016–18, 442 health centers exceeded 60% score on an established quality assessment, up from 49% in 2016. 100% of the health centers received payments based on performance with high-quality scores within 90 days. The proportion of health centers with functioning health center management committees increased from 64% in 2017 to 75% in 2018.
  • In 2017–18, 19,760 students were benefited from a secondary education improvement project—with women accounting for 77.6%—and 100% of schools conducted teacher assessment based on an established professional standard.

Central African Republic

  • A public expenditure reform project improved timely submission of annual financial statements and budget reporting. The 2017 financial statements were submitted on time in April 2018. Budget execution reports were published on a quarterly basis for 2017–18.

Chad

  • From 2013–18, 371,917 primary school children benefited from improved learning and teaching conditions, of whom 43% were girls.
  • In 2018, 6,383 companies registered through a single window facility, up from 3,000 in 2014. During the same period, 39 customs officers and inspectors were trained in areas such as customs valuation, rules of origin, and risk management.
  • From 2014–18, 50 SMEs in the meat value chain and dairy subsector were supported through the matching grant program, of which more than USD 769,534 was contributed by the private sector, while 416 workers received training to improve their performance and product quality.
  • From 2014–18, 414 health workers were trained to strengthen the institutional capacity and implement performance-based financing. 100% health facilities were reporting monthly activities using a standard report forms in 2018, up from 65% in 2014.

E

Ethiopia

  • From 2014–18, 117 million textbooks and teachers’ guides were developed, printed, and distributed to primary and secondary schools under an education quality improvement program. 321,596 primary and secondary teachers took licensing exams in 2018, up from 30,256 in 2014. 18,347 teachers upgraded from diploma to postgraduate diploma in teaching in 2018, up from 652 in 2014. 25.9 million students benefited from an enhanced learning method in 2018, five million more than in 2014.
  • A national open-data portal was launched in March 2016, with 29 datasets published in an open data format. With IDA’s support, consultation workshops with over 200 government and nongovernment representatives were conducted in 2018 on the draft open data policy guidelines.
  • Ethiopia’s Central Statistical Authority’s (CSA) capacity to produce and disseminate reliable, accessible and timely statistics were enhanced. 94% of users were satisfied with the timely accessibility of official statistics methodologies. In 2018, 1,147 staff from CSA were trained on areas of organizational management and statistics and 377 staff were trained on areas of statistical data production. 2,863 staff, of whom 698 were women, were trained in specialized quality assurance topics, poverty mapping techniques, and gender analysis of household surveys.

G

Ghana

  • The Ghana Statistical Services’ (GSS) capacity was enhanced in the production and dissemination of timely and robust data. 94.5% of users were satisfied with the timely accessibility of official statistics methodologies in 2018, up from 40% in 2011. GSS staff with professional qualifications increased to 67.2% in 2018, up from 39% in 2011.
  • eTransform Ghana improved the efficiency and coverage of government service delivery using information and communication technologies. The number of days required to get a birth certificate decreased from 15 in 2013 to 7 days in 2018. The number of days required to process a company’s registration decreased to 2 in 2018 from 4 in 2013.
  • In 2018, 15 new online e-Services were available to the public, up from eight in 2013 and the number of published datasets increased to 147 in 2018 from 100 in 2013. 18.5 million pages of government records were digitized in 2018, up from 17.5 million pages in 2013.
  • From 2013–18, 94,786 teachers and students benefited from improved online access to educational materials.

Grenada

  • From 2013–18, a new targeting tool for conditional cash transfers contributed to an increase in the share of poor households receiving cash, up from 67% to 82%.
  • Regulatory reforms under a development policy credit have increased tourism receipts by over 45%, from 2013–17.

Guinea

  • From 2017–18, 708,684 people benefited from a community-supported project that strengthened the local government and improved service delivery in rural communities, of whom 43% were women. 
  • From 2012–18, a governance project strengthened key institutions for managing the minerals sector. 100% of mines were subjected to annual technical inspections, fiscal controls, and environmental monitoring inspections. During the same period, 5,150 people were trained in updated environmental legislation related to mining operation. In 2018, 83% of public contracts were procured through open competition, up from 15% in 2012.
  • Improved technical performance of the national power utility benefited 1.9 million people in 2018, up from 1.4 million in 2014, and the average daily hours of service increased to 18 in 2018, from 12 in 2014. During the same period, annual electricity losses decreased from 42% to 32%.
  • 300 companies participated in the EITI process (Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) in 2017, up from 27 in 2015. During the same period, 68 procurement contracts were audited, and a comprehensive report on State-Owned Enterprises was updated on an annual basis and made available to the public.

Guinea-Bissau

  • From 2010–18, 169,684 people benefited from a rural community-driven development project, of whom 49.5% were women. From 2009–18, 12,452 students were enrolled in a new or rehabilitated classroom and 70,267 people were provided with access to an all-season new or rehabilitated road.
  • The basic systems for public finance were strengthened and timely reporting of budget execution reduced from 48 months in 2015 to 12 months in 2018. Reforms in tax collection increased the number of people pay taxes from 10,399 in 2017 to 15,917 in 2018.The number of steps for import and export reduced from 26 in 2017 to 9 in 2018.

H

Haiti

  • From 2012–18, 430,000 buildings were assessed for structural damage. Major flooding was prevented in earthquake-affected areas by cleaning of canals in Port-au-Prince. More than 70 engineers and 16,000 masons were trained on paraseismic and paracyclonic construction.
  • From 2013-18, 214,893 people benefited from the strengthened capacity for disaster risk management at the municipal and national level, including training in drafting disaster management plans for 550 municipal staff. More than 90% percent of the beneficiaries were satisfied with the national government’s preparation for future disasters.

K

Kenya

  • From 2010–18, 49,180 people living in 86 informal settlements were benefited from enhanced tenure security. During the same period, 526,000 people in informal settlements were provided with improved drainage services and 226,000 people in urban settlements were provided with access to improved water sources.
  • 1.3 million people benefited from improved judicial services in 2018, up from 157,000 in 2012, of whom women were 25%.
  • From 2012–18, a backlog of 14,458 court cases were resolved. The average time to dispose a case was reduced to 10 months in 2018 from 15 months in 2012. In 2018, 97% of courts submitted monthly court data, up from 50% in 2015.
  • 1.2 million people benefited from a cash transfer program in 2018, up from 114,384 in 2013. 100% of the payments were made electronically using two-factor authentication in 2018, up from 56.3% in 2013.

Kyrgyz Republic

  • From 2016–18, 38,000 smart electricity meters were installed to accurately read electricity usage and reduce network losses. Three distribution substations improved the quality of electricity supply in Bishkek. 217,000 customers have benefited from the investments made under the electricity supply and reliability improvement project.

L

Lao People’s Democratic Republic

  • From 2014–18, 175 SMEs benefited from USD 10.7 million in long-term financing provided through participating commercial banks. 75 staff from Department for Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion (DOSMEP) were trained in public policies that promote access to finance for SMEs through a capacity building component of this project.

M

Mali

  • In 2018, 121 new programs were developed for higher education institutions, up from 45 in 2015. 29,675 students were enrolled in accredited programs in 2018, up from 10,000 in 2015. During the same period, 982 teachers were trained at participating institutions, up from 120 in 2015.

Mauritania

  • From 2015–18, 29,853 households, representing 197,030 people, benefited from a social cash transfer program, of whom 88% were women. During the same period, 102,300 households registered in a national registry improving their access to targeted cash transfer for poor and vulnerable.

Mozambique

  • Mozambique strengthened the capacity of governance in mining and hydrocarbon sectors. In 2018, 16 mines and gas construction projects were subjected to annual technical inspections and seven mines were subjected to fiscal control. 2,322 people were benefited from this project, of whom 46% were women.
  • From 2014-18, two million hectares of land were brought under biodiversity protection, and USD 4.5 million in income derived from tourism was returned to communities. Law enforcement patrols in selected conservation areas were increased from 5,523 in 2014 to 11,642 in 2018.

Myanmar

  • From 2012–18, 21,249 rural infrastructures were built using block grants. 387,272 people have used newly gained skills in project planning, financial management, and procurement. 1,328 government officials were trained in project management, engineering, and planning. During the same period, 17,505 (98.7%) grievances related to the delivery of services were addressed on time.

N

Nepal

  • From 2013–18, the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology increased its financial sustainability to 69%, up from 40%. An information management system was in place to stream and archive agriculture relevant hydomet and agromet data. During the same period, 38 hydrological stations were installed, up from 10 in 2013.

Niger

  • Business environment reforms reduced the time to trade across borders from 64 days in 2011 to 13 days in 2018. Time to clear imported goods decreased from 64 days to 4 days, and time to clear exported goods decreased from 50 days to 4 days. Time to create a business decreased from 17 days in 2011 to 2 days in 2018.
  • Critical elements of investment climate for private sector and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) were improved. The number of days to settle a commercial case decreased from 545 in 2015 to 400 in 2018. The number of procedures to start a business decreased from 6 in 2015 to 2 in 2018.

P

Pakistan

  • From 2017–18, Punjab increased enrollments by 1 million students, from 11.3 to 12.3 million students.  From 2016–18, 100,000 teachers were hired through a competitive, meritocratic hiring system that reduced the number of schools with fewer students than teachers from 23,000 down to 300.
  • In Sindh province, public sector performance was strengthened through improved revenue generation and expenditure management. A tax reform plan was approved in 2015 and the sales tax on services increased to 27% in 2017 from 3.5% in 2014.

R

Rwanda

  • 95.3% of government departments submitted monthly financial statements in 2017, up from 40% in 2014. 62.3% of ministries, departments, and agencies were using official statistics for analyses of current developments in 2017, up from 39% in 2014.
  • From 2014–17, 30 districts were using automated revenue collection system. During the same period, 96.9% of small and micro enterprise taxpayers filed their taxes using e-tax portal, up from 69.3% in 2014.

S

Samoa

  • From 2014–18, Samoa’s Faleolo International Airport improved operational safety and oversight of international air transport and associated infrastructure. The air traffic management was modernized, and communications and navigation equipment have been upgraded.
  • In 2016, VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) antenna and ADS-B (Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast) ground station were installed for tracking aircraft and two new fire rescue vehicles were purchased.

Senegal

  • From 2009–18, the national budget credibility, transparency, and accountability mechanisms were enhanced and 3,325 staff from various ministries and departments were trained in Public Finance Management. The World Bank’s Debt Management Performance Assessment indicator increased from D+ to A in 2018.
  • The timeline for completion of the annual external audits of government budget at the end of fiscal year was reduced to 10 months in 2018 from 36 in 2011. Annual performance reports of five key ministries (Energy, Agriculture, Infrastructure, Basic Education, and Health) were published in 2018 for the first time.

Sierra Leone

  • From 2013–18, 1.6 million students benefited from a revitalized education development project and 84% of teachers were trained in improved reading methods. During the same period, 8,100 schools were reopened, benefiting 1.3 million students and 100% of the schools were provided with reading books.

Solomon islands

  • From 2014–18, 1,813 people benefited from one-on-one coaching services and 1,073 people produced their CVs. According to the sixth Annual Survey, 77% of respondents who had obtained subsequent employment found the pre-employment training project to be useful. Of this group, 77% were women and 76% were youth.

U

Uganda

  • Time to register a property was reduced to 42 days in 2018 from 52 days in 2010. During the same period, time needed to register a business was reduced to 24 days from 33 days.

 

Updated as of June 17, 2019

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