IDA17 Retrospective - Maximizing Development Impact

Leveraging IDA to meet global ambitions and evolving client needs

This report examines what the International Development Association (IDA) achieved during the IDA17 period (July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2017), and takes a close look at how IDA continues to maximize development impact to deliver these results in a fluid and challenging global environment. This report covers three areas essential to understanding both IDA’s efforts and the environment in which it works: (1) The rapidly-evolving global economic and development landscapes; (2) The results achieved through IDA’s work with client countries and other partners; and (3) The unfinished agenda, which demands an ongoing, broad-based commitment to achieving results through IDA as the world’s global alliance for the poor.

It discusses the IDA17 overarching theme of “Maximizing Development Impact,” which was supported through leveraging public and private sector resources and knowledge. It also describes progress on implementation of the four special themes selected for the IDA period. The special themes are areas that shareholders decided to put emphasis on and include the following: Inclusive growth; Gender equality; Climate change; and Fragile and conflict-affected states (FCSs). The IDA17 policy and financing package was agreed with IDA’s shareholders during replenishment consultations in 2013, the outcomes of which are summarized in the IDA17 Deputies Report. This retrospective discusses how IDA achieved the policy commitments under the overarching theme and special themes, as per the Deputies’ Report, and illustrates them through examples. A full overview of the status of the policy commitments at the end of IDA17 is presented in Annex 1.

Brief stories from IDA, as well as examples of projects implemented during the IDA17 period, illustrate the impact of IDA at the country and the personal levels throughout this report. Considering that IDA engages with its clients over the long-term and that implementation of IDA projects ranges from one to seven years, these examples often include projects approved during previous replenishment periods. Where the IDA17 program is discussed, unless indicated otherwise, the report refers to projects approved during IDA17 (although naturally results for these projects, in most cases, are still to emerge given the time lags involved in development work). Further details on IDA projects and results are available at http://bit.ly/IDAProjects and http://IDA.Worldbank.org/Results.

Finally, the report will discuss how IDA—as part of the World Bank Group—is evolving and maximizing the leverage of its financial and knowledge resources to help the international community and developing countries address the toughest challenges that we face today.

DOWNLOAD REPORT