Organization
World Bank
Report Year
2014
1st MAR Year
2016
Accepted
Yes
Status
Active
Recommendation

Ensure that the World Bank Group takes advantage of the complementarity and strengths of World Bank and IFC business models when designing the new Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice. Exploit synergies by ensuring that World Bank and IFC staff improve their understanding of each other's work and business models. Maintain the richness of the two delivery models while addressing factors that discourage collaboration.

Recommendation Adoption
IEG Rating by Year: mar-rating-popup S H NT NT Management Rating by Year: mar-rating-mng-popup S H NT NT
CComplete
HHigh
SSubstantial
MModerate
NNegligible
NANot Accepted
NRNot Rated
Findings Conclusions

The World Bank and IFC work in the same space and with the same clients through two distinct business models. The IFC business model is implemented through stand-alone advisory services. Projects are standardized, focused, and short-term and include rapid interventions. They are mostly funded through internal budget and trust funds. The World Bank business model is implemented through lending and budget support and to a lesser extent through technical assistance. Projects are comprehensive and tend to be more long term. The client or the Bank executes the project. Each model has unique features, and stakeholders appreciate their differences. Stakeholders interviewed across countries often appreciated IFC's international technical expertise, quick response and delivery, and close support. However, IFC's ability to handle the political economy was not as strong, nor was its ability to move beyond standardized products. The World Bank's main strength is its institutional access to government institutions, its comprehensive services, and its ability to provide substantive funding. Yet there was a common sense that the World Bank is slow to respond and to implement projects.
IEG's interviews with World Bank Group management and staff surveys indicated that there is collaboration among the institutions to varying degrees. Survey results show that simple activities such as information sharing are more frequent than formal engagements. Evidence shows that different operating environments of IFC and the World Bank make collaboration difficult. Systems and organizational structures such as different pricing policy, accountability matrix, results framework, and human resources policies and staff incentives are perceived as the main bottlenecks to collaboration. Also, the interviews with investment climate management and staff indicate that staff have a positive perception of complementarity and strengths of the institutions with the new Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice however, some concerns exist regarding the dominance of one institution model over the other.

Original Management Response

WB: Agree. The Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice (together with the Finance and Markets Practice, which is also being set up as a fully integrated joint Bank/IFC Global Practice) will lead the World Bank Group engagement in this area and accordingly strengthen its outreach, communication, and partnership with other networks/Global Programs on approaches, diagnostic tools, and lessons.

Action Plans
Action 1
Action 1 Number:
0357-01
Action 1 Title:
Action 3.A: Management will ensure that Bank and IFC staff in T&C improves their understanding of each other’s work and business
Action 1 Plan:

Action 3.A: Management will ensure that Bank and IFC staff in T&C improves their understanding of each other’s work and business model.
Indicator: Percentage of T&C staff trained in Bank and IFC operation fundamentals.
Baseline:
- Number of T&C Bank staff trained in IFC operation fundamentals (Defined as percentage of operational staff that has completed the TFLAP training (qualification to act as TTL for IFC TFs) and / or that has completed the ASOP training course (familiarization with IFC operations platform and procedures)): 6%
- Number of T&C IFC staff trained in Bank operation fundamentals (Defined as percentage of operational staff that has completed the OCC training (qualification to act as TTL for Bank Lending projects) and / or that has completed the FBO training (first step learning on Bank operations)): 4%
Target: 40 % of T&C staff trained in both Bank and IFC operation fundamentals.
Timeline: Monitored by T&C GP annually, starting with FY16. Target to be achieved by end of FY18.

Action 2
Action 2 Number:
0357-02
Action 2 Title:
Action 3.B: Exploit synergies and reinforce strengths of WB and IFC business models when designing the T&C GP.
Action 2 Plan:

Action 3.B: Exploit synergies and reinforce strengths of WB and IFC business models when designing the T&C GP. These synergies will in particular relate to the accountability framework, joint portfolio reporting, and the design of more WB-IFC integrated projects.
Indicator: Percentage of T&C mapped projects that integrate WB and IFC products. Joint approaches on accountability frameworks.
Baseline: 10% integrated projects. No integrated accountability framework.
Target: 25% integrated projects. Integrated accountability frameworks.
Timeline: Monitored by T&C GP annually, starting with FY16. Target to be achieved by end of FY18.

Action 3
Action 4
Action 5
Action 6
Action 7
Action 8
2019
IEG Update:
No Updates
Management Update:
No Updates
2018
IEG Update:
No Updates
Management Update:
No Updates
2017
IEG Update:

The actions taken have substantially met the recommendation.

Management Update:

3.A In February 2017, T&C designed and implemented its first Learning Week that changed the nature of decision-making in a practice spread across 500 people, 90 locations, and 14 business lines. Over the 2 week event, several sessions were designed with the objective of enabling T&C Bank and IFC staff to improve their understanding of each other's work and business, including but not limited to a plenary with EFI, T&C and IFC leadership discussing T&C as a joint practice and IFC engagement, speed dating sessions highlighting up to 24 joint (WB and IFC) innovative country projects in each region, 11 two-day deep dive sessions and 19 half-day master class sessions focused on increasing the capacity of staff's knowledge of WB and IFC instruments, operations and core offerings. Furthermore, during FY17, T&C focused on increasing knowledge of IFC and WB staff by enabling staff to participant in the following WB/IFC training programs: Trained 16 IFC staff on WB operations courses (e.g. Fundamentals of Bank Operations and/or Operational Core Curriculum and/or Development Policy Financing Academy), trained 11 WB staff on ASOP related training courses, trained 46 IFC T&C staff on TLAP2 (IDA/IBRD) to date and 39 WB T&C staff on IFCTLAP to date. In FY18, T&C will execute a sector, technical and professional learning needs assessment and action plan to identify staff capacity development needs. The results of the strategy and action plan will evolve into various activities including workshops and courses which will highlight how to apply both WB and IFC instruments within T&C projects.
Number of T&C Bank TTLs trained on IFC operations fundamentals (TFLAP training): 39 (22%)
Number of T&C Bank TTLs that has completed the ASOP training course: 50 (29%)
Number of T&C IFC TTLs training in Bank operations fundamentals (OCC training) and FBO: 75 (100%) An additional 19 staff who are not TTLs have also taken this
Number of T&C IFC TTLs trained in Bank operations (TLAP2): 46 (82%)
3.B Last year, T&C developed "Joint approaches" to achieve synergies and reinforce strengths of WB and IFC business models. Action Plans include:
- Harmonized dex="0"&gt ADM framework for World Bank (WB) Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) and the IFC Advisory Services (AS)
- Better integration of staff by assigning one PM to cover each region or global theme irrespective of product types
- Introduced customized log-frame and indicators which are available for both WB and IFC projects
- Developed a joint portfolio reporting platform: (http://tab.worldbank.org/#/site/WBG/views/Operations/TCSnapshot?:iid=1)
In addition to above, we have strengthened our collaboration this fiscal year by:
- Deepening our engagement with IFC and partnering on a number of fronts. We are working closely with the IFC Economics & Private Sector Development (E&PSD) VP, Hans Peter Lankes, and the WB Equitable Growth, Finance and Institution (EFI) VP, Jan Walliser, to ensure the continued success of the joint-GP model. The new IFC E&PSD VPU serves as a channel through which we coordinate with IFC that the integration of our operating system will continue to the fullest extent possible. We launched this year with the IFC E&PSD VPU the joint Country Private Sector Diagnostic as a tool to identify opportunities for the private sector to have a strong development impact and that could be then supported by WB and IFC operations.
- Developing our own T&C Career Toolkit, tailored material to assist staff as they pursue their own career objectives and navigate the Venn diagram of the IFC/WB/T&C.
- Introducing Cross Support Marketplace to facilitate talent development opportunities across WB and IFC staff.
- Launching T&C WB and IFC MOU dashboard covering portfolio, budget, client survey, collaboration and HR
- Establishing T&C portfolio dashboard by product types and PMs wherein WB/IFC joint flag is captured. https://tab.worldbank.org/#/site/WBG/views/Operations/WBGActiveandPipel…
- Launching staff collaboration monitoring tool based on RM data which helps track down how many IFC or WB staff are leading WB or IFC activities or vice versa and or how much staff time is being charged for WB or IFC projects.
As a result of these efforts, we are happy to report the following:
- The percentage of integrated* projects has increased from 14% to 17%.
*Based on share of number of WB active projects identified in WB project portal as WB/IFC joint (flag for "complementary or interdependent project requiring active coordination") with respect to total number of active project in WB portfolio.
- IFC staff managed more WB projects as TL this year compared to FY16 and similarly, WB staff led more IFC projects this year.
The number of IFC staff weeks (CO and HQ) spent for WB projects has increased this year compared to last year.

2016
IEG Update:

During the FY, Management has taken significant steps to ensure that Bank and IFC staff in T&C improves their understanding of each other's work and business. These actions included developing an action plan, training WB and IFC staff in each other's' business, taking similar approaches for both institutions' accountability and portfolio reporting. These activities are in line with the corresponding recommendation. Next year, the management should also report numerical targets achieved.

Management Update:

The T&C knowledge and learning team has developed a learning strategy and action plan that integrates and highlights learning programs that include building capacity of WB and IFC staff on offerings and various WB and IFC operations-related instruments. In FY16, T&C has focused on increasing knowledge of IFC and WB by designing and implementing the following:
- Launched T&C overview e-learning course that highlights various IFC and WB project components as they align with T&C's priorities and core offerings.
- Launched T&C onboarding site that highlights both IFC and WB operational training offerings available to staff.
- Trained 113 IFC staff on WB operations courses (e.g. Fundamentals of Bank Operations and/or Operational Core Curriculum and/or Development Policy Financing Academy. Note, total since FY15).
- Trained 11 WB staff on ASOP related training courses.
- Trained WB staff on TFLAP training courses is not yet available.
In FY17, these efforts will continue and activities will be expanded to include workshops which highlight how to apply both WB and IFC instruments within T&C projects.
To exploit synergies and reinforce strengths of WB and IFC business models, there has been substantial progress regarding the following:
- Joint approaches to accountability: (i) there is a total integration of the Decision-Making/Management of World Bank Projects and Advisory Services and Analytics (ASA) and the IFC Advisory Services (AS) as under T&C, all product lines fall under the purview, for country and Regional projects/ASA/AS, under a Practice Manager (PM) that oversees both WB and IFC T&C products (ii) there is better integration of WB and IFC Staff as both, for country and Regional projects/products, fall within the same PM and (iii) with the harmonization between the Accountability and Decision Making (ADM) framework for the WB ASA and IFC AS Governance, we have now a fully consistent accountability framework for WB ASA and IFC AS (http://intresources.worldbank.org/INTOPCS/Resources/380831-136077616709… pages 3, 28, 30-34). Also, with the July 2016 introduction of the new WB ASA product line, we have WB ASA processing stages and milestones that are consistent with those of IFC AS (check ASA Reform page https://spark.worldbank.org/groups/analytical-advisory-activities-aaa/p…). Furthermore, with the introduction through the new WB ASA product line of optional customized log-frame and indicators for T&C, these are now consistent with IFC AS.
- Joint portfolio reporting: As part of the integrated management systems/dashboards put together by T&C, we have a joint portfolio snapshot (http://tab.worldbank.org/#/site/WBG/views/Operations/TCSnapshot?:iid=1) and a live monitoring report of our portfolio and pipeline for both WB and IFC projects and ASA (http://tab.worldbank.org/#/site/WBG/views/Operations/WBGActivitiesbyPM)
In FY16 14% of WB lending projects were integrated with IFC AS projects. T&C will continue to push for further integration and will consider finding other measurements to more significantly measure the integration factor beyond the current methodology.