The 2013 “One World Bank Group” strategy envisaged increasing collaboration right across the WBG. WBG joint or co-financed projects epitomize the highest form of internal collaboration at the operational level. Joint projects rest on the premise that the entire WBG is greater than the sum of its constituent parts when it comes to delivering solutions to clients and in meeting today’s complex global context. They provide a means to respond to client needs and increase WBG development effectiveness. At the corporate level, co-financing offer potential for offsetting institutional, operational and capital constraints, and for complementing the strengths of each WBG institution.
For this first IEG stocktaking of World Bank Group joint projects, determining which projects really display “jointness” has proven challenging. Although the term ‘joint project’ is often used within the WBG, staff understanding about what makes for jointness varies considerably. Nor are joint projects consistently or even accurately recorded in the respective project portfolio databases of IFC, MIGA and the WB. Efforts to determine the effectiveness, efficiency, value-added, and outcomes of joint projects lack methodological tools. Current results framework and evaluation systems remain focused on each institution’s development outcomes, role and contribution, and work quality. Evaluative evidence and lessons about what worked and how to work as a “One World Bank Group” remain scarce.
Despite these limitations, WBG joint projects have been especially helpful in high risks contexts, particularly in supporting investments in countries with low investor credit rating, Category A projects, greenfield investments, power sector PPPs, or credit lines targeted to micro and small enterprises or low income households. WBG co-financing also facilitated pioneering FDI, buttressed moves by first-time cross-border investors, and supported complex and complicated transnational projects. Through its menu of complementary products and instruments, WBG joint projects mobilized private capital for such risky projects requiring long-term financing and guarantees not readily available from foreign or local commercial sources.
While co-financed projects can be powerful and creative tools, they carry no guarantee of success. Jointness doesn’t offer a panacea. Still, in this exploration of co-financed joint projects, IEG identified good collaborative practices regardless of being unable to determine links between WBG jointness and successful project outcomes.
