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| News Release No: 2002/070/S |
Contact Person: Paul Mitchell (202) 458-1423 e-mail pmitchell1@worldbank.org |
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WASHINGTON, September 7, 2001--The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved
revisions to the Bank's policy on the disclosure of information, making changes
that will bring greater transparency and accountability to the Bank's support
for the development process. The revisions provide for the release of a greater
number of project-related documents; disclosure of the Chairman's summaries of
Board discussions on Country Assistance Strategies (CASs) and Sector Strategy
Papers (SSPs); and a more systematic approach (with a reduced lapse of time) to
accessing Bank archives. The Executive Directors also endorsed steps that will
lead over time to substantial improvements in access to information through Bank
offices in developing countries.
The
revisions build on the Bank's ongoing efforts to make information more
available. In 1993, the Bank expanded the types of documents that are made
available to the public and established Public Information Centers (PICs) in
Washington and several other countries to make these documents available
globally. The implementation of the Bank's disclosure policy was strengthened
following staff reviews in 1995 and 1997.
Further steps to expand transparency included the release of Heavily
Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) documents at decision and completion points (July
1998) and preliminary points (January 2000), CASs (August 1998), Poverty
Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and Joint Staff Assessments (with the IMF) of
them (April 2001), Chairman's Summings Up of Board discussions of PRSPs and HIPC
documents (April 2001), papers prepared for IDA Deputies during replenishment
negotiations (May 2001), and Chairman's summaries of IDA replenishment meetings
(May 2001). In all these steps, the Bank has recognized the need to protect
confidential and proprietary information provided to it in the course of its
operations.
"The revisions to the
disclosure policy in August 2001 are an important step in an ongoing, evolving
process aimed at improving the Bank's contribution to
development," says World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn. "The Bank recognizes that
transparency and accountability are crucial to development effectiveness, and
will continue to review the provisions and implementation of its disclosure
policy on a regular basis in the coming years."
The policy changes were approved
after the Bank published its draft review of the policy in September 2000; held
extensive consultations to solicit the views of civil society, industry groups,
and governments in 21 countries around the world; and provided opportunities for
comment through the Bank's website.
Highlights of the updated policy are as follows:
· Lending
documents. The disclosure policy will now
permit public access to documentation from the entire project cycle, from
preparation through implementation to independent evaluation. Public Information
Documents for all operations and Project Appraisal Documents for investment
lending have been publicly available since 1994. The new measures allow
documentation for adjustment lending to be disclosed as well— both for new
operations and for tranche releases. Disclosure of documentation for Poverty
Reduction Support Credits will be routine, given that they are based on PRSPs
prepared by governments in a highly participatory way. The Bank's
Annual Report on the Status of IBRD/IDA
Projects in Execution will be upgraded and
released to provide more comprehensive, relevant, and timely information on
ongoing projects. Implementation Completion Reports will be also available under
the updated policy.
· Strategy documents.
Reflecting earlier policy revisions, all CASs for low-income countries that
receive concessional funds from the Bank are disclosed, and in FY01, some 70
percent of CASs for middle-income countries were disclosed. All SSPs are also
disclosed. Both CAS and SSP disclosures take place after the Bank's Executive
Board discusses the documents. Under the new revisions, the Chairman's
Concluding Remarks summarizing the Board's discussion of CASs and SSPs will also
be made available when the underlying documents themselves are disclosed.
· Accountability documents. Documents in
which the Bank's independent evaluation arm—the Operations Evaluation
Department—reviews Management performance in various operational processes will
be disclosed, along with the Management Response to such evaluations. Similarly,
reviews by Management's own Quality Assurance Group of the quality of key
activities such as loan preparation, loan supervision, and economic and sector
work will be available.
· Archives. Until now, the
Bank's archived documents have been available only on a case-by-case basis.
Under the updated policy, archived documents will now be publicly available
after 20 years. In the case of country documents of types that are now routinely
disclosed but were produced under an earlier, more restricted framework, the
waiting period will be 5 years.
Effective
implementation of the new disclosure policy is crucial. An increase in the
number and type of documents that are made publicly available must be
complemented by efforts both to protect privileged and proprietary information
and to ensure that those affected by Bank operations receive the information in
a timely and comprehensible fashion. Guidelines to staff are being prepared to
help ensure effective implementation of the changes, most of which will take
effect on January 1, 2002.
Further work
will investigate options for increasing translation of documents to ensure
outreach to affected people, strengthening Public Information Centers, and
involving communications experts more effectively in the dissemination and
outreach elements of the new policy. Learning pilots, to be carried out with
interested member countries, will explore ways for the Bank and governments to
provide additional information on CASs and lending operations under preparation
and implementation, as a basis for improved development effectiveness.
