1. ACTION 2015 A World Bank Strategy for Social Development
Accountability
Cohesion
Transparency
Inclusion
Opportunity
Now!
Steen Lau Jørgensen
Director, Social Development
World Bank

2. An example from Mchinji, Malawi…
In 2002 an illiterate woman took part in a CARE program to train communities how to monitor health services using a community score card: keeping track of drug supplies, and assessing the quality of service by staff.
She got very good at it…
How many drugs were supplied to the center?
How were given to patients?
How many were available?
How were staff treating patients?
Health staff know that they will be evaluated every six months
Ministry takes note of the evaluations
Change in performance is dramatic
Drugs delivery was a huge problem throughout Malawi
Complete turnaround in performance of this health center within 6 months when the score card exercise was repeated

3. An example from Mchinji, Malawi…
The CARE program was expanded throughout Malawi
When the program was being introduced to other sectors through the Malawi Social Action Fund this illiterate woman was asked to present it
Clear
Articulate
Powerful

4. ACTION 2015: Three key principles
Inclusion: Putting people at the center of development Involved an illiterate woman in Mchinji
Cohesion: Strengthening community fabric so that members can work together
The village in Mchinji worked together to solve problem
Accountability: Developing ways for people to
exercise voice to authorities
An illiterate woman gave voice to community

5. What is ACTION 2015? One illiterate woman A village A district
A national program
Why not the world?

6. Why ACTION 2015 Global consensus that “social development” matters
Social Development Summit Copenhagen 1995
Millennium Declaration 2000
Johannesburg 2002

7. Assets and Capabilities for Poverty Reduction
Institutions:
Well-being
Poverty reduction
Social
Financial
Inclusive
Cohesive
Accountable
Physical
Human
Natural

8. How does the World Bank support ACTION 2015?
Principles
Inclusion. Putting people at the center of development Providing equal access to opportunity
Cohesion. Strengthening communities so people can work together for common objectives and overcome divisions
Accountability. Developing ways for people to exercise voice to authorities, and for authorities to respond

9. How does the World Bank support ACTION 2015?
Many parts of the Bank contribute:
Social sectors (“Human Development”): health, education, social protection
Public Sector Management, poverty analysis
All these areas have existing strategies, what is missing is the bottom-up, understanding of the informal and formal institutions from the perspective of poor people = “social development” in the World Bank

10. How does the World Bank support ACTION 2015?
Areas of activity within ACTION 2015:
Social Analysis
Participation and Civic Engagement
Community Driven Development
Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction
Social Safeguards

11. How does the World Bank support ACTION 2015?
Social analysis
E.g., what social norms about girls education are relevant for achieving universal primary education?
E.g., what is the likely social impact of land reform in Cambodia or Zambia?
How is a country evolving on the principles, i.e. tracking progress on inclusion, cohesion, accountability

12. How does the World Bank support ACTION 2015?
Participation and Civil Engagement
In Uganda, support public debates of policy changes proposed through dialogue with World Bank
In Albania, support legal changes in enabling environment for civil society
In Peru support publication of the Budget
In Philippines work on accountability and NGO enabling environment

13. How does the World Bank support ACTION 2015?
Community Driven Development
E.g., in Indonesia and Philippines, provide resources to communities that take initiatives to develop local development plans
Such programs are in 60+ countries with a volume of Bank support between 1 and 2 billion USD annually

14. How does the World Bank support ACTION 2015?
Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction
E.g., help rebuild infrastructure, economies and societies in Afghanistan, Congo, Somalia
E.g., carry out conflict analysis (Somalia, Nigeria) to study drivers of conflict and recommend policy changes

15. How does the World Bank support ACTION 2015?
Social Safeguards
E.g., protect interests of indigenous peoples and involuntarily resettled persons, making sure they benefit in appropriate ways from development interventions
Traditionally main entry point for SD staff, now about 20% of work

16. How does the World Bank support ACTION 2015?
Staffing:
Recognized as sector group within the Bank since 1997
About 140 staff (out of 10,000 total), many (about 60) with anthropology or sociology background, but very diverse

17. How does the World Bank support ACTION 2015?
Staffing (2):
About 25 staff in central unit
Rest in regional units headed by sector managers and under an ESSD Director (a few in research and World Bank Institute)
Half of social development staff are in country offices, reporting to Regional managers

18. Social Development Works
Review from World Bank Operations Evaluation Department shows that attention to social dimensions makes projects work better

19. Strategic Objective: Accelerate the trajectory
Heading in the right direction
Portfolio that includes SD increased (to about half in recent years)
Quality of attention to SD issues in other projects improved (85% of good quality up from 75 four years ago according to QAG)
However, Millennium Development Goals challenge us to go further:
Strengthen policy dialogue and lending
Improve project effectiveness – by mainstreaming and free-standing portfolio
Build on foundation of capacity building, advocacy and research

20. Increase Attention to SD in the Bank's Policy Dialogue and Policy-based Lending
Strengthen multi-stakeholder participation in development and monitoring of macro strategy documents (e.g. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, Medium Term Expenditure Framework, Bank Country Assistance Strategy)
Improve the social development content of policy analysis, working from positive experiences with Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) and social capital studies.
Improve content of policy-based lending
E.g., budget transparency conditionality, enabling community groups to manage public funds, improving transparency of bidding process

21. Improve the effectiveness of Bank-supported investment projects
A more systematic approach to social development and stronger follow-through:
Improve multi-stakeholder participation – to include better sustainability and monitoring by building into local planning processes;
Improve social analysis including efficiency improvements by relying on sector-wide and country-wide work, e.g. country social analysis and
Improve mainstreaming of SD concerns into Bank-financed projects and project components and nurture SD portfolio that is currently at about 8% of Bank lending.

22. Improve capacity building, advocacy and research
Align research priorities better with operational needs by supporting research that:
explores further the link between the social dimensions of development and economic growth,
refines indicators for social development, and
better evaluates the impacts of social development projects.
Sustain advocacy based on better aligned research and clarify the aspects of social development the Bank will address directly.
Strengthen capacity building

23. Next steps Finalize Bank-wide business strategy – third quarter 2004
Dissemination after final Executive Directors’ endorsement - possibly late 2004 early 2005

24. Key Questions….
Do you agree with the principles of inclusion, cohesion and accountability?
What should the World Bank do to promote social development?
What scope is there for partnerships between the two Banks in this area?

25. “I will not wait”
In a letter from Birmingham jail, Martin Luther King Jr.wrote:
“How long are my people supposed to wait?… Human progress…takes the hard work of dedicated people like you and me, working together to advance human civilization… I will not wait…”