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World
Bank-Civil Society Initiative (WB-CSI)
Why the World
Bank?
The World Bank Group
is the world’s largest source of development assistance. In fiscal
year 2003, the Bank loaned US$18.5 billion to its client countries.
Formally owned by its 184 member nations, the Bank is led by the G-7
or Group of 7 -- comprised of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
the United Kingdom, and the United States -- that collectively holds
over 40 percent of its board votes. Critics maintain that the Bank’s
lending practices have been detrimental to the social and economic
infrastructures of developing nations. At the same time, Bank lending
when geared appropriately -- and particularly if developed with participation
by those affected by its policies and projects -- can produce positive
results, and even promote innovation to help the most underserved groups.
In any case, the Bank
remains important because while private investment flows dramatically
outpaced official development assistance throughout the 1990s, the poorest
countries saw little of those inflows. Moreover, the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund remain the “gatekeepers” whose seal
of approval determines whether or not countries can access other sources
of financing—both from bilateral donors and from private investors.
In 1993 the 10th replenishment
of the Bank’s concessional lending window (the International Development
Association or IDA) mandated increased transparency, participation, and
accountability in World Bank lending. In 2002, the 13th IDA replenishment
mandated an increase in the proportion of assistance provided in the form
of grants instead of loans (from approximately 10% to 18-21%), as well
as the adoption by IDA of monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure
that its projects and policies contribute to sustainable development as
defined in the Millennium Development Goals.
InterAction’s
World Bank-Civil Society Initiative
The
goal of the World Bank-Civil Society Initiative (WB-CSI) is to democratize
the World Bank by making its policies and practices more transparent,
participatory, poverty-focused, and effective. Our means for achieving
this goal consist of increasing the capacity of InterAction members and
their local partner organizations to influence the World Bank through
dialogue, monitoring, and the promotion of transparency. Documents and
presentations outlining the Bank's role and practices, as seen by both
Bank staff and NGOs or civil society organizations (CSOs), may be found
in the World Bank 101 section.
A 2003 study
of relations between InterAction members and the World Bank
identified several constraints and under-explored opportunities in the
relations to date. The study suggests recommendations to improve the effectiveness
of the relations by strengthening various institutional policies and practices
of the World Bank and InterAction member agencies. The recommendations
extend to both policy dialogue and project operations. The study was presented
and discussed at a meeting in April 2003 of InterAction CEOs with Bank
president James Wolfensohn and senior Bank managers. InterAction members
have since then met with Bank staff to work on operationalizing the study
recommendations.
The WB-CSI works with
its members on broad-based pressure and advocacy with other NGOs and networks
around World Bank/IMF policies. Earlier areas of work included: the Joint
Facilitation Committee; information
disclosure; IDA;
andpoverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs).
The WB-CSI is now
incorporating a new focus on the International Monetary Fund's role in
the fiscal adjustment and social sector budgeting, the provision
of essential services, and InterAction-wide work on
trade in the context of country-specific
work.
Objectives and Activities
- Increase awareness
among InterAction members and their Southern partner organizations of
the relevance of World Bank policies to core development issues
- Build individual
and collective capacity of InterAction members and Southern partner
organizations to influence World Bank policy
- Accompany InterAction
members and Southern partner organizations in influencing World Bank
lending practice and policy, by means of research projects, meetings
with World Bank officials, comments and consultations on World Bank
policies, and support of Southern advocacy projects
- Develop and fortify
collaborative working relationships with counterpart organizations in
selected countries in Africa and Latin America
- Provide InterAction
member and southern partner perspectives on World Bank
participation mechanisms, and where appropriate, participate in spaces
for dialogue with the Bank
- Contribute to InterAction’s
campaign on Development Effectiveness by monitoring new developments
in the Bank’s effectiveness focus
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