World Bank Group │ What Have We Learned? The Evaluation Podcast

On the first episode of this series about taxes, or domestic revenue mobilization, the World Bank’s Director for Governance Global Practice, Arturo Herrera Gutierrez, and IEG host Jeff Chelsky, discuss how the World Bank can most effectively support countries in managing the difficult terrain of tax reform.

Une récente évaluation menée par le Groupe indépendant d'évaluation (IEG) offre des enseignements pour orienter l'avenir de l'assistance de la Banque mondiale au Maroc, tout en mettant en lumière les principes fondamentaux d'une collaboration efficace avec les pays à revenu intermédiaire.
Dans cet épisode, Estelle Raimondo et Sabine Durier se penchent sur le partenariat de la Banque mondiale avec le Maroc, sur ce qui a fonctionné ou pas. Estelle Raimondo, responsable des méthodes d’évaluation d'IEG, a dirigé la récente évaluation du programme pays du Maroc. Sabine Durier dirige le département de la gestion des connaissances et de la communication d'IEG.

Additionality is the unique value that Development Finance Institutions offer to private companies in low- and middle-income countries without crowding out private investments. This episode demystifies additionality and explores how to identify it, measure it, and realize ever more of its unique value.  

Boosting energy efficiency is critical for addressing climate change. This episode explores lessons on how to scale up energy efficiency efforts to fully realize their potential. 

Dr. Agnes Kalibata, president of AGRA, explores with host, Brenda Barbour, the importance of resilient agrifood systems in promoting long-term food security, and how the World Bank Group and other actors can support countries in developing agrifood systems that are productive, resilient, and sustainable.
 
Related Resources
 
IEG Evaluation: Toward Productive, Inclusive, and Sustainable Farms and Agribusiness Firms: An Evaluation of the World Bank Group’s Support for the Development of Agrifood Economies (2010–20)
Blog: Building inclusive, productive, and sustainable agrifood systems
Blog: Complementary Interventions for Agrifood System Development – Insights and Lessons
Blog: Sustainable Diversification of Agrifood Economies – Insights and Lessons

This episode unpacks lessons about factors that facilitated the World Bank Group's strong response to the pandemic and explores areas that can be strengthened to boost crisis preparedness as we navigate compounding crises.
 
Related Resources
IEG Evaluation: The World Bank’s Early Support to Addressing COVID-19 Health and Social Response
IEG Evaluation: The World Bank Group’s Early Support to Addressing the Coronavirus (COVID-19): Economic Response (April 2020-June 2021)
Blog: Lessons for building on the World Bank’s unprecedented health and social response to COVID-19

Disasters caused by natural hazards increasingly threaten the lives and livelihoods of the world’s poor. In this episode, we will explore how a more severe risk environment has been reshaping the way the World Bank and its partners approach disaster risk reduction. 

Every year, the world generates 2 billion tons of trash, including 400 million tons of plastic. Most of this waste is mismanaged, piling up and flowing into our oceans, adding to greenhouse gas emissions and land and water pollution. A long-term solution requires the world to shift to a circular economy. What does circularity entail? What can we learn from global efforts to tackle solid waste, and in particular plastics? 
Host Jeff Chelsky talks trash with Steve Fletcher, Professor of Ocean Policy and Economy at the University of Portsmouth, to take stock of lessons from a waste crisis that is disproportionately affecting people in poverty.

Development Policy Financing (DPF) is a major instrument of multilateral development banks and has played a prominent role in the World Bank’s pandemic response. Also known as policy-based lending, DPF is a fast-dispersing instrument that provides non-earmarked funds to a country's national budget. How does DPF work and how successful has it been in achieving its various goals? The World Bank’s Director of Policy Operations, Stéphane Guimbert, and IEG host Jeff Chelsky take stock of the trends and lessons of using policy-based lending to support developing economies.
Conversation highlights:
[00:04-07:55] How does Development Policy Financing (DPF) and its prior actions work?
[07:56-14:44] What are key lessons emanating from the Bank’s fifth DPF Retrospective?
[14:45-20:07] The role of Development Policy Operations (DPOs) in crisis response.
[20:08-22:25] Measuring success – what makes a DPO good?
[22:26-25:08] The use of DPOs in countries affected by fragility, conflict or violence (FCV).
[25:09-27:30] Determining the size of a Development Policy Operation.

Data are vital for understanding the progress and impact of strategies in global development. New technologies coupled with increased computing power are creating opportunities for gathering and analyzing ever larger amounts of data from a greater range of sources. In addition, remote data collection has played an important role in getting around the restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. But innovative use of technology began before the pandemic. How have new technologies influenced data gathering and use, and what are their implications for learning from evidence and for evaluating efforts in international development?