"About 49 percent of the World Bank’s policy reports, which are published Economic and Sector Work or Technical Assistance reports, have the stated objective of informing the public debate or influencing the development community. This study uses information on downloads and citations to assess wh
...
ether policy reports meet this objective. About 13 percent of policy reports were downloaded at least 250 times while more than 31 percent of policy reports are never downloaded. Almost 87 percent of policy reports were never cited. More expensive, complex, multi-sector, core diagnostics reports on middle-income countries with larger populations tend to be downloaded more frequently. Multi-sector reports also tend to be cited more frequently. Internal knowledge sharing matters as cross support provided by the World Bank’s Research Department consistently increases downloads and citations." (Abstract)
more
"The Five Communication Management Decision Tool helps reformers and their teams develop a framework for their communication strategies. This decision tool helps managers see change initiatives through the eyes of those who will be affected by the reforms. When the decision tool is used in the early
...
stages of the development of change programs, reformers gain an even deeper understanding of the stakeholders’ perspectives on the reforms, which influences stakeholder opposition or support for them. Such understanding will not only be instructive, but possibly transformative—for both change agents and those stakeholders whose support is critical to the success of reform. Reform agents may recognize the source of stakeholder resistance and be able to revise reform goals and redesign change interventions. Stakeholders who have a shared understanding of why the status quo is not acceptable and change is necessary are more likely to create coalitions of committed allies and supporters who will work together to achieve reform goals. This workbook illustrates how the decision tool can be used for various types of change and reform initiatives—from policy reform, to country and donor partnership agreements, to sectoral reforms." (Back cover)
more
"This book is essential reading for anybody interested in development communication. Mefalopulos, a World Bank development communication officer with wide-ranging experiences in the field, presents four modules. The first module concisely presents the concepts and applications of development communi
...
cations and their relevance for development operations. The second module addresses communication officers and practitioners who want to become acquainted with the theoretical foundations. The third focuses on methodological applications of development communication, describing the typical program cycle of communication-based assessment, strategy design, implementation and evaluation. The fourth module presents practical experiences to illustrate DevComm's relevance, including e.g. the use of development communication in poverty reduction strategies or strengthening local voices through community radio. Given its modular structure, this straight-forward publication is a valuable resource on the strategic use of communication processes in development." (CAMECO Update 4-2008)
more
"This Toolkit on Procurement of Communication Activities is intended to help World Bank staff and client governments procure communication services in accordance with World Bank procurement guidelines. Communication activities do not always fit within the simple procurement distinction of works, goo
...
ds and services. We have developed this toolkit to provide guidance on how to align them with the policies and procedures of the World Bank Procurement Guidelines. In preparing this toolkit, we identified specific features of communication-related activities that differ substantially from other activities procured under World Bankfinanced projects, and reviewed relevant documentation from most projects implemented in the past five years that included one or more communication components. We also interviewed many communication specialists, task team leaders and procurement specialists involved in projects with communication components, as well as local representatives and managers in the implementing agencies and with communication industry representatives. This toolkit identifies procurement issues implementing agencies commonly face in designing communication components and provides suggestions on how to mainstream communication components into project design, procurement planning and implementation." (Foreword)
more
"The World Bank should take a more active role in policy and regulatory activities targeting the broadcasting sector because: broadcasting can have a significant part to play in the fight to reduce global poverty; convergence of information and communications technologies (ICT) is allowing broadcast
...
services to be provided over telecommunications networks and internet services to use broadcast systems; the broadcast component of the convergent ICT sector is a significant economic sector; reform of the broadcast sector can have a significant development impact; few other international development players are active in the broadcast reform arena; traditional reticence to address a sector that raises political sensitivities appears overblown. The Bank Group’s potential activities in the sector might include: basic reform, involving the opening up of the broadcast sector to private and community involvement, and deconcentrating private media ownership; convergence regulation, involving the harmonization and integration of regulations covering broadcast and telecommunications infrastructure; support for community radio stations to improve access for the poor to the tools of information and communications technologies; pilot projects involving digital television to assess the potential of broadcasting as a tool to widen access to the internet." (Executive summary, page ix)
more
"Our research confirmed that many IFI (international financial institutions)-watchers are struggling to utilise ICT efficiently. The majority of organisations we studied do not have a communications strategy that takes into account the possibilities ICT affords. If they do have a website, it is not
...
updated regularly. Almost everybody we consulted complained about information-overload, while at the same time lacking information relevant to them specifically. These difficulties are, of course, also experienced by NGOs, campaigners and specialists in other issue areas. We identified a range of obstacles that make effective information sharing and co-operation more difficult. Some are easy to grasp, although not necessarily easy to tackle (i.e. language), while others are extremely complex and cause much frustration (i.e. internal politics and structures of NGOs). Many have been around for years. The introduction of ICT is accompanied by new difficulties, such as information overload and computer viruses, but can also have a multiplier effect on the "old" problems. This is not news, but it makes sense to point out again that new technology relies on "traditional" factors to succeed in establishing effective communications. It depends less on working with the latest software than on how people relate to each other. Power structures and democratic or non-democratic procedures can, directly or indirectly, promote or hinder communications." (Executive summary)
more
"Este documento acompaña al manual diseñado para ayudar a los administradores de equipos de trabajo del Banco Mundial a planificar y supervisar la ejecución de actividades de comunicación en proyectos de PSN. El manual revisa los principios básicos de comunicación para el cambio en el comporta
...
miento, presentando una guía paso a paso para planificar y ejecutar actividades de comunicación y vincular cada paso con el ciclo de proyectos del Banco. El manual contiene una serie de módulos prácticos, incluyendo: enfoques de investigación en comunicación para proyectos del Banco; guía de indicadores en comunicación; ejemplos de términos de referencia para consultores del Banco y de Prestatarios; preguntas guía para evaluar la capacidad de la organización; ejemplo de presupuesto y de plan de ejecución; estudios de caso de las prácticas óptimas en comunicación para el cambio en el comportamiento." (Prefacio, página 5)
more
"Examines the involvement of the World Bank and other aid agencies in funding textbook publishing in Africa and other parts of the developing world. The author notes that the fundamental role of books in education was not, however, widely recognized at first, and relatively few early education proje
...
cts had book-provision or book-development elements; specific assistance to book publishing was a later development. He reviews some of the pre-1985 activities of the World Bank in the sphere of textbooks and discusses common problems in their implementation. The history of aid agency involvement in book provision is still relatively short. It started only in the 1970s and it was inevitable that mistakes would be made initially; but recognition of the mistakes and the development of a more catholic approach came very rapidly, and within ten years there were clear signs by the aid agencies of much deeper thinking in this complex sector. The latest [1990s] generation of aid agencies is approaching book provision from a much wider basis, and many projects are extremely complex. “The World Bank recognizes this and sees it both as an important development but also an increased risk. In many countries there is a much more conscious attempt to involve local commercial organizations in developmental work and the benefits of bank investment." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 239)
more