Catalog

	Table of Contents
p. 10 of 14 BACK | NEXT I. Introduction II. Taking Stock of Progress III. The Current Development Environment in the Region IV. The Changing Role of the Bank V. The Bank's Strategic Directions FRO 1995-1998 VI. Organizational Implications and Capacity Building Requirements of the Bank A. Key Operating Principles B. Revised Business Practices C. Revised Accountability System D. Management Information System E. Implementation

The Bank's Medium-Term Strategic Framework : VI. Organizational Implications and Capacity Building Requirements of the Bank

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A. Key Operating Principles

42. Some key operating principles that the Bank will consciously adopt include:

1. Selectivity and Concentration: The Bank can no longer afford to become involved in virtually every sector in each DMC. To achieve its objectives of influencing the policy framework, establishing tangible improvements in capacity, and ensuring that the projects it finances are linked to and supportive these end results, it must be more selective with the limited resources at its disposal. Such selectivity will allow it to concentrate its r sources in targeted sectors and will afford it greater leverage to wield influence and support tangible results in policy reform and capacity improvement.

2. Long-Term Perspective and Partnership: A complementary operating principle to selectivity must be the adoption of a long-term perspective to Bank involvement in a sector — the "immersion approach." Almost by definition, influencing policy agendas, establishing/strengthening capacities, and consequently achieving sustainable impact constitute a long-term task, requiring the development of a close partner relationship with counterpart government agencies, and a continuity to Bank interventions and investments in the concerned sector and DMC; one-shot project interventions are of limited sustainable value.

3. Quality and Excellence: Attempting to influence policy and build capacity assumes that the Bank establish prior professional credibility with client institutions. While the Bank is accepted today as a professional and competent "project financier," the same cannot be said of its capacities in these new areas; it is therefore necessary for the Bank to strengthen its operations in these areas progressively, ensuring at each stage the quality and excellence of service that will result in building confidence and credibility in its capacity to deliver effectively; this in turn has important implications for the Bank with respect to the quality of its staff and the extent of resources it will devote to these operations.

4. Accountability for Results: policy change, capacity strengthening, and regional cooperation are of course the responsibility of the concerned DMC governments. The Bank must, however, in agreement with concerned DMC governments, take accountability for delivering the support necessary to catalyze tangible progress in policy changes, capacity strengthening, and regional cooperation, thus leading to greater developmental impact. Staff continuity in and accountability for sector and DMC-specific Bank support in these areas becomes an essential element of the new strategic emphasis. The new operating emphasis also requires that the Bank consciously equips itself with sector and country development specialists who not only have professional depth and credibility, but are willing to assume accountability in supporting the policy and capacity strengthening objectives the Bank sets for itself in each DMC.

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