Publications

	Table of Contents
p. 28 of 30 BACK | NEXT Executive Summary I. The Setting II. Key Variables Affecting Project Quality III. Assessment of Current Bank Practices and Areas for Improvement IV. Findings, Recommendations and Action Plan V. Implications and Monitoring Arrangements A. Organizational Implications B. Staffing Implications C. Budgetary Implications and Trade-offs D. Monitoring Arrangements

Report of the Task Force on Improving Project Quality : V. Implications and Monitoring Arrangements

---

B. Staffing Implications

126. The Task Force's recommendation for strengthening staff capabilities for a better alignment with the changing needs of the Bank has several implications for the Bank's human resource development strategy, particularly in the areas of skills mix, redeployment, recruitment of appropriate staff, training and the incentive structure. Staff recruitment was, until a few years ago, influenced by the Bank's focus on producing traditional projects, and therefore resulted in an operational staff of specialists with skills aligned to the analysis of technical, economic and financial issues. With the increasing volume and complexity of the Bank's operations, there has been an increasing need for the Bank to address, in depth, macroeconomic and sectoral issues and cross-cutting issues such as the environment and promotion of the role of women in development, and to handle the Bank's private sector operations. Specialists have therefore been recruited to support the incorporation of these issues into country strategy, program and project design and implementation. The implementation of the Task Force's recommendation will imply a further shifting of the skills mix towards these specialists and a corresponding decline in other disciplines. Increased emphasis on recruiting staff with practical experience in project management in developing countries will also be required. A Bankwide skills mix inventory will also need to be completed as early as possible to identify the scope for redeployment of staff, together with departmental skills mix projections that will identify the need for any additional skills.

127. An important aspect of in-house capacity building is training and sensitizing Bank staff to the need for capacity building and increased client responsiveness within the Bank. Bank staff need to undergo training to upgrade their basic competencies and to develop new skills wherever needed to meet changing work requirements. The adequacy of existing training in the areas given priority by the Task Force — such as macroeconomic, social and institutional analysis; demand analysis; and project implementation — needs review. Training in the use of relevant diagnostic tools, such as the logical framework, will also be essential. The Bank's in-house training program has been upgraded considerably in recent years to relate it more directly to staff needs, but staff need to be further encouraged to give priority to training activities.

Back A. Organizational Implications	Next C. Budgetary Implications and Trade-offs