Partnership for Transparency Releases New Report: “Enhancing Citizen-Driven Delivery and Accountability in International Development Association (IDA) Operations”.
To improve its effectiveness – in reducing waste, management inefficiencies, and countering corruption – the world’s largest multilateral agency serving the poorest countries, the International Development Association (IDA), now needs to forge major partnerships with in-country civil society organizations (CSO), according to the findings of a major study by the Partnership for Transparency (PTF).
“Direct funding support to civil society organizations in the poorest countries by the World Bank is minimal, and now it must be scaled up,” said Vinay Bhargava, PTF’s Chief Technical Advisor and an author of the new study.
Bhargava added: “Citizen engagement is the driver of change and the World Bank needs to harness its power and its skills in the poorest countries. We believe that even a very small percentage of IDA’s funds committed to funding CSO partnerships can have a major impact.”
The report is based on consultations in 2023 with civil society in different parts of the world. It is published at a time when the World Bank is moving towards greater recognition of the value added of CSOs in strengthening its projects. PTF, founded in 1998, has supported CSOs in over 60 countries in projects that have aimed to counter corruption in a variety of sectors.
IDA is funded every 3 years, with the current cycle amounting to $93 billion, a sum which will potentially increase to $120 billion for 2025-2028. The report suggests that IDA should dedicate between $200 million and $500 million to support civil society organizations (CSOs) in contributing to and monitoring the implementation of its projects and programs. This would equate to roughly 0.5% of its spending.
The report noted that 59% of current IDA projects are rated as having “high” or “substantial” institutional capacity risks by the World Bank. The report describes mechanisms that can provide predictable funding to civil society at a time when civic space is shrinking while also increasing accountability for donors in the world’s poorest countries. It would enable civil society to track substantial and high-risk IDA spending in a win-win for civil society and the World Bank by providing accountability to World Bank stakeholders.
PTF will advocate for the adoption of its recommendations in the lead-up to the World Bank Spring Ministerial Meeting in mid-April. The report can be found at: ptfund.org/idastudy
Partnership for Transparency (PTF) supports innovative CSO-led approaches reduce corruption, increase transparency, strengthen governance, and enhance accountability in low- and middle income economies. Since 2000, PTF has supported over 280 CSO-led in more than 50 countries.
