Korea-World Bank Group Partnership Facility Semi-Annual Progress Report November 2015 1. Executive Summary This report aims to provide an overview of the progress and results achieved within the Korea-World Bank Group Partnership Facility (KWPF or the “Facility”), which was established in May 2013. The key objectives of the Facility are to enhance Korea-World Bank Group (WBG) cooperation while seeking to provide flexible, efficient and effective fund management, and to assist developing member countries of the World Bank Group in achieving inclusive and sustainable economic growth. To reach these objectives, the Korean government has committed US$90 million to the Facility over a three year period (1 July 2013 – 30 June 2016). To date, KWPF has received the full US$90 million, of which US$59.3 million has been committed and US$41.2 million disbursed. The remaining US$18.1 million will be disbursed FY16 based on individual financing arrangements. The Facility is managed with a significant emphasis on results, and the activities under implementation are already producing tangible outputs. The Facility comprises of three pillars of collaboration:  Window 1 – Financing for Global and Regional Programs, which supports WBG managed programs are selected by Korea in close collaboration with relevant WBG units in support of various development activities;  Window 2 – Cofinancing of Country Investments, which provides strategic aid allocation in support of International Development Association (IDA) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) projects, taking into account Korea’s policy of international economic cooperation as well as the WBG’s development approach as expressed in country assistance and sector/thematic strategies; and  Window 3 – Generation and Transfer of Development Knowledge, which provides financing for WBG executed technical assistance or capacity building projects that are undertaken in collaboration with Korean entities and aim to leverage Korea’s economic development experience. Window 1 programs tend to have a wide geographical focus and adopt a cross-regional approach, and are financing key activities such as the Leadership, Learning and Innovation (LLI) and the 2015 World Development Report: Mind and Society—How a Better Understanding of Human Behavior Can Improve Development Policy, as well as International Finance Cooperation (IFC) operational projects, such as the IFC Better Work Program in Vietnam. Within Window 2, US$4 million was approved in April 2015 to support a Flood Early Warning System for the Kenya Water Security and Climate Resilience project, of which US$500,000 will fund World Bank- executed activities and US$3.5 million will fund recipient-executed activities. A call for proposals in March 2015 returned ten concept notes for review and resulted in a US$300,000 commitment to support the Green Nouadhibou project in Mauritania, which aims to assist the Government of Mauritania, and specifically the Nouadhibou Free Zone Authority, develop a fisheries cluster and Free Zone that promotes resource efficient and green practices. Window 3 aims to leverage local and international expertise, including from Korea, to develop cross- regional learning, research, and knowledge creation and exchange. This window focuses on job creation, telecommunications, infrastructure and private sector development in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Results achieved so far included key knowledge exchange workshops and pilot knowledge products, such as rapid assessments, concept notes and briefings. High-level collaboration is underway between government and private sector with the aim of influencing policy dialogue in countries such as Vietnam. The Facility issued two calls for proposals in FY14 and one in FY15, which together resulted in the funding of twenty seven activities1. A fourth call for proposals is scheduled to take place in November 2015. The Secretariat is in continuous dialogue with the donor, represented by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance (MoSF), with a particular focus on fine-tuning the design and implementation of Windows 2 and 3. As the Facility moves into the next phase of implementation, its focus will be centered on achieving its longer-term outcomes and objectives, with careful attention to the monitoring and measurement of results. This report aims to provide an overview of approved activities under Windows 2 and 3 and progress achieved to date. Activities under Window 1 have individual monitoring and reporting frameworks, and are provided directly to the MoSF, rather than through the World Bank’s Development Finance team (DFi). 2. Window 2: Co-financing of Country Investments 2.1 Overview Window 2 was established with the objective of co-financing and providing parallel financing to complement the WBG’s operational work and facilitate collaborative coordination of development assistance, including the harmonization of financial flows, associated operational procedures, and reporting requirements. As of October 31, 2015, seventeen project proposals were submitted to the donor for approval under Window 2 (refer to Table 1 below). Of these submissions, funding of US$ 4 million was approved for the Flood Early Warning System for the Kenya Water Security and Climate Resilience Project and US$ 300,000 for the Green Noudhibou project. A decision on the Second Kampala Institutional Infrastructure Development Project will be considered under the next call for proposals scheduled for December 2015. The Flood Early Warning System for the Kenya Water Security and Climate Resilience Project (KWSCRP- 1) is a US$155 million IDA operation, which was approved by the World Bank’s Board in October 2013 and aims to address Kenya’s vulnerability to erratic climate patterns and a fragile natural resource base, including limited water availability. The current commitment of US$ 4.3 million – against a US$16 million allocation – brings the commitment ratio of Window 2 to 27%. In order to improve the operating efficiency going forward, the donor and Secretariat are working collaboratively to provide greater clarity around the overall application process for Window 2, including guidelines and criteria; and establish more efficient financing procedures. With regard to financing criteria, Window 2 can finance: (i) entire stand-alone projects which could fit within the funding threshold of this Window (US$4–5 million); (ii) ongoing component(s) of a bigger project; (iii) a new component of an existing project; or (iv) preparation of a Concept Note which exhibits realistic potential of evolving into a lending project. These modifications are anticipated to result in Window 2 becoming more operational in FY16. 1 One of these activities, the Practice of Universal Health Coverage in Developing Countries, has been conditionally approved. Final approval is expected by the end of 2015. KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 2.2 Progress Achieved The Flood Early Warning System for the Kenya Water Security and Climate Resilience Project was the first project approved under Window 2. In early 2014, the Government of Kenya requested financing from the World Bank to fund the rehabilitation and repair of flood protection structures in Western Kenya, on the lower Nzoia River near Lake Victoria. Negative impacts of floods have been increasing in severity and frequency over the past decade, as the existing flood control infrastructure is reaching the end of its designed-life. It is estimated that over 66,000 people are affected negatively when the current dykes breach during floods, including through loss of life, property, increased disease burden, impeded access to schools and other social impacts. The KWPF grant to the Government of Kenya will support the improvement of the local flood early warning system in the region, to complement the World Bank financing for improvement of the flood control infrastructure. The grant includes support for enhanced hydro-meteorological monitoring equipment, a flood control center, improved models and community early warning systems. An important aspect of the support includes technical assistance for the Government of Kenya to help its staff better understand flood early warning methodologies and options employed elsewhere in the world, including in Korea. The Grant Agreement was signed by the World Bank and Republic of Kenya in September 2015, and the Kenyan project team immediately began work with the Kenya Meteorological Department to assess current model and existing equipment to identify needs. The Kenya project team, which is housed at the Water Resources Management Authority, has developed a Terms of Reference and held consultations with stakeholders (including the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Kenyan Meteorological Department, counties along the Nzoia River, Kenya National Disaster Authority, Red Cross, as well as the World Bank team) on a turnkey contract for the design, installation and capacity building needed for the FEWS. International FEWS experts are expected to provide final comments on the contract for the FEWS in November 2015, and the Terms of Reference and Request for Proposals for the FEWS contract is expected to be issued in January 2016. The contract is expected to be awarded in April 2016, with the FEWS firm mobilized in May 2016. A Government of Kenya capacity building exchange study tour to either the Netherlands or South Korea is planned for May/June 2016. The second project to be approved under Window 2 is the Green Nouadhibou project in Mauritania, which aims to assist the Government of Mauritania develop a fisheries cluster and Free Zone that promotes resource efficient and green practices. 3. Window 3: Generation and Transfer of Development Knowledge 3.1 Overview Window 3 was established to fund the generation and dissemination of development knowledge that leverages Korea and other development partners’ experience as well as the World Bank’s convening power and development expertise. The sharing of such development knowledge would take place at the country, regional and global level, both under recipient-executed and Bank-executed activities. Funding can be provided to suitable institutions in client and donor countries, as well as to the WBG and other multilateral institutions. Activities include, but are not limited to studies, reports and other research and analytical activities; conferences, workshops, seminars, and other knowledge events; and training, peer-learning and capacity building initiatives. Seventeen proposals have been approved by the donor within Window 3 and while these activities are in the early stages of implementation, steady progress toward the grants’ objectives is already evident. A further ten Concept Notes have been approved, and full proposals have been submitted to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance for review. KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 3.2 Progress Achieved An overview of progress achieved in the seventeen activities funded under Window 3 is summarized in Table 1 below, with additional highlights of the more advanced activities included in Annex 3. Table 1: Progress Achieved by Grant Supported Activities under Window 3 Amount Total Disbursed & Allocation Committed Key Objectives (US$) (15-Nov-15) Progress Update Grant 1: Promoting effective use of ICTs in education and job creation through skills development in technical and vocational education To offer analytical frameworks to guide policy 1,000,000 228,399 This grant has contributed to two flagship dialogue and inspire policy reforms, and deepen annual knowledge sharing events, in the knowledge of key policymakers on issues Burn Rate: collaboration with key Korean partners, related to ICT/education and job creation and 22.8% KERIS and KRIVET2. The global symposium skills development through the development of on ICT use in education, and the related new knowledge products and tools and policymakers’ workshop alongside the Global the sharing of these tools and products. Human Resource (GHR) Forum took place in Gyeongju and Seoul respectively in November 2014, with successful follow-up events taking place in November 2015 in Incheon and Seoul. Grant 2: Mobile Innovation Knowledge Network To expand technology and open innovation 300,000 289,122 An initiation workshop on Mobile Innovation knowledge networks through the creation and Network (MIN), held in Beirut facilitated establishment of a Mobile Innovation knowledge Burn Rate: knowledge sharing on open innovation for Network (MIN) within the MiHub structure that 96.4% Lebanese stakeholders and facilitated serves as a knowledge provider and convener of collaboration between the Korean experts and international and local experts and stakeholders in Lebanese counterparts. Lebanon’s innovation ecosystem. The World Bank collaborated with local Note that due to the political situation in Lebanese technology communities to host: (i) Lebanon surrounding the Syrian refugee crisis, Open Innovation Week in Beirut in February the project has been restructured to a technical 2015, bringing speakers from prominent US- assistance activity for the time being. The scope based institutions for “tinkering with a and objectives of the work remain unchanged. purpose”; and (ii) Tech for Kids which facilitated knowledge sharing in the area of building 21st Century skills for youth, and informed the implementation plan for the MiHub activities. Grant 3: Partnership in Knowledge – Learning from Korean development experience for a sustainable growth of Vietnam To enable a sustainable access and systematic 600,000 177,733 The following events have taken place: sharing of development knowledge for - Three education workshops in Ho Chi Minh Vietnamese stakeholders and Korean Think Tanks Burn Rate: City and Hanoi (Oct-15) to exchange and also to build capacity for Vietnamese 29.6% experience and development solutions with knowledge institutes in designing knowledge international education experts. sharing programs using blended and modern ICT - A study tour to Korea (Oct-14) to learn from methodologies and instruments. Korean experience in public investment policy was made by a high level delegation from the Vietnamese government. - A visit to Korea (Sep-15) to work with the Korea Development Institute School (KDIS) 2 Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS) Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET) KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 Amount Total Disbursed & Allocation Committed Key Objectives (US$) (15-Nov-15) Progress Update to scale up partnership and collaboration in the areas of knowledge sharing. Grant 4: Developing Partnership between Korea and Africa for Human Resource and Skills Development in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (ASET) To establish an effective, operational framework 500,000 290,832 Stock taking of Korea’s support to Africa in for long-term partnership between Korea and Technical Vocational and Higher Education sub-Saharan Africa to develop skills in Applied Burn Rate: has been completed. Sciences, Engineering and Technology (ASET) 58.2% for specific priority industry sectors. A regional conference on “Africa’s Transformation – Leveraging Partnership with Korea” was held in Addis Ababa (July 2015) was attended by over 130 participants from Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Grant 5: Municipal Capacity Building Pilot Initiative for Nepal and Bangladesh To test flexible municipal capacity building 600,000 294,685 Rapid capacity needs assessment has been initiatives in Nepal and Bangladesh. completed; the first of series of knowledge Burn Rate: exchange workshops was held (in partnership 49.1% with KRIHS3) in March 2015. Grant 6: Promoting Skills Development and Job Creation in East Asia To promote effective policies and programs on 1,300,000 310,430 Development of survey instrument for the skills development among the East Asian regional survey of competency standards and countries, through deepening the knowledge Burn Rate: qualifications has been completed. base, sharing and disseminating best practices, 23.9% and leveraging on Korea’s experience in human resource development. Grant 7: Tiger hunts with Lions: Developing Agricultural Market Information System and Decision Simulation System to empower small holder farmers and boost productivity To support the development of ICT-based 500,000 287,869 Initial consultations with Ugandan institutions mechanisms and approaches to improve the (MAAIF, Ministry of Finance and Economic productivity and profitability of farm enterprises Burn Rate: Development, Development Partners) and the of small-holder farmers in Africa. 57.6% Korea counterpart; and consultation between the World Bank team, government of Uganda and Korean counterparts to establish an initial plan for the development of the design of the proposed e-extension and e-voucher programs have taken place. An initial concept note for e- extension and e-voucher programs in Uganda has been completed and disseminated. Grant 8: Development of ICT-Based Creative Economy To develop and deliver a pilot training program to 500,000 445,904 Training in two pilot countries, Vietnam and foster an ICT-based creative economy and job Bangladesh, have been completed covering: a) creation through the Songdo Smart Technology Burn Rate: smart technologies; b) green growth Creativity Center (SCC). 89.2% technologies including energy efficiency; and c) IT convergence technologies. 3 Korean Research Institute for Human Settlement. KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 Amount Total Disbursed & Allocation Committed Key Objectives (US$) (15-Nov-15) Progress Update Grant 9: Combating Cybercrime: Tools and Capacity Building for Emerging Economies To synthesize best practice – in the form of a 600,000 255,160 An on-line platform (Collaboration for toolkit - on the legal aspects of combatting Development – C4D) for group cybercrime, including building local capacity for Burn Rate: communications and documents storage and developing countries in the areas of policy, law 42.5% handling has been established. Agreement and criminal justice aspects of the global fight reached on an outline for the best practice against cybercrime. toolkit. Grant 10: Collapse of bank and trade finance during the global crisis - Did SMEs suffer more? To conduct research on the behavior of banks and 60,000 12,139 Data gathering and cleaning for the research trade finance and evaluate whether SMEs has been completed. Preliminary results on experienced sharper drops in these sources of Burn Rate: debt ratios have been achieved using a dataset finance relative to large firms. Research will be 20.2% covering about 270,000 firms across 79 based on empirical analysis to estimate countries over the period 2004–2011. Results specifications, using debt ratios and debt growth using debt growth rates will be completed rates. within FY16. Grant 11: IT parks and IT clusters in Belarus and Ukraine as potential accelerators of ICT industry growth To help catalyze ICT industry and skills 600,000 - The grant is on track to finance an assessment development in Belarus and Ukraine through of ICT industry development prospects in knowledge and best practices. This activity will Burn Rate: Belarus with a focus on skills and a knowledge closely coordinate with the ICT Strategy Support 0% exchange event before June 2016, and a study for Belarus Trust Fund and will focus on select tour to Korea and a roadmap for ICT industry areas of the strategy such as ICT skills and skills development using Korean and other (professional and vocational training) at the global best practice approaches before June regional level in the secondary cities in Belarus. 2017. Grant 12: A study of the labor market relevance and contribution of post-secondary education towards job creation and economic growth in Bangladesh To improve the planning and management of the 250,000 - The concept review meeting was held in June college education subsector and strengthen the 2015, Decision Review is scheduled for early quality and relevance of selected government and Burn Rate: February 2016, and the project is scheduled to non-government colleges in Bangladesh. 0% go to the Board for approval in May 2016. Grant 13: Feasibility and sustainability of a public-private partnership (PPP) approach to bring ultrafast broadband (UFB) and enhance local skills in a secondary city of Tunisia To accelerate access to high speed internet in 275,000 - The concept review meeting was held in Tunisia and to improve service delivery in October 2015, Decision Review is scheduled Tunisia’s education sector by the use of ICT. Burn Rate: for March 2016, and the project is scheduled 0% to go to the Board for approval in July 2016. Grant 14: Government cloud infrastructure assessments and action plans To support client countries evaluating or planning 400,000 - The concept review meeting was held in to launch cloud computing enabled shared ICT October 2015, the Decision Review meeting is infrastructure platforms in support of e- Burn Rate: scheduled for March 2016, and the project is government initiatives, with subsequent value to 0% scheduled to go to the Board for approval in private industry, the academic community, and July 2016. private citizens. By leveraging shared infrastructure and economies of scale, cloud computing provides countries with an effective business model for online service delivery. KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 Amount Total Disbursed & Allocation Committed Key Objectives (US$) (15-Nov-15) Progress Update Grant 15: Co-creating smart nation action plans to catalyze digital transformation – one country at a time To catalyze adoption of Smart Nation programs, 500,000 107,468 The project team has researched various crowd source innovative ideas and co-create approaches to smart nation development, with smarter solutions to key development challenges Burn Rate: a focus on Korea, Estonia and Singapore. by leveraging digital platforms for increased 21.5% Consultations with Korean experts including growth and improved service delivery and shared the National Information Society Agency and prosperity while saving scarce public resources Korean Transport Institute, and a mission to and optimizing public investments. Korea to research Korean best practices, partnership opportunities and knowledge resources have taken place. The Bank has also hosted a delegation of Korean ICT officials in Washington. The team started to develop Smart Nation Toolkit and assessment methodology and reviewed Korean experience and relevant tools such as National Informatization Assessment Tool. In consultation across the Bank, the project team identified the following priority countries to pilot the Smart Nation program: Rwanda, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia and Sri Lanka. A visit to Kyrgyzstan to organize a Smart Nation workshop and conduct an assessment will take place in December 2015. This activity is on track to be delivered to key stakeholders in June 2017. Grant 16: Youth employment in animation industry in Jamaica To support youth employment in the digital and 600,000 59,521 A train the trainer program for faculty of key animation industries in Jamaica. educational institutions (tertiary and Burn Rate: vocational) was put in place in July 2015 in 9.9% collaboration with Capilano College from Vancouver, Canada. This program aims to deliver: (i) a curriculum assessment and improvement for the Bachelor of Fine Arts on animation being offered at the University of the West Indies and Edna Manley College of Arts and Design, as well as for the HEART Trust vocational training center offering an animation program; and (ii) an intensive training program for faculty and teachers of animation courses at the same institutions. Grant 17: ICT strategy support for Belarus To support the Government of Belarus to design 500,000 78,586 The concept review of this activity was held in and implement its ICT Strategy to strengthen and September 2015, and the activity is on track to broaden this sector as a key driver of long-term Burn Rate: be delivered to key stakeholders in April 2017. economic growth, through collaboration with 15.7% Korean partners. Areas of focus will include: (i) e-government framework, (ii) e-government horizontals, (iii) internationally marketable IT skills in the public and private sector, and (iv) IT industry development. KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 4. Budget Overview The Facility was established with a funding envelope of US$90 million over three fiscal years (FY14 – 16). Replenishment for the next three fiscal years is expected to be determined by the end of 2015. Activities financed by the Facility are expected to be completed within seven years of the start of the Facility unless otherwise agreed upon by both parties. The allocation made to each Window is determined by MoSF on an annual basis. US$21 million was contributed for FY14, and US$34.5 million for each FY15 and FY16. Indicative allocations and current commitments for each Window are summarized in Table 2 below. Table 2: Korea-World Bank Group Partnership Facility Budget FY14-16 Amounts in USD million % FY16 and Commit. FY14 FY15 Total beyond4 Ratio Indicative Allocation 10.0 21.0 21.0 52.0 Window 1 9.7 12.7 17.9 78% Commitment (Signed AA) 40.3 (Pass Disbursement 7.5 11.7 8.6 27.9 Through) Available for Commitment 0.3 8.3 3.1 11.7 Indicative Allocation 4.0 6.0 6.0 16.0 Window 2 - 4.0 0.3 27% Commitment (Approved by Donor) 4.3 (Project Co- Disbursement - 0.5 3.5 4.0 financing) Available for Commitment 4.0 2.0 5.7 11.7 Indicative Allocation 2.0 4.0 4.0 10.0 Window 3 Commitment (Approved by Donor) 2.0 4.3 8.4 14.7 147% (Knowledge Grant Approvals to agreed activities5 2.0 4.3 8.4 14.7 products) Disbursement 2.0 4.3 3.1 9.3 Available for Commitment 0.0 -0.3 -1.7 -4.7 Reserved6 "Reserved" 5.0 3.5 3.5 12.0 0% Total Contributions 21.0 34.5 34.5 90.0 66% Ahead of the fourth call for proposals, scheduled for late November – December 2015, the remaining balance available for commitment across Windows 2 and 3 combined is US$7.04 million. It should be noted, however, that the funding for approved activities under Window 2 is US$11.7 million lower than the initial indicative allocation of US$16.0 million. The opposite is that case in Window 3, where the funding amount for approved activities exceeds the indicative allocation to Window 2 by US$4.7 million. It should also be noted that the US$12 million held in reserve remains, and could potentially be used – at least in part – either for the fourth call of proposals, or to cover the over-commitment in Window 3. 4 FY16 commitments include all commitments in and after FY16 (that is, FY17 and FY18). 5 Includes the Secretariat and Administration grant of USD 0.18 million 6 This reserved budget line was been created upon specific request from the donor. KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 ANNEX 1: Active Projects and Approved Concept Notes under Windows 2 and 3 Project # Status Project Name Task Team Allocation Leader Amount Window 2 #18 Active Flood Early Warning System for the Kenya Water Security Eileen Burke $4,000,000 (P151660- and Climate Resilience Project TF0A0365) #11 Active Green Nouadhibou Etienne Raffi $300,000 (IFC00600598- Kechichian TF0A1456) Total under Window 2 $4,300,000 Project # Status Project Name Task Team Allocation Leader Amount Window 3 #4 Active Promoting effective use of ICTs in education and job Michael $1,000,000 (P151969 - creation through skills development in technical and Trucano TF018084) vocational education #6 Active Mobile Innovation Knowledge Network Victor Mulas $300,000 (P131202 – TF017409) #8 Active Partnership in Knowledge – Learning from Korean Linh Hoai $600,000 (P150973 – development experience for a sustainable growth of Nguyen TF017920) Vietnam #9 Active Developing Partnership between Korea and Africa for Thanh Thi Mai $500,000 (P151076 – Human Resource and Skills Development in Applied TF017948) Sciences, Engineering and Technology #11 Active Nepal and Bangladesh: Municipal Capacity Building Pilot Elisa Muzzini $600,000 (P120265 – Initiative TF017277) #12 Active Promoting Skills Development in the East Asia Region Xiaoyan Liang $1,300,000 (P150980 – TF017499) #13 Active Tiger hunts with Lions: Developing Agricultural Market David Nielson $500,000 (P145037 – Information System and Decision Simulation System to TF018079) empower small holder farmers and boost productivity #14 Active Development of an ICT-based creative economy through a Jungsu Song $500,000 (P150302 – global accelerator TF017754) #16 Active Combating Cybercrime: Tools and Capacity Building for David Satola $600,000 (P153022- Emerging Economies TF018649) #29 Active The Collapse of Bank and Trade Finance during the Global Maria Soledad $60,000 (P151296 – Crisis: Did SMEs Suffer More? Martinez Peria TF017587) #35 Approved IT parks and IT clusters in Belarus and Ukraine as potential $600,000 accelerators of ICT industry growth #36 Active A study of the labor market relevance and contribution of Yoko Nagashima $250,000 (P151969 – post-secondary education towards job creation and and Md. TF018634) economic growth in Bangladesh Mokhlesur Rahman #37 Active Feasibility and sustainability of a public-private partnership Isabelle Huynh $275,000 (P152173 – (PPP) approach to bring ultrafast broadband (UFB) and and Michel Rogy TF0A0596) enhance local skills in a secondary city of Tunisia #45 Active Government cloud infrastructure assessments and action Samia Melhem $400,000 (P143077 – plans TF0A0467) KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 Project # Status Project Name Task Team Allocation Leader Amount #49 Active Co-creating smart nation action plans to catalyze digital Oleg Petrov $500,000 (P155416 – transformation – one country at a time TF0A0467) #51 Active Youth employment in animation industry in Jamaica Fabio Pittaluga $600,000 (P148013 – TF0A0366) #56 Active ICT strategy support for Belarus GTIDR, ECA $500,000 (P155530 – Region TF0A0272) Total Active $5,960,000 #35 Approved IT parks and IT clusters in Belarus and Ukraine as potential GTIDR, ECA $600,000 accelerators of ICT industry growth Region #57 Conditionally The practice of Universal Health Coverage in Developing $550,000 Approval Countries #59 Approved South-South Knowledge Exchanges in Energy Efficiency $275,000 (EE): Learning from EE Policy Implementation, Financing and ESCO Development Experience and Practices in Korea #64 Approved Building Capacity of Countries in the Smart Africa Alliance $700,000 for Sustainable ICT Interventions and Feasibility Study for an eAfrica Academy #65 Approved Strengthening Civil Registration and Vital Statistics and $900,000 National ID Management Systems #66 Approved Constructing a Health Care Atlas in Colombia $500,000 #71 Approved Enhancing Teacher Effectiveness for improved productivity $350,000 #77 Approved Assistance for trade facilitation reforms implementation in $500,000 Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and East Asia and the Pacific #78 Approved Haiti Access to Economic Opportunities and Social Services $305,000 #100 Approved Standard Framework for Deployment of ICT-based $600,000 Transport Systems in Developing Countries #111 Approved Development of ICT-based Smart City Strategies and $900,000 Financing Options; Learning from Korea’s Experience Total Approved $5,580,000 Total Window 3 $14,665,000 KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 Annex II: Complete List of Projects Submitted for Consideration under Window 2 No. Country Project Name Flood Early Warning System for the Kenya Water Security and Climate Resilience Project 1 Kenya (Approved) 2 India Technology Center Systems Projects (TCSP) 3 India Second Tamil Nadu Road Sector Project 4 Pakistan Sindh Barrages Improvement Phase I Project 5 Nepal Project for Agriculture Commercialization and Trade (PACT) 5 Bhutan Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building 6 Colombia Improved Fiscal Management Systems Project 7 Uganda Second Kampala Institutional Infrastructure Development Project (Decision Delayed) 8 Indonesia Local Government and Decentralization Project Regional (sub- Improved Investment Climate within the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in 9 Saharan Africa) Africa (OHADA) Regional (North 10 and West Africa) Sahel women's empowerment and demographic dividend project (SWEDD) 11 Mauritania Green Nouadhibou (Approved) 12 Burundi Burundi – City Competitiveness for Job Creation 13 Uganda Uganda Support To Municipal Infrastructure Project (USMID) 14 Tanzania Urban Local Government Strengthening Program (ULGSP) 15 Tajikistan Tajikistan Health Services Improvement Project 16 India Sustainable Livelihoods and Adaptation to Climate Change (SLACC) Project Regional (East and Southern 17 Africa) Eastern and Southern Africa: Higher Education Centers of Excellence Project KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 Annex 3: Progress on Grant Supported Activities under Window 3 The aim of generating, disseminating and sharing development knowledge is an integral part of all activities funded under Window 3. During the reporting period, all active grants reported progress in this area with a number of knowledge products being generated, including rapid assessments and workshops drawing on local stakeholders and international (including Korean) experts. In addition to this overarching objective, grants funded under Window 3 have a number of other objectives. These include: (i) focusing on cross-regional learning through high-level discussions with relevant counterparts in the government and private sector; (ii) engaging in innovative formats, such as talk shows; and (iii) supporting and informing national policy dialogue, upstream policy discussions and aiming to influence country level, regional or WBG policy instruments. In addition, numerous grants feed directly into, or support, current and/or future WBG lending operations. In most cases the activities supported under Window 3 encompass two or more of these objectives. Some highlights are illustrated below. Grant 1: Promoting effective use of ICTs in education and job creation through skills development in technical and vocational education This grant aims to inform policy dialogue and development by offering: (i) analytical frameworks to guide policy dialogue and inspire policy reforms; (ii) detailed data, information and case studies on the policy and institutional choices that countries have made; and (iii) accessible analyses of how well the policies, implementation models and practices, and institutions in each domain are aligned. Work under the grant will deepen knowledge of key policymakers on issues related to ICT/education and job creation and skills development (especially related to skills development through technical and vocational education) through the development of related new knowledge products and tools and the sharing of these tools and products. Building on strong relationships with Korean partner institutions, this activity will have an initial and explicit focus on topics of relevance to policymakers in the East Asia and Pacific region, and will use the global symposium on ICT use in education and the Global Human Resource (GHR) Forum, two annual events in Korea, as primarily venues for knowledge dissemination and to solicit input policymakers on key themes and challenges to explore. The audience for this work, however, is global. This grant has contributed to two flagship annual knowledge sharing events, in collaboration with key Korean partners, Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS) and Korea Research Institute for Vocational Education and Training (KRIVET), and the Korean Ministry of Education. The global symposium on ICT use in education, and the policymakers’ workshop alongside the GHR Forum, took place in November 2014 in Gyeongju and Seoul respectively, with follow-up taking place in November 2015 in Incheon and Seoul. These events have served as a basis for analytical work under the grant, which is now being developed in alignment with the themes of these events, agreed jointly by the World Bank and the sponsoring Korean organizations, based on policymaker requests and discussions at the events themselves. In addition to proceedings from these events, analytical work under preparation includes: (i) an analysis of a program for 'innovative schools' in Korea; (ii) a study of programs to promote 'making' ('physical computing') in education; and (iii) financing schemes to promote access to connectivity and digital educational materials in schools, to be published in advance of the 10th global symposium on ICT in education in Korea in 2016. In addition, a complementary set of analytical reports is exploring issues considered during dialogues at the GHR Forum workshop related to measuring returns to education and skills pay-offs in low- and middle-income countries; gender-wage inequality and skills pay-offs in low and middle income countries; accounting for education and jobs mismatch in developing countries; interventions to foster socio-emotional skills (a systematic review); links between higher education and social mobility in developing countries; and identifying social origins versus skills as determinants of job readiness. These will be published in 2016 – 2017. Grant 2: Mobile Innovation Knowledge Network This activity aims to expand technology and open innovation knowledge networks through the creation and KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 establishment of a Mobile Innovation knowledge Network (MIN) within the Mobile Innovation Hub (MiHub) structure that serves as a knowledge provider and convener of international and local experts and stakeholders in Lebanon’s innovation ecosystem. This grant also aims to inform policy dialogue, in Lebanon and globally, on enabling and building ICT-based innovation ecosystems for economic growth, job creation, talent-retention and competition in the economy. The grant will also influence the policies of the Government of Lebanon in the area of knowledge and learning on ICT-based innovation for economic growth and job creation and the strengthening of local ICT ecosystems and ICT/IT industry competitiveness, and will help build practical collaboration with Korea and other country governments in these areas. Finally, the grant will inform the policy dialogue on demand-driven education and vocational training, as well as policy measures to reduce gender imbalances in particular in the ICT sector and in the area of entrepreneurship. The activities under this grant are well progressed and have achieved the following key milestones during the reporting period: 1. Co-creation workshop to design and create the Mobile Innovation Network (MIN) In October 2014, the team held the co-creation workshop that kick-started the MIN in Beirut. The goal of this 4-day event was to share knowledge on global leading models of innovation ecosystems and hubs for the Lebanese stakeholders and then co-create the key areas for the activities of the MiHub with a longer- term goal of supporting innovation activities focused on job creation and economic competitiveness. The event started with an open workshop on Strengthening Lebanon’s Mobile Internet Ecosystem to provide a platform for dialogue and knowledge sharing with leading global experts in the field of mobile internet ecosystem, and to showcase mobile innovation experiences successfully adopted in France, the Netherlands, Korea and Finland. Various innovation and startup hubs such as NUMA (France), the Waag Society (Netherlands), Forum Virium (Finland) and the National IT Promotion Agency of Korea participated in the workshop. The event proceeded with a closed co-creation workshop with a more focused approach to design the activities of the MiHub. The MiHub would be a non-governmental organization composed of the main stakeholders of the ecosystem, including universities, private sector, incubators and facilitators of the ecosystem, and government, created by the MIEP to serve as a catalyst and intermediary of innovation among all stakeholders of the ecosystem, and to provide a forum stakeholders to meet, coordinate, learn, and adopt the international knowledge and best practices that are currently missing in Lebanon. The participants of the workshop included representatives of key stakeholders in Lebanon’s mobile Internet ecosystem, including the government, donors, academia, students, private sector and local innovation and startup networks, co-working spaces and accelerators. The workshop generated consensus on the next three activities to be developed jointly among the ecosystem stakeholders, creating a medium-term program for FY15 and the beginning of FY16, and facilitated knowledge sharing on open innovation for Lebanese stakeholders and international partners, and generated new knowledge and expertise. In addition, the presence of the Korean National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) served to initiate collaboration between the Korean experts and Lebanese counterparts. 2. Implementation plan and knowledge sharing program The KWPF also facilitated various knowledge sharing activities that informed the implementation plan. These have included the below:  The Open Innovation Week and Startup Challenge: The World Bank collaborated with local Lebanese technology communities to host Open Innovation Week in Beirut at the end of February 2015, bringing speakers from prominent US-based institutions, such as Google, Stanford University, and the Massachusetts International Technology (MIT) for “tinkering with a purpose”. The purpose was to harness the power of open source tools to fix problems and build up their KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 technology and entrepreneurship skills. A series of TED-style talks and hands-on workshops introduced members of the Lebanese government, academics, and others to a range of tools and technologies aimed at helping young people address challenges critical to Lebanon. Talks given by creative thinkers ranged from topics like industrial design and 3D printing, to open source gaming and online payment methods. Open Innovation Week gave young people extra exposure to technologies like “do-it-yourself” computer boards, sensors, open source coding and web tools, business thinking (such as the lean start-up methodology), and techniques like design thinking to channel creativity into solutions relevant to Lebanese youth. The local stakeholders also expressed commitment to organically grow OIW and organize it on an annual basis. Following the OIW, a Startup Challenge took place whereby 10 Lebanese startup projects pitched in front of a [prestigious jury and two were selected to enter into an acceleration program run by Bader Young Entrepreneurs. The winning team was then awarded a study tour to London and engaged with key ecosystem actors in London, expanding the knowledge sharing network.  Tech for Kids: This event facilitated knowledge sharing in the area of building 21st Century skills for youth, and informed the implementation plan for the MiHub activities. This was a series of events held in Beirut to expose children, teachers, and members of the Lebanese government to the use of innovative ICT tools in problem solving and collaboration in the classroom, as well as to new ways of fostering creativity—an issue critical to the future economy of a country where high literacy rates and high enrollment in tertiary education produce a pool of well-educated youth, about one third of whom are unable to find employment at home. Launched in late April 2015, Tech For Kids aims to use technology in the classroom to improve children’s core education or STEAM— science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics—by equipping students with the tools they need to pursue careers in jobs that need them to be more innovative. Understanding technology, and applying some of the methodologies related to it, is a key skillset in today’s labor force. The Tech for Kids program began with holding a small fair for middle school children (age roughly 11–14), their parents and teachers. This was followed by a workshop at Beirut Digital District, where teachers and school students worked with local and international education experts on exploring new technology. The technology included LEGO Education, littleBits, Scratch, 3D printing, Raspberry Pi and a new, Lebanese-manufactured building tool, QalamSila. The sessions were led by Stuart Swann, a LEGO certified trainer from the UK; Sabine El Kahi, the founder of Kids Genius; Eliane Metni, Director of International Education Association; and Jose Antonio Galaso, an education specialist from Barcelona who previously worked at CitiLab, which pioneered the integration of these tools, as well as other educational approaches. To complement the hands- on training sessions, the World Bank team brought government, education, and innovation stakeholders together to talk about 21st Century Skill Development in Lebanon. This highlighted homegrown and international examples of using technology to improve learning, providing an opportunity to develop collaboration between all the different stakeholders in Lebanon. More information on these activities can be found at the following link: http://www.mie-p.org/ Note that due to the political situation in Lebanon surrounding the Syrian refugee crisis, the project has been restructured to a technical assistance activity for the time being. The scope and objectives of the work remain unchanged. Grant 3: Partnership in Knowledge: Learning from Korean development experience for a sustainable growth of Vietnam Under this grant, a series of important knowledge sharing activities took place in FY15 showcasing two renowned international speakers, Prof. Ju-Ho Lee, former Minister of Education, Science and Technology of Korea and Prof. Morshidi Sirat, former Director General of Higher Education Department, Malaysian Ministry of Education. In Hanoi, the grant sponsored the National Education Conference, co-hosted with the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), with opening remarks delivered by Vice KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 Minister Tran Van Ga. Prof. Lee and Prof. Sirat moderated the workshop. Participants included the director and key staff of Higher Education Department from MOET, vice presidents and leaders of major Vietnamese universities, as well as representatives from major media and press agencies. In Ho Chi Minh City, the grant supported an education workshop with Professors Lee and Sirat, which was co-hosted with the South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO). Eighty representatives of Southern Vietnamese universities, the Ho Chi Minh City Education Department and media participated in the event, with an opportunity to exchange practical experiences and development solutions. In addition, a live talk show was broadcast between Minister Quan from the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology, Prof. Lee and senior World Bank staff, and moderated by the famous Vietnamese TV reporter Quang Minh, during which the panel elaborated on the South Korean policy for science and technology and its policy implication for Vietnam. In particular, Prof. Lee shared Korean experience and discussed how Korea achieved remarkable development in this area through strategic investment and focus on science and technology during the 1960’s. Minister Quan shared how Vietnam plans to follow Korea’s lead in this area by establishing V-KIST, modeled after the Korean Institute of Science and Technology (KIST). In October 2014, a high level delegation from the Vietnamese government (including a senior advisor to the Prime Minister and the President of the National Economic think tank) participated in a study tour to Korea to learn about Korean experience in the area of public investment policy. The delegation visited Korean Development Institute (KDI) to learn about the legal framework and practices of public investment management and market economy institutions in Korea, as well as a number of public investment and economic development projects in Korea. In October 2015, two training courses on urban management were organized in Hanoi and in Ho Chi Minh City with experts from South Korea, the United States, United Kingdom and Vietnam sharing knowledge and experience in urban management with sixty Chairmen, Vice Chairmen and Heads of planning departments from forty five cities and towns. The training was jointly sponsored by the Korean Trust Fund for Knowledge Exchange, the World Bank and Academy of Manager for Construction and Cities (AMCC). The training covered urbanization and orientation for national urban development; management of urban- rural planning; urban construction management; management of infrastructure; management of land, housing and real estate; urban flood management; municipal land-based finance and city competitiveness; and heritage conservation. A panel discussion was conducted to discuss challenges and opportunities of Vietnam’s urbanization and lessons learned from South Korea, and was widely broadcast by media outlets in Vietnam. The panel consisted of Mr. Do Viet Chien, Director General of Ministry of Construction's Urban Development Agency; Mr. Tran Huu Ha, President of AMC; Mr. Achim Fock, Operations and Portfolio Manager of the World Bank Office in Vietnam; and Mr. Jai Young Ryu, Senior Adviser to the South Korea's Minister of Construction & Transportation. Feedback showed that over 95% rated the training very relevant and of high quality7. A World Bank mission comprising of Achim Fock and Linh Hoai Nguyen, KWPF task team leader, visited Korea in September 2015 to discuss scaling-up partnership and collaboration in the areas of knowledge sharing with the KDI School (KDIS). Discussions with Professors Chun Hong Tack and Yun HaiYoung, Dean and Assistant Dean of KDIS respectively were highlighted by a common interest in strengthening and scaling up KDIS-World Bank collaboration in the following areas: public investment management; public management leadership; transparency and accountability (including data and information management, monitoring and evaluation); and human capital development and innovation policy. The activities under this grant directly support the dissemination and sharing of Korean development knowledge and know-how at the country level through participation of Vietnamese policy makers in the knowledge sharing events, such as Higher Education Reform and Science and Technology Talk Show. In particular, the latter event presented some concrete suggestions to the Vietnamese participants on how to build up reforms in the science and technology sector, including the establishment of V-KIST, and how 7 Rating 4 and 5 on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 is very low, and 5 is very high. KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 such reforms benefit both the public and the private sector, especially in the long run. These activities have not only helped systematically disseminate Korean development knowledge at the country levels, it also generated an inspiring policy dialogue and debate amongst Vietnamese policy makers and general public on what it will take for Vietnam to follow the remarkable footsteps of Korea in the area of science and technology development. The proposed content and type of knowledge exchanges planned as part of the grant activities were carefully designed to meet specific demand of Vietnamese policy makers in their research for formation and planning of strategies and policies in higher education reform, including in the area of strategic science and technology, as well as public budgetary and performance. As a result, the grant hopes to provide direct support to the ongoing policy dialogue on these key issues for Vietnam. Grant 4: Developing Partnership between Korea and Africa for Human Resource and Skills Development in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET) A regional conference on “Africa’s Transformation: Leveraging Partnership with Korea” was jointly organized by the Korean Development Institute (KDI) and the World Bank Education Practice (Africa Region) under the framework the Partnership for Skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering, and Technology (PASET) initiative in Addis Ababa in July 2015. The main objectives of the conference were threefold: (i) to share the experiences of African countries in using Korea’s development experience in designing policies and programs, using the platform of Korea’s Knowledge Sharing Program; (ii) to identify the skills and competencies required for critical growth sectors in African countries; and (iii) to identify concrete opportunities for collaboration in building skills in applied sciences, engineering and technology from technical/vocational education to postgraduate education. Participants included more than one hundred and thirty participants from eight African countries (Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda), which included several Ministers and State Ministers as well as general directors, secretaries and senior staff from Ministries of Education, Higher Education and Workforce Development agencies to take part in the conference. The delegation from Korea included the Director General from the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Executive Director and several senior staff members from KDI, Vice President of the Korea Research Institute in Technical and Vocation Training (KRIVET), Director from Korea Institute of Rural Development, and Professors from Korea and Hankyong National Universities. From the World Bank, two Directors (Colin Bruce and Haleh Z.Bridi) represented the Africa Region, and two Education Practice Managers (Peter Materu and Sajitha Bashir) attended, along with more than ten Education team leaders. The main themes and conclusions reached over the three day conference are as follows:  Korean’s transformation from an aid recipient to donor country relied on a good policy framework to encourage industrialization, complemented by a clear and effective policy to develop human resources through basic education as well as investment in TVET and higher education, particularly in the fields of science and technology.  An overarching theme of Korean development experience is 10% talk, 90% action. Korea has focused on learning from policy implementation, both successes and failures.  A number of African case studies were presented on policy making and implementation, using the Knowledge Sharing Program (KSP) managed by KDI, with the successes and shortcomings being shared.  Skills needs assessment in African countries for particular sectors were presented (Ethiopia’s Energy Sector; Rwanda’s Agriculture Sector; Tanzania’s Construction Sector; and Uganda’s Oil and Gas Sector). The key challenges faced by these African countries include: (i) a lack of data and absence of regular evidence-based analyses of labor markets; (ii) poor coordination among KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 stakeholders; (iii) low participation from the private sector; and (iv) misalignment between the demand and supply of skills. Great interest was expressed by these countries in collaborating on skills development in Africa through the PASET, in which the World Bank has taken the initiative but is increasingly led by African governments and business leaders. Possible areas of collaboration include: (i) joint analytical studies on skills needs in selected sectors/countries and learning from methodologies adopted in Korea, through partnerships with Korean institutions; (ii) helping to develop Country Action Plans for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology for priority sectors; (iii) dissemination of information on Korea’s development experience through the PASET Regional Forums; and (iv) financing of specific projects in TVET/higher education focusing on technical/scientific skills. Conference website: http://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2015/07/02/africas-transformation-leveraging-partnership-with-korea#7 Selection of News stories: http://finchannel.com/index.php/world/item/46279-korea-partners-with-eight-african-countries-and-world-bank- group http://allafrica.com/stories/201507030594.html http://www.publicfinanceinternational.org/news/2015/07/south-korea-launches-african-economic-development- scheme Grant 5: Municipal Capacity Building Pilot Initiative for Nepal and Bangladesh This grant is addressing an important challenge of lack of municipal capacity to achieve sustainable urban development in rapidly urbanizing South Asian countries, such as Bangladesh and Nepal. Local governments in the urban areas of the region are not equipped to meet the challenge of rapid urbanization, and the associated infrastructure and service delivery requirements. While central governments are striving to develop sustainable and efficient approaches to unlock resources for urban infrastructure and service delivery, urbanization has not been accompanied by adequate allocation of resources and powers to urban local governments. The grant’s objective is to contribute to building municipal capacity to plan, fund and deliver urban infrastructure and municipal services in selected pilot municipalities in Nepal and Bangladesh; and to test innovative municipal capacity building initiatives and practices with the potential of being scaled up in the South Asia region. Over the reporting period, the grant was able to jumpstart the planned activities by undertaking a number of early deliverables, including the rapid capacity needs assessment in the pilot cities to identify priority areas for capacity building. Based on the conducted assessments, the team identified the following main areas where the capacity building efforts would focus: revenue mobilization and local economic development (with focus on cultural heritage tourism), asset management, and urban planning linked with finance. In addition, the team conducted first on-the-job training for Lalitpur City in Nepal in September 2014, which focused on technical assistance in preparation of the interpretation plan for a heritage route for the city. The team has partnered with the Korean Research Institute for Human Settlement for a series of knowledge exchange workshops. The first workshop was held in March 2015, hosting a delegation of over 30 Nepalese participants. This grant is also attempting to inform upstream discussion and policy dialogue through the national-level knowledge exchanges. In Nepal, the national-level knowledge exchanges have the potential to influence the ongoing preparation of the National Urban Development Strategy by the Ministry of Urban Development and indirectly the federalism debate as the country transitions from a unitary to a federal state. In Bangladesh, the activities will contribute to inform policy dialogue on the required reforms and interventions to develop and support the growth of secondary cities whose economic and revenue base is extremely weak given the primacy of Dhaka. KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 Grant 6: Promoting Skills Development and Job Creation in East Asia Korea is keenly interested in facilitating the 2015 goals of ASEAN economic integration. Labor mobility and mutual recognition of qualifications have become part of the integration discussion. One of the key components of the Promoting Skills Development and Job Creation in East Asia grant program was to provide a high-level forum to discuss skills and qualifications related issues within the ASEAN community. To prepare an informed discussion, the grant first financed a review of country process and progress in the development of standards and national qualifications, in China, Cambodia, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Myanmar. Work is ongoing to synthesize the main issues and challenges with regard to international qualification mutual recognition in the region. Based on the initial review, it is clear that the EAP countries are at various stages of development with regards to national qualifications framework (NQF). Some countries such as Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Brunei have already developed NQFs and key NQF elements are being implemented. Others, such as Laos, Cambodia, and Mongolia are still at the early stages of planning for NQF. Countries like Japan, China, and Singapore do not have NQFs and may not plan to move towards NQF, though they do have sub-sectoral qualifications framework, such as TVET, which are functioning relatively well. The initial finding of the grant is that depending on country objective, capacity, and the level of economic development, NQF may or may not be the solution for skills development. This grant provides an opportunity for the teams to conduct further advocacy and analytical work to strengthen overall capacity in dialogue and relationship with clients. In the medium and long term, such efforts will highlight the value added of the World Bank in the skills development sector. Grant 7: Tiger hunts with Lions: Developing Agricultural Market Information System and Decision Simulation System to empower small-holder farmers and boost productivity The objective of the grant is to support the development of ICT-supported mechanisms and approaches to enable smallholder farmers in Africa to improve the productivity and profitability of their farm enterprises. Initially, the grant is supporting the up-front development of the design of e-extension and e-voucher programs of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industries, and Fisheries (MAAIF) in Uganda. Since the grant’s launch, the team held initial consultation with Ugandan institutions (MAAIF, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, and other development partners), as well as with a number of Korean institutions in order to establish an initial plan for the development of the design of the proposed e-extension and e-voucher programs. A delegation from the World Bank and from Uganda’s MAAIF visited relevant development institutions in South Korea and also visited Korea Telecommunications (KT) to discuss with them the proposed activities under the grant, and to benefit from their experience and explore possible partnerships in the implementation of the grant’s activities. A workshop was also held in Kampala during August 2014 with a number of key Ugandan stakeholders and with several international partners (KOICA, KT, a where, USAID, representatives of the e-Wallet program in Nigeria, World Bank) to formulate a first concept note for the proposed e-extension and e-voucher programs and to raise awareness in relevant parts of the agricultural sector in Uganda. The initial concept note has been circulated and discussed among key stakeholders and a second draft has now been revised for further consultation. This grant has supported regional learning with Nigerian delegations from the Nigeria’s e-Wallet program at the ICT workshop held in Kampala, Uganda. At the national level, the project is gathering a community of practice within each line ministries and is supporting generation of knowledge by sharing issues around the planned activities under this grant. This grant will also provide case studies that will feed into the development of the Continental Strategy for Agricultural Education and Skills Development in Agriculture. In addition, the main objective of grant, which is to find ways to narrow communication divide between agricultural stakeholders - namely, farmers, KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 agribusiness, researchers, extension officers and educators - is informing upstream policy discussion and contributing to wider stakeholder policy dialogue. Grant 8: Development of ICT-Based Creative Economy Entrepreneurial Talents’ House of Opportunities and Supports (ETHOS) is a World Bank Group initiative (within the Transport and ICT Global Practice) funded by the KWPF and implemented by SUNY Korea in collaboration with the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA). ETHOS aims to enhance the development of ICT entrepreneurship in developing countries through transfer of technology, developing entrepreneurship skills, and strengthening capacity building to the participants from the developing countries, and trigger partnerships between startup communities. In addition, the program provides participating teams with opportunities to pitch their ideas to global venture capitalists. The first ETHOS Program took place in January 2015. The second program will take place in SUNY Korea Campus in January 2016, and will expand to include diverse regions with focus on sustaining potential entrepreneurs. The first round participants came from Bangladesh, Vietnam and Pakistan which fueled enough interest to have 30 teams in the second round from Ethiopia, Romania, Bulgaria, Mongolia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Vietnam. This World Bank/SUNY Korea program is the first joint project between the two institutions with an encouraging potential evidenced by increased request for participation, funding, and learning from the Korean technical and business know-how. The initial objective has evolved to become a program where WB/SUNY collaborate to attract and engage young brilliant minds from the developing world with promising creative and entrepreneurial prospects in the ICT entrepreneurship field to obtain the necessary training, coaching, networking opportunities with each other and with Korean start-ups community (incubators and accelerators) and possible collaborative ventures. Grant 9: Combating Cybercrime: Tools and Capacity Building for Emerging Economies The Project has four principal components: the Toolkit; the Cybercrime Capacity Building Assessment; the “virtual library” of best practices in the area of combatting cybercrime; and the in-country assessments. In all areas, work is on target, and the project has continued awareness raising and consultation activities to promote the project and solicit feedback from stakeholders about project design. The project has conducted best practice research through meetings and consultations with the Council of Europe (OCTOPUS), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Oxford University (all of which are project partners) as well as the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and European Police Office (Europol). Participation in cybercrime events and consultations with these and other relevant organizations has validated the project approach and design, and served as input into the Toolkit, validating demand by developing countries for the kind of knowledge “portal” that the Toolkit will provide, including the value of the in-country assessments provided by the Assessment Tool. The Toolkit is a knowledge product that will act as a “portal” to best practices in legal aspects of fighting cybercrime, with links to project partners’ materials and the “virtual library” being established by the project. The Toolkit will include the Assessment Tool, which will be included as a chapter to the Toolkit, and will be available as a stand-alone product on the Project website. Together, the Toolkit, Assessment Tool and Virtual Library will be available as global public good. The Toolkit is in draft form, and the Assessment Tool is near completion and will be used in the upcoming in-country pilot assessments. In-country assessments to provide an independent view of a country’s preparedness to fight cybercrime and to inform the Toolkit will take place in Myanmar and Trinidad and Tobago in December 2015 and January 2016. Potential candidates for the third and fourth assessments are Sri Lanka, and either Cambodia or Rwanda. KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015 The project has involved numerous Korean partners, with the principal Korean interlocutor being the Korea Supreme Prosecutor’s Office (KSPO), who in addition to attending the awareness-raising and consultation events, is also contributing to the Toolkit. Collaboration is ongoing with the Korean Institute of Criminology (KIC), who is contributing to the Toolkit. Mr. Jinyong Chung, secondee from KPSO to the World Bank, represented the project at the Council of Europe’s conference on combatting cybercrime in Strassbourg, France and Europol’s annual meeting in The Hague, The Netherlands in September 2015. Finally, Mr. Seunghyun Bahn, an intern at the Bank, has contributed to the work of the project, and we have employed Ms Janice Kim Song as STC to assist with the project. Grant 10: The Collapse of Bank and Trade Finance during the Global Crisis: Did SMEs Suffer More? This grant aims to examine whether SMEs were disproportionally affected by the decline in bank and trade finance that characterized the global crisis through two types of empirical analyses:  Estimating specifications using debt ratios; and  Estimating specification using debt growth rates. As of November 2015, results for debt ratios have been achieved. Using a dataset covering about 270,000 firms across 79 countries over the period 2004–2011, this approach examines the evolution of firms’ capital structures during the global financial crisis and its aftermath in 2010–2011. The preliminary results suggest that firm leverage and debt maturity declined both in advanced economies and in developing countries. The deleveraging and maturity reduction were particularly significant for privately held firms including SMEs. For SMEs, these effects were larger in countries with less efficient legal systems, weaker information sharing mechanisms, shallower banking systems, and with more restrictions on bank entry. Next steps include reporting on the specifications using debt growth rates, which is anticipated to be completed within FY16. KWPF SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT | November 2015