60574 Findings reports on ongoing operational, economic and sector work carried out by the World Bank and its member governments in the Africa Region. It is published periodically by the Knowledge, Information & Technology Center on behalf of the Africa Region. Institutional Environment Assessment in Sao Tome and Principe Objectives: The Institutional Environment Assessment (IEA) carried out in Sao Tome e Principe in October-November 1996, sought to assist the government in identifying the root causes of the country's poor economic performance and in formulating strategies to address them. It was a self-diagnostic exercise based on the active participation of local stakeholders so as to foster ownership of the follow-up reforms. It entailed comprehensive data collection and analysis through field reviews (by three working groups focusing on technical, administrative, and structural problems respectively); desk reviews of relevant consultant reports and Economic and Sector Work; and a survey of governance and indigenous institutions impacting on economic management. A 4-day Assessment Workshop was held to synthesize, analyze and prioritize the information gathered, and to map out future strategy. Follow-up workshops are being held to formulate an implementation plan and apportion responsibilities between implementing agencies Impact on the ground · All the key stakeholder groups participated in one or more activities of the IEA exercise, including civil society organizations, members of the parliamentary opposition, donor organizations, NGOs, the private sector, and the media. · The exercise received wide coverage in the press and on national radio and television. · The Assessment Workshop provided a forum for a thorough analysis of the major causes of poor economic management. · Workshop participants, through debate and dialogue, were able to reach agreement on the causes of poor economic management as well as on the obstacles that had hitherto hampered efforts to address them. · Through a weighting process, the relative importance of the different impediments to sound economic policy was determined. This facilitated the prioritization of next steps. · The workshop culminated in draft strategic action plans targeting the various problems identified, which were disseminated to a larger cross-section of civil society for comments/validation. This ensured wider participation in reform and government accountability. · The IEA will feed into Country Assistance Strategy and Public Expenditure Review discussions, as well as into the upcoming National Long-term Perspective Study and Public Administration reform efforts. Lessons Learned: · The IEA is an appropriate instrument for identifying the major institutional causes of economic underperformance. · The involvement of all the key stakeholders was a positive and strategic move. In many cases, it would be these stakeholders who would ensure follow-up on measures agreed, thus making government more accountable. · The participatory IEA exercise also succeeded in uniting feuding factions and made them set economic and public administration reform above party differences. Indicative List of Key Documents: Boyle, Neil (1996). "Putting Theory and Practice to Work in Institutional Development: A Case Study." Unpublished draft. Washington: The World Bank. Brautigam, Deborah (1996). "State Capacity and Effective Governance." In Ndulu and Van De Walle. Dia, Mamadou (1996). Africa's Management in the 1990s and Beyond. Washington: The World Bank. Ndulu, Benno and Nicolas van de Walle, eds. (1996). Agenda for Africa's Economic Renewal. Washington: Overseas Development Council. Partnership for Capacity Building in Africa (1996). "Strategy and Program of Action." Washington: The World Bank. _____ (1996). "A Report of the Working Party on the Impact of Bank Policies, Instruments and Operational Practices on Capacity Building in Africa." Washington: The World Bank. Talai, Iraj (1996). "Supervision of Investment Projects. A Different Approach to Project upervision." Africa Region, World Bank. Draft internal note. World Bank (1996). "Towards a Public Sector Management Strategy for West Central Africa." (Institutional and Social Policy Unit, Africa Region). Washington: The World Bank. _____ (1996a). 1994 Evaluation Results, Operations Evaluation Department. Washington: The World Bank. Grindle, Merilee S. and Mary E. Hilderbrand (1995). "Building Sustainable Capacity in the Public Sector: What Can Be Done?" Unpublished draft. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University. Moore, Mick (1995). Institution Building as a Development Assistance Method. (SIDA Evaluation Study). Brighton, UK: Institude of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. Picciotto, Robert (1995). "Putting Institutional Economics to Work." (World Bank Discussion Papers, No. 304). Washington: The World Bank. Steedman, David W. (1995). "Governance and the Design of Technical Assistance for Institutional Development," Asia Technical Department Series, No. 11. Washington: The World Bank. Wai, Dunstan M. (1995). "The Essence of Capacity Building in Africa," James Smoot Coleman Memorial Lecture, James S. Coleman African Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles, May 11, 1995. World Bank (1995). "Designing Technical Assistance Projects: Lessons from Ghana and Uganda," OED Précis No. 95 (Operations Evaluation Department). Washington: The World Bank. _____ (1995a). "Local Government Capacity in Colombia." (World Bank Country Study). Washington: The World Bank. _____ (1995b). "Recent Experience with Institutional Development Lending in the Western Africa Department." Washington: The World Bank. _____ (1993) "Handbook on Technical Assistance." (Operations Policy Department). Washington: The World Bank. For more information on this specific study or copies, contact P.C. Mohan, Rm. J5-171, Knowledge, Information and Technology Center, World Bank, 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433. Tel (202) 473-4114 or INTERNET at: pmohan@worldbank.org.