This Results Profile focuses on participatory budgeting and telecommunications to build transparency and accountability in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). ... See More + Following decades of colonial rule, conflict upon conflict, mismanagement, and internal corruption, national government was left with limited institutional capacity to provide effective services at the local level. This limited capacity has often prompted citizens' groups to view the central government as illegitimate, rent-seeking authorities uninterested in ensuring that resources filter down from the capital to far flung provinces such as South Kivu. Initially the World Bank project, ICT4Gov, provided training and on-going support to local stakeholders on the various steps of participatory budgeting that resulted in a consensus-driven list of how government money should be spent within the community. It then used mobile phones to ensure accountability and to promote community members involvement in new ways. Early results indicate the participatory budgeting process in the DRC is working. Governments have become motivated to meet with community members to discuss needs for services and are currently developing strategies to institutionalize the process of participatory budgeting with civil society organizations. Most importantly, resources that were once absorbed by central governments are beginning to filter down to the community level. The World Bank played a key role in facilitating dialogue among stakeholders. The ultimate goal is to ensure the long-term local sustainability of the project, which is currently expanding into other regions.  See Less -

Document Type: Brief Report No.: 93639 Document Date: NOV 06, 2012

Disclosure Status: Disclosed

This Results Profile talks about enhancing service delivery in districts across Punjab in Pakistan. In order to overcome widespread civic cynicism caused by petty corruption, the World Bank is working with government officials and politicians in Pakistan's Punjab Province to create a proactive management culture that seeks out citizens' feedback using mobile phone technology. ... See More + Petty corruption is particularly destructive because it makes all citizens, especially those most in need of government assistance, cynical about any attempt by the state to provide services. Rather than speaking out against petty corruption, citizens become resigned to accepting it. As a consequence, communication between high-level government officials and community members is cut off, and the feedback loop necessary for policymakers and officials to correct such problems is broken. The Punjab model of Proactive Governance initiative is harnessing the power of call centers, text messages, and personal phone calls to rebuild community trust by soliciting feedback from citizens receiving services for pensions, prenatal health, and property registration. After using police, health, or revenue department services, citizens receive an automated call with the Chief Minister’s Voice and are invited to provide feedback about the quality of service and whether they encountered any corruption. The feedback sent by citizens has shed light on a number of corruption schemes that since been halted. The next steps will involve analyzing the data and strategically integrating into future governance improvement work. The project has been highly successful in reaching out to the grassroots and is gaining strong support within the government.  See Less -

Document Type: Brief Report No.: 93638 Document Date: NOV 01, 2012

Disclosure Status: Disclosed

This Results Profile talks about the culture of feedback, key to boosting community participation and building rural livelihoods in Nigeria. Increased focus on generating community feedback in the Nigeria Fadama project, funded by the World Bank, is helping to improve rural livelihoods by deepening the quality and quantity of communication between development practitioners, governments, and community members. ... See More + The farmers have struggled in the face of grinding poverty and livelihoods have been undercut by low agricultural yields. The project has developed a vibrant network of inclusive community networks. It has also launched a promising mobile phone and SMS-based system that will allow beneficiaries to provide feedback on a variety of indicators from the performance of project staff to suggestions on how to improve the timing of funds disbursement. It is currently operating in all the 36 states of Nigeria including the Federal Capital Territory. The World Bank has also provided technical assistance, drawing upon its experience with community driven development approaches in other countries. Fadama project has built strong networks of community associations and user groups and piloting of an SMS network should be seen as a starting point for a system of feedback mechanisms that can provide both more quantitative and more qualitative information on project implementation.  See Less -

Document Type: Brief Report No.: 93615 Document Date: NOV 01, 2012

Disclosure Status: Disclosed

This Results Profile talks about poor households in Tamil Nadu build institutions, to advocate for better services. In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the World Bank has been working with local communities and governments to build federations of community groups that can successfully give voice to the poor by advocating for better government services. ... See More + Due to lack of effective communication between service providers and the community, service providers have not received the feedback necessary to design government services so that they match up directly with the needs of the poor. In order to generate the feedback necessary to tailor government services to beneficiary needs, the project approach has focused on mobilizing communities to form self-help groups that are further organized into federations at the more local level Gram Panchayat. These federations have served as feedback links to service providers and advocated for the improvement of government services among agencies of particular importance to poor citizens including social welfare, disability welfare, banking, agriculture, animal husbandry, and water and sanitation. The World Bank's primary focus has been providing technical assistance, facilitating knowledge sharing, and advising on accountability systems and community mobilization. The project will build on its cornerstone of developing representative and responsive social institutions that serve the interests of the poor across 25 districts  See Less -

Document Type: Brief Report No.: 93643 Document Date: OCT 30, 2012

Disclosure Status: Disclosed

This Results Profile tells us a story about an old mountain renewed in Serbia. Life is coming back to Gostusha, a village on Serbia’s famous Old Mountain. ... See More + Until recently, Gostusha was fading away, the village’s traditional architecture and way of life vanishing, taking a piece of Serbia’s heritage with them. With support from the World Bank, the Serbian Government is offering small grants, tempting people back to deserted villages. Tourism in Gostusha, Senokos, and Dojkinci are helping do that. Through farming and tourism, the grants aim to bring life back to these lovely hills and pastures. The project also finances small repairs to roads and other infrastructure, as well as trails for hiking and biking. Up on Old Mountain’s pastures, the animals are coming back, too. The land here was once famous for its cattle. Now farmers are investing in rare breeds, and once-neglected pastures are being used once again. Water buffalo, mountain ponies, Busha cattle, and donkeys are once more grazing this land. Serbian officials want the region to catch up with European agricultural standards. Grant money is used for the production of renowned local cheeses, for wool manufacturing, and for the sustainable management of Old Mountain’s abundant natural resources.  See Less -

Document Type: Brief Report No.: 93640 Document Date: OCT 05, 2012

Disclosure Status: Disclosed

This Results Profile talks about school and hospitals in Montenegro. Boško Buha is in Pljevlja, in Montenegro's north, where winters are fierce and temperatures can plunge to minus 20 degrees Celsius. ... See More + The Boško Buha sSchool was constructed in 1955, and time had worn it down.In 2010, with support from the World Bank, workers replaced loose windows with high quality PVC glass, caulked up holes, insulated the roof and facade, and upgraded the aging heating system. The energy efficiency project aims to plug up the holes and retrofit public buildings to make them warm, inviting places. The Olga Golović primary school is in Nikisic. It is one of the busiest schools in town, educating over 900 students, including some with special needs. This building is more than 30 years old, and it used to leak heat all winter long. School authorities say the retrofitting saves them about 40 percent in expenditures on energy. That's compared with pre-retrofitting spending three years ago. Meanwhile, the project is also helping hospitals become more energy efficient.The busy gGeneral Hhospital in Berane sees around 7,000 patients and over 2,000 surgeries a year, and it serves about 40,000 people. Conditions were so bad that patients would bring their own electric heaters to warm up their rooms. Now the hospital boasts a new thermal insulated facade. Workers replaced old rotting wooden windows with new PVC windows. They removed the old water heating system and replaced it with a new, more efficient one. And hospital authorities say the retrofitting saves energy and money, adding up to a total annual energy savings of 16.2 percent in electricity and 37.3 percent in fuel. Montenegro has retrofitted three schools and two hospitals. The government plans to upgrade another six schools, three hospitals and the clinic center of Montenegro in Podgorica. The government estimates the retrofitting project will directly touch about 15,000 students and patients. And the savings in cost and fuel will benefit everyone.  See Less -

Document Type: Brief Report No.: 93647 Document Date: SEP 20, 2012

Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Agriculture is the backbone of the Rwandan economy - between 2006 and 2010 it accounted for 35 percent of gross domestic product (GDP); 45 percent of export earnings, and according to the latest household survey of 2010-11, for 73 percent of employment. ... See More + Constraints caused by population density, hilly terrain, and erosion make it a critical determinant of rural poverty. Since 2001 Rwanda has worked closely with International Development Association (IDA) to achieve food security and increase agricultural productivity - food security was attained in 2010 and between 2000-01 and 2010-11 poverty was reduced by about 14 percent. The Bank will continue to support the sector to address some of the key impediments to increased agricultural productivity including: a poor feeder roads network; lack of information on investment potential; prohibitive air freight costs; inadequately developed frameworks for quality certification; and a lack of post-harvest handling and storage facilities.  See Less -

Document Type: Brief Report No.: 93829 Document Date: JUL 19, 2012

Disclosure Status: Disclosed

This Results Profile focuses on a story about successful farming from Vucko and Milijanka Pesic. 70 percent of Montenegro's rural people live off the land. ... See More + Most own small farms, and though the country has plenty of water and land, and a good growing climate, money to invest, improve, and raise agricultural production is scarce. For several years, the Pesic family ate everything it grew, made and raised. And they struggled with farm life, until Pesic's mother taught her daughter-in-law how to make cheese, using a special family recipe passed down for generations. A breakthrough year Then, in 2007, Pesic managed to market the cheese to a local restaurant. Pesic turned to a program in Montenegro that offers small grants to small farmers supported by the World Bank. Farmers have to contribute 50 percent of the investment, and they must present a business plan that outlines sustainable growth and increased production. The grant program offered them almost 9,500 euros and the Pesics kicked in the rest, for a total of almost 19,000 euros in basic improvement and upgrades. With the money, the Pesics invested in crucial equipment and 5 more cows for milk for their cheese. The family has gone from poor laborers in town to successful farmers running their own company. Driven by demand, a delicious product, and a grant that let them expand when they needed it most, they represent a new kind of business-oriented farmer in Montenegro's rural north.  See Less -

Document Type: Brief Report No.: 90400 Document Date: JUL 17, 2012

Author: Varezic, Dragana; Sturanovic, Milos Disclosure Status: Disclosed

Dr. Olivera Vojvodic Vlahovic has been practicing medicine for over 30 years. She spent many of those years working under the health care system in the former Yugoslavia. ... See More + Now she works at a primary care center in Podgorica, Montenegro, under an entirely new kind of system. She says that reform is the best thing that could have happened to health care in Montenegro. Looking back at the days when the government introduced the new health care system, she says, ‘at first it seemed like a huge amount of work, and it was, since it is not easy to take responsibility for 2000 people. That's the average number of patients that a chosen doctor has.’ But now, she says, even though there are many of them, she alone is responsible for organizing her patients' care, and that makes all the difference. The new system also allows doctors more control over their patients' medicines. Because patients generally see only one doctor, they can't go from office to office asking for more of the same medications. And having one doctor in charge means that that doctor can monitor medicine intake, and make sure a patient doesn't take too much of any one prescription. Under the old system, Montenegro lacked a national drugs policy, and lax record-keeping meant that keeping track of medicines and dosing was often difficult, if not impossible.  See Less -

Document Type: Working Paper Report No.: 93828 Document Date: JUL 17, 2012

Disclosure Status: Disclosed

This Results Profile is about stepping up growth and economic diversification in Benin. The global economic and financial crisis has contributed to a significant economic slowdown in Benin, and a widening of the fiscal and current account deficits. ... See More + Despite progress in improving access to basic services, achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) remains a significant challenge. Benin is on track to meet the MDGs for access to potable water in rural areas, eradicating hunger, and reduced HIV/AIDS prevalence. The International Development Association (IDA) Country Assistance Strategies have supported Benin’s efforts to implement core priorities established in its poverty reduction strategies. In June 2010, the IMF approved a three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement for Benin, and called for urgent action to reduce the fiscal deficit, restore macroeconomic stability, and make progress on economic reforms. Benin is one of the heavily indebted countries that have graduated from the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, receiving 100 percent cancellation of eligible debt under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative. Under the ongoing Country Assistance Strategy (CAS), the Bank has relied on a combination of development policy and investment operations in order to encourage a coherent approach to supporting structural reforms. The government’s Growth Strategy for Poverty Reduction (2011-2015), is to make Benin an emerging economy by 2025.  See Less -

Document Type: Brief Report No.: 93599 Document Date: MAY 31, 2012

Disclosure Status: Disclosed