81257 v2 Overview Knowledge-Based World Bank Group Country Programs Highlights This evaluation assesses knowledge-based activities in nine country programs selected from 48 knowledge-intensive programs supported by the Bank Group. It identifies the factors in the success or failure of those activities as they contribute to policy making or development outcomes. It also identifies areas of strength for the Bank Group as well as areas of weakness or risk. The evaluation findings are therefore relevant to current Bank Group efforts to strengthen the contribution of knowledge to development. The evaluation was done on economic and sector work and non-lending technical assistance activities selected from a purposive sample of knowledge-intensive country programs. In addition, the evaluation assessed International Finance Corporation Advisory Services for their synergy with the Bank’s analytical and advisory activities. The findings have implications for the Bank Group’s knowledge work, including governance and incentives. The Bank Group remained a strategic partner in the focus countries by providing knowledge services that addressed one or more client needs, which ranged from customized development solutions and capacity development to experience-sharing and innovative ideas. In the sample of countries, the Bank Group was more effective when it worked on specific sectors rather than broad topics, designed tasks to address specific client concerns, customized international best practice to local conditions, generated data to support policy making, and formulated actionable recommendations that fit local administrative and political economy constraints. The Bank Group was less effective when it did not address issues relevant to the client or was unable to follow up consistently with the client on the implementation of advisory activities. Regardless of the level of government that operated as counterpart (central or local), client participation and good monitoring and evaluation systems were key to good results. The evaluation has implications for Bank Group work and for staff incentives. On Bank Group work, it finds a need to emphasize “how to” options rather than diagnostics and “what to do” recommendations; stay engaged and responsive through implementation phases of advisory activities (using programmatic approaches, for example); use local expertise to enhance the impact of advisory activities; design advisory projects with relevant responses to client concerns; and remain engaged in areas that are relevant to a client country’s medium-term development agenda to maintain its capacity to see the big picture and provide multisectoral development solutions. On incentives, an implication is that enhancing the Bank Group’s success rate on providing knowledge services will require staff incentives to be in the knowledge services business. xi OVERVIEW across the 48 knowledge services-intensive Why Evaluate Knowledge Programs Now? programs, the 9 programs selected are fairly The World Bank Group is currently engaged in typical but have a lower lending to knowledge reflection and debate on how to improve the delivery of services ratio; slightly higher share for development support. Part of this debate concerns knowledge services in the country services strengthening the knowledge agenda. The budget; greater average number of knowledge findings of this evaluation are particularly activities because they include large clients relevant because they speak directly to (China and the Russian Federation); slightly questions that the institution is deliberating. higher gross domestic product (GDP) per In particular, they address four key aspects of capita and a significant external current the “science of delivery”: the role of local account surplus because they include China partners or local knowledge hubs; and oil producers; a slightly higher Country consultation with clients and other Policy and Institutional Assessment rating; stakeholders in the process of designing and about the same average volume of World knowledge services; delivery of knowledge on Bank loans. issues that are relevant to the client; and improving the way the Bank Group learns The selection was designed to provide useful from upper-middle-income countries and illustrations of knowledge services effectiveness in the intermediating this knowledge to other selected countries, not to provide a sample for countries. statistical projection to overall advisory activity assistance to those countries or to the The main objective of the evaluation is to learn lessons full set of Bank Group clients. Furthermore, from practices in a focus group of high-income and the selection of countries that included upper-middle-income countries that have knowledge- International Finance Corporation (IFC) based programs with the Bank Group. Over the Advisory Services was designed to illustrate past 15 years, Bank Group country programs complementarities and synergies with the have shifted toward more intensive delivery of Bank in those countries, not to provide a full knowledge services relative to lending, and illustration of IFC Advisory Services this trend is expected to continue. The lessons effectiveness. from this evaluation could help leverage the Bank Group’s global knowledge to meet the Methodology needs of countries that mainly rely on The evaluation categorized Bank Group country knowledge services and are not pressed for programs according to the preponderance of knowledge financing. The nine selected countries are services in program interventions. At one end of the high-income (Kuwait) and upper-middle- spectrum were lending-based programs with a income countries with a high share of predominant role for finance and a relatively knowledge services in their programs, a lower presence of knowledge services. At the diversified economic structure, no or other end were knowledge-based programs moderate Bank lending, and fee-based where knowledge products are at the core of knowledge services. the relationship. The 9 countries selected are fairly representative of The categorization was then used to purposively select countries where the World Bank Group is engaged focus countries that make relatively intensive use of the primarily through knowledge services. They are on Bank’s core knowledge services. The selected the top half of a ranking of relative countries were Bulgaria, Chile, China, preponderance of knowledge services, with 48 Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Russian countries fitting a definition of knowledge- Federation, South Africa, and Thailand. To based programs. Compared with the average xii OVERVIEW probe the synergy of the Bank’s knowledge development outcomes were already in services with IFC Advisory Services, the evidence, such as a report on inequality in evaluation also examined those services in the China. focus countries when a government entity was the recipient. Achieving Outcomes: The Main Success Factors The selection of economic and sector work (ESW), In the focus countries, intended outcomes were fully technical assistance (TA), and IFC Advisory Services achieved or likely to be achieved in 47 percent of the paid attention to links to the strategic priorities in the knowledge activities reviewed and partly achieved in country partnership strategy of the focus country. The another 37 percent. The frequency of outcome knowledge services sampling relied on achievement was broadly equivalent for Bank consultations with country management units. ESW and TA—the Independent Evaluation The sample includes World Bank knowledge Group (IEG) did not find a significant services and IFC Advisory Services delivered difference in outcomes between the various over FY05–11. IFC Advisory Services were models of knowledge service delivery. reviewed in China, Kazakhstan, the Russian Outcomes of IFC’s Advisory Services were Federation, and South Africa. The sample achieved in about 38 percent of the small consists of 266 Bank analytical and advisory sample of projects reviewed. The achievement activities (AAA) and 34 IFC Advisory Services of outcomes of knowledge services in the nine out of a total of 751 Bank AAA products and focus countries was comparable to that of 185 IFC advisory service projects (to both Bank Group lending operations across government and private sector recipients) regions. The Bank Group was more effective delivered over FY05-11. Products with similar when it worked on specific sectors rather than thematic focus were grouped in clusters of broad topics; designed tasks to address knowledge activities. Thus, the number of specific client concerns; customized activities reviewed was 196 for Bank AAA and international best practice to local conditions; 32 for IFC Advisory Services. generated data to support policy making; and The selected knowledge activities in the nine focus formulated actionable recommendations that countries were assessed against four criteria: fit local administrative and political economy relevance of the knowledge activities to the constraints. Regardless of the level of priority needs of the recipients and the key government that operated as counterpart development goals of the client country; (central or local), client participation and good technical quality of the activities in leveraging monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems the Bank’s global knowledge and conveying were key to good results. relevant and customized expertise to Outcomes were more likely to be achieved when the recipients; results achieved; and sustainability knowledge services focused on specific sectors, such as of results. agriculture and rural development, education The assessment of outcomes was based on the feedback and health, and the financial sector. Reaching obtained during country visits and through desk outcomes proved more difficult in broader reviews. The assessed progress ranged from thematic areas, encompassing an ambitious tasks that had little or no impact on policies, reform agenda, or when the achievement of such as Investment Climate Assessments in results required multisector efforts, such as Thailand, to tasks with recommendations that private sector development, economic policy, were being implemented, but with no visible and public sector governance. In such impact on policies, such as a report on complex areas, knowledge service results student loans in Chile, and to tasks where often suffered when new legislation was xiii OVERVIEW necessary before the recommended reforms gradually implemented with concrete results could be implemented. For example, in in declining inequality. In Thailand, contrary Kuwait, interactions between parliament and to other development agencies, counterparts the executive complicated the passing of laws see the Bank as having the capacity to in several areas of Bank TA, such as properly customize international best practice procurement, public finance, civil service, to the Thai context because of its knowledge freedom of information, and anticorruption. of local institutions that comes mainly from the expertise of staff in the Regional Country Knowledge services used in the design of lending Office in Bangkok. The Thai report The operations were more likely to succeed than Economics of Effective AIDS Treatment is a good freestanding knowledge services. Although lending example of customization to country context. was limited in most of the focus countries, it In instances where the Bank did not fully remained a powerful driver of results for the address issues relevant to the client, results of Bank’s knowledge services as at least partial knowledge-based activities tended to be achievement of expected outcomes of Bank poorer. Knowledge services that lagged in the knowledge services was observed more achievement of outcomes were also weak in frequently when knowledge services were conveying international best practice, used for the design of lending operations. providing relevant examples, producing new Possible explanations are that in this instance evidence and data useful for policy making, the Bank has more leverage than with formulating actionable recommendations, and freestanding knowledge services, and also that discussing the capacity requirements and the knowledge services by definition are administrative feasibility of implementing supporting a program that is expected to be recommendations. implemented. Freestanding knowledge services many times contributed to policy Knowledge services with fully or partly achieved discussions where the authorities had not yet outcomes were more likely to use local expertise. Use taken a position. of local experts and counterpart participation appear to help modify global best practices to The achievement of outcomes was not correlated with fit local conditions, formulate financing arrangements for knowledge services—Bank recommendations that account for capacity or client—probably owing to the high constraints, and improve stakeholder relevance to the client of Bank knowledge ownership of findings and suggested actions. services in most of the focus countries. Other Client participation in the various stages of factors—related to the relevance of design, knowledge services also was associated with quality, timeliness, client participation, and use the achievement of results. Moreover, of local expertise—were more closely knowledge services that achieved results have associated with achievement of results than more often contributed to strengthening source of financing. institutions as well as analytical and policy formulation capacity of recipients. The China Knowledge services requested by the client and designed Preparation of Capital Market Development report specifically to achieve client objectives were more likely is an example of detailed coverage of the to achieve outcomes than knowledge services of a more institutional and policy context and reliance generic character. For example, in China there is on a local team of experts to draft the report evidence that the recommendations of the in Chinese using existing data. The report report Reducing Inequality for Shared Growth in contributed to capacity building at the China: Strategy and Policy Options for Guangdong Research Center of China Securities Province, a high-profile study conducted jointly Regulatory Commission and to raising its with the provincial authorities, are being xiv OVERVIEW profile and role as the capital markets helped build capacity either through training, regulator. networking, or access to international best practice. Public knowledge goods typically The outcomes of about 75 percent of the Bank consisted of Bank-funded reports available to knowledge services and the IFC Advisory Services a broad audience primarily for disseminating were likely to be at least partly sustained. That is, analyses of developments (such as Economic knowledge services were likely to have (at Monitoring Reports) or particular sectors or least partial) lasting impacts on policies, issues (such as investment climate assessments capacity, or institutions. and financial sector assessments). The majority of these knowledge products conveyed The Bank’s main strength, which reflected international best practice and relevant examples, recommendations from previous IEG knowledge generated new evidence to inform policy making, and services evaluations, was its ability to fulfill in a timely formulated actionable recommendations consistent with manner client requests for state-of-the-art advice. the findings. Sustainability of outcomes was Clients found most value in the Bank’s ability more often observed when knowledge to address relevant developmental issues, services were complemented by other World convey international best practice, act as a Bank activities (lending, other ESW, or trusted knowledge broker, customize complementary TA). In the majority of cases knowledge to the local context, and take a where sustainability of outcomes was likely, pragmatic approach to important issues that knowledge services contributed to required multisectoral development solutions. strengthening institutions or the analytical and Counterparts interviewed by IEG policy formulation capacity of recipients. acknowledged four key strengths: ability to About 60 percent of Bank knowledge services benchmark against international best practice contributed at least partly to developing or through cross-country comparisons, strengthening institutions—with a much reputation as an independent and credible lower frequency in the case of IFC Advisory broker of knowledge with a partnership Services. Similarly, a large majority of Bank approach, knowledge of the local context and knowledge services and a significant part of capacity to customize international best IFC Advisory Services contributed to practice solutions, and capacity to see the big strengthening analytical or policy formulation picture and analyze cross-sectoral issues capacity of recipients. important for development. Timely delivery of knowledge services to affect important Areas of Bank Strength decisions was essential to achieve the The Bank remained relevant and a strategic partner expected outcomes. in the focus countries by providing knowledge services that addressed one or more client needs. Customized Another key strength was linked to its role as development solutions filled a knowledge gap “knowledge connector.” The Bank’s convening in an area where counterparts needed timely power was often used to mobilize top and actionable recommendations to develop a international experts for brainstorming strategy or take action. In experience-sharing sessions and seminars with high-level and innovative ideas on issues where government officials, or for TA and working counterparts had not yet taken a position, the sessions with government agencies. There are Bank functioned as a sounding board or some good examples where the Bank’s connected counterparts to cutting-edge knowledge activities facilitated South-South international expertise. Capacity development exchanges and policy dialogue in the focus was provided in the form of knowledge that countries. The Bank has used mostly its informal networks, through the task team xv OVERVIEW leaders and network management, to convey reinforced good joint work. Another factor knowledge acquired in Chile to other was the existence of core ESW—such as countries in the Latin American region and investment climate assessments and financial elsewhere. In Kazakhstan, some government sector assessments—which underpinned the agencies have already shared their experiences strategy and helped identify priorities for with other countries in the region. But more improving the investment climate and can be done as the Bank’s geographic, developing the financial sector. thematic, and organizational fragmentation prevents the full potential of such exchanges Areas of Bank Weakness or Risk from being realized. In China, for example, Poor achievement of outcomes was associated with while the World Bank Institute’s technical weaknesses in relevance of design, quality, timeliness of assistance work has focused on catalyzing delivery, or client participation, and little use of local lessons for other development countries, it expertise. Knowledge services that lagged in the appears that the Bank has not fully exploited achievement of outcomes were also weak in the potential of this mutual lending conveying international best practice, opportunity. The Russian Federation could providing relevant examples, producing new benefit from the extensive work the Bank has evidence and data useful for policy making, done in China on regional approaches to formulating actionable recommendations, and investment promotion, but lessons from this discussing the capacity requirements and experience have not been transmitted to the administrative feasibility of implementing Russian Federation. recommendations. Where the Bank was less able to address issues relevant to the client it Bank knowledge services and IFC Advisory Services also tended to achieve poorer results. The lack generally complemented one another in contributing to of timely delivery of knowledge services to results, despite some gaps. In a few cases there affect important decisions—not a prevalent were well-defined programs of joint World problem in the sample of countries—also was Bank and IFC knowledge activities. For associated with poorer outcomes. example in South Africa, to ensure synergy and coordination, IFC used experienced Bank The Bank’s ability to customize knowledge services to staff to manage projects on enterprise tax the local context and to deliver multisectoral solutions burden and compliance. Other examples are is at risk of eroding where country knowledge is too in the investment climate area, where World shallow or too narrow. This risk arises mainly Bank–IFC collaboration allowed both to when the Bank works through Reimbursable contribute to policy dialogue and reform Advisory Services (RAS) and does not activities. But overall the experience with maintain a local presence. The Bank’s coordination between World Bank and IFC strengths may also be challenged by its was mixed. Coordination can be improved, increasing tendency to deliver knowledge for example, by establishing more systematic services through the “consultant firm model,” mechanisms for inclusion of one institution in with insufficient follow up and emphasis on the other’s review processes, especially at the important issues for the medium-term concept and design stage. A key factor development agenda. There is a tension supporting the synergy of the two institutions between the Bank as a development agency— in achieving results was the quality of the focusing on important medium-term results framework in the country partnership development issues—and the Bank providing strategy (CPS). The articulation of strategic specific solutions to narrower problems outcomes and the clarity of links between the suggested by the main counterpart in the Bank Group’s programs, projects, and country—generally a unit within the Ministry instruments with expected outcomes xvi OVERVIEW of Finance. To the extent that such a unit practical know-how and enable customization mars the Bank’s engagement in relevant of global practice. broader development issues, the Bank’s overall mission in the country could be Stay engaged and responsive in the impaired. This tension on who is the client implementation phases of advisory needs to be resolved case-by-case using activities through instruments that help substantial diplomatic tact but emphasizing clients translate recommendations from the Bank’s broader development mandate. sound analysis into actions that fit local political and administrative constraints. Monitoring of Bank knowledge services results was Use of programmatic approaches was weak—both for individual activities and for country important to achieve outcomes. IEG programs. In only 17 percent of the knowledge recommends the Bank design programmatic activities assessed was there at least a partial knowledge services in a number of well- results framework in the CPS, allowing a defined thematic areas (such as public tracking of the contribution of the activity to financial management) that build on initial the broader development outcomes sought by work to support implementation phases, the CPS. Similarly, only 23 percent of the including engagement of a broad range of knowledge services included, at least partly, stakeholders to help disseminate the reform result indicators to track the achievement of agenda and maintain the focus on key policy the activity’s outcomes. In contrast to Bank issues in the public domain. knowledge services, the great majority of IFC Advisory Services reviewed by IEG were at Where applicable, ensure links among least partly equipped with results indicators to Bank ESW, non-lending TA, and projects trace achievement of outcomes. Monitoring to help sustain results. When knowledge of capacity development outcomes and lesson services were complemented with lending, learning were, on average, weak for Bank results were more likely to be sustained. IEG knowledge services, but less so in the case of recommends the Bank design CPSs with knowledge services with outcomes likely to be closer links between knowledge services and achieved. lending, including programmatic series deploying both instruments to support the Implications for Bank Group Work paths from consideration of policy options to implementation of the approaches selected. Emphasize the “how to” options, as opposed to the diagnostics and the “what Clarify the political economy of reform to do” recommendations, to enhance and use local expertise to enhance the client ability to own final policy decisions, impact of knowledge services. Local action plans, or strategies. In general, tasks partners and Bank Group hubs can be critical that achieved results provided actionable in conveying relevant country context recommendations more often than those that considerations. Most of the tasks reviewed did not achieve results. IEG recommends the referred to the local policy context in varying Bank give staff more time to interact with levels of detail. Those that achieved results clients and local partners and knowledge probed more deeply into the country context hubs, including through adequate field and used local expertise more often than presence. Moreover, use analytical resources those that did not achieve results. IEG intensively to ensure that high-quality research recommends the Bank involve local experts, underpins recommendations, and deploy partners, and local knowledge hubs more high-level consultant expertise able to provide extensively in knowledge services to help better understand the political economy of xvii OVERVIEW reform in the country where advice is sought, outcomes and their linkages with the bridge the gap between international good programs and instruments of both practices and local conditions, enhance the institutions. Complement this with formal applicability of the recommendations, and mechanisms of including each institution in build the local capacity to achieve longer-term the other’s review processes and better impact. coordination in the field. Pay attention to the quality and relevance Remain engaged in areas that are relevant of knowledge services. This is essential for to a client country’s medium-term obtaining results—regardless of the form of development agenda to maintain the financing of knowledge services—and for capacity to see the big picture and provide shaping learning under the Bank’s “science of multisectoral development solutions. This delivery.” Staff needs to take multiple actions capacity has been a strong point, generally to achieve results: design projects with valued by clients, of the Bank’s knowledge relevant responses to client concerns; services. Delivery of knowledge services customize international best practice to local through a “consultant firm model,” which conditions, including capacity constraints; reflects a drive to accommodate multiple and generate data to support evidence-based unforeseen needs, often results in policy making; formulate actionable fragmentation of Reimbursable Advisory recommendations that fit local administrative Services (RAS) programs—for example, by and political economy constraints; and deliver dropping tasks linked to medium-term products in time to influence key decisions. objectives to accommodate shorter-term IEG recommends the Bank consult broadly needs—and may dilute the focus on with the client and other stakeholders on the important medium-term development issues. issues to be addressed, deploy highly For countries where most of the activities are experienced staff with global perspective and knowledge-based and the Bank Group does ability to deliver knowledge services on time, not have a CPS, IEG recommends that the and adhere to the mandatory knowledge Bank Group prepare CPSs (which do not services quality assurance process. The Bank have to follow a burdensome consultation Group should encourage emerging process) to provide guidance on engagement “knowledge hubs” to follow approaches along objectives and avoid fragmentation of these lines. knowledge services away from evolving development priorities. Furthermore, the Strengthen synergies between World Bank Bank may consider using instruments (such as knowledge services and IFC Advisory high-level brainstorming, conferences, and Services projects to improve results. ESW, including periodic Economic Linking Bank and IFC activities also helped Monitoring Reports) and committing the achieve results. But experience with Bank– necessary resources to identify, follow up, and IFC coordination has been mixed, with quality sustain emphasis on issues that are important of the CPS results framework and the for medium-term development. existence of core ESW among the factors that influenced the degree to which World Bank Undertake broad-based consultations and and IFC knowledge services had synergy. IEG dissemination, acknowledging the public recommends the Bank conduct core good function of Bank knowledge services knowledge services for private and financial while paying attention to local sector development and develop joint Bank– circumstances. Client participation in the IFC programs and projects within the CPS different stages of knowledge services appears results frameworks that articulate the to be closely associated with success in xviii OVERVIEW achieving expected knowledge service more systematic mechanisms to include each outcomes. IEG recommends the Bank organization in the other’s review processes. broaden the participation of various An additional challenge—given the vision of a stakeholders into knowledge-based country Bank Group for the whole world—will be to programs (for example, by opening up bring in the knowledge acquired from discussions or focus groups with local experts knowledge-based partnerships to lower- and civil society organizations) and make income countries. Bank studies more widely accessible (for example, by recognizing the public good Strengthen Bank learning from upper- component in knowledge products and middle-income countries and the sharing a portion of the knowledge services intermediation of this knowledge to other cost with the client on the condition of its countries. There were ample opportunities disclosure). for learning from development experiences in the focus countries (for example, on the Monitor closely implementation and development trajectory from a low-income to results to track progress toward mutually an upper-middle-income economy in Malaysia agreed outcomes and mitigate the risk of or the extensive work the Bank has done in fragmentation and loss of strategic focus China on regional approaches to investment that are intrinsic to RAS. Bank knowledge promotion). IEG recommends the Bank services were not monitored and evaluated enhance exchanges of knowledge within the consistently in the sample of countries. Where Bank through communities of practice and M&E was better, knowledge services results outside the Bank through networks of were more likely to be achieved, probably practitioners or knowledge hubs; enhance the reflecting a link between M&E, knowledge links of the Bank’s regional chief economists service quality, and impact. IEG recommends with regional institutions that can play a role the Bank use—and continuously improve— in sharing the Bank’s analytical work; ease the implementation and results monitoring confidentiality of knowledge activities systems that would track progress toward conducted through RAS; and leverage the achieving the outcomes in the results technical capacity developed by upper-middle- framework of the CPS and that knowledge income clients to other countries (for activities be more tightly linked with CPS example, partner with Thai institutions to milestones and outcome indicators. A “circle bring in the experience of Thailand’s built of continuous quality improvement” for capacity in banking, payments system, and M&E is critical for shaping the “science of financial markets to other countries that may delivery” that the Bank is presently intent need it). upon and to help improve M&E at the country level. Continue to use RAS to expand the feasible set of Bank services, ensure the Reinforce knowledge services governance sustainability of the Bank’s business and partnerships to help enhance results. model in knowledge-based country Governance will benefit from management programs, and generate new knowledge leadership to encourage knowledge services that the Bank can then intermediate to and develop stronger M&E for knowledge lower-income countries. Although the services. World Bank–IFC coordination can relevance of RAS is strengthened by client be strengthened by developing high-quality demand and financial commitment, results do CPS results frameworks that clearly articulate not appear significantly different from those links between outcomes and World Bank of knowledge services funded by the Bank’s Group advisory activities, and by establishing own resources. Other fundamental success xix OVERVIEW factors—related to the relevance of design, recognizes that knowledge is the foundation quality, timeliness, client participation, use of of development, and that the Bank should do local expertise—are more closely associated more in this regard. The incentives for staff to with the achievement of results. IEG engage in knowledge activities need to be as recommends the Bank move decisively strong as those for being part of lending toward RAS in knowledge-based programs to operations. At a minimum the Bank should sustain this business line, while clarifying the review the incentive system for staff, ensure types of knowledge services that come close that knowledge contributions are recognized to “public knowledge goods” (Bank–funded for career advancement; make bringing reports targeted to a broad audience to knowledge to countries a visible priority; and disseminate analyses of developments or ensure that personal reputations of staff are particular sectors or issues), as opposed to enhanced by knowledge contributions. This those that serve specific needs of evaluation suggests the need to deploy part of counterparts. RAS could be offered to the best staff in the institution to knowledge institutions that can cover the full cost of the services. Those dimensions that got in the way Bank’s services, with cost-sharing of of achieving results in some instances—poor knowledge activities that are not pure public design relevance; weaknesses in conveying knowledge goods. The cost-sharing would international best practice, providing relevant recognize the relevance of the activities for examples, producing new evidence and data other countries and provide for their wider useful for policy making, formulating disclosure or dissemination by the recipient or actionable recommendations, or discussing for equalization of access to the Bank’s the capacity requirements and administrative knowledge services among subnational clients feasibility of implementing with varying capacity to pay for the service. recommendations—should be addressed by For countries involved in cost-sharing—Chile allocating high-caliber staff to the provision of and Kazakhstan, for example—the disclosure knowledge services. Such staff would also be or dissemination to other clients would give able to address issues relevant to the client— them a sense of contributing to the global one of the key factors in achieving successful public knowledge goods agenda. Where there knowledge service outcomes. Staff incentives is full cost recovery, it could include the cost for knowledge activities will need to be of a client survey with the aim of informing balanced with rewards for engaging in other both the Bank and the client about the important priorities such as lending and work relevance, quality, use, and results achieved or in fragile states. likely to be achieved. Implications for Staff Incentives Enhancing the Bank Group’s success rate on providing knowledge services will require that the highest-caliber staff have incentives to be in the knowledge services business. There is a perception among Bank staff that lending experience is essential for promotion. At the same time, the world xx