World Bank's Open Learning Campus (audio)

The Growth and Employment (GEM) Project, a World Bank Group funded project implemented by the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), has provided technical advice to Office of the Vice-President on the establishment regional Innovation Hubs across Nigeria. GEM project is now inviting proposals from existing private sector operators or non-governmental organizations with innovative, viable and sustainable proposals for the establishment or expansion of Innovation Hubs in the South- East, South West, North-West, North-East or North-Central Zones of Nigeria. The webinar will be presenting key findings of a recently launched report on “catalyzing growth in Nigeria through regional innovation: opportunities and challenges for developing innovation hubs across Nigeria” and discuss the call for proposals for innovation hubs under the innovative market grant window of the GEM project.

Digital technologies have rapidly spread in much of the world. The number of internet users has more than tripled in a decade, and nearly 70 percent of the bottom fifth of the population in developing countries own a mobile phone. Despite this positive increase, digital divides remain in many countries: 60 percent of the world’s population is still off-line and therefore can’t fully participate in the digital economy, while many advanced economies are facing rising inequality and increasingly polarized labor markets due to the expanding automation. The World Development Report (WDR) 2016: Digital Dividends explores the impact of digital technologies on economic development, showing how these can promote inclusion, efficiency and innovation. It describes potential gains from new technologies but also issues related to digital dividends, risks, and policies that can help mitigate negative impacts. This webinar will feature a presentation by Deepak Mishra, Co-Director of the WDR 2016: Digital Dividends, who will talk about inequality and exclusion in access to digital technology, and the potential role of technology as a mechanism to promote social inclusion. The speaker will discuss how digital divides can be addressed to foster growth, job creation and better services, as well as reduce inequality and exclusion.

Many decisions in a watershed or a river/lake basin are hampered by availability of adequate information. For example, which are the erosion hotspots in a watershed? What is the flow at various points in a basin? Which areas are susceptible to floods and droughts? What impact do upstream landuse changes or future climate scenarios have on its hydrology? Answering these questions requires access to a range of multi-sectoral data that impacts multi-sectoral decisions in the basin context. This webinar will set the watershed context for making decisions at different scales, illustrate what types of data are useful to help make such decisions, and overview of public-domain data (from in-situ and earth observation) curated by many organizations. In particular, the session will introduce new opportunities for bottom-up (in-situ) monitoring with new sensors, and explore a rapidly expanding range of earth observation data products that are now accessible in the public domain. A new innovative free World Bank App called Spatial Agent will be presented along with its associated learning resources on OLC. This will demonstrate the powerful visualization of thousands of relevant (mostly global) data services provided by NASA, ESA, The World Bank, UN organizations, Universities, and other institutions around the world. At the end of this webinar, we expect that the participants can gain a good appreciation of why spatial information is useful in a watershed/basin context, and be able to use the Spatial Agent App. It will also introduce the Watershed Moments webinar series.

Digital technologies have rapidly spread in much of the world. The number of internet users has more than tripled in a decade, and nearly 70 percent of the bottom fifth of the population in developing countries own a mobile phone. Despite this positive increase, digital divides remain in many countries: 60 percent of the world’s population is still off-line and therefore can’t fully participate in the digital economy, while many advanced economies are facing rising inequality and increasingly polarized labor markets due to the expanding automation. The World Development Report (WDR) 2016: Digital Dividends explores the impact of digital technologies on economic development, showing how these can promote inclusion, efficiency and innovation. It describes potential gains from new technologies but also issues related to digital dividends, risks, and policies that can help mitigate negative impacts. This webinar will feature a presentation by Deepak Mishra, Co-Director of the WDR 2016: Digital Dividends, who will talk about inequality and exclusion in access to digital technology, and the potential role of technology as a mechanism to promote social inclusion. The speaker will discuss how digital divides can be addressed to foster growth, job creation and better services, as well as reduce inequality and exclusion.

Where there are unmet development challenges, such as sanitation problems in the slums, last mile health provision, access to clean drinking water, rural electricity needs, etc -- social enterprises have developed business models to address these issues and service gaps, as well as devised innovative means to make their services/products accessible and affordable to the poor. Social enterprises also often engage in inclusive employment to maximize the benefits to the local community, contributing to local skills development and driving greater upstream/ downstream value-chain activities. As social enterprises prioritize social impact over profit, they are a natural ally for governments wanting to expand service delivery to the last mile, yet to do so in an economically sustainable way that minimizes fiscal outlays. The webinar will look at some of the global social enterprise business models that could be replicated in new countries to improve the lives of those living in poverty. We will also explore public policy instruments to support the growth and potential of the social enterprises models to be scaled, replicated or mainstreamed through public or private channels of service delivery, including Bank operations.

Virginia began its experience with Public-Private Partnerships by passing the Virginia Public-Private Transportation Act (PPTA) of 1995, which provided the legal framework for PPPs in the transportation sector. In 2002, the Virginia legislature passed the Public-Private Educational Facilities & Infrastructure Act (PPEA) to expand the possibility of PPP procurement outside the transportation sector. The Commonwealth has had a dedicated PPP organization within the state government since 2005, the current form of which is the Virginia Office of Public-Private Partnerships (VAP3). Virginia’s approach to PPP was codified in the publication of its PPTA Implementation Manuel and Guidelines in 2005. Updates, tools, and supplemental material have been developed since then, and the PPEA Implementation Manual and Guidelines was released in 2015. Virginia has successfully implemented major PPP projects over the past decade, including a Design-Build-Operate-Maintain contract for the Capital Beltway Express Lanes, the Downtown/Midtown Tunnel/Martin Luther King Boulevard Extension in Hampton Roads, and the Interstate 95 express lanes in 2012. Currently, VAP3 is finalizing a contract for the Interstate 66 Outside the Beltway project. Virginia’s PPP selection process occurs in three phases: Project Identification, Project Screening, and Project Development. Solicited projects and unsolicited proposals are entertained during Project Identification. Project Screening is a two-part, high-level analysis: High-Level Screening/Policy Review and Detail-Level Screening. If proposals continue to Project Development, they will be subjected to value-for-money and risk analysis. This webinar will seek to expand upon Virginia’s PPP selection process, especially in identification and screening. The webinar will also discuss how Virginia’s experience works within the U.S. federal, state, and local infrastructure, and how applicable this experience can be for developing economies.

Virginia began its experience with Public-Private Partnerships by passing the Virginia Public-Private Transportation Act (PPTA) of 1995, which provided the legal framework for PPPs in the transportation sector. In 2002, the Virginia legislature passed the Public-Private Educational Facilities & Infrastructure Act (PPEA) to expand the possibility of PPP procurement outside the transportation sector. The Commonwealth has had a dedicated PPP organization within the state government since 2005, the current form of which is the Virginia Office of Public-Private Partnerships (VAP3). Virginia’s approach to PPP was codified in the publication of its PPTA Implementation Manuel and Guidelines in 2005. Updates, tools, and supplemental material have been developed since then, and the PPEA Implementation Manual and Guidelines was released in 2015. Virginia has successfully implemented major PPP projects over the past decade, including a Design-Build-Operate-Maintain contract for the Capital Beltway Express Lanes, the Downtown/Midtown Tunnel/Martin Luther King Boulevard Extension in Hampton Roads, and the Interstate 95 express lanes in 2012. Currently, VAP3 is finalizing a contract for the Interstate 66 Outside the Beltway project. Virginia’s PPP selection process occurs in three phases: Project Identification, Project Screening, and Project Development. Solicited projects and unsolicited proposals are entertained during Project Identification. Project Screening is a two-part, high-level analysis: High-Level Screening/Policy Review and Detail-Level Screening. If proposals continue to Project Development, they will be subjected to value-for-money and risk analysis. This webinar will seek to expand upon Virginia’s PPP selection process, especially in identification and screening. The webinar will also discuss how Virginia’s experience works within the U.S. federal, state, and local infrastructure, and how applicable this experience can be for developing economies.

The Republic of Korea has a long history of PPP. Its early experience consisted of individual legislation for specific projects. In 1994, the government began to formalize its process with the passing of the Act for the Promotion of Private Capital Investment in Social Overhead Capital, which provided the legal framework for the broader use of PPP. The legislation was revised in 1999 to produce the Act for Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure, which provided for the establishment of a PPP unit. The Korea Development Institute’s Public and Private Investment Management Center (PIMAC) currently serves as Korea’s PPP unit. From 1994 to 2015, the country implemented 684 PPP projects. PIMAC is authorized to conduct prefeasibility studies for publicly financed projects with a total project cost of at least W50 billion, where W30 billion or more is subsidized by the State. Under the PPP legal and institutional framework, PIMAC screens and appraises PPP projects during the selection process. Solicited projects costing W200 billion or more for build-transfer-operate projects, or at least W100 billion for build-transfer-lease projects, and all unsolicited proposals are subject to analysis by PIMAC. In Korea, potential PPP projects are identified by line ministries, or the private sector in the case of unsolicited proposals. As part of the feasibility assessment, projects (publicly financed and PPP) are subject to the Analytic Hierarchy Process, which includes economic, policy, and balanced regional development analyses. Following this process, projects go through project appraisal, where qualitative and quantitative (including value-for-money) analyses occur. If a project successfully completes this process, PIMAC will recommend it for procurement as a PPP.

The Netherlands has a rich history of private participation in the development of its public infrastructure, dating back to the country’s beginnings in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, the idea of formalized PPP immigrated to the Dutch political establishment in the 1980s from the United Kingdom’s experimentation with private finance initiatives. As a solution to the country’s budgetary woes, the Dutch government attempted PPP for a couple of tunnel projects at the end of the decade. Unfortunately, these projects experienced cost overruns and unpopularity, and the idea was abandoned for future projects until the late 1990s. In 1999, the Ministry of Finance established the PPP Knowledge Centre, which drove much of the policy discussion on PPP until 2006. In 2004, the European Commission published a Green Paper on Public-Private Partnerships and Community Law on Public Contracts and Concessions. This paper currently serves as the legal guidance for Dutch PPP, and served as a catalyst for additional PPP development in the Netherlands. In 2006, the Ministry of Transport, Public Works, and Water Management started a PPP unit, beginning a rigorous campaign for PPP development. The success of this unit was followed shortly thereafter by the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning, and the Environment developing its own PPP unit, and later by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature, and Food Quality. Cooperation between these three units led to the fast development of the Netherland PPP market and best practices, including standardized contracts, uniform reporting to Parliament, and standardized risk matrixes. This work precipitated project responsibility to fall to the executing ministry, with essential framework developments from the Ministry of Finance. The Netherlands has developed its PPP selection process over the past decade, paying special attention to streamlining and publicizing the process to attract potential investors. The idea of creating an efficient and expeditious process was developed from the necessity to attract the private partners drawn to the larger PPP markets in France and the United Kingdom. This is also why the Netherlands only procures Design-Build-Finance-(Operate)-Maintain PPP projects. The Netherlands developed a small but dedicated group of civil servants, fostered by PwC, to create an enabling PPP environment. The Dutch approach to PPP selection is encompassed in three main analyses: Market Scan, Public-Private Comparator, and Public Sector Comparator.

Afghanistan, like many developing countries, has been seeking ways to develop and improve infrastructure within the framework of limited fiscal capabilities. In recent years, the World Bank Group has been working with the Government of Afghanistan on increasing private participation in infrastructure. Public-private partnerships are increasingly seen as a means to harness private innovation and finance while the government maintains ultimate ownership and insurance of the public interest. Although procuring infrastructure projects through PPP methods may be more efficient and provide greater value for money, the pre-tender project development costs tend to be higher than those associated with traditional procurement. In an effort to reduce waste in resources, it is important to have an effective methodology and tools to aid in identifying and screening potential PPP projects before resources are utilized in a full feasibility analysis. In 2015, the World Bank Group assisted the Government of Afghanistan in legal and regulatory reform to foster the growth of PPP. One of the products of this effort was the development of the PPP Suitability and Prioritization tool. This tool seeks to streamline the PPP process and ensure that resources are only used for proposals with a greater chance of viability.

In 1997, the South African Cabinet approved an inter-departmental task team to create a package of policy, legislative, and institutional reforms to create an enabling environment for PPPs. To facilitate this work, several pioneering PPPs were carried out by the South African Roads Agency, Department of Public Works and Correctional Services, South African National Parks, and two municipalities. The lessons learned from these preliminary projects helped in the development of a strategic framework for PPPs in 1999. The Parliament of South Africa passed the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) in 1999. In 2000, the National Treasury enacted Treasury Regulation 16 in terms of the PFMA, which outlined the definitions and functions of PPP. This led to the establishment of the PPP Unit within the National Treasury and the publication of the Public Private Partnership Manual in 2004, which has since been updated to reflect changes to law and policy. The Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC) provides specialized analytical support to the National Treasury for the assessment of proposed large infrastructure investments. Project appraisals of megaprojects are undertaken to determine the likely economic and financial viability of the project, particularly where financial support is being requested from the fiscus. GTAC also performs related types of analysis, such as the likely impact of infrastructure investments on the financial sustainability of public utilities, financial cost comparisons of different elements of proposed investment programs, and potential funding mechanisms for infrastructure projects and programs. GTAC’s aim is to ensure that support is provided to the government in identifying public projects that offer the greatest value for money and contribute the most toward promoting economic growth and social welfare. The Capital Projects Unit has developed in-house methodologies for assessing projects and programs. GTAC seeks to assess proposals based on their value for money. Value is the economic and social activities the infrastructure supports, and money is the cost to put the infrastructure in place. The Capital Projects Unit assesses a proposal’s value for money by examining its social and economic context, demand, viability, financial aspects, and project deliverability. This webinar will look at some key issues surrounding communication with key stakeholders in PPPs in Kenya.

After the first two webinars that introduced the EDGE certification software, the World Bank Group is now providing step-by-step instructions on how to apply for green building certification for your projects, walking you in detail through the 5 certification steps: Create a profile in the EDGE software; Register your project with a certification provider; Select an EDGE auditor; Apply for certification, including submitting compliance documentation; Certify your project and increase the marketability of your building. To help companies mainstream green buildings in emerging markets, IFC has developed EDGE, an online platform that allows design teams to estimate the efficiency of a building by using practical solutions and alternative materials. EDGE makes it faster, easier, and more affordable than ever before to build and brand green in emerging markets. The EDGE software shows quickly how a few practical energy and water-saving options improves building performance at little or no cost. EDGE is smart, fast, affordable, and inclusive. EDGE defines a green building as one that is projected to reduce the consumption of energy and water by at least 20 percent, as well as the energy used to make the construction materials. EDGE illustrates the potential cost savings and greenhouse-gas reductions from efficient heating and cooling systems, natural ventilation, water-saving devices, and building materials with lower environmental impact. The effort pays off for owners and tenants by lowering monthly heating, electricity and water bills while also reducing the carbon footprint of buildings. The program’s objective is to convert 20 percent of the new buildings being built into green buildings within seven years in rapidly urbanizing countries. On the residential side alone, the results would equate to 1.3 million green homes and a reduction of a million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Builders can choose to use EDGE software free of cost at the design stage or take their projects all the way through to certification at modest cost. Developers with projects in nearly 125 countries can now certify their buildings as green when they meet the EDGE standard, with case studies showcasing their progress. Local certification providers have initiated services in key markets, including Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and South Africa. Two of the world’s leading certification providers, GBCI and thinkstep, in partnership with SGS, have also announced their commitment to deploy EDGE across the world in an effort to stimulate and satisfy rising demand. EDGE is now available virtually everywhere in the emerging markets: we offer a global reach with location-specific results.

Building on themes explored in the World Bank’s 2016 World Development Report Digital Dividends, this session will consider and debate the issues surrounding the growing threats to citizens’ rights to access public archives in the digital world, a world which has made access to and review of records a more complex and challenging issue. It will use a recent conference hosted by Northumbria University as its starting point. The conference provided a unique opportunity for to engage in a critical discussion between leading UK and international figures experienced in dealing with access issues at the most senior levels in government, academia and the records management and archives profession. Featuring: Victoria Loise Lemieux

Exclusion based on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression (SOGIE) exists in different forms across cultures, countries and regions. Homosexuality is punishable by death in some countries and illegal in many others, although it is common for lesbian, gay, or bisexual people to face social exclusion even where homosexuality is not illegal. Transgender or intersex people may not be homosexual at all, but are frequently classified as “gay” regardless. Social stigma driven by homophobia, transphobia, and discriminatory laws fuels the exclusion of LGBTI people, creating barriers to accessing markets, essential services, and spaces. Such social stigma also often precludes participation by LGBTI persons in social institutions and decision-making, and exposes them to violence. Social inclusion that is accepting of human diversity is key to sustainable development. As Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank Group stated, “LGBTI inclusion will help alleviate poverty and give everyone the respect, dignity they deserve.” During this webinar, Chloe Schwenke will give an overview of SOGIE issues in development, share her experience with the design, implementation, and evaluation of LGBTI programs and policies, and highlight examples of successful initiatives from around the world that focus on LGBTI inclusion. Prof. Schwenke will discuss the role development could and should play to help address SOGIE-based exclusion, and how best we could forge a more inclusive society.

Building the evidence base for inclusion of indigenous peoples is a complex task. In different countries, and within them, indigenous peoples are described by different names: ethnic minorities, scheduled tribes, first peoples/nations, aboriginals, ethnic groups, Adivasi, hill people and others. There is no single definition. Estimates of the number of indigenous peoples worldwide also vary, from 300 to 370 million people. At the micro level, there are many ethnographic and anthropological studies about individual indigenous groups. What is still needed, in order to get clearer understanding of development challenges faced by indigenous populations around the world, is systematic, comparable research on a global scope. In the developing world, most research on indigenous peoples has focused on Latin America. However, widening the lens to capture the entire developing world reveals a stunning result - the largest share of indigenous peoples actually live outside of this region; and while there are some encouraging instances where indigenous peoples are beginning to close the development gap, the global indigenous population often remain among the poorest of the poor, and faces many common challenges. During this webinar, Gillette Hall, the co-author of the first global study on indigenous populations and poverty, will recap some the research findings from the book Indigenous Peoples, Poverty and Development, and discuss holes in the research that are still needed to be addressed.