At the 2015 World Bank Spring Meetings, the Office of the Executive Director – EDS 09 won the “Open for Business” award for the most transparent website among the 25 World Bank Executive Directors’ offices. Mr. Sung-Soo Eun, Executive Director from the Republic of Korea, received the award during the CSO Roundtable with World Bank Executive Directors on April 14th, 2015. EDS09 represents Asia-Pacific nations including Australia, Cambodia, Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.
In March 2013, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and its partners suggested that the World Bank Executive Directors deepen their engagement with civil society by increasing transparency on their official websites. This includes announcing official travel schedules for ease of arranging in-country meetings with constituents, listing names and contact information of key staff members and their areas of responsibilities, and publishing official positions on policies and projects brought to the Board of Directors.
CIVICUS and the Bank Information Center have since developed a scorecard measuring ED offices’ progress in increasing their transparency. The “Open for Business” award is given out during World Bank’s Annual and Spring Meetings in recognition of the most transparent ED offices. Executive Directors from Germany and Francophone Africa shared the award during the last World Bank Annual Meetings in October 2014.