Executive Director Matthew McGuire (EDS01 – United States) at the 2015 World Bank Annual Meetings.
In March 2013, CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and its partners sent a letter to World Bank Executive Directors suggesting ways in which EDs and civil society could deepen their engagement, including that the following information be made available on official ED websites:
- Official ED travel schedules, for the purpose of arranging in-country meetings with constituencies
- Names and contact information of each key ED staff member, with their areas of responsibility listed by both region and theme
- Official positions on policies and projects brought to the Board of Directors
In direct response to the letter, the secretariat created a new webpage template for EDs to utilize in providing this information to the public. This is a useful tool that all ED offices should strive to implement, with support from the secretariat. Providing up to date information on the websites significantly enhances ED offices’ transparency and accountability to their constituencies.
However, whether an ED office decides to provide the information requested by civil society actors, remains up to them. CIVICUS and its partners designed a scorecard to measure the progress of World Bank Executive Director offices in making information available online.
Open for Business Award Winners
2016 Annual Meetings Winner: EDS 01 and EDS14
2016 Annual Meetings Rankings: Complete scorecard
2016 Spring Meetings Winner: EDS 05 representing Germany
2016 Spring Meetings Rankings: Complete scorecard
2015 Annual Meetings Winner: EDS 01 representing the United States
2015 Annual Meetings Rankings: Complete scorecard
2015 Spring Meetings Winner: EDS 09 representing Asia-Pacific nations
2014 Annual Meetings Rankings: Complete scorecard
Components
Before the Annual Meetings and the Spring Meetings, all 25 offices are evaluated on several points with some aspects weighing heavier than others. The office with the highest score receives the Open for Business Award.
- Travel Plans Meeting this criterion threshold would mean that the ED office has a public posting (via the official web page) of staff members’ official travel plans within their constituency country/countries). Even for those offices whose constituency includes only one country, official domestic travel should be posted regularly. This will serve to keep civil society in-country abreast of ED visits to their regions for the purpose of requesting meetings.
- Name, Email and Phone Numbers ED staff members’ names, phone numbers and emails should be updated on the website so they can be contacted individually, for the purpose of decentralized and specialized outreach. The names of ex-staff members should be updated if and when they are replaced. If a position is vacant, that status should also be made public. ED office phone numbers/emails should also be listed, though not as a substitute for individual staff contact information.
- Languages Every ED website should be available in the relevant Bank official language(s) of the constituency, including English. We recognize that English is the most common Bank official language for the US, UK and even some of the more diverse constituencies; however in these cases we encourage ED offices to offer translations in relevant national languages.
- Area of Responsibility This includes posting both the regional and thematic expertise of key ED staff members. It is important for CSOs to know which countries a staff member is involved with professionally, as well as the specific issues he/she covers. Issue areas can include a branch of the World Bank Group or specific subjects of concern to civil society, i.e. environment, LGBT, indigenous peoples, etc. This will allow civil society to contact the Bank ED staff member most familiar with their particular area of concern.
- Policy Posting Meeting this criterion means that an ED office has posted, or provided a link to, their office’s position on board policies and projects. The publication of voting records at the Board is most important for this element, but offices will also receive points for posting, or providing links to, country development priorities, annual reports, and/or strategic planning documents. We see this piece as most relevant to civil society interests and have weighted it within the scoring to reflect its importance.
World Bank Executive Director Website Scorecard Criteria