WASHINGTON, January 24, 2012 - The World Bank Board of Executive Directors today approved Program-for-Results (PforR), an innovative new financing instrument for the World Bank’s client countries that links the disbursement of funds directly to the delivery of defined results. Money will flow once the results have been delivered and verified.
PforR would support government programs in a diverse range of countries and sectors. In some countries, PforR would help deliver and improve the coverage of antenatal care for mothers and newborns or increase immunization coverage for children. In others, PforR would help provide sustainable water supply and sanitation services; strengthen the coverage and quality of early childhood and primary education; or contribute to a government program to reduce the number of rural households living below the poverty line.
“Enhancing development effectiveness by helping developing countries achieve results is central to the mission of World Bank,” said Robert B. Zoellick, President of the World Bank Group. “Program-for-Results financing demands greater accountability from partner countries and in turn will help these countries continue to deliver sustainable results long after the Bank’s involvement has ended. The time is right for this innovative development approach.”
PforR will also help improve the transparency and accountability of developing country programs, and strengthen systems to fight fraud and corruption. Under the new instrument, the Bank will provide part of the overall funding for a larger, developing country-financed program but will be able to provide its technical expertise to the larger government program. For example, the Bank’s commitment to openness and transparency will be applied to the entire program supported – including through the application of the Bank’s Access to Information policy to PforR operations.
Key assessments – fiduciary, environmental & social - of program systems are an important feature of this new instrument and will help provide assurance that Bank financing is used appropriately and that the environmental and social impacts of the program are adequately addressed. These assessments will all be publically disclosed.
PforR financing will also help partner countries improve the design and implementation of their development programs, strengthen institutions, and build capacity.
Says Joachim von Amsberg, World Bank Vice President for Operations Policy and Country Services, "Building effective and accountable institutions in partner countries is key to achieving better development outcomes and results. We believe that with this new instrument, the World Bank jointly with others – government, development partners, civil society, the private sector and others - will be a better partner focused on results, focused on institution building and focused on better partnerships."
Feedback from an extensive global consultations process, held in two phases over the last twelve months, in 34 client countries and seven donor countries with a broad range of stakeholders, including government officials, development partners, civil society organizations, the private sector, and academics has informed the design of PforR.
