OVERVIEW
About the Event
On May 21, 2024, the World Bank’s Coalitions for Reforms (C4R) team, in collaboration with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and supported by the World Bank’s Governance & Institutions Umbrella Program, organized an event focusing on “Policy and Institutional Reform for Sustainable Development.” This event introduced the "PIR Methods Menu" platform, designed to aid development evaluators and practitioners in selecting appropriate evidence approaches for reform programs. Featuring insights from project leads in Morocco, Cabo Verde, and Niger, the workshop highlighted transformative reforms undertaken in these countries, such as the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Project in Cabo Verde, the Rural Land Activity in Morocco, and the Fertilizer Sector Reform Program in Niger. Key speakers included Cláudio Lopes dos Santos, CEO of the National Agency for Water and Sanitation; El Hassouni Hamza, Former Rural Land Activity Manager, MCA Morocco II; Julian Glucroft, Associate Director, M&E Division, MCC; and Zakou Aminata Samaké Boubacar, Director of the Irrigation and Market Access Project, MCA Niger. The event aimed to share experiences and lessons learned in driving successful policy reforms to support sustainable development efforts. (View Presentation.)
ABOUT MCC
Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) partners with the world’s poorest countries that are committed to just and democratic governance, economic freedom and investing in their populations. MCC provides time-limited grants promoting economic growth, reducing poverty, and strengthening institutions. These investments in core infrastructure and policy and institutional reforms are key interventions that are improving the lives of nearly 270 million people across 46 countries and five continents.
ABOUT G&I
The World Bank’s Governance & Institutions Umbrella Program (G&I) is a multi-donor trust fund established in 2022. G&I is supported by the Chandler Foundation, the European Union, the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Korea, the Hewlett Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, and the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). To learn more, please visit www.worldbank.org/giup
SPEAKERS
CHAIR
CLARA DE SOUSA, Country Director, Sahel, World Bank
MCC REMARKS
ALICIA PHILLIPS MANDAVILLE, Vice President, Department of Policy and Evaluation, MCC
SPEAKERS
CLAUDIO LOPES DOSSANTOS, CEO of National Agency for Water and Sanitation
HAMZA EL HASSOUNI, Rural Development Specialist
JULIAN GLUCROFT, Associate Director, Monitoring and Evaluation Division, Millennium Challenge Corporation
ZAKOU AMINATA SAMAKÉ BOUBACAR, Project Management, Monitoring, and Evaluation Expert
MODERATOR
SAMUEL GARONI, Governance Specialist, World Bank
SPEAKERS’ BIOS
Alicia Phillips Mandaville is the Vice President of the Department of Policy and Evaluation at MCC. Her two-decade career spans the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, and has pioneered new thinking and tools at the intersections of governance, economic development, and technology. Ms. Mandaville previously served as the Senior Vice President for Global Programs at IREX and as the Vice President at InterAction, a coalition of U.S. based international non-profits. Ms. Mandaville spent nine years in U.S. public service, including a previous period at MCC, where she managed both the data-driven tools and qualitative research the agency relied on to allocate billions of dollars for investments in infrastructure, agriculture, health, and other economic development programs around the world. In 2009, Ms. Mandaville worked in the office of the Deputy Secretary of State for the first Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review. She holds a master’s degree in international conflict analysis from the University of Kent in Canterbury, and a master’s in economics from American University.
Cláudio Lopes dos Santos was born in Cabo Verde, Mindelo – São Vicente, on July 26, 1962. He is currently the CEO of the National Agency for Water and Sanitation. He holds a BSc Degree on Hydrology and Water Resources from the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona and has additional training in Water Supply and Sanitation, Social Development, Water Resources Management and Environmental Assessment. He has more than 30 years of professional experience in the technical support and management of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Projects. Has been involved with the Implementation and management of projects related to environmental sanitation, solid waste and sewage, having been the WASH Project Director of the MCA CV II. Previously he has also assumed responsibilities for municipal environmental management, planning and monitoring of municipal related public works. He is fluent in Capeverdian Creole, Portuguese, English, Spanish and French.
Hamza El Hassouni, a rural development specialist, currently leads a technical assistance project for the Department of Strategy and Statistics of the Government of Morocco’s Ministry of Agriculture implemented within the results-based management framework funded by the World Bank and the French Development Agency. From, 2018 to 2023, Mr. EL HASSOUNI was the Rural Land Manager with the Millennium Challenge Account - Morocco (Compact II). He has also served as a rural engineer from 2011 to 2018 for the consulting firm, Conseil Ingénierie et Developpement. His credentials include a rural engineering degree from the Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine.
Julian Glucroft is an Associate Director with the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Monitoring and Evaluation Division. He currently oversees M&E activities in Benin and Senegal and leads MCC’s efforts to better support and evaluate policy and institutional reform (PIR). He manages evaluations in the power, agriculture, and transportation sectors including innovative approaches such as remote power grid monitoring. He co-developed the PIR Methods Menu, an open-source online tool to select fit-for-purpose evidence approaches. He has over thirteen years of experience in development management and research with the United Nations, U.S. government and contractors, and non-profit organizations. He has led complex research projects including a review of USAID’s investments in capacity development and a systems evaluation of a basic education program in Ghana. Fluent in French and English, he received a B.A from Brandeis University in International and Global Studies and an M.A. in International Development from American University. When not at work, he enjoys jogging, cooking, and playing drums. He lives with his wife and two young children in Washington D.C.
Zakou Aminata Samaké Boubacar has over thirty years of experience in project management, monitoring, and evaluation. Since 2018, she has served as Director of the MCA Niger II Irrigation and Market Access Project ($254 Million). has extensive experience in community development, women’s promotion, and M&E with donors including the World Bank and the Global Environment Fund. She holds the distinguished rank of Knight of the National Order of Agricultural Merit (chevalière de l’ordre du mérite agricole) and speaks Zarma, Haoussa, French, and some English. She has earned degrees in administration and management from the Institut Supérieur d’Administration et de Gestion (ISAG) and the École Supérieure d’Administration et de gestion des entreprises (ESCAE) in Niamey.