• Edward Olowo-Okere – Global Director, Governance Global Practice, World Bank Group

• Ranjitsinh Disale – The 2020 Global Teacher Prize Winner
• Francis Fukuyama – Professor at Stanford University
• Molly Morgan Jones – Director of Policy, The British Academy
  

• Melinda Crane – Chief Political Correspondent, Deutsche Welle 
   

As humanity moves forward after the most recent pandemic, we have other crises looming ahead; climate change, economic recovery, and unforeseen events. To understand and choose the right path forward, the World Bank is convening a series of conversations about the future of government and how governments might seize the opportunity from crisis to achieve greener, more resilient, and more inclusive development outcomes after COVID-19.

Speakers:

• Tim Besley – British academic economist at London School of Economics and Political Science
• Rabiya Javeri Agha – former Federal Secretary of Pakistan.
• Kaave Pour – CEO of SPACE10, an Independent Research Company and lab that is on a mission to create a better everyday life for people and the planet.
• Kumi Naidoo – a life-long social, economic and environmental justice campaigner who was Executive Director of Greenpeace International, a Global Ambassador of the pan-African organisation, Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity.
   

Moderator:

• Melinda Crane – Chief Political Correspondent, Deutsche Welle
   

This debate revisited how governments deliver services to build back better and greener in ways that address common government failures and have sustained and sustainable progress towards eliminating poverty and promoting shared prosperity.

Speakers:

• George Kronnisanyon Werner – former Minister of Education, Liberia
• Clement Uwajeneza – Chairman, Rwanda Chamber of ICT
• Eden Getachew – Head of Centre of Government and Delivery Practice, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change
• Dr. Mithika Mwenda – Executive Director, Pan African Climate and Environmental Justice Alliance
   

• Femi Oke – moderator, award-winning International Journalist
   

This debate will discuss how government can be more productive. Is there anything to learn from behaving more like the private sector? Or should governments focus on public sector excellence? How can governments attract, retain and empower talented civil servants? Is digital transformation really going to improve productivity and transform how governments operate?

Speakers:

• Low Peck Kem – Chief HR Officer and Advisor (Workforce Development) for the Public Service Division (PSD), Prime Minister’s Office of Singapore
• Francis Maude – Chairman and co-founder of FMA
• Francisco Gaetani – Coordinator of the Professional Master Program at Getúlio Vargas Foundation and Board President of the Republica.org Institute
• Marta  Arsovska Tomovska – Director for Public Administration Reform and eGovernment, Office of the Prime Minister of Serbia

Moderator:

• Raj Kumar – Founding President & Editor-in-Chief of Devex

Replay the event

The fifth Future of Government Disruptive Debate will tackle the issue of citizens’ trust in government. The issue of trust has been a frequent theme arising during the Disruptive Debate series. Join our panel who will be addressing questions such as: Why is trust important for poverty reduction and shared prosperity? What is the relationship between inequality and trust? What can governments do to increase, or re-build, trust? How can citizens influence and hold governments to account? What has been the role of information, data and social media, particularly during COVID-19?

Speakers:

• Jaimie Boyd – National Digital Government Leader and Partner, Deloitte Canada
• Aidan Eyakuze – Executive Director, Twaweza East Africa
• Michael Muthukrishna – Associate Professor, London School of Economics
• Julius Mukunda – Executive Director, Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG)
• Sonia Cooper – Chief Executive Officer of Ipswich City Council, South-East Queensland, Australia

Moderator:

• Raj Kumar – Founding President & Editor-in-Chief of Devex

The devastating impacts of COVID-19 have underscored a lack of preparedness by governments. It is also clear that COVID is unlikely to be the last crises that countries will face, with increasingly frequent extreme weather events, elevated financial vulnerabilities and rising levels of conflict in some countries. Investing in preparedness rather than waiting for the next crises to hit can help to prevent human and economic losses. The final Future of Government Disruptive Debate will discuss how can governments prepare for future crisis? Our panel will address question like:  What lessons are there from past crises to help guide future preparedness efforts? How can governments increase their resilience and improve their responses to crises? How can governments ensure that preparedness efforts are inclusive, and no one is left behind?

Speakers:

• Laura Chinchilla – Former president of the Republic of Costa Rica.
• Marie-Ange Saraka-Yao  – GAVI Managing Director for Resource Mobilisation, Private Sector Partnerships & Innovative Finance.
• Alex de Waal – Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation, Research Professor at the Fletcher School, Tufts University, and Professorial Fellow at LSE.
• Ossah Kodjo (Kevin Ossah) – Executive Director of the Organization of Youth Engaged for Sustainable Development (OJEDD)
• Hon. Aggrey Tisa Sabuni  – Former Minister of Finance and Economic Planning of the Republic of South Sudan
  
  

Moderator:

• Melinda Crane – Chief Political Correspondent, Deutsche Welle
  

In the 21st century, many governments have failed to create jobs quickly enough to absorb the large number of labor market entrants. This challenge will only increase in the future, and has been further complicated by the COVID pandemic. Improved understanding of the informal sector is key to better targeting policies and social programs as well as to efficiently transferring funds to those most in need.

This conversation will discuss three critical lists that governments need to maintain to achieve progress: a civil registry that records births and deaths connected to a trusted (electronic) identification system to enable social safety programs; land cadasters, which determine the undisputed owners of land; and business registries that track the productive assets in a country. How can governments protect property, administer social protection, secure property rights or tax citizens and firms fairly? What is the role of the government and stakeholders in gathering and managing data? What are the incentives involved? How can the risks of personal data being used to restrict civil liberties be addressed?

Opening Remarks:

• Edward Olowo-Okere – Global Director, Governance Global Practice, World Bank

Speakers:

• Dr. Bledi Taska – Executive Vice President and Chief Economist, Emsi Burning Glass
• Cina Lawson – Minister of Digital Economy and Digital Transformation, Togo
• Iselin Nybø – Former Minister of Trade and Industry, Norway
• Naveed Akbar – Director General, Benazir Income Support Program, Pakistan
  

Moderator:

• Michal Rutkowski – Global Director, Social Protection and Jobs, World Bank

Closing Remarks:

• Chiara Bronchi – Practice Manager, Fiscal Policy and Sustainable Growth, Macroeconomics, Trade, and Investment Global Practice, World Bank

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to deliver climate change commitments, and the rise in conflicts have amplified the need for a more effective government from the central to the local level.

The Future of Government report and supporting website is a guide for governments and non-governmental actors to reimagine the role of the State in formulating policy, providing regulation, and delivering services for development outcomes. The report includes a call to action for those working in government and those seeking to influence government for the better, to start building coalitions for change, now.