Governance and Anti-Corruption Newsletter - September 2008

This Newsletter features recent and upcoming events, as well as publications and links to data.

Highlights:

*Launch of WBI’s Course “Capacity Enhancement Program on Controlling Corruption and Improving Governance for Thailand” that took place from September 6-17, 2008. The learning program provided participants with a framework and practices to help design their own plans for fighting corruption and improving governance, through concrete actions of transparency, access to information, accountability and coordination.

*High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness that just took place in Accra, Ghana. More than 100 developed and developing countries agreed to take bold steps to reform the way international development aid is given and spent. After three days of intense negotiations, they endorsed the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA), through which developing countries agreed to take leadership of their development plans and donors committed to better coordination among themselves and with their partners. Visit various blog entries at the World Bank’s Governance Matters blog by clicking here, here and here.

*The Governance Matters blog's team recently piloted a "Governance News" blog section through a space on Delicious –a social bookmarking service to manage and share web pages–, where they show a selection of governance content from the news, blogs and other sources around the web. It is not an exhaustive compilation of governance news and happenings, and it does not necessarily reflect their own opinions or the Bank's point of view, but overall it is a good way to make people familiar with governance events around the world.

See blog entry introducing "Governance News"

See the selection of world's governance news and content

I. SELECTED UPCOMING EVENTS

1. Saviologos Debates Conference, Pamplona, Spain (September 25-26, 2008). A forum of thought organized by Caja Navarra and led by social and economic intellectual authorities both from Spain and abroad. The sessions work through previously organized work groups focusing on subjects which the group coordinators announce a couple of months beforehand, followed by an open debate. A book containing the conclusions of the sessions and debates will be published. Daniel Kaufmann, Director, World Bank Institute will be one of the keynote speakers on the topic of transparency.

2. Parliamentary Indicators and Benchmarks - International Seminar and Workshop - Brisbane, Australia (September 21-24, 2008). In September 2008, WBI and Griffith University’s Politics and Public Policy Department will organize an international seminar and workshop which will bring together all of the key organizations working on the parliamentary indicators and benchmarks. A particular focus of this workshop will be to show how well each framework or metric works in an empirical setting and to consider whether a new, holistic framework to measure legislative performance can be established. For more information please contact Frederick Staphenhurst fstapenhurst@worldbank.orgor Paulina Biernacka pbiernacka@worldbank.org.

3. 1st CSR Mercosur Forum—Concrete Actions and Regional Integration, Buenos Aires, Argentina (September 22-24, 2008). Forum organized by InWEnt, Germany, UNESCO and Cefir, with World Bank Institute’s support. The Forum is part of the pilot project, started over two years ago by WBI, InWEnt and local German Chambers of Commerce, aimed at promoting CSR among local companies in the Mercosur region as a tool for strengthening local private sector and fostering regional integration. During the Forum, Djordijija Petkoski, World Bank Institute, will lead the plenary session on Transparency and Accountability and present WBI's recently launched "Fighting Corruption through Collective Action" program. For more information contact Djordijija Petkoski at dpetkoski@worldbank.org or click here for information in Portuguese and Spanish.

4. 2nd Annual European Anti-corruption Summit, The Hague, Netherlands (October 6-8, 2008). The conference will take a practical look at how to mitigate corporate corruption risk through effective ethics and compliance management, and provides an opportunity to network with and learn from peers and experts working in corruption prevention. A special session will be held on "Collective Action Against Corruption: experiences from around the world", and will focus on the nature of collective action and successful projects from around the world. Open to the public. For more information, contact Michael Jarvis at mjarvis@worldbank.org or click here.

5. Global Fraud Summit, Singapore (October 14-17, 2008). The Global Fraud Summit will showcase successful anti-fraud strategies used by organizations to prevent, deter and eliminate fraud. The event will explore strategies and practical methods for fraud prevention and recovery and present the new web portal and "Fighting Corruption through Collective Action" guide. Open to the public. For more information contact Michael Jarvis at mjarvis@worldbank.org or click here.

6. United Nations Global Compact VI Annual Local Networks ForumBonn, Germany (October 21-22, 2008). The UNGC Local Networks Forum will convene to seek input from Global Compact Local Networks (GCLN) representatives on key governance issues relating to Local Networks and the Global Compact initiative as a whole. The “Fighting Corruption through Collective Action” guide and portal will be presented during the Knowledge Fair at the Forum. Open to the public. For more information contact Michael Jarvis at mjarvis@worldbank.org or click here.

7. 13th International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC), Athens, Greece (October 30-November 2, 2008). Leading practitioners and experts on sustainability, governance, and transparency will meet to discuss the role of corruption and governance in the crucial questions that will make or break a sustainable future at the 13th IACC. Representatives of civil society, government and business from around the world will engage in debates to find effective solutions for tackling corruption and limit its pervasive impact on peoples’ lives, particularly on the most vulnerable. In a special session on Collective Action, the Business Fighting Corruption portal and “Fighting Corruption through Collective Action” guide will be presented by the World Bank Institute, with company representatives to speak about their experiences with collective action initiatives. For more information contact Michael Jarvis at mjarvis@worldbank.org.

II. RECENT EVENTS

More detailed information is available on our Calendar of Events page.

1. Responsible Parliamentary Governance Course. Canberra, Australia (September 8-19, 2008). The World Bank Institute together with the Center for Democratic Institutions delivered a course on Responsible Parliamentary Governance. This intensive two-week seminar examined the fundamental principles and doctrines underlying the practice of responsible parliamentary governance, and was designed for middle-level parliamentary officials from Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji.The course took place at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra until September 19, 2008, and it covered issues such as constitutional foundations, the main activities of parliament, and related structures for accountability and scrutiny of administration. For more information please contact Rick Stapenhurst at fstaphenhurst@worldbank.org.

2. Capacity Enhancement Program on Controlling Corruption and Improving Governance for Thailand, Washington, D.C., (September 6-17, 2008). This month, the World Bank Institute organized a Capacity Enhancement Program on the request of the Thai Government. The Capacity Enhancement Program aimed at providing 40 high level officials with in-depth knowledge of Good Governance and Anti-Corruption strategies. The program resulted in participants drafting context specific action plans to improve the Governance in their respective agency. Moreover, the program strengthened the professional networks amongst the participants representing different agencies. The program was organized in collaboration with the Civil Service Commission of Thailand. For more information contact Maria Gonzalez de Asis at mgonzalezasis@worldbank.org or Carolina Vaira at cvaira@worldbank.org.

3. High Level Forum, Accra, Ghana (September 2-4, 2008). More than 100 developed and developing countries agreed to take bold steps to reform the way international development aid is given and spent. After three days of intense negotiations, they endorsed the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA), through which developing countries agreed to take leadership of their development plans and donors committed to better coordination among themselves and with their partners. The Accra conference was preceded by a major conference of civil society organizations (CSOs), which produced an agreement that goes further than ever before towards transparency, civil society engagement, and fostering stronger developing country leadership in the $100 billion-a-year international aid business. For more information, contact Mark Nelson at mnelson@worldbank.org. For more insights on the Parallel CSO Forum and the High-Level Forum agreements and happenings, see the following blog entries at the World Bank’s Governance Matters blog:

Aid Effectiveness beyond Accra: good governance & anticorruption 2010, by Daniel Kaufmann, September 10, 2008

What transpired at the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra?, by Mark Nelson, September 5, 2008

Aid effectiveness without better governance and capacity development? Don't bet on it!, by Mark Nelson, September 2, 2008

4. Training for the Iraqi Parliament’s Constitutional Review Committee Bern, Switzerland (August 17-23, 2008). The World Bank Institute together with Operations, the United States Institute for Peace and the Swiss Government delivered a training activity for the Iraqi Parliament’s Constitutional Review Committee (CRC). The event took place in Bern, Switzerland between 17-13 August, 2008. It focused on the two recommendations that have received a favorable reception from the Iraqi Parliament, namely: (i) The formation of a Second Chamber of Parliament (the Federation Council); and (ii) Judicial Federalism. WBI provided specific assistance with the design and delivery of the second chamber component of this learning activity. This activity brought together 17 Members of the Iraqi Parliament’s Constitutional Review Committee and senior members of the Iraqi judiciary and legal fraternity. For more information please contact: Raoul Blindenbacher at rblindenbacher@worldbank.org or RickStapenhurst at fstapenhurst@worldbank.org or Paulina Biernacka at pbiernacka@worldbank.org.

5. Parliamentary Professional Development Course Effective Financial Scrutiny: The Role of Parliament in Public Finance (July 28-August 21, 2008). The World Bank Institute (WBI) in partnership with the Center for Democratic Institutions (CDI) conducted a course for parliamentary staff. The course consisted of 8 VC sessions connecting participants from Indonesia, Australia, USA, Timor Leste, PNG, Kiribati and Fiji. The course discussed the following issues: The Evolution of Parliament’s Power of the Purse, Introducing the Budget, The Budget Process, Parliamentary Approval of the Budget, Parliament and the Audit of Public Accounts, Opening up the Parliamentary Process, Strengthening Parliamentary Involvement. For more information please contact Rick Stapenhurst at fstapenhurst@worldbank.org or Paulina Biernacka at pbiernacka@worldbank.org.

6. Worldwide Governance Indicators Workshop, San Salvador, El Salvador (August 19, 2008). On August 19, 2008, the World Bank Institute organized a workshop to bring together key stakeholders from around the country to discuss salient features and findings of the Worldwide Governance Indicators project - with specific focus on El Salvador performance - and provide background information about the forthcoming governance and anti-corruption diagnostics that the country requested in order to evaluate and improve governance performance in the judicial sector. For more information, contact Massimo Mastruzzi atmmastruzzi@worldbank.org. 

7. Training on Financial Oversight- Francophone Africa, Accra, Ghana (August 11-15, 2008). The World Bank Institute together with the Parliamentary Center conducted Training on Financial Oversight. The event took place in Accra, August 11-15, 2008 and brought together Members of Parliament and professional legislative staff from the Republic of Benin, Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal. The main objective of the seminar was to strengthen capacity of parliamentarians to perform their financial oversight function and to equip them with tools with which to analyze government budgets.For more information please contact: RickStapenhurst at fstapenhurst@worldbank.orgor Paulina Biernacka at pbiernacka@worldbank.org.

8. Public Expenditure Analysis Regional Workshop (with MEFMI), Maputo, Mozambique (July 28-August 12, 2008). For more information, contact: Raj Nallari at rnallari@worldbank.org. 

9. Fifty-Fourth Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (August 5-10, 2008). The 54th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference brought together parliaments from around the Commonwealth for the purpose of looking at the contribution parliament’s can make to three of today’s most series global challenges – preventing environmental degradation, promoting sustainable development, and reducing threats to security. For more information please contact: RickStapenhurst at fstapenhurst@worldbank.org or Paulina Biernacka at pbiernacka@worldbank.org.

Participants from over 150 national and sub-national legislatures from around the Commonwealth attended. As part of its efforts to strengthen demand-side accountability institutions, the World Bank Institute, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, delivered trainings for Members of Parliament and parliamentary staff on (i) “Reforming the Budget Process: Parliamentary Budget Offices and Effective Parliamentary Oversight;” and “The Role of Parliament in Conflict Prevention and Resolution.” For more information please contact Rick Stapenhurst at fstapenhurst@worldbank.org or Mitchell O'Brien at mobrien@worldbank.org.

10. Small Countries Conference, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (August 3-4, 2008). The Small Countries Conferences which was held this year in Kuala Lumpur (August 3-4, 2008) is an annual event with the participation from up to 40 parliaments from small states from around the Commonwealth. In collaboration with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the World Bank Institute delivered a learning activity on “Promoting Dealing with Conflicts of Interest and Corruption in Small States.” Parliaments that represent small states face particular issues when performing their primary functions, mainly due to either limited resources or limited membership. The aim of this activity was to address some of the issues that face all parliaments; however, apply them to the particular situation of small state parliaments. For more information please contact Rick Stapenhurst at fstapenhurst@worldbank.org or Mitchell O’Brien at mobrien@worldbank.org.

11. Atlanta Declaration and Plan of Action for the Advancement of the Right to Information (August 1, 2008). WBI Social Development Specialist Marcos Mendiburu joined the more than 125 participants, representing governments, civil society, international organizations and financial institutions, private sector, donors and scholars, from 40 countries who met to discuss the successes and future challenges to the establishment of a right of access to information. In July, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter forwarded the Atlanta Declaration and Plan of Action (69 kb pdf) for the Advancement of the Right to Information to all heads of state and leaders of the major international organizations and financial institutions. President Carter urged these leaders to ensure the right of access to information and its implementation and enforcement. For additional information related to the conference and materials click here or contact Laura Neuman at lneuman@emory.edu.

12. Seminar on Legislative Budget Offices, Washington DC (July 28-30, 2008). The World Bank Institute (WBI) together with the National Democratic Institute (NDI), conducted a Seminar on Legislative Budget Office. This seminar brought together approximately 30 Members of Parliament from Ghana, Nigeria, Thailand, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Morocco, Lebanon and Dominican Republic. The purpose of this event was to enhance participants’ knowledge concerning the informational needs for improved financial oversight by parliaments. For more information please contact Rick Stapenhurst at fstapenhurst@worldbank.org or Paulina Biernacka at pbiernacka@worldbank.org .

13. The Africa Good Governance Program on the Radio Waves (July 1-30 2008): The goal of this program was to support local government capacity building and community empowerment through a learning program that focuses on anti-corruption, civic participation and fiscal decentralization. The program builds on the great oral tradition of knowledge exchange in Africa, relying on participants’ engagement. The program was produced for three initial countries –Benin, Burkina Faso and Madagascar-, although its potential utility can reach other francophone countries in the region. For more information contact Maria Gonzalez de Asis at mgonzalezasis@worldbank.org .

14. FORTUNE TECH Brainstorm (July 21-23, 2008). Half Moon Bay California. The meeting was comprised of Fortune magazine’s technology, media, and internet editorial talent and brought together again leaders and influencers of the digital world to look at the future of the tech business. Topics ranged from the greening of the valley, and people driven media to the future of gaming and next-generation mobile internet. Chaired by technology editor David Kirkpatrick FORTUNE Brainstorm: Daniel Kaufmann, Director, World Bank Institute gave a special presentation on governance and technology.

15. Strategic Choices for Education Reform, Washington DC (July 14, 2008).The World Bank Institute Education Program (WBIHD) delivered its Strategic Choices for Education Reform core course for UNICEF Education Field Officers. Presentation given byDaniel Kaufmann at The Rights Based Approach to Education Reform session titled “Human Rights, Governance, and Development: Empirics Refuting Convention?”. View presentation (136 kb pdf)

16. World Justice Forum, Vienna, Austria (July 2-5, 2008) The Forum brought together hundreds of leaders from diverse disciplines around the world and launched a new multidisciplinary, multinational movement to strengthen the rule of law. Invitees included past and current heads of state, presidents of multilateral institutions, CEOs of multinational corporations, labor leaders, and directors of key nongovernmental organizations from 112 countries. The Forum featured discussions on multidisciplinary approaches to advancing the rule of law. In addition, the findings of the scholarship sponsored by the World Justice Project (WJP) were presented, as was the WJP’s newly created Rule of Law Index and the results of Index field testing in India, Chile, Nigeria, and the United States. Daniel Kaufmann is a member of the World Justice Project.

17. Learning event on Improving Government Performance and Accountability: Implications for Growth and Competitiveness, Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina (June 23-25, 2008). For more information contact Kiran Choudhry at kchoudry@worldbank.org or Anwar Shah at ashah@worldbank.org .

18. Book Launch of “Broadcasting, Voice, and Accountability: A Public Interest Approach to Policy, Law, and Regulation”, World Bank Headquarters, Washington, D.C. (June 17, 2008) This book, by Steve Buckley, Kreszentia Duer, Toby Mendel and Sean O Siochru with MonroeE. Price and Marc Raboy, provides guidelines, tools, and real world examples to help assess and reform the enabling environment for media development that serves public interest goals. It builds on a growing awareness of the role of media and voice in the promotion of transparent and accountable governance, in the empowerment of people to better exercise their rights and hold leaders to account; and in support of equitable development including improved livelihoods, health, and access to education.

19. Media Sustainability Index for Africa: Launch events were on June 12 in Washington and on May 27 in Ottawa. For the first time, a major collection of comparative country data on the state of the media in Africa has been compiled in the newly released Media Sustainability Index (MSI) for Africa.

The MSI, an index that is in its sixth year in the Europe-Central Asia region and which was launched in the Middle East North Africa region 2005, has now been extended to provide in -depth analyses of the strength and viability of the independent media sector throughout 37 sub-Saharan countries. The MSI considers all the factors that contribute to a media system —the quality of journalism, effectiveness of management, the legal environment supporting freedom of the press, and more— to arrive at its rankings. These scores represent the strength of media sector components and can be analyzed over time to chart progress or regression in a country.

Mark Nelson, from WBI, spoke about the political and media landscape in Africa and discussed why such measurement tools are critical to forging reforms. Leon Morse from IREX’s gave a brief overview of the MSI methodology and discussed some of its findings, including the role of radio and newspapers, the relationship between the quality of journalism and business management practices in media outlets, and the characteristics ofcommunity radio. The MSI for Africa was produced by IREX (International Research and Exchanges Board) with support from the Canadian International Development Agency, USAID, and WBI.

More detailed information on past events is available on our Calendar of Events page.

  III. PAPERS AND PUBLICATIONS

Listing of new publications in brief below. More detailed information is available on our Publications and Research page.

1. Governance Matters VII: Governance Indicators for 1996-2007, by Daniel Kaufmann, Aart Kraay and Massimo Mastruzzi World Bank Research paper #4654, June 2008.

2. “Gobernanza, democracia y desarrollo en America Latina” por Daniel Kaufmann, publicado en "La Necesidad de las Reformas en America Latina: El regreso de la izquierda y el futuro de las reformas en America Latina", Centro Internacional para la Empresa Privada (CIPE), Julio 2008. (Article in Spanish)

3. On Democracy and Development: Rejecting the Extremes by Daniel Kaufmann, EJournalUSA, U.S. Department of State, June 2008 Volume 13 / Number 6.

To see the Spanish version, click here.

To see the French version, click here.

4. Book Broadcasting, Voice, and Accountability: A Public Interest Approach to Policy, Law, and Regulation, by Steve Buckley, Kreszentia Duer, Toby Mendel and Sean o Siochru with Monroe E. Price and Marc Raboy. June 2008.

5.Governance Indicators: Where Are We, Where Should We Be Going? , by Daniel Kaufmann and Aart Kraay, World Bank Research Observer (WBRO), January 2008.

6.Simon Johnson, Chief Economist, International Monetary Fund. (IMF: Comment on ‘Where Are We, Where Should We Be Going?" (53.8 kb pdf). (World Bank Research Observer (WBRO), January 2008, and, similarly, Shantayanan Devarajan, Chief Economist, South Asia Region of the World Bank, Comment on the same survey paper by Kaufmann and Kraay, January 2008.

IV.  DATA & INFORMATICS ON GOVERNANCE

Interactive Access to the Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI)
The set of indicators for 1996-2007 is available here
and the main page on the WGI aggregate governance indicators is available here  

Media Sustainability Index for Africa

The new “Governance Matters” blog at the World Bank

On-line Inventory of Governance Datasets and Indicators
A comprehensive overview of the available datasets on governance is available here

V.  GOVERNANCE DIAGNOSTIC CAPACITY BUILDING

Contact: Susana Carrillo (scarrillo@worldbank.org), Edouard Al-Dahdah (ealdahdah@worldbank.org), Massimo Mastruzzi (mmastruzzi@worldbank.org), or Marieta Fall (mfall4@worldbank.org)

HAITI: Haiti's Unite de Lutte Contre la Corruption (ULCC) has been mandated to develop a national anti-corruption strategy building on the results of the diagnostic survey. The organization also organized various seminars with the populations in all provinces from 2004 to 2007 in order to better capture the Haitian people's expectations with regards to the fight against corruption. The diagnostic combined with the consultations with the populations is helping inform the strategy.

BURUNDI: The GAC diagnostic survey in Burundi has been completed and validated by the survey steering committee comprising members of government and civil society organizations. The Minister of Good Governance is leading the preparation of the dissemination of the results of the survey to be conducted in September 2008. The dissemination will include one session to jointly discuss the results of Burundi’s 2008 PEMFAR, the first undertaken in the country since 1992 and the outbreak of the civil war. The objective is to elicit recommendations that could be integrated into a national governance strategy. Dissemination activities will be carried out in Bujumbura and in all the provinces in the country through radio programs in Kirundi, the national language. The Steering Committee is mandated to assist in the preparation of the governance action plan. Also in September, WBI will participate in a review of the ongoing governance "Rapid Results Initiatives" in the education, justice, water and electricity sectors.

BENIN: The dissemination activities for the results of the governance and corruption diagnostic survey (GAC survey) were completed by the government with WBIGP technical support and were funded by the African Development Bank and the Embassy of Denmark. The first activity consisted of a 3-day participatory workshop in Cotonou, launched by the Ministre d'Etat Charge de l'Economie. During the workshop, 150 participants from government and civil society were able to identify constraints and opportunities for governance reform in priority sectors. A workshop for journalists was also conducted to raise media awareness on their role in promoting good governance. The national workshop was followed by dissemination activities of the survey results in the 12 departments of the country. Recommendations from the dissemination workshops in Cotonou and in the regions will be integrated into a governance and anti-corruption strategy.

EL SALVADOR: Following a scoping mission in Mid-April, the government of El Salvador has officially requested World Bank assistance to conduct a governance diagnostics focused on the judicial sector, the results of which would be used to help design effective policies and strategies to improve the sector's governance and performance. A second mission was carried out in mid-August to consult with key stakeholders on the design of the project, focusing on creating further awareness through national Workshops, as well as organizing small focus groups to identify key priority areas within the judicial sector that will provide important feedback for the survey questionnaires. Next steps will include initiating the procurement process to select the consulting firm and making further progress on the design of questionnaires.

GUATEMALA: Following a scoping mission in Mid-April, the government of Guatemala has officially requested World Bank assistance to conduct a governance diagnostics, the results of which would be used to help design effective policies and strategies to fight corruption through an improvement in governance and public sector performance. A second mission is in the planning stages to consult with key stakeholders on the design of the project, focusing on creating further awareness, as well as helping establish steering committees that are truly representative and inclusive. The mission will also organize focus groups aimed at identifying key priority areas that will provide important feedback for the survey questionnaires.

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: In support of a national decentralization project WBI's diagnostic work focuses on provincial-level citizen report cards in the sectors health, education, agriculture and drinking water. The provinces covered are Bandundu, Katanga and South-Kivu. The procurement process for selecting a research firm is now underway and the coordinators of the three provincial steering committees will meet in Kinshasa in Mid-May at WBI's GAC conference to discuss next steps. This provincial-level assessment will provide a baseline of current conditions and will be used as an indicator for the World Bank's Governance Capacity Enhancement Project (GCEP). A planned second diagnostic analysis will help evaluate to which degree enhanced governance capacity in DRC provinces – as aspired by the Bank's GCEP – leads to better service delivery and public services with higher integrity.

MADAGASCAR: As part of the Governance and Anti-Corruption workshop in Kinshasa we are preparing country case studies in the form of short films that illustrate how Madagascar has taken ownership of assessing the quality and integrity of its public services, how it used results to design a national action plan and modify institutional arrangements, which impact these arrangements have and which obstacles the country has to face in that process. Seven local video production companies have been contacted and one has been selected. The procurement is about to be finalized. In parallel the filming and interviews with several national agencies and service users has been arranged.

MAURITANIA: Final preparations for the field implementation of the survey pilot and main data gathering will be completed during an April 19-30th mission to Nouakchott. During the mission the World Bank Institute and the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network Public Sector (WBI/PREMPS) team will meet with the firm chosen to administer the questionnaires as well as civil society and government counterparts.

REPUBLIC OF YEMEN: In support of a national anticorruption project led by the Yemen's Supreme National Authority for Combating Corruption (SNACC) WBI's diagnostic work in Yemen will survey households, public service users and public officials about their perceptions and self-reported experiences of corruption and the quality of service delivery in the sectors of health, infrastructure and energy. A survey firm, the Yemen Polling Center has been identified and contracted with. Three focus groups will be held on governance in public hospitals, and in governance of the roads system during the month of June and survey work will begin in July 2008. This sector-level assessment will provide a baseline of current conditions and will provide inputs for the formation by SNACC of a national anticorruption strategy and action plan.

VI.  PARTNERSHIPS

Transparency International Among other services, TI produces different types of ratings on corruption.

Governance Knowledge Initiative with the Development Gateway Foundation

The Knowledge Networks Agency (KNA) for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Ethics World

Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)

InWEnt

Mo Ibrahim Foundation index for African countries

VII. OTHER LANGUAGES: SPANISH, FRENCH, PORTUGUESE, ARABIC, ETC.

Gobernanza en espanol

Gouvernance en francais

Governanca em portugues

Governance in Other Languages (Chinese, Dutch, German, Greek and Russian)

Press Release of the Worldwide Governance Indicators launch in other languages (Chinese, Portuguese, Arabic, Spanish, French and Russian) is available here

VIII.  IN THE NEWS: WBI GOVERNANCE WORK FEATURED IN THE MEDIA

In addition to other recent coverage of our research and analytical work, on June 9th the New York Times, in an article in the Business section, entitled “Now Professors Get Their Star Rankings, Too", focuses on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN), an increasingly influential site which now offers nearly 150,000 full-text documents for downloading. The article features a list of 'The Hot 5' articles according to the SSRN download rankings. Featured as the # 2 in this ranking is the DEC/WBI research paper in the World Bank’s Policy Research Series entitled “Governance Matters VI", authored by D. Kaufmann, A. Kraay, and M. Mastruzzi.

Recent newsletters also highlighted the write-up on our governance and rule of law studies in The Economist, as well as the highly positive assessment on our governance work by the Volcker Commission that reviewed Anti-Corruption at the World Bank (with recommendations for follow-up).

For a complete list where WBI governance work is featured and further details on News Articles & Media Mentions in various languages, click here.

For news articles and Press Release specifically on the latest Governance Matters VII report, click here.

WBI Governance and Anti-Corruption Homepage

In-Country Governance Diagnostic Surveys

Worldwide Governance Indicators for 1996-2007

Newsletter Archive

Governance Databank

Media Articles

On Blogging

One-page Briefs on Corruption

Worldwide Governance Indicators

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