Defining our engagement with countries
The Bank Group has a systematic, evidence-based model for providing financial, analytical, and advisory services to countries, focusing on strong country ownership and good development outcomes. The Country Partnership Framework (CPF) guides the Bank Group’s support to a country over a four- to six-year period, while retaining flexibility amid rapidly changing global and national circumstances. It is the central tool for management and the Board when reviewing and guiding our country programs. The Bank, IFC, and MIGA jointly prepare and implement CPFs by:
- Taking into account the country’s development goals.
- Drawing on the Systematic Country Diagnostics (SCD), prepared in close consultation with national authorities, the private sector, and other stakeholders.
- Considering the Bank Group’s comparative advantage, lessons learned, and other partners’ activities.
- Aligning with the Bank Group’s goals and the Bank’s commitments from our 2018 capital increase.
In July 2021, we revised our Country Engagement Guidance and Procedure, better capturing the Bank Group’s contribution to high-level country outcomes. We also resumed preparing country engagement products following a deferral period at the onset of the pandemic, with greater focus on green, resilient, and inclusive development. In fiscal 2022, we delivered 25 SCDs, 19 Performance and Learning Reviews, 10 CPFs, and one Country Engagement Note.
As the world grapples with multiple overlapping crises—including COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and the climate emergency—the Bank Group is providing financial support and just-in-time knowledge products to help countries respond. We will draw on our full range of financing instruments to quickly prepare and disburse financing—including Investment Project Financing (IPF), Development Policy Financing (DPF), and Program-for-Results (PforR) Financing—for specific needs and budget support to address tightening fiscal conditions. We may also deploy other financial instruments and tools as appropriate, including Supplemental Development Policy Financing, additional financing to IPFs, Contingent Emergency Response Components of projects already under implementation, and the restructuring of slow-disbursing projects. The Bank Group’s analytical work will underpin our crisis response, including to enable comprehensive support to boost preparedness, resilience, and inclusion.
As climate change poses serious threats to sustainable development, countries urgently need to integrate efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and incorporate adaptation and resilience into their development strategies. Under the Bank Group’s new Climate Change Action Plan for 2021–25, we launched a new core diagnostic product: the Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs), which are prepared jointly by the Bank, IFC, and MIGA. We expect to publish most of the first batch of CCDRs by the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference in November 2022. Building on rigorous data and research, the CCDR will analyze how a country can achieve its development goals while working to mitigate or adapt to climate change. It will also reflect the country’s climate commitments and identify ways to support implementation through public and private sector solutions. It will provide inputs to the SCD, which inform CPFs.
