The World Bank Group is implementing a new corporate flagship, B-READY, to measure the business and investment climates in 180 economies worldwide annually. Details on the new project will be provided here as they become available. If you would like to stay updated, please sign up for the newsletter or contact
b-ready@worldbank.org.
May 2-18: Methodology Workshops
The Business Ready (B-READY) team conducted a series of two-day methodology workshops worldwide. Their main purpose was to provide a detailed presentation on the project’s methodology, including overall scope and topic-specific information. The workshops also served to raise awareness about this new benchmarking initiative and disseminate its potential for reform advocacy, policy advice, and development research.
The workshops took place in various regions to maximize their outreach and benefit. Specifically, they took place in Amman (Middle East and North Africa), Dakar (French speaking Sub-Saharan Africa), Kuala Lumpur (East and South Asia and the Pacific), Nairobi (English speaking Sub-Saharan Africa), Panama City (Latin America and the Caribbean), Warsaw (Europe and Central Asia), and Washington, DC (World Bank Group Headquarter). The slides presented during the workshops are available here.
Apart from presenting and disseminating the methodology of the new project, the workshops provided a dynamic and engaging learning experience through Q&A sessions, interaction among participants, and exchange of ideas and perspectives.
May 1, 2023: B-READY Manual and Guide and Methodology Handbook
The Manual and Guide presents the protocols, processes, safeguards, and resources related to the end-to-end production of the B-READY data and reports. It presents the basis for transparency, quality, and integrity of the B-READY project.
The Methodology Handbook describes the project’s detailed measurement methodology. First, it presents the objectives, approach, and scope of B-READY. Then, for each of the topic areas, it provides the motivation, selected indicators, detailed questionnaires, benchmarking parameters, detailed scoring rules, and data collection sources. The Manual and Guide and Methodology Handbook complement each other.
December 19, 2022: Concept Note
The project's Concept Note establishes the objectives, scope, and approach of the project, including a general description of the indicators covered and its motivation, data collection approaches, roll out for the piloting stage, geographical coverage, and general timeline.
It is informed by the feedback received during the public consultation process, extensive comments received from World Bank Group (WBG) colleagues, consultations with the WBG Board of Executive Directors, and further research conducted by the B-READY team. It is not, however, a full description of the B-READY methodology. This will be detailed and presented during the implementation phase of the project.
Read the Concept Note*
February 8 - March 15, 2022: Public Consultation on pre-Concept Note
The consultations on the project's pre-Concept Note were held between February 8 and March 15. More than 2000 comments were received from 410 feedback providers, including civil society organizations, private sector organizations, think tanks, governments, international development/financial institutions, and academic experts.
Stakeholders and experts were requested to provide feedback on the project’s relevance, scope, and approach. Topic specialists were asked to provide technical inputs on their areas of expertise covered by B-READY. To ensure transparency and accountability of the consultation process, all feedback received is made publicly available through the link below, unless the feedback provider explicitly requested to keep it confidential.
Public Consultations: Consolidated Comments*
February 8, 2022: Pre-Concept Note
In the fall of 2021, Senior Management of the World Bank Group (WBG) instructed the Development Economics (DEC) Vice Presidency to work on a new approach for assessing the business and investment climates: a benchmarking exercise, with the objective of providing a quantitative assessment of the business environment for private sector development, to be published annually and covering most economies worldwide.
Between October 2021 and February 2022, the DEC Global Indicators Group (DECIG) developed a pre-Concept Note encompassing the foundations, general project design and suggested scope of the B-READY project. The pre-Concept Note took into account feedback from experts across the WBG and its main purpose was to be circulated outside the WBG to collect the views of stakeholders from the private and public sectors.
Read the Pre-Concept Note*
*At the time of the publication of the pre-Concept Note, the Public Consultations: Consolidated Comments, and the Concept Note, this project was temporarily named with the working title of Business Enabling Environment (BEE).