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BRIEF October 27, 2021

Consultations: Review of the World Bank Group’s Program for Poland

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Warsaw, the capital of Poland. 

Photo: World Bank


We’d Like to Hear Your Views!

The World Bank Group is at the halfway point in the implementation of the ongoing Country Partnership Framework for Poland for 2018-2024. The strategy guides our country program by laying out the main development goals that Poland aims to achieve, and by proposing concrete instruments that the World Bank Group may use in its interventions.

According to the World Bank Group classification, Poland is a high-income country, therefore our strategy endures selectivity. This approach is based on two assumptions:

  • Any investment and advisory operation need to be targeted at supporting the most vulnerable parts of society.
  • Our interventions need to catalyze private sector investments and contribute to Global Public Goods.

Considering the above conditions, our strategy for 2018-2024 is focused on three pillars:

  1. Human capital, entrepreneurship, and innovation.
  2. Policymaking for growth and inclusion.
  3. Environment and climate.

In all those three pillars, we have managed to work with Poland to introduce reforms that improve the country’s development prospects. Among our key initiatives that are being carried out during the implementation of the ongoing strategy are: advisory and technical assistance for the Clean Air Priority Program, financing of the Odra Vistula Flood Management Project, monitoring of the implementation of the POZ Plus, assist to Poland to ensure a ‘Just Transition’ in the country’s coal regions, and advisory in strengthening the support system for firms in financial distress – New Opportunity Policy 2.0.

Our actions are in line with the expectations of the World Bank Group government counterparts, representatives of the civil society, academia, and private sector. In a 2021 survey about our program in Poland, climate change, health, and air pollution are in the top areas that the World Bank Group should focus on, according to the respondents.

Review of the Strategy

At the moment we are at the stage of reviewing our strategy. A document that is now being drafted called “Performance and Learning Review” is to summarize our experience in implementing the strategy during its first years in place, and to introduce some suggested changes due to new external conditions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, or priorities of the Polish government. The ongoing review provides an opportunity for updating areas and instruments of the potential World Bank Group’s support for Poland.


Online Consultations

In October 2021, we started consultations around our review of the strategy. As part of the process, we have been meeting our partners from the public administration, private sector, and civil society, and discussing the areas that may require the special attention of the World Bank Group in the coming years. In addition to that, we allow everyone to take part in this endeavor. We are especially interested to get answers to the following questions, among others:

  • Are the three pillars of our current strategy, namely: human capital, entrepreneurship, and innovation; policymaking for growth and inclusion; environment and climate, respond well to Poland's key development challenges?
  • Should the COVID-19 pandemic change Poland's development priorities? How?
  • What are the main barriers to the decarbonization of Poland and what can be the role of the World Bank Group in this process?
  • How to facilitate Polish companies’ expansion on foreign markets?

The online consultation around our strategy is open. Please email your questions, comments, and views in Polish or English at warsawoffice@worldbank.org.

If you have any questions related to the consultation process, please refer them to Filip Kochan, External Affairs Officer at the World Bank Poland Country Office, at fkochan@worldbank.org.

For more information about the World Bank Group’s activities in Poland, please visit www.worldbank.org/poland.