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.
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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.
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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.
