Tokyo Development Learning Center (TDLC)

TDD participants discussing with speakers from Kyoto at a Creative Cities TDD (Photo: World Bank Group)

The Technical Deep Dive (TDD) is TDLC’s signature one-week knowledge acceleration program that synthesizes, packages, and delivers key Japanese and global best practices aimed at generating actionable solutions that can be leveraged in World Bank projects in developing countries.  

Held five or six times each year, Technical Deep Dives bring together groups of World Bank clients and those responsible for the implementation of Bank projects in developing countries. Each session provides unique peer-to-peer learning opportunities and connects participants with TDLC’s network of experts, providing them with entry into a global community of urban practitioners.  

Strategy 

Technical Deep Dives offer blended learning opportunities, introducing participants to cases, partners, and experts from Japan and other countries through a range of formats and activities. These include: 

• Presentations by experts: TDLC invites experts and practitioners from Japan and around the world to disseminate knowledge and experiences that address development issues relevant to the topic of each Technical Deep Dive. Face-to-face interaction and networking with these experts add crucial value for participants. 
• Site visits: These are at the heart of Technical Deep Dives and allow participants to witness and experience Japanese urban development practices firsthand. 
• Peer exchanges: The TDD format includes “shift-and-share” exchanges, where client country teams move from table to table to discuss the challenges faced in each of their home countries while sharing the solutions adopted or measures taken in response. This approach enhances peer-to-peer learning by introducing fresh and practical solutions that can be applied by participants. 
• Follow-up: The program is action-driven with a focus on problem solving and results in implementation-ready action plans that address specific development challenges. To accelerate the implementation of these plans, Technical Deep Dives are coupled with follow-up Operational Support, which includes technical assistance, expert consultations, and the dispatch of Japanese experts to project sites in client countries. 

The participants of a TDD on low-income urban settlements during a site visit to the Ameyoko district of Tokyo (Photo: World Bank Group)

Results

Technical Deep Dives offer participants and their home countries the following wide range of benefits:

• Cutting-edge policy thinking and technical knowledge delivered through engaging learning sessions.

• Peer learning and networking with global practitioners.

• Knowledge exchange by means of site visits and one-on-one sessions with experts and practitioners.

• Opportunities to engage directly with municipalities, government ministries, private sector organizations, and academic institutions in Japan and other countries.

• Access to follow-up Operational Support, which assists in the successful application of knowledge gained through Technical Deep Dives.

During the five years ending June 2020, over 1,460 participants from more than 80 countries attended a total of 28 Technical Deep Dives, benefiting from knowledge and expertise shared by fellow participants representing projects worth $60.2 billion in committed World Bank lending. 

Check out the list of Technical Deep Dives (TDDs) to see the most recent overview and agenda.