World Bank Governance Surveys
Encyclopedia
The World Bank Governance Surveys are diagnostic tools used to assist World Bank
partner governments in measuring and mapping governance challenges within the public sector structure. Survey questionnaires are applied to households, private enterprises and public officials within the country to assess both perceptions and direct experiences with corruption and the state. The data is used as a major input into the design and implementation of National Anti-Corruption Action Plans and serve as a benchmark to measure future progress. As of 2007 more than 20 countries in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa have implemented the surveys.
The surveys are a country level governance assessment tool and complement the cross-country Worldwide Governance Indicators
also produced by the World Bank Institute.
and reduces the incidence of corruption so as to improve access to and quality of public services. The surveys are implemented on a demand-only basis and executed by in-country partners with technical assistance from the World Bank Institute and other Bank experts. Bank assistance is not linked to any loans or other conditionality. The entire process is lead and supervised by a coalition of the requesting countries government and its civil society partners in a process that aims to be transparent and inclusive. To maintain independence and ensure confidentiality of the respondents the surveys are administered by a country-based private statistics firm wherever possible.
All components of the survey process are designed to improve the capacity of the country to use survey techniques to monitor public sector performance and for government to engage in participatory policy reform.
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
partner governments in measuring and mapping governance challenges within the public sector structure. Survey questionnaires are applied to households, private enterprises and public officials within the country to assess both perceptions and direct experiences with corruption and the state. The data is used as a major input into the design and implementation of National Anti-Corruption Action Plans and serve as a benchmark to measure future progress. As of 2007 more than 20 countries in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa have implemented the surveys.
The surveys are a country level governance assessment tool and complement the cross-country Worldwide Governance Indicators
Worldwide Governance Indicators
Based on a long-standing research program of the World Bank, the Worldwide Governance Indicators capture six key dimensions of governance between 1996 and present...
also produced by the World Bank Institute.
The Diagnostic Approach
The governance surveys are part of a process aimed at supporting policy reform which raises the level of good governanceGood governance
Good governance is an indeterminate term used in development literature to describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources in order to guarantee the realization of human rights. Governance describes "the process of decision-making and the process by which...
and reduces the incidence of corruption so as to improve access to and quality of public services. The surveys are implemented on a demand-only basis and executed by in-country partners with technical assistance from the World Bank Institute and other Bank experts. Bank assistance is not linked to any loans or other conditionality. The entire process is lead and supervised by a coalition of the requesting countries government and its civil society partners in a process that aims to be transparent and inclusive. To maintain independence and ensure confidentiality of the respondents the surveys are administered by a country-based private statistics firm wherever possible.
All components of the survey process are designed to improve the capacity of the country to use survey techniques to monitor public sector performance and for government to engage in participatory policy reform.
Process
The survey process is tailored to each country to address individual governance context and priorities. Generally, however, each survey process goes through the following 7 stages:- Phase 1: Preparatory phase - to identify and establish a partnership with the key counterparts in the partner country and in the Bank’s country team, and develop a detailed work program. This phase should also include a comprehensive assessment of the existing information on governance available and of the overall assistance strategy of the Bank and other donors.
- Phase 2: ”Partnership-promoting” phase - focuses on establishing working partnerships with (i) the donor community working in the country on governance (ii) with country counterparts in government and civil society. Donor coordination is key to avoid duplication of efforts and inefficient use of resources. A Steering Committee of national stakeholders to manage the survey process should also be created. This entity should include government, Civil Society representatives, media, private sector and representatives from the donor community.
- Phase 3: Development phase - to evaluate potential institutional and legal weaknesses, and to design and revise questionnaires for the field work. Includes a survey pilot and field report.
- Phase 4: Fieldwork phase - to implement the questionnaires among household, private enterprise and public officials respondents. carried out by independent private statistical firms with oversight from the steering committees.
- Phase 5: Analytical and action planning phase - to analyze the data collected and design a specific action plan to improve governance. Addresses questions such as: what is the cost of poor governance to firms, users, and public agencies? What effect does poor governance have in public service delivery? What are the causes of institutional vulnerability?
- Phase 6: Dissemination phase - to disseminate the results of the analysis to national and regional governments officials, citizens, media and research agencies. Dissemination workshops are opportunities for citizens to comment on the analysis results and present their suggestions and inputs for the reform action plan.
- Phase 7: Follow Up phase - to collaborate with the World Bank country team and other donors colleagues in order to integrate the results of the governance survey work into the broader country assistance initiatives.
Coverage
The following countries have completed at least one round of the survey.- AlbaniaAlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
- BeninBeninBenin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
- BoliviaBoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
- BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
- BurundiBurundiBurundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
- CambodiaCambodiaCambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
- ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
- EcuadorEcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
- GhanaGhanaGhana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
- GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
- GuineaGuineaGuinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
- HaitiHaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
- HondurasHondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
- IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
- LatviaLatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
- MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
- MozambiqueMozambiqueMozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
- ParaguayParaguayParaguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
- PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
- RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
- Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
- ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
- ZambiaZambiaZambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....