Using Training to Build Capacity for Development

To achieve the goals of sustainable growth and poverty reduction, developing countries need strong national institutions. To this end, the World Bank has devoted significant resources to building the capacity of institutions and organizations in client countries. The Bank helps countries build capacity through a variety of diverse but complementary means, including technical assistance, studies, equipment, and training.

IEG’s 2005 evaluation of capacity building in Africa found that the World Bank’s capacity support was too fragmented, that capacitybuilding tools could be more effectively utilized, and that quality assurance needed improvement. Among the evaluation’s recommendations for improving the Bank’s support for capacity building was reassessment of “what role training should play in its capacity-building support, how it should be provided, and what should be the respective roles of a central training unit and Regional programs.”

This evaluation addresses these questions and examines how training is used alongside other Bank support to achieve clients’ capacitybuilding objectives. The World Bank invests an estimated $720 million annually in support of client training. Over 90 percent is financed through investment projects, with the remainder provided through the World Bank Institute (WBI). This evaluation represents the first time that the World Bank’s training investments have been examined to determine the impact of training on clients’ capacity-building objectives and to obtain insights into the factors driving success or failure. It presents a rich set of ideas for improving the effectiveness of both WBI and project-financed training, with the aim of enhancing the impact of the Bank’s capacitybuilding investments.