Case Studies
of Previous Projects
"one of the greatest leadership challenges of our time is finding new models of development that overcome...limits to human progress by harnessing the interests, competencies, and resources of all sectors" -Partnering for Success: Business Perspectives on Multistakeholder Partnerships, World Economic Forum Report, 2005.
The Advantages of a Multidisciplinary Approach: 15 World Bank Projects Examined
by Benjy HimmelfarbSome of the World Bank's biggest failures and mistakes in the past have been because their ambitious projects did not include enough multidisciplinary planning, research, and consultation. Projects have failed, faced complications, or have had other negative effects due to dealings with corrupt and/or authoritarian governments, lack of proper environmental safeguards, misunderstanding of local customs, promotion of unsustainable practices, use of the wrong language in presentations to affected villagers, among many other classic development mishaps. Some of the World Bank's more successful projects have made creative cross-sectoral use of technology, local expertise, the role of women in the society, health programs, or existing social institutions and have helped create a multidisciplinary framework for the recipients of the loans to operate their own development projects.
Two examples of projects demonstrate this effectively. The Kecamatan Development Program was set up in a way that not only gave control over what needed to be built to the communities affected, but also that helped circumvent the corruption of the government and contractors in Indonesia. Local communities decided which projects would receive grants, and transparency was enforced in every part of the Program's operations (public bulletin boards listed materials and costs with the intent of making records public to shame politicians and contractors if there were discrepancies in the books). The World Bank provided funding and oversight, allowing local experts rather than far off economists to be responsible for the program's success. The project facilitated necessary small-scale infrastructure development like road and bridge construction (which made travel to markets and schools much easier), increased community participation in democratic processes, curtailed endemic corruption in politics, and included funding for training in small business development. In the Senegal wood fuel project, GIS mapping technology was used to monitor unsustainably logged forests and villages were given training in marketing and producing sustainable wood burning stoves. This not only included the use of several disciplines of expertise, but also promoted positive cross-sector growth in renewable energy, slowing of rural to urban migration, sustainable forestry, and the creation of businesses and jobs in rural areas.
For the purposes of this research, 15 projects were surveyed and analyzed. The projects were reviewed according to the following elements identified by Globalhood: (1) collaboration and consultation with local communities on the community’s needs, (2) health concerns addressed as part of an anti-poverty effort, (3) environmental concerns addressed as part of an anti-poverty effort, (4) support for the strengthening of local civil and social institutions, (5) support for more effective, efficient, and representative governance, (6) support for micro-level business development, (7) specific focus on the participation of women and youth, (8) creative use of technology. Of the 7 successful projects, all included at least 3 of these qualifications. The Senegal wood fuel project and the Indonesia Kecamatan Development Program include 4 of these elements. None of the 6 projects deemed unsuccessful managed to fit more than 2 of these categories.