The Development Potential of Regional Programs: An Evaluation of World Bank Support of Multicountry Operations

This 150-page report assesses the performance of one organisation - the World Bank - in its overseas development assistance (ODA) support for regional development programmes worldwide over the fiscal years 1995-2005. Produced by the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) - an independent, 3-part unit within the World Bank Group - the evaluation indicates that a majority of the 19 regional programmes evaluated have been (or appear likely to be) effective in achieving most of their development objectives.

The authors acknowledge that regional programmes hold great potential. For instance, according to WHO, regional cooperation in integrating the supply and distribution of power helps small economies access reliable, lower-cost energy. Furthermore, cooperation among neighbouring states can facilitate control of the spread of diseases such as malaria and HIV/AIDS, and can contribute to better management of the 60% of the world's freshwater that derives from shared river systems. However, these relationships pose specific communication challenges, in that cooperation among neighbouring states can be complicated. The evaluators explain that designing regional programmes so that they assign benefits and costs equitably among participating countries and effectively coordinate country and regional activities during implementation is key. The report finds that cross-border development programmes can deliver strong results, such as providing reliable energy, managing shared water resources, enhancing environmental protection, and combating the spread of communicable diseases. Nonetheless, "overall support for regional cooperation remains limited and the programs have often lacked sufficient planning to make them sustainable."

An excerpt from the report follows:

"Five Design Features Have Proved Vital to Regional Program Success

1. Strong country commitment to regional cooperation - requires attention to the political economy of relations among countries to gain their acceptance of the obligations involved in acting cooperatively...
2. The scope of objectives has to match national and regional capacities for regional programs to deal effectively with the complex coordination challenges in the implementation of their activities...
3. Clear delineation and coordination of the roles of national and regional institutions has proved crucial....What has generally worked best is reliance on national institutions for execution and implementation of program interventions at the country level, and on regional institutions for supportive services that cannot be performed efficiently by national agencies...
4. Accountable governance arrangements take time to establish but are essential to gaining country ownership. The West Africa HIV/AIDS and transport program, for example, took about two years to prepare, in part because of the time countries needed to agree on the institutional structures for governing and managing the program. But this was time that stakeholders view as well spent, because it resulted in a governance structure with country voice and high-level government participation...."
5. Planning for sustainability of program outcomes after external support ends has not been done consistently across regional programs..."

Successful regional programs require consensus among participating countries on the distribution of program benefits and costs and strong country voice in governance arrangements. They also need to clearly delineate and link national and regional institutions and mobilize adequate packages of grant, credit, and loan financing for the extended preparation and implementation typically required to achieve regional program objectives.

The World Bank has played an important role in promoting and supporting regional programs. The potential contribution of regional programs is likely to grow as the cross-border dimensions of health, infrastructure, environment, and trade facilitation take on ever-increasing significance..."