WASHINGTON: The World Bank must be more selective and flexible in its work as its faces rising financial constraints and challenges from rivals, according to an internal strategy document seen Monday.
The choices include greater risk-taking, cutting back on bureaucracy and adapting commercial-like work with the private sector, moves which would move the huge institution beyond its traditional approaches to fostering development.
"To deliver on the value proposition, the WBG (World Bank Group) will need to reposition itself," said the strategy document, prepared ahead of the bank's annual meeting in Washington in October.
"Increasing flexibility and speeding up delivery will be key," it said.
The analysis said the bank is under more criticism from its clients, the world's poor and middle-income countries, for moving slowly and with unwieldy bureaucratic procedures to get a project or program launched.
In addition, it said, more recently the bank is facing "considerable competition" in providing technical expertise from other unnamed institutions and lenders.
That suggested the bank is feeling the pressure from rising bilateral lending and aid from emerging giants like China, and from the private sector, supplanting some of its traditional roles.
The new sources of development funds, the report suggests, are more agile in deciding and carrying out programs, and less fettered by bureaucratic rules.
In its fiscal year to June, the bank's four groups deployed $52.6 billion in loans, grants and other operations, down 1.9 percent from a year earlier.
At the same time, it said that the bank will have to be more "selective" in the projects it undertakes.
"Financial considerations will influence and sometimes constrain the WBG's choice," the report said.
"As part of this, the bank will need to consider such new revenue generation measures as increased engagement in reimbursable advisory services."
In that context, the report said, the bank needs to promote more partnerships with the private sector -- already a focus of its growing International Finance Corp. arm.
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