On September 21^st, students filled Lincoln Hall to capacity eager to learn about the World Bank’s knowledge achievements and its development agenda. The guest speaker, Mr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, is the Managing Director of the World Bank with responsibility for the Bank’s Knowledge Development, Poverty Reduction and Economic Management, and Human Development. Hailed as the “Knowledge Bank” because of its extensive knowledge repositories, the World Bank’s core value proposition is amassing global knowledge. The knowledge is then tailored to serve the needs of its clients. The aim is to “produce, customize and connect knowledge to help eradicate poverty.”

After an in-depth overview of the evolution of the “knowledge bank”, Mr. Mohieldin spoke of recent challenges hindering the Bank’s ability to remain at the forefront in providing for its clients. The World Bank took immediate action to restructure so it could continue to “bring the best of global knowledge to every client and partner every time.” The Bank worked to strengthen results, increase internal and external connectivity, and improve stakeholders’ access to data and knowledge.  As the World Bank moves forward with its strategies, it is positioning itself as the “Solutions Bank.” This approach has meant an increase in South-South knowledge exchange with the hope that innovative answers to age-old problems can begin to emerge.

The Solutions Bank now measures progress on a three-pronged approach; self assessment, client feedback, and evaluation. For those of you with smart phones, the Bank uses social media to increase the scope of its knowledge platforms. It has also created an innovation fund designed to pilot new ideas and approaches.

By Florence Goldson 2012 MDP, Belize