A Framework For Capacity Building In Policy Analysis And Economic Management In Sub Saharan Africa

The objective of the African Capacity Building Initiative is to build and strengthen local capabilities for policy analysis and development management in Sub-Saharan Africa. This report examines the nature and magnitude of the problem, which basically consists of a shortage of development management skills combined with weakness in the area of policy formation in Sub-Saharan Africa. The report describes the African Capacity Building Initiative and presents an action program designed to meet its goals. The management and operational structure of this program, whose ultimate objective is substantially improved indigenous analysis and management of Africa's economic and development processes, is outlined. (DB)

Demand for developing indigenous capability for policy analysis has grown in Asia and Latin America but remains weak and unstable in Africa. Strategies for developing such capability depend on strengths and attitudes of government and private sectors.

African countries need to improve the performance of their public sectors if they are going to achieve their goals of growth, poverty reduction, and the provision of better services for their citizens. Between 1995 and 2004, the Bank provided some $9 billion in lending and close to $900 million in grants and administrative budget to support public sector capacity building in Africa. This evaluation assesses Bank support for public sector capacity building in Africa over these past 10 years. It is based on six country studies, assessments of country strategies and operations across the Region, and review of the work of the World Bank Institute, the Institutional Development Fund, and the Bank-supported African Capacity Building Foundation.

"Building State Capacity in Africa draws on the experiences of public sector reform implementation in more than a dozen African countries to address such topics as the relationship between governance and economic development, public expenditure and accountability, anticorruption reform, decentralization, political structures, and the delivery of public services."--Jacket