A peer-to-peer workshop organized jointly with IFC Advisory Services in the Middle East and North Africa brought together over 70 e-Government experts in Amman, Jordan in May 2011 to explore how technology and ICT solutions could improve business and regulatory environments in the region. The event assessed how governments in the region are using technology to ease the regulatory burden on businesses, making it easier for new entrepreneurs to register their busi- nesses and access government services.
Speakers highlighted innovations such as cloud computing, social media, and mobile applications as new opportunities for governments to improve cost-effectiveness, increase transparency, facilitate the government-to-business dialogue, and extend access to information and services to entrepre- neurs in underserved segments of the business economy. The event enabled participants to learn more about institutional and change-management considerations they must address in reengineering government service delivery. All participants expressed their satisfaction with the learning and knowledge sharing and asked the Bank Group team to offer more specialized training for larger target groups.
Also in FY11, the FIAS-funded secured transaction and collateral registries product jointly with the IFC Access to Finance Business Line organized the Financial Infrastructure- Secured Transactions International Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in March 2011. The purpose of the confer- ence was twofold: to educate and train public- and private- sector stakeholders on recent developments and best practices in secured transactions and collateral registries; and to develop a greater awareness of clients’ innovative approaches to carrying out secured transactions reform and the adoption of collateral registries.
More than 70 participants attended the secured transactions sessions at the event. Attendees included government officials, representatives from national central banks, stakeholders from private financial institutions, individuals from the business and legal communities, bilateral donors (the United States Agency for International Development and Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs), and multilateral organizations.
KEY KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTS PUBLISHED IN FY11 Flagship Reports
The Investing Across Borders 2010 report, launched in July 2010, compares regulation of FDI in 87 economies and offers recommendations for governments looking to improve their competitiveness in attracting investment.
The Rebuilding Business and Investment in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone (RABI) report features the perspectives of entrepreneurs, key government reformers, and FIAS prac- titioners in tracing Sierra Leone’s path to revive and grow the private sector following its long civil war.
The publication, Managing for Impact: FIAS Strategy for Fiscal Year 2012–16, outlines FIAS’ mission and reform activities for the FY12–16 strategy period.
Investment Climate IN PRACTICE note series
The flagship note series for clients and practitioners featured “hands- on” topics in investment promotion, investment regulation, business taxation, and strategic communications.
“Using Strategic Communications to Engage Stakeholders in Tax Reform” (no. 15, March 2011) outlines a strategic communications approach tested in tax reform projects in the Republic of Yemen, Sierra Leone, and Lao PDR.
“Investment Regulation and Promotion: Can They Coexist in One Body?” (no. 16, March 2011) outlines how investment promotion is correlated with investment regula- tion. The note argues that the two functions should be kept separate and offers policy advice for countries that have them combined.
“Leveraging Technology to Support Business Registration Reform: Insights from recent country experience” (no. 17, June 2011) discusses key findings of a recent Bank
Group survey examining the experience of 34 company registrars in implementing new or upgraded technol- ogy solutions. It identifies several factors influencing the registrars’ approaches, and summarizes key lessons in choosing and implementing ICT solutions.
Viewpoint note series (published by the World Bank Group Financial and Private Sector Development Vice Presidency)
“Attracting FDI: How Much Does Investment Climate Matter?” analyzes how improving the investment climate offers an excellent opportunity for countries seeking to attract FDI.
Handbooks, Technical Papers, and Reports
How to Reform Business Inspections: Design,
Implementation, Challenges is a practitioners’ handbook that provides would-be reformers, inside and outside the Bank Group, with a comprehensive range of tools that
enable them to tackle all essential aspects of regulatory simplification and smarter regulation.
Surveying Businesses on Tax Compliance Costs analyzes surveys of business taxpayers regarding their experiences with tax compliance costs and their attitudes toward tax compliance.
Tax Perception and Compliance Cost Surveys: A Tool for Tax Reform analyzes surveys of business taxpayers and shows how understanding perceptions and experience is important to gauging changes in tax morale and general trends in tax compliance.
Alternative Dispute Resolution Guidelines provides a frame- work for setting up a system for alternative dispute resolu- tion. It highlights and draws upon experiences of many countries within the investment climate reform agenda.
Alternative Dispute Resolution Center Manual: A Guide for Practitioners on Establishing and Managing ADR Centers summarizes best practice guidelines in the establishment of an ADR center, provides a rich body of case stud- ies incorporating ADR centers globally, and provides a comprehensive appendix of pro forma documents for use by ADR centers.
Special Economic Zones in Africa: Comparing Performance and Learning from Global Experiences provides the first systematic and comprehensive analysis of zone programs in sub-Saharan Africa. It is the result of detailed surveys and case studies conducted during 2009 in ten developing countries, including six in sub-Saharan Africa.
Four Country Impact Evaluations are external assessments of FIAS programs in Burkina Faso, Liberia, Rwanda, and Sierra Leone. The reports analyze the efficacy of the programs in achieving their initial objectives and the quan- titative impacts generated from program achievements.
Inspections Reform: Do Models Exist? is an analytical review of Inspections reforms in 25 countries world- wide, with analysis of models and features of reforms undertaken.
SmartLessons
In FY11 staff authored and co-authored 17 Smartlessons, highlighting experiences from FIAS-supported activities with Bank Group staff through this IFC-sponsored learning note series, one that is also increasingly sharing Bank Group lessons with external audiences. Three of these notes—“Pilot Land Reforms in Nigeria: Think Big, Start Small, Move Fast But Where Do We Start?,” “Show Me the Money! Using Peer-To-Peer Learning for Accelerated Investment Climate Reforms,“ and “VAT Media Campaign in Lao PDR Results in a Big Bang for the Buck”— were first-prize winners in Bank-wide SmartLessons competitions.