making GovernAnce WorK for sectors

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1 Public Disclosure Authorized Doing Development Differently (DDD): A Pilot for Politically Savvy, Locally Tailored and Adaptive Delivery in Nigeria Public Disclosure Authorized making GovernAnce WorK for sectors Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Yosef Hader/World Bank A summary of sector AnD ProJecT level PoliTicAl economy WorK in nigeria DUrinG fy15 JUne 2015

2 Making Governance Work for Service Delivery This note was written as part of the Development Differently (DDD) Initiative of the Nigeria Country team. The DDD Initiative is designed to help the World Bank continually improve its effectiveness as a partner to Nigeria through politically savvy, locally tailored and adaptive learning techniques. The note was drafted by Melissa Thomas, under the guidance of Katherine Bain and Sakuntala Akmeemana. The authors are grateful to Lauren Ashley Keevill, Sabrina Roshan and David Casanova for comments on earlier drafts. The work summarized is the result of cross practice work between the Governance Global Practice and the Health, Agriculture, Water and Social Protection Practices, and was supported by the Political Economy Community of Practice. The note does not represent the views of the World Bank s Board of Directors, and any errors are those of the author(s) alone.

3 The Programmatic Approach Nigeria is a large, complex, and heterogeneous country that combines incredible dynamism and promise with serious governance challenges. It is by far the most populous country in Africa, with a population that speaks more than 500 languages. It faces threats to livelihoods from climate change and to security from the Boko Haram insurgency. Corruption in Nigeria undermines public service delivery. Yet, Nigeria s management of the outbreak of ebola in , as well as its recent change of power through largely peaceful elections are reminders of the capacity that exists and is often harnessed in the country. For the last three years, the Nigeria country team at the World Bank met the challenge of supporting the Nigerian government by devising and piloting an innovative development approach The Programmatic Approach to Governance focuses on improving the impact of Bank actions by using political economy analysis to identify and work within constraints, recognize and mitigate risks, and find solutions to challenges. The Art of the Possible The approach began with a commitment by the country team to understand better the Nigerian context and the Bank s role in that context. The team decided that this would be done through an interactive process of analysis, reflection and discussion. to Governance Next, the team developed a number of analytic instruments to ensure that project design and implementation were designed to succeed in local conditions, taking into account the lessons of international experience and the Bank s own institutional capabilities and constraints. Every project design rests on assumptions about project stakeholders, their interests, and their likely behavior. These analyses ensure that those assumptions are both explicit and empirically grounded. They provide a theory of change that informs project design, implementation, and evaluation. A Governance, Conflict, and Gender Filter, which also incorporates earlier analytical work on gender and conflict, is applied to ensure that all new lending and knowledge products consider the governance environment, the likelihood and consequences of conflict, and the different impact on men and women. Where the application of the filter suggested that a project or knowledge product would benefit from closer attention to governance issues, the team stood ready to offer support if requested by the task team. Analyses were co-managed and co-financed by the governance team and the task team leader, ensuring that the analyses remained relevant to the project design and captured the expertise of both teams. Terms of reference were jointly elaborated and joint missions provided the opportunity to interview stakeholders on the ground to identify more specifically problems, risks, and potential solutions for further analysis, culminating in a joint tasking note. The Programmatic Approach to Governance The team first undertook a study of the national political economy to establish a broad understanding of the governance environment. A second study focused on the factors that affected the success of reform efforts and pockets of effectiveness in the Nigerian context, based on seven case studies carried out by Nigerian reformers and opinion leaders. Recognizing that the Bank is a stakeholder in the Nigerian political economy, a third piece reviewed the potential and constraints of the World Bank in supporting pockets of effectiveness. Through a candid discussion, the country team committed to adopting a more politically savvy and adaptive way of supporting poverty reduction in Nigeria, capturing the lessons of experience along the way to learn more about what makes a difference in the Nigerian context and why. The analyses were commissioned from teams of international and Nigerian experts who approached the issues with fresh eyes and independent voices. Emphasis was placed on finding solutions to problems that were identified. The team also set up a Governance Consultative Group of high level Nigerian opinion leaders that serves as a sounding board for Bank teams to hear different points of view on specific reform issues. It provides an opportunity for continuous learning and feedback and has served as a reminder to Bank staff of lessons from past interventions. A series of retrospective case studies helped the Bank team learn from its own past projects about what makes delivery happen and why. By focusing on finding opportunities for success 1

4 within the current context, rather than moralizing about government inadequacies or failures, the governance team built trust with sector colleagues. Now, during implementation, problem-solving partnerships with government counterparts are also beginning to emerge. Governance in the Sectors The Programmatic Approach to Governance contributes to better project design and implementation arrangements regardless of sector. Examples from the irrigation, health, social protection, and agriculture sector illustrate the types of issues flagged by analysis and the ways in which project design or implementation could be strengthened as a result. Irrigation. The Transforming Irrigation Management in Nigeria Project was prepared drawing on an analysis of the institutional environment for the management of irrigation in northeastern Nigeria, where farmers livelihoods are threatened by climate change. 1 The analysis considered both the formal arrangements and informal practices shaping the operations and maintenance of irrigation systems. It highlighted the weak incentives for coordination and cooperation among stakeholders, including involved ministries and the federal, state, and local governments. Historically, insufficient budgets had led to a lack of financial sustainability of irrigation projects, while management was hampered by the weak capacity of the federal government notwithstanding a political tendency to centralize resources and authority. The analysis argued for decentralizing responsibility for the water sector, drawing on the successful experience of India. It also suggested improving financial sustainability by raising user fees, provided that the retention of fees for irrigation operation and management could be assured. Although most project stakeholders would either support the project or not be negatively affected by it, the analysis concluded that political elites who were currently diverting operational funds for irrigation could mount considerable political opposition to the project. Building on this analysis, the project incorporated a component that included helping to build a coalition for reform, and focused on consensus building as well as adaptive learning throughout the project cycle. The analysis also signaled the need for a more proactive strategy to reach female farmers, which was incorporated in the project design as well as implementation arrangements tailored to incorporate knowledge of existing local institutions and actors, recognizing that the powerful regional river 1. Soji Apampa, Lekan Oyebande, Chinedum Nwoko, and Eelco Van Beek, TRIMING: Problem-Driven, Political Economy & Institutional Analysis April (April, 2014). The task team leaders for the piece are Katherine Bain and David Casanova. basin development authorities needed to be part of the solution so as not to block reform efforts. Health. As responsibility for primary health care is transferred from local governments to the states, Nigeria s Saving One Million Lives program seeks to incentivize states to improve service delivery and health outcomes by publishing comparative data. Designed drawing on political economy analysis, the Nigeria State Health Investment Project (NSHIP) sought to complement informational transparency by providing performancebased financial incentives to both states and health care workers. Early outcomes in the three states where it was piloted were promising. A second project-level political economy study examined how changes in the institutional arrangements at the state and local level might have contributed to locally-led reforms that were, in part, producing these improvements in outcomes. The study drew on international experience as well as a comparison of states where NSHIP had been implemented to states where it had not. 2 It proposed ways that the Bank s support might incorporate the evolving experience of well-performing states that had consolidated the human resources function and addressed performance-based incentives to improve the motivation and accountability of health workers, as well as providing some financial autonomy to the state-level health authorities. The analysis led to an interesting discussion with the government regarding implementation arrangements, and the addition of disbursement-linked indicators to promote the autonomy of Ministry of Health workers at the state level and the transparency of financial flows as a first step in improving the efficiency of spending in the sector. Social Protection. In the area of social protection, an analysis focused on the question of where the new National Social Safety Net Program should be housed at the federal level in order to be effective. The Government identified the Office of the Presidency and the Ministry of Finance as two possible homes and sought Bank inputs in evaluating the two options. 3 The analysis drew on a review of international experience with well-documented programs, examined the history of the institutional features of those programs, and identified key questions that could guide institutional design. These included questions regarding the roles of 2. Oxford Policy Management and The Policy Practice, Saving One Million Lives: Incentives and Accountability Issues: Final Report. (January 2015). The task team leaders are Katherine Bain and Benjamin Loevinsohn. 3. Center for Public Policy Alternatives, Oxford Policy Management and the Policy Practice, National Social Safety Net Program: Institutional Options: Revised Draft Report. (January 2015). The task team leaders are Katherine Bain and Dena Reingold. 2

5 various agencies, the best way to leverage high-level political commitment, and the best way to ensure that the operational requirements of the program were met. Drawing on this review, the analysis set out key criteria to guide the choice: convening ability, political visibility and clout, execution capabilities, the ability to coordinate with other social programs, resilience, and transition capacity. By comparing the two options according to these criteria, the analysis was able to suggest where the program should be lodged to maximize its impact. Agriculture. 4 The Kogi State Staple Crop Processing Zone project proposes to support the development of a cassava production and processing zone in Kogi State that would require the expropriation of a substantial amount of farmland in a settled area. The project design has been informed by a study that included a series of analyses: a stakeholder analysis to assess political commitment to the project; an institutional assessment to evaluate the likely performance of the organizational structure for the zone; a land tenure assessment to evaluate the process of land acquisition and its impact on local communities; an evaluation of the proposed compensation and resettlement process; an analysis of the effect of arrangements for the development of cooperatives and contract farming on the income of local farmers and the inclusion of employment and contract farming opportunities for women; and an analysis of the likelihood that the project would create conflict between pastoralists and agriculturalists and among different clans. The study raised a number of project risks and proposed ways in which the project could address them. It identified conditions under which local support for the project could evaporate, flagged problems in the site selection and land acquisition process, and suggested ways to reduce the number of people affected by the project. It highlighted challenges in the model for the development of cooperatives and contract farming, particularly for women, and proposed additional options that could be more easily adopted by local farmers. Finally, it offered ways to handle the management of compensation and resettlement and ways to minimize the risk of that the project would spark conflict. 4. The task team leaders for the piece are Katherine Bain and El Hadj Adama Toure. The consultant firm is The Policy Practice. This analysis led to a task team decision to redesign the project and to deepen on-going safeguards work. The main change proposed during project design was a slower roll out and pilot of all investments in order to manage risks, test hypotheses, and to learn by doing in this very complex project. It also led to the inclusion of specific activities to support female farmers, more proactive investments in a land management unit, the incorporation of dispute resolution mechanisms, and a phased approach to the implementation arrangements, which allows for upfront capacity building at the state level. An Enabling Environment Prioritizing project impact may mean preferring a more modest project, spending longer on design, and investing adequately in supervision. While these are hard choices to make in the Bank culture, they likely contribute to a higher likelihood of success and save development dollars later on. The Bank s disbursement culture and its desire to be seen as client-oriented and responsive through quick delivery do not necessarily reward these choices, and the staff must be able to defend their positions. The development and use of the Programmatic Approach to Governance was made possible by a country director who was firmly committed to the approach and was consistent in its application, turning back projects that failed to consider governance, conflict, and gender adequately. It depended on task team leaders who were risk-taking, innovative, and passionate about delivering results. It required adequate financial resources for analytic work, which must be prioritized either under bank budget through the work program agreements or obtained from trust funds. Finally, it required close management of analytic products, using teams of international and local experts who combine an understanding of political economy analysis with the pragmatic ability to identify solutions. The Programmatic Approach to Governance used in Nigeria is the Bank s most comprehensive incorporation of governance concerns in a country portfolio to date. It demonstrates that the Bank can factor governance, conflict, and gender in its operations in a way that better supports borrowers, captures the expertise of both governance and task teams, improves the impact of the Bank s lending, and contributes to project success. 3

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