3.4. Evaluation questions and lines of evidence.
Appendix D: Regional distribution of selected development outcomes, 2015.
This report presents the results of the evaluation of Canada's payments to the International Development Association (IDA). The evaluation was conducted by the Corporate Management and Evaluation Division of the Department of Finance Canada between March and December 2017. The objective of the evaluation was to assess the relevance and performance (that is, the effectiveness, efficiency and economy) of Canada's payments to the IDA with a special focus on alignment with the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act (ODAAA). The evaluation covered approximately C$2.59 billion in statutory payments to the IDA over the 6‑year period starting in the 2011 to 2012 fiscal year.
Established in 1960, the IDA is the world's largest multilateral source of concessional financing for the poorest countries. It is one of the World Bank Group's (WBG) main lending arms and provides development credits, grants and guarantees to the world's poorest countries. This financing aims to increase economic growth, reduce poverty and improve living conditions.
Canada is a founding member of the IDA and its 6th largest donor. Since 1960, Canada has contributed US$11.1 billion. From the 2012 to 2013 fiscal year to the 2019 to 2020 fiscal year, Canada's average annual contribution is set to be C$441.61 million.
Canada's international assistance priorities focus on poverty reduction, which is the main mission of the IDA. Canada's payments to the IDA continue to address a clear need. IDA countries lag behind on key measures of and targets for economic and social development. IDA activities were found to be broadly relevant for addressing the continued development needs of these countries. Canada's contributions to the IDA are aligned with the federal government's priorities and with the government's new Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP).
Canada's contributions to the IDA also meet the conditions of the ODAAA.
The evaluation also identifies an opportunity for Finance Canada to enhance efficiency through increased engagement with Global Affairs Canada (GAC) on key subject matter issues following the finalization of a replenishment.
Overall, Canada's payments to the IDA provide good value for money in supporting sustainable poverty reduction and economic growth in poor countries.
The International Finance and Development Division should ensure that the Minister of Finance has access to the views and recommendations of the participants of the latest ODAAA consultations before the Minister approves Canada's pledge to make IDA replenishments.
The International Trade and Finance Branch should continue its efforts to strengthen the quality and completeness of its reports to Parliament, with a greater focus on the effectiveness of IDA programs and initiatives in order to meet the ODAAA reporting requirements.
The Department of Finance Canada should raise the issue of the significant risks to the development outcomes of IDA-financed projects in its engagement with the World Bank and during future IDA replenishment consultations. The department should emphasize the need for concrete World Bank management commitments to address issues during project planning and approval, and suboptimal quality of supervision during project implementation.
This report presents the results of the evaluation of Canada's payments to the IDA, which took place between March 2017 and December 2017. The evaluation was completed as part of the Department of Finance Canada Evaluation Plan 2016-21. It covers approximately C$2.59 billion in statutory payments to the IDA over the 6-year period since the 2011 to 2012 fiscal year.
Canada's payment to the IDA is a significant grant support provided by Finance Canada. The payment covers almost 90% of the department's program commitments to international financial organizations. In the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year, the payment stood at C$441.62 million, which accounted for 8.8% of Canada's official development assistance (ODA) for that year. The substantial dollar value of Canada's payments to the IDA highlights the need for its evaluation based on materiality. The evaluation supports the periodic evaluation requirement of all programs and spending based on risks, departmental information needs and priorities in accordance with the Policy on Results, which was implemented in November 2017. The need for this evaluation was established through the mandatory annual evaluation planning exercise.
It also covers the department's performance in fulfilling the reporting requirements in accordance with the ODAAA and the Bretton Woods and Related Agreements Act (BWRAA).
The timing of this evaluation is appropriate considering that there has been a relative drop in the volume of activities following the finalization of the 18th replenishment of IDA funds (IDA18) in December 2016. The collection of evaluation evidence and findings can support the department's information needs for IDA19 replenishment meetings, which will be scheduled in a few years.
Established in 1960, the IDA is the world's largest multilateral source of concessional financing for the poorest countries. It is one of the WBG's main lending arms and provides development credits, grants and guarantees to the world's poorest countries. This financing aims to increase economic growth, reduce poverty and improve the living conditions of the poor.
Interest charges for IDA credits are 0% or very close to 0%, and repayments are extended over 25 to 38 years, including a 5- to 10‑year grace period. Eligibility for IDA resources is determined primarily by a member's relative poverty, which is defined as gross national income per capita below an established threshold. The threshold, which is updated annually, was US$1,165 for the World Bank's 2017 to 2018 fiscal year. In addition to concessional loans, countries at risk of debt distress receive grants. The organization also provides significant levels of debt relief through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative and the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative.
In total, 78 countries were eligible for IDA assistance in 2017. In addition, India, which graduated from the IDA in the 2014 fiscal year, received transitional support on an exceptional basis through IDA17, which covered the period from July 1, 2014, to June 30, 2017.
The IDA is overseen by its 173 shareholder countries, which comprise the Board of Governors. It is largely funded by contributions from 50 or more donor governments. Additional funding comes from the IBRD's net income, grants from the International Finance Corporation and repayments of IDA credits by countries that have received financing.
IDA donors meet every 3 years to replenish the organization's resources and review its policy framework. The most recent replenishment is known as IDA18 and was finalized in December 2016. It resulted in a record replenishment of US$75 billion to finance projects over the 3‑year period ending on June 30, 2020.
Canada is a founding member of the IDA. Since 1960, Canada has contributed US$11.1 billion. Canada has pledged a total payment of C$1.325 billion over 3 years for IDA18, and this payment will be at the same levels as Canada's contributions during IDA17 and IDA16. Canada is the 6th largest donor to IDA18; with the latest pledge, annual payments to the IDA from July 2012 to June 2020 will average about C$441.6 million.
Finance Canada administers Canada's contributions to the IDA, which are made in accordance with the BWRAA (1985). Decisions related to Canada's payments to the IDA are made by the Minister of Finance and approved by Cabinet. This decision-making is based on Finance Canada's assessment of the IDA's past activities and performance and of its future plans. At Finance Canada, the Director General of the International Finance and Development Division, International Trade and Finance Branch is Canada's IDA Deputy. This position represents the Minister of Finance, Canada's governor at the World Bank, in discussions about IDA replenishment and IDA policies and priorities. GAC also plays a significant role in IDA replenishment consultations and in the development of Canada's IDA priorities.
The main objective of this evaluation is to assess the relevance and performance (that is, the effectiveness, efficiency and economy) of Canada's payments to the IDA with a special focus on alignment with the ODAAA. The evaluation covers payments from IDA16 to IDA18. Payments from IDA13 to IDA15 were covered by an earlier evaluation of the program that was completed in January 2012.
The following 4 data sources were used to ensure that the evaluation findings and conclusions were supported by multiple lines of evidence.
The evaluation addressed issues 1, 2, 3 and 5 by collecting evidence through relevant literature reviews and interviewing a number of relevant federal government officials.
It should be noted that a given project may receive financing from the IDA and various other development organizations. Therefore, development outcomes, including poverty reduction in countries that receive IDA financing, cannot only be attributed to the IDA. In recognition of this attribution challenge, a contribution-analysis approach was used, and the progress achieved in IDA countries was examined along with IDA outputs and the performance of IDA projects. This analysis, supplemented with findings about the institutional effectiveness of the IDA and the World Bank, can provide a reasonable assessment of the IDA's contribution to poverty reduction. The analysis can also support an overall assessment of the value for money of Canada's payments to the IDA.
The evaluation used a considerable volume of performance information related to IDA-specific projects and initiatives. The evaluation also used some secondary evidence and analysis of performance (such as MOPAN and DFID reviews) that covered both arms of the World Bank (IDA and IBRD) together. In a few other cases, especially those relating to the World Bank's organizational culture, the analysis and evidence used is WBG-wide. This will, however, not impact the general findings of the evaluation, given the high volume of data and evidence that are IDA-specific.
The evaluation covers project performance data for projects completed and assessed between 2013 and 2016. It should be noted that, given the long durations of IDA and World Bank projects, it is possible that a large number of projects completed between 2013 and 2016 started long before the period covered in this evaluation. To mitigate this limitation, the evaluation compared project performance results for projects completed between 2013 and 2016 with those for projects completed between 2009 and 2012.
Table 1 presents the evaluation questions and the relevant data sources. Up to 4 lines of evidence were used to strengthen the evaluation's level of rigour.
R2: To what extent are Canada's payments to the IDA consistent with the Government of Canada's priorities?
R2.1: To what extent is support for the IDA consistent with the Government of Canada's priorities, including Canada's objectives for ODA?
P1: To what extent has Finance Canada been effective in its management of Canada's IDA contributions?
P1.1 To what extent have Canada's payments to the IDA been consistent with Government of Canada commitments?
P3: To what extent have Canada's contributions to the IDA supported sustainable poverty reduction and economic growth in the world's poorest countries?
P3.1: To what extent has the IDA contributed to poverty reduction in countries that receive IDA financing?
Canada's international assistance priorities are focused on poverty reduction, which is the IDA's main mission. Canada's payments to the IDA continue to address a clear need. IDA countries lag behind on key measures and targets for economic and social development, and IDA activities were found to be broadly relevant for addressing these gaps. Canada's participation in and support for the IDA are aligned with the federal government's priorities and with the FIAP. Contributions to the IDA also align with the ODAAA.
The world has made notable progress in overcoming extreme poverty in the last few decades. The World Bank's poverty-head-count ratio can be used to get a glimpse of the state of global poverty. The ratio measures the percentage of the population living on less than US$1.90 per day at the 2011 purchasing power parity (PPP) rate. Globally, this ratio has dropped from 34.8% in 1990 to 10.7% in 2013, the latest year for which data are available. In IDA countries, which are the poorest in the world, the ratio has dropped from 50.5% in 1990 to 28.9% in 2013. The decline in extreme poverty worldwide has not been uniform.
Figure 1 compares the distribution of extreme poverty (using the poverty-head-count ratio) in 6 World Bank regions between 1990 and 2013. Due to insufficient survey data coverage, the 2013 poverty-head-count ratio for the Middle East and North Africa region is not provided in Figure 1. In 2008, which is the last year for which data is available, the poverty-head-count ratio in the Middle East and North Africa region was 2.1, down from 6.0 in 1990. In the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, the poverty-head-count ratio is about 2.0, which is low. The remaining World Bank regions have experienced notable declines in extreme poverty but the decline is least prominent in sub-Saharan Africa.
In sub-Saharan Africa, the poverty-head-count ratio has dropped from 54.3% in 1990 to 41.0% in 2013, while in South Asia the ratio dropped from 44.6% to 15.1%. In 2013, the 2 regions were home to over 83% of the world's population (or 639.3 million people) who lived in extreme poverty (out of a total of 768.5 million people). The IDA allocates and disburses the bulk of its resources in the 2 regions. In 2016, Africa and South Asia together accounted for 86% of total gross IDA disbursements, with Africa receiving 51.5%.
IDA countries lag behind the world in terms of other key development outcomes. Figure 2 compares some key development achievements in IDA countries compared with the world in 2015 or the latest year for which data are available. The development indicators presented in the figure are described in Appendix A.
Note: All the development indicators are measured as a % of the relevant population, except for the following: 1) life expectancy at birth is in total years, 2) mortality rates (both infant and under 5) are per 1,000 live births, 3) Gender Parity Indices measure enrollments of girls as a percentage of boys enrolled in school.
The IDA aims to reduce poverty through programs that boost economic growth, reduce inequalities and improve living conditions. According to the IEG, the IDA was a cornerstone of the global effort to achieve the millennium development goals. With the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), the world now has the most ambitious, diverse and universal development roadmap in history. SDGs are a global set of development goals adopted by the United Nations in September 2015. The IDA's continued role in this roadmap is to support the development efforts of the world's poorest countries. The ODAAA requires that all ODA be focused on poverty reduction. The analysis of the data presented above, as well as the evidence from relevant document reviews and interviews, clearly demonstrates a continued need for Canada's contributions to the IDA.
Canada's international assistance priorities are focused on poverty reduction. The December 2015 Speech from the Throne outlined the government's commitment to focus international development assistance on helping the world's poorest and most vulnerable. The commitment was reiterated in the 2016 Budget. The government has also committed its support for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The government's international assistance priorities are articulated in the new FIAP, launched on June 9, 2017. The new policy targets gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls as the primary means to challenge poverty and inequality.
A detailed analysis of the effectiveness of the IDA's poverty reduction and development efforts is presented in 4.2.2.
Gender equality is seen as a key pathway toward lasting poverty reduction and shared security and prosperity.
These themes are all aimed at supporting the world's poorest countries in their efforts to achieve SDGs.
The evidence presented above, based on document reviews and interviews, shows that Canada's payments to the IDA are consistent with the government's international assistance priorities and with FIAP. All 5 interlinked action areas of FIAP can generally be linked to the cross-cutting themes of IDA programs since IDA12.
ODA is not a distinct government program, nor does it exist as a separate budget item. The government sets a budget for international assistance and allocates this money to the International Assistance Envelope (IAE). Government departments use money from this envelope to fund the government's international assistance commitments. A significant part of this international assistance funding is later reported as ODA under the ODAAA. Finance Canada spent C$492.82 million in international assistance payments in the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year, including C$441.62 million in contributions to the IDA. All of this spending was reported as ODA in the Report to Parliament on the Government of Canada's Official Development Assistance. The ODAAA does not require Finance Canada to demonstrate compliance with the 3 conditions when IAE allocations are sought to fund the government's international assistance commitments. Payments to the IDA made with IAE allocations have consistently been reported as ODA since the 2008 to 2009 fiscal year when the ODAAA came into effect. The reporting imposes the associated responsibility to demonstrate alignment with the 3 ODAAA conditions. Moreover, the department conducts online consultations with Canadians every 2 years in accordance with the ODAAA. Contributions to the IDA are specifically indicated as ODA in biennial consultations.
The report noted that decision-makers did not have all the information that they needed to determine whether the 3 ODAAA conditions were respected. The audit recommended that the departments demonstrate how funding provided to multilateral organizations and reported as ODA meets the 3 ODAAA conditions set out in subsection 4(1) of the act. Finance Canada agreed with the recommendation.
An assessment of key documents and memoranda provided to the Minister of Finance, as part of the Minister's role as Canada's governor at the World Bank, at various times leading up to the conclusion of the IDA18 replenishment, indicates that program officials kept the Minister abreast of key issues, developments, and Canadian positions and priorities pertaining to the IDA and the World Bank.
Finance Canada's annual Bretton Woods Report includes a section on whether the funding provided by Canada to WBG institutions, including the IDA, complies with the ODAAA. The report states that the responsible Ministers have determined that the funding provided by Canada to the WBG meets the 3 ODAAA conditions. The report includes a very high-level description of how the IDA contributes to poverty reduction and takes into account the perspectives of potential recipients of financing.
The text of the section entitled "Compliance with the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act" has not changed much since the 2012 to 2013 report, when this section was first included. However, in the first 2 annual reports, a link was made between IDA development activities and the improvement of human rights. In the last 2 annual reports, there is no reference to this link. The department should consider expanding the section entitled "Compliance with the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act" to provide a complete account of how contributions to the IDA meet the 3 ODAAA conditions.
Program officials at Finance Canada indicated that the Minister of Finance is provided with all relevant information and advice at different times throughout the replenishment cycle. This enables the Minister to form an opinion about whether Canada's payments to the IDA comply with the 3 ODAAA conditions. The Bretton Woods Report, including the "Compliance with the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act" section, is typically reviewed by the Minister of Finance in September of each year. The Minister's decision on Canada's IDA replenishment pledge is typically sought 1 or 2 months after the review. Given this short timeline, program officials do not generally find it necessary to re-establish that the ODA complies with the 3 ODAAA conditions when they seek the Minister's approval on Canada's pledge to the IDA.
The evaluation finds that if the Minister of Finance is satisfied with the ODAAA compliance reported in the Bretton Woods Report, it is not essential to provide detailed accounts of compliance when the Minister's approval of Canada's IDA replenishment pledge is sought. However, since the ODAAA calls for the Minister's opinion on whether the ODA complies with the act before the assistance is awarded, it is necessary to provide a brief summary about ODA and compliance when the Minister's approval of Canada's IDA replenishment pledge is sought.
The discussion that follows supports the conclusion that Canada's contributions to the IDA fulfill the 3 ODAAA conditions.
As mentioned previously, IDA countries have achieved a significant reduction in extreme poverty, with the poverty-head-count ratio dropping from 50.5% in 1990 to 28.9% in 2013, which represents a 21.6 percentage point decline in extreme poverty in 23 years. The organization allocates its development funds where they are most needed. While the poverty-head-count ratio declined in most World Bank regions, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia still account for the bulk of extreme poverty. In 2013, the 2 regions were home to about 84% of the world's extreme poor. In 2016, Africa and South Asia together accounted for 86% of the total gross financing provided by the IDA.
One could argue that allocation of resources does not guarantee effectiveness in terms of reducing poverty. Effectiveness is dealt with exhaustively in 4.2 of this document.
The World Bank and its IDA operations consider the perspectives of the poor in a number of ways.
At the heart of the World Bank's country-driven development model is a Country Partnership Framework for each institution of the WBG to engage with member countries. The framework is informed by systematic country diagnostics, which are derived from consultations with a country's national government and other stakeholders.
The IDA Results Measurement System includes client feedback indicators derived from country opinion surveys. These indicators seek feedback on the World Bank's effectiveness and impact on results in IDA countries.
Client feedback indicators also measure the World Bank's knowledge, responsiveness, staff availability and collaboration with other donors.
At the project level, the World Bank's project teams consult and collaborate with project stakeholders and beneficiaries at the project design stage to ensure high quality at entry of operations. Quality at entry of operations is subject to evaluation and reporting by the IEG. The World Bank's new Environmental and Social Framework (ESF), which comes into effect in 2018, will institute mandatory standards and directives to ensure that environmental and social concerns and community voices are represented in the design and implementation of all World Bank projects.
The World Bank has made it a priority to engage with IDA countries and obtain feedback from 100% of Bank-financed projects by the end of fiscal year 2018.
In the World Bank Annual Report 2017, the Bank reported that, halfway through fiscal year 2017, 99% of the Bank's investment project financing was designed to be IDA country oriented. In addition, 89% of approved projects included an IDA country feedback indicator.
The Bank will monitor the IDA country engagement mechanisms and indicators from fiscal 2019 onward. The indicators will track early progress in implementing the citizen engagement initiative and give task teams the incentive to integrate project design and monitor feedback. IDA18 introduced the "projects with beneficiary feedback indicator at design" indicator to track engagements with citizens and report on the feedback.
IDA countries are increasingly involved in the IDA replenishment process, through the involvement of government representatives as keynote speakers and opinion leaders. IDA countries are also represented in working groups, where contributing partners, IDA country representatives and WBG staff consult and brainstorm on select development topics in the IDA replenishment process.
This means exercising due diligence to avoid undermining human rights in the country or community. The World Bank's human rights standards with respect to its development interventions go well beyond the "do no harm" principle, especially after the adoption of a comprehensive ESF in August 2016. The new framework sets out the Bank's standards for safeguarding communities, key human rights and the environment in which its projects operate.
The ESF updates the Bank's current policies, which were issued nearly 20 years ago.
The World Bank contributes directly and indirectly to the fulfillment of many human rights articulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and its 2 covenants, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Through the World Bank's support of gender equality, education, healthcare, nutrition, sanitation, housing, infrastructure and the environment, the IDA helps hundreds of millions of the world's poorest attain crucial economic and social rights. The Bank's support for good governance, accountable institutions, anti-corruption strategies and predictable legal frameworks in IDA countries helps people pursue a broad range of economic and civil rights.
The World Bank is broadly supportive of human rights discourse without being explicitly, systematically or strategically engaged in the discourse. There has long been a concern about the World Bank's approach to human rights, and the human rights records of some IDA countries. These concerns have been raised by many human rights advocates, experts and civil society organizations, including some Canadian civil society organizations. Many advocate that the World Bank should play a more active role in promoting human rights in IDA countries. An exhaustive presentation of these arguments and the World Bank's approach is provided in Appendix B.
Based on the analysis presented above, the evaluation finds that the World Bank has the adequate frameworks, processes and remedies in place to conclude that Canada's contributions to the IDA can be considered consistent with international human rights standards.
The evaluation then assessed the efficiency and economy of both Finance Canada and the IDA.
It also examined the department's effectiveness in meeting the conditions of the ODAAA.
A review of Finance Canada's annual reports from the 2011 to 2012 fiscal year to the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year shows that all payments were made on time and without errors. In addition, the department managed Canada's engagement with the IDA effectively and earned Canada a reputation for being supportive of poor countries. Throughout the IDA18 replenishment negotiations, Canada emphasized focusing on the poorest and most vulnerable countries and promoting gender equality in development.
Canada's contributions were especially noted in the following 3 areas.
IDA18 introduced an innovative hybrid-financing model that optimizes the IDA's balance sheet by blending donor contributions and repayments from previous loans with funds raised through market debt issuance as a means to notably increase replenishment resources. Using this new financing model, IDA18 generated an overall replenishment of US$75 billion, with a market debt of US$22.1 billion, marking the largest replenishment in the IDA's 57‑year history. This replenishment also represents one of the most concrete and significant responses to date on the Addis Ababa Action Agenda to scale up the financing needed to achieve the SDGs.
Under the proposed approach, borrowings from markets and donors would fund the non-concessional portion of the IDA's operations. Canadian delegates were closely engaged at the IDA18 negotiations, which led to the adoption of the innovative financing framework that reflected key elements of the Canadian proposal. IDA participants widely recognized Canada's contribution to the paradigm shift in the IDA's financing model.
It has been widely recognized that achieving the SDGs will require investments of all kinds to move from billions of dollars in development assistance to trillions of dollars in development finance. In 2015, the WBG, along with the IMF and regional multilateral development banks, developed a vision to leverage the billions of dollars in lending commitments through the balance sheets of multilateral development banks in order to mobilize and catalyze trillions more in public and private sector dollars, articulating the "from billions to trillions" vision. As part of this vision, Canada has consistently supported the WBG in its role of crowding in the private sector, through the scaling up of risk mitigation instruments and credit enhancements. The World Bank created a private sector window as part of the IDA18 policy package to leverage US$2.5 billion of the IDA's capital over the next 3 years in order to mobilize at least US$6 billion to US$8 billion in additional private sector investments in the poorest and most fragile markets.
This section examines the extent to which the requirements of the 2 acts are met.
Finance Canada conducts online consultations with Canadian civil society organizations, governments, international agencies and other participants every 2 years to seek their views as to whether the international assistance payments that the department administers, including payments to the IDA, satisfy the 3 ODAAA conditions. The latest online consultation process was launched on October 7, 2016, with a submission deadline of November 18, 2016.
The last suggestion for improvement of the consultation process echoed the views of a number of Government of Canada officials who are involved with the IDA and its replenishments. The view was that to improve the consultation, more relevant information should be provided to civil society organizations beforehand. In addition, a better, more focused set of questions would generate feedback that is more useful and relevant.
One view was that contributions to the IDA are not consistent with international human rights standards. This view suggested that the World Bank should do more to protect and promote human rights. Another view, however, was that, although there were reports of human rights violations in the past, World Bank programs are currently subject to adequate human rights safeguards. This view added that the World Bank meets or surpasses the human rights standards of similar development organizations.
An analysis of views expressed in internal interviews and a review of some of the briefing materials indicate that departmental officials brief the Minister of Finance on the results of the consultations. Based on the analysis, the process could be improved to ensure meaningful use of the input gathered through the consultation process.
The decision regarding Canada's pledge to IDA18, which concluded on December 15, 2016, was made at about the same time as the conclusion of the latest round of the ODAAA consultation. The Minister of Finance was briefed with a summary of the consultation results several weeks after the Minister approved Canada's pledge to IDA18. The department previously conducted an ODAAA consultation in late 2014. It was not possible, using the documents that were available for the purpose of the evaluation, to assess how the Minister was able to take into account the views and recommendations expressed in the consultations in accordance with the ODAAA.
Within the International Finance and Development Division, the Multilateral Institutions Section is responsible for the management of Canada's contributions to the IDA. The responsibility for conducting consultations on ODA is with the Development Policy Section.
In the context of the ODAAA consultations, improving the coordination of the 2 sections would help ensure that the Minister is able to take into account the views and recommendations from the latest ODAAA consultations before approving Canada's pledge to make IDA replenishments.
In the 2016 to 2017 report, the results were from IDA operations in the first 2 years of IDA17, which the evaluation finds appropriate on the grounds that the IDA is the single largest channel for the delivery of Canada's official international assistance, with annual payments averaging C$441.6 million in recent years.
The Bretton Woods Report includes a section to demonstrate at a very high level how Canada's contributions to WBG institutions, including the IDA, comply with the ODAAA.
Finance Canada provides inputs to the ODA report tabled annually before Parliament by the Minister of International Development in accordance with the ODAAA. The segment covering IDA contributions provides a high-level account of results achieved and efforts by Canada to shape World Bank priorities and align them with Canadian priorities.
Although the level of discussion has not been consistent in recent years, the input from Finance Canada nevertheless provides an opportunity to explain to parliamentarians and the Canadian public how Canada's contributions to the IDA are supporting efforts to reduce global poverty.
The ODAAA requires the Minister of Finance to provide an account in the ODA report of the position taken by Canada on any resolution that is adopted by the Board of Governors of the Bretton Woods Institutions. This account is adequately provided in the Bretton Woods Report but not in the ODA report.
The ODAAA requires the Minister of Finance to provide a summary of how Canada's activities under the BWRAA have contributed to carrying out the purpose of the ODAAA in the ODA report. The evaluation finds that there is considerable opportunity to strengthen the quality and completeness of Finance Canada's reporting to meet this ODAAA requirement.
The ODAAA specifically refers to the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, which stated that while the volumes of aid and other development resources must increase to achieve development goals, aid effectiveness and development performance must increase significantly as well.
The Bretton Woods Report provides adequate information on Canada's objectives and commitments pertaining to key IDA and World Bank initiatives and programs aimed at sustainable development and poverty reduction. The report also provides some information on outputs and results, but no information on effectiveness, which is a key element of the ODAAA, and which some of the participants of the ODAAA consultations highlighted to justify Canada's significant IDA contributions. The contribution to poverty reduction condition of the ODAAA has an essential effectiveness connotation.
Mere support for poverty reduction initiatives may not be considered a contribution to poverty reduction. Thus, for example, supporting gender equality programs and initiatives does not guarantee gender equality outcomes, which is what Canadians would like to see from their significant IDA contribution. Learning from IDA Experience: Lessons from IEG Evaluations, published in 2016, finds that the WBG has strengthened its attention to gender issues at the corporate level over the past few years, and most Bank operations display at least some gender awareness. This attention, however, has not "necessarily translated into more coherent, outcome-focused gender integration." The quality of gender integration at entry of operations and in country strategies has been uneven. The attention to gender issues often failed to identify a clear rationale for gender integration and did not spell out a complete results chain to link gender gaps to the intervention or strategy. The evaluation, therefore, finds it useful to enrich the reporting of development results by supplementing with information on the effectiveness of programs and initiatives.
The IEG routinely publishes evaluation reports covering all key aspects of IDA and World Bank initiatives and programs. The IEG's summary results are included in the annual evaluation product entitled Results and Performance of the World Bank Group (RAP). Results information from the IDA Results Measurement System and effectiveness information from IEG evaluation reports could considerably enhance the quality and completeness of Finance Canada's reporting. Improved reporting would help Finance Canada meet the poverty reduction condition set out in the ODAAA. Ultimately, it is the extent to which the IDA has achieved its stated objectives that should be the determining factor in informing decisions regarding any future funding allocations.
The central focus of Canada's ODA, as articulated in the ODAAA, is poverty reduction, which is also the main mission of the IDA. The IDA has publicly available time-series data that report on the status of extreme poverty. Yet the Bretton Woods Report provides little or no information on the IDA's extreme poverty reduction outcome.
The following recommendation is provided in the spirit of supporting the improvement of the Bretton Woods Report in order to comply with the ODAAA reporting requirements.
This section assesses the effectiveness of the IDA in achieving development and poverty reduction objectives in the world's poorest countries. It also provides an analysis of the effectiveness of the World Bank as an organization that supports development and poverty reduction activities and programs.
IDA support has helped the world's poorest countries achieve notable progress in some key areas of development. Figure 3 presents some broader development results that have been achieved since 1990.
IDA countries achieved a significant reduction in extreme poverty, with the poverty-head-count ratio dropping from 50.5% in 1990 to 28.9% in 2013. This represents a 21.6 percentage point decline in extreme poverty in 23 years. Notable progress has been made in access to healthcare and basic services. For example, compared to 1990, between 16.5% and 20.2% more people in IDA countries had access to basic services, such as electricity, improved sanitation and clean water sources in 2013. In IDA countries, over 19% more births were attended by skilled health staff in 2015 compared to 1995. Over three quarters of children aged 12 to 23 months were immunized in 2015, up from 59.1% in 1990. In IDA countries, increased access to essential health services and to other basic services linked to human development has contributed to notable declines in infant and maternal mortality rates. Mortality rates among children under 5 years of age declined by more than half, dropping from 163 to 75 deaths per 1,000 live births. The maternal mortality rate has dropped from 824 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 452 in 2015. The overall progress on the human development front has added 8.4 years to life expectancy in IDA countries, which stood at 63.7 years in 2015.
Notable progress has also been made in education, labour market participation and gender equality in economic activity and education. More students enrolled in and completed primary and lower-secondary education in 2014 (the latest year for which data are available) than in 1990, as the primary completion rate increased from 58.0% to 73.9% and the lower-secondary completion rate rose by 19.2 percentage points. Females showed greater progress, when compared with their male counterparts, in both primary and lower-secondary school completion. The Gender Parity Index in secondary school enrolment reached to almost 89 in 2014, up from 71.5 in 1990. For primary and secondary school enrolment combined, the index rose 14.3 percentage points during the same period, rising from 77.9% to 92.2%. Finally, between 1990 and 2014, female labour force participation grew by 3% to 73.7%.
The world, including both IDA and non-IDA countries, has made significant progress in key areas of development since 1990. Evidence to suggest that the significant IDA interventions have been effective can be found in the greater improvement of IDA countries relative to the world in key areas of development. Table 2 presents the gap between IDA countries and the world with regard to key development indicators in 1990 and 2015. The gaps are expressed as the IDA average minus the world average. The gaps in development indicators provided in Table 2 have shrunk in all but 1 area: the poverty-head-count ratio, where the gap has increased from 15.7 in 1990 to 18.3 in 2015.
Lower than average IDA development outcomes compared with the world averages can largely be attributed to sub-Saharan Africa, which also largely accounts for the widened gap in the poverty-head-count ratio in IDA countries compared with the world average. While most of the World Bank regions experienced significant declines in the poverty-head-count ratio, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia still account for the bulk of the extreme poverty. Sub-Saharan Africa in particular showed notable resistance to poverty reduction efforts.
The IDA is the largest contributor to development financing in the world's poorest countries, and IDA support has helped the world's poorest countries achieve key development outcomes as discussed in the previous section. A more direct assessment of IDA contributions to development outcomes can be achieved based on an analysis of the data on IDA project performance presented below.
The IDA project level performance data used for the analysis come from the IEG World Bank Project Performance Ratings dataset, which contains all IEG assessments of World Bank projects. Figures 4 and 5 present some aggregated ratings on IDA project outcomes. An explanation of IEG data and ratings presented can be found in Appendix C. The most desirable project outcome, from the perspective of IDA donors, including Canada, is one with a highly satisfactory or satisfactory outcome rating. Donors would also want the development outcomes to be sustained. Thus, an outcome rating of "satisfactory" or "highly satisfactory" with low or negligible risk to development outcome (RDO) is most desirable. Figure 4 shows that only about 22% of the IDA projects completed between 2013 and 2016 received a "satisfactory" or "highly satisfactory" outcome. This result is lower than the one achieved between 2009 and 2012.
The World Bank often operates under challenging conditions in IDA countries, with binding country and capacity constraints to development and poverty reduction, including constraints rooted in political economy. The IEG and the World Bank reports generally consider a rating of "moderately satisfactory or better" (MS+) as a satisfactory performance. Based on this criteria, 73% of the projects completed between 2013 and 2016 achieved satisfactory outcomes, up from 69.5% of the projects completed between 2009 and 2012. At the regional level (see Figure 5), South Asia was the best performing region, where 82% of the projects were rated MS+, followed by Eastern Europe and Central Asia at 80%, and East Asia and Pacific at 79%. Africa, which accounted for about 47% of all IDA projects, had 70% of the projects rated MS+. IDA projects in the Middle East and North Africa region had the lowest performance with only 39% of completed projects rated MS+.
The World Bank does not generally report on the sustainability of development results. Figure 4 shows that slightly more than one third of the IDA projects with MS+ ratings had moderate to low or negligible RDOs. This implies that almost two thirds of the projects completed between 2013 and 2016 faced significant or high RDOs. More worrisome is that the share of projects with high or significant RDOs rose by almost 5 percentage points in the 3-year period ending in 2016 compared to the previous 3-year period ending in 2012. The regional distribution of project outcomes (Figure 5) shows some variations in RDOs. What seems most alarming is that all projects with MS+ ratings in the Middle East and North Africa region had significant or high RDOs.
A thorough examination of the factors behind the low sustainability prospects of project outcomes is beyond the scope of this evaluation. The associated organizational and country factors will be explored on a limited scale in the next section on the organizational effectiveness of the World Bank.
The overall conclusion of the 2016 MOPAN assessment is that the World Bank is a mature and high-performing organization, which meets the requirements of an effective multilateral organization that is both fit for purpose and can anticipate and adjust to a changing world�. The Bank's comparative advantage lies in its capacity to provide a tailored package of financing and knowledge to its clients. Its internal structures, processes and procedures support the efficient and effective delivery of these services in line with its mandate.
The UK Department for International Development (DFID) completed a multilateral development review in December 2016. The assessment included the World Bank, which scored "very good" on the organizational strengths index. The review highlighted the World Bank's global reach, technical capacity, breadth of funding instruments, and convening and influencing role.
The World Bank was found to be good at delivering against challenging objectives and managing risk.
The recent and thorough assessment of the World Bank's organizational effectiveness, especially the assessment by MOPAN, reduces the need for further assessment as part of this evaluation. However, the high or significant RDOs for almost two thirds of IDA projects calls for some examination of accountabilities. The IEG World Bank Project Performance Ratings data used in the last section facilitates this examination. In particular, the data provide information on the World Bank's project implementation performance as well as the performance of IDA countries. The Bank's project implementation performance is measured by quality at entry of project operations and quality of project supervision.
Figure 6 gives a breakdown of the World Bank performance for the projects completed between 2013 and 2016. Almost 73% of the IDA projects were rated MS+ for overall Bank performance. The Bank performs very well in terms of quality of supervision, where four-fifths of the projects are rated MS+. However, the Bank's performance at the entry of operations stage is rated MS+ for only about 61% of projects.
Figure 7 shows the overall IDA country performance for projects completed between 2013 and 2016. In about three quarters of the projects, borrower performance is rated MS+. IDA country performance undoubtedly affects the overall project outcomes and the sustainability of development results. Numerous analyses conducted by both World Bank management and the IEG have highlighted the importance of country conditions, including a country's institutional and capacity constraints, and their effect on project outcomes. The analyses, however, emphasized the significance of adapting project design and supervision to country conditions for the achievement of satisfactory outcomes.
During project implementation, the propensity to solve problems, facilitated by regular missions, determines the supervision quality of Bank projects. The most important factor in Bank performance during supervision is the capacity of the Bank's team to solve problems encountered during project implementation. When a project is in progress, a wide range of possible issues (for example, procurement, financial management or staffing) can impede progress and influence impact. As noted in RAP 2015, project performance relates to a large extent to what happens during project implementation, such as cancelling funds for projects that are not working or providing additional financing for successful projects. The quality of relationships with stakeholders, the frequency of missions and the expertise of the Bank team are also found to contribute positively.
The Department of Finance Canada should raise the issue of the significant risks to the development outcomes of IDA-financed projects in its engagement with the World Bank and during future IDA replenishment consultations. The department should emphasize the need for concrete World Bank management commitments to address issues during project planning and approval, and suboptimal supervision during project implementation.
Efficiency is a measure of how economic inputs or resources are converted into results. In economic terms, efficiency signifies that the costs of scarce resources used to produce results approximate the minimum needed to achieve planned objectives.
In this section, the evaluation first assessed the efficiency and economy of Finance Canada in the management of Canada's contributions to the IDA. An assessment of the efficiency and economy of the IDA and the World Bank then follows.
The management of Canada's contributions to the IDA by Finance Canada is generally efficient and highly economic. Some opportunities exist to enhance efficiency through increased engagement with GAC following the finalization of a replenishment.
IDA and World Bank operations are generally satisfactory on the basis of efficiency and economy. There is scope for further efficiency gains by fostering a culture of evidence-based adaptive management and learning within the World Bank.
Canada's IDA contributions program is managed by a small group of highly skilled officials at Finance Canada. In addition to their many non-IDA responsibilities, this group plays an effective role in shaping the IDA's priorities. The group collaborates effectively with officials from GAC, who generally represent between 33% and 50% of Canadian delegations at IDA replenishment meetings. Representatives from GAC take the lead on thematic issues and officials from Finance Canada take the lead on policy and financial aspects. This division of responsibilities based on expertise works very well and produces a strong voice to convince other G7 and G20 members of the merits of Canadian positions on various policy issues. This arrangement contributes to effectively advancing Canada's international assistance priorities through the IDA and ensures that Canada's significant IDA payments provide good value for money in supporting sustainable poverty reduction and economic growth in poor countries.
While the management of the IDA file is generally efficient, a number of interviewees identified some potential efficiency gains. They suggested that more frequent meetings and information-sharing between Finance Canada and GAC officials on subject-matter issues and World Bank activities and strategies would enhance the efficiency of Canada's IDA payments.
The World Bank and the IEG use a composite indicator that includes effectiveness, relevance and efficiency to report on project performance. The project outcome rating is defined as "the extent to which the operation's major relevant objectives were achieved, or are expected to be achieved, efficiently." An exhaustive analysis of IDA performance based on the composite rating is presented earlier in this document under "IDA project performance." The composite rating, however, makes it difficult to assess the efficiency of IDA operations separately. There is, of course, a considerable amount of secondary information to assess the extent to which the World Bank is using its assets and comparative advantage to maximum effect. The MOPAN 2015-16 assessment of the World Bank found that the Bank's performance was satisfactory based on efficiency criteria. MOPAN noted that the Bank's human and financial resources, its considerable experience and knowledge of development issues, as well as the trust and confidence of its member countries confer the Bank with a comparative advantage over other international development organizations. In light of what precedes, the obvious question is the following: To what extent is the World Bank able to use this advantage to achieve development results efficiently?
The IDA ranked second among all 31 Development Assistance Committee members covered by QuODA based on all 4 dimensions of aid quality assessed, with Ireland ranking first.
The World Bank clearly articulates the importance of knowledge and the complementarity of knowledge and financial resources for its business model.
Two recent World Bank initiatives aimed at enhancing efficiency and effectiveness should be lauded. The first initiative is the new Country Partnership Framework based on the systematic country diagnostic tool, which supports a more evidence- and context-based approach to country engagement. The second initiative is to restructure and reorganize operational staff to generate, share, apply and disseminate the knowledge gained through the Bank's lending operations and global engagement.
Country survey inputs have made the Bank aware that stakeholders, while rating the Bank highly for its role as a long-term partner and for its collaborations with governments and citizens, find the Bank's speed and flexibility challenging. Currently it takes 28 months from the concept note stage of a project to the start of implementation. A notable part of this delay is attributed to national processes, such as parliamentary assent to loans. The Bank is, however, doing its part. The Bank has introduced a new procurement framework, which significantly reduces the need for time-consuming prior reviews. In addition, the Bank has established a target to cut by one third the time it takes to get from the concept note stage to the first disbursement.
The evaluation finds that Canada's program of contributions to the IDA, as managed by the Department of Finance Canada, is relevant. Overall, the program performs well and contributes to poverty reduction in the world's poorest countries. This performance is consistent with Canada's international assistance priorities and the objectives of the ODAAA.
IDA countries have demonstrated progress on key measures of poverty reduction and development, especially in areas of human development and access to basic services that are fundamental to human dignity. IDA operations are generally efficient, and the management of Canada's contributions to the IDA by Finance Canada is very efficient.
The evaluation has presented evidence that indicates opportunities for improvement in IDA development outcomes as well as their sustainability. Most of this evidence comes from the World Bank's IEG. As noted in the MOPAN 2015-16 assessment, "the World Bank is a mature and high-performing organization, which meets the requirements of an effective multilateral organization that is both fit for purpose and can anticipate and adjust to a changing world." The Bank continues to receive the highest ratings for its role as a long-term development partner. The World Bank is aware of the areas that it needs to focus on in order to improve its effectiveness in achieving development outcomes, and it will continue to address those areas.
The evaluation has also presented evidence that indicates some opportunities for improvement in Finance Canada's management of Canada's contributions to the IDA.
The International Finance and Development Division (IFDD) should ensure that the Minister of Finance has access to the views and recommendations of the participants of the latest Official Development Assistance Accountability Act (ODAAA) consultations before the Minister approves Canada's pledge to make IDA replenishments.
The Universal Declaration and its 2 covenants are the foundation of the contemporary international system of human rights.
Through its support of education, healthcare, nutrition, sanitation, housing, infrastructure and the environment, the IDA helps hundreds of millions of the world's poorest attain crucial economic and social rights. The Bank's support for good governance, accountable institutions, anti-corruption strategies and predictable legal frameworks in IDA countries helps people pursue a broad range of economic and civil rights.
A section of the Bank's founding Articles of Agreement, which provides that only the economic considerations of economy and efficiency shall be relevant to the Bank's decisions about the investment of limited public resources, is often cited as an obstacle to robust action on human rights. The articles also bar interference in the political affairs of any member country, and provide that the Bank's decisions cannot be influenced by the political character of the member country. However, many legal experts, including the World Bank's former Senior Vice President and General Counsel Roberto Da�ino, hold that the limitations in the articles do not prevent the Bank from considering political issues that have economic consequences or implications so long as such considerations are made in a non-partisan, non-ideological and neutral manner. The experts argue that the Bank should embrace the centrality of human rights in its work, given the mounting evidence that substantial violations of civil and political rights are related to slower economic growth.
The World Bank Environmental and Social Policy sets out the mandatory requirements that apply to the Bank in conducting its due diligence. It provides greater clarity about the roles and responsibilities of the Bank.
The Environmental and Social Standards set out the mandatory requirements that apply to IDA countries and projects.
The Employment and Social Standards establish objectives and requirements to avoid, minimize, reduce and mitigate environmental and social risks and impacts, and where significant residual impacts remain, to compensate for or offset such impacts. The standards also ensure that environmental and social concerns and community voices are represented in the design and implementation of projects.
The new framework promotes environmental sustainability by considering a greater range of environmental risks and potential impacts, and by encouraging the sustainable management of living natural resources.
With regard to protecting indigenous rights, the framework insists on free, prior and informed consent of the peoples affected by Bank-financed projects.
The ESF adds new instruments to bolster accountability and incorporates expanded roles for project-level grievance redress mechanisms to respond to complaints from project-affected people. Project-affected people can also submit complaints regarding a Bank-financed project to the World Bank's Grievance Redress Service.
The World Bank is primarily a financial institution with a development mandate. It cannot be expected to refuse to fund development projects and thereby punish people in IDA countries where governments have poor human rights records. It should also be recognized that the Bank's role is not that of an enforcer of compliance with international human rights obligations. The Bank can, however, play a collaborative role in helping IDA countries fulfill their human rights obligations. The World Bank should nevertheless be vigilant to ensure that it complies with the new World Bank Environmental and Social Policy, and that IDA countries comply with the required Environmental and Social Standards.
The IEG ratings are described in the World Bank Project Performance Ratings Codebook.
The IEG reviews all implementation completion and results reports (ICRs) of completed World Bank lending operations through ICR reviews (ICRRs). In ICRRs, the IEG provides its own project ratings based on the same evaluation criteria used by the World Bank project teams. For a subset of projects, IEG performs in-depth field-based evaluations, called project performance assessment reports (PPARs). PPAR ratings are considered more authoritative than ICRR ratings.
The project outcome rating is defined as "the extent to which the operation's major relevant objectives were achieved, or are expected to be achieved, efficiently" It is rated on 6-point scale: highly satisfactory, satisfactory, moderately satisfactory, moderately unsatisfactory, unsatisfactory and highly unsatisfactory.
The risk to development outcome (RDO) in the IEG ratings is the risk, at the time of evaluation, that development outcomes or expected outcomes will not be realized or maintained. Possible ratings for RDO are high, significant, moderate and negligible to low.
The Bank performance indicator gives the extent to which services provided by the Bank ensured quality at entry of operations and supported effective implementation through appropriate supervision. Possible ratings for Bank performance are highly satisfactory, satisfactory, moderately satisfactory, moderately unsatisfactory, unsatisfactory, and highly unsatisfactory.
Possible ratings for IDA country performance are highly satisfactory, satisfactory, moderately satisfactory, moderately unsatisfactory, unsatisfactory and highly unsatisfactory.
2 The World Bank fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. The Government of Canada fiscal year runs from April 1 to March 31.
3 The IDA and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) make up the World Bank. The World Bank Group (WBG) is made up of the World Bank and 3 other partner agencies: the International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.
4 Canada's cumulative contribution from 1960 to June 30, 2017. For more information, see Canada at the IMF and World Bank Group 2016-17.
5 Throughout this report, "IDA countries" refers to countries that receive financing from the IDA.
6 The total amount of ODA for the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year was C$5.02 billion.
8 Canada's cumulative contribution from 1960 to June 30, 2017. For more information, see Canada at the IMF and World Bank Group 2016-17.
10 In some cases, the data do not differentiate between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. In such cases, the entire continent is referred to.
12 See the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie Mandate Letter.
13 The 2 goals are taken from What We Do on the World Bank website.
14 For more information about the theme, see the report on the overarching theme on the World Bank website.
16 For example, in the 2016 to 2017 fiscal year, federal departments reported a total of C$5.3 billion spent on international assistance payments, and 95% of this spending was reported as ODA under the ODAAA. Over 90% of the reported C$5.3 billion in international assistance spending was funded by the IAE.
17 The remaining C$51.2 million payment also went to the IDA as part of writing off the debt owed to the IDA by some of the world's poorest countries. This write off was part of the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative.
18 The Report to Parliament on the Government of Canada's Official Development Assistance is also referred to as the "ODA report" in this document.
19 The 2 goals were mentioned previously and are listed under What We Do on the World Bank website.
22 "Crowding in the private sector" implies enhancing the participation of the private sector in order to finance development.
23 Refer to this IDA18 IFC-MIGA Private Sector Window document for more information.
24 For example, the latest ODA report (2016 to 2017) provided notably fewer details on activities and results compared with reports in previous years.
26 IDA results accessed on August 24, 2017. The results listed in the text cover the bulk of the IDA16 and IDA17.
27 The poverty-head-count ratio is the percentage of the population living on less than US$1.90 per day (at 2011 purchasing power parity). Based on the latest data cited in this report, compared to 1990, 43% fewer people live on less than US$1.90 a day.
28 The Gender Parity Index measures female enrolment in schools as a percentage of male enrolment.
29 See Appendix D for details.
30 IEG data and ratings were accessed on April 12, 2017. An explanation of IEG data and ratings can be found in Appendix C.
33 Total commitments of the WBG in 2017 stood at US$61.8 billion. This included the commitments of the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and recipient-executed trust funds.
34 MOPAN is a network of donor countries with a common interest in assessing the effectiveness of multilateral organizations. It is made up of 18 donor countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom. These 18 countries together provide 95% of ODA to multilateral organizations.
36 IEG (2015) World Bank Project Performance Ratings Codebook.
37 QuODA is a joint initiative of the Center for Global Development and the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution. The third edition of QuODA assessed aid quality for 31 Development Assistance Committee member countries and multilateral agencies according to the above listed 4 dimensions.
40 The 2008 Accra Agenda for Action and 2011 Busan outcome document both acknowledged the importance of human rights standards and principles for the effectiveness of development efforts. In the context of the millennium development goals, the 2010 UN World Summit outcome document confirmed the centrality of human rights to sustainable development, which paved the way for the 2015 SDGs. The declaration in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015, underscored the centrality of human rights in development. A powerful case for the integration of human rights and development is made in a book, entitled Integrating Human Rights into Development: Donor Approaches, Experiences, and Challenges, published jointly by the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2013. In her forward, Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, underscored the urgent need for human rights and development agendas to work in a mutually reinforcing way in order to eliminate poverty and promote equitable and sustainable development.
41 In a full human-rights-based approach to development, the main constraints to development are considered to be inequality, discrimination and violations of human rights. The approach emphasizes participation and empowerment and the need for accountability. All development efforts are anchored in human rights norms, standards and obligations.
43 See, for example, Roberto Dañino's "Legal Aspects of the World Bank's Work on Human Rights in Human Rights and Development: Some Preliminary Thoughts," which is a chapter in the collection entitled Human Rights and Development: Towards Mutual Reinforcement. The collection is edited by Mary Robinson and Philip Alston. See also the Report of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights by Philip Alston, presented to the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, August 4, 2015, and UN Independent Expert reports on World Bank and IMF human rights performance by Alfred-Maurice de Zayas, October 2017.
44 The term in the World Bank Project Performance Ratings Codebook is "outcome rating" and the definition is taken verbatim.


text:
Q: How to add a div to popup window in javascript? i have created a popup window using the following code in javascript;
  window.open("http://google.com", "myWindow", "status = 1, height = 300, width = 300, resizable = 0");

i need to add following dynamic div to that popup window.

the above div is dynamic because,the image src will vary according to the query string in the url

A: You can't for security reasons. Due to the same-origin-policy (and google.com is certainly not your domain), you won't be allowed to access the DOM of the other window.
If the popup is from the same domain, the return value of window.open will be a reference to the popup's window object: https://developer.mozilla.org/en/DOM/window.open
var popup = window.open("/relative path.html", ...);
popup.onload = function() { // of course you can use other onload-techniques
    jQuery(popup.document.body).append("
"); // or any other dom manipulation
}

A: Just use the following code:
a href="www.google.com" onclick="window.open(this.href,  null, 'height=580, width=680, toolbar=0, location=0, status=1, scrollbars=1, resizable=1'); return false"

A: As bergi said no append to DOM from external domain. But for same domain(taken from here)
win=window.open('about:blank','instructions','width=300,height=200');
doc=win.document;
doc.open();
doc.write('
instructions
');
doc.close();
//reference to the div inside the popup
//->doc.getElementById('instructions')

You can see an example here also.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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text:
At Work: The Art of California Labor
Mark Dean Johnson
California Historical Society Press in conjunction with Heyday Books, San Francisco State University, and the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, Jan 1, 2003 - Art - 154 pages
Art. Labor. This is a visual journey that follows early events and conditions, from the rise of statewide organized labor to the changing demographics of the wartime workforce; from the zenith of the California Labor School to the farm workers' movement; from the disenfranchisement of workers in the service economy to the potent effects of globalization felt at the end of the twentieth century. "This artwork represents an important cultural heritage for California, needed more urgently today than ever before"--Tom Rankin, President, California Labor Federation.
Art of Engagement: Visual Politics in California and Beyond
Peter Howard Selz,Susan Landauer
Peter Selz,Susan Landauer
Johnson is professor of art at San Francisco State University.
Title At Work: The Art of California Labor
Editor Mark Dean Johnson
Publisher California Historical Society Press in conjunction with Heyday Books, San Francisco State University, and the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, 2003
Art / History / General
History / United States / State & Local / General
History / United States / State & Local / West (AK, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, UT, WY)
Photography / Subjects & Themes / Regional
Political Science / Labor & Industrial Relations

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Xiaomi 13 is the first in several ways. Details about the new flagship
Xiaomi has been testing the new ultrasonic fingerprint scanner for some time, as it was revealed. This fall will see the debut of a smartphone equipped with this sensor.
Digital Chat Station is a well-known insider who claims that the Xiaomi 13 series will get a new ultrasonic fingerprint scanner. This sensor is more accurate and faster at recognizing fingerprints. This sensor is also great for wet fingers.
Multiple industry sources claim that Xiaomi 13 will become the first smartphone to use Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. It will be based upon TSMC's 4nm process, and will adopt the new 1+2+2+3 octa core architecture.
Samsung announced today that mass production of the UFS 4.0 flash memory will begin this month. This memory will also be available in Xiaomi 13.
The lineup should include the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro models. The older models should be offered in ceramic and glass versions as well as a Leica digital camera. Xiaomi 13 will be released in November.
Digital Chat Station was the first company to announce Redmi K50 specifications and Xiaomi 12 release dates.
Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, 120Hz and 160W. Package contents and live photos of OnePlus 10T showed immediately after the announcement
For the first time, the share of Windows 11 on Steam fell in monthly terms


text:
Art looks back in time, but it also looks to the future, grounds us, gives us hope and it will always move us on an emotional level
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by Luca Cserhalmi
Having originally worked in business, Meli Biró became a self-taught artist after discovering her passion and unique talent for the arts. Meli's commitment and propensity for experimentation and research, along with her creativity, has guided her to promptly become an exceptional creator. Having a fresh, uninfluenced perception has led Meli to have a creative process which enabled her to create something new and unique within fine arts. The approach, in which Meli combines painting with digital graphic techniques, is entirely unique. Meli does not merely view her paintings as a medium, but also as her raw resource. Meli's innovative and exciting three-step process used to compose her works: painting, photography and graphic design, reveals her meticulous and precise artistic attitude. The complex and lengthy creative process of shifting between media results in works, which not only reflect her punctilious personality, but also her artistic playfulness used to express her intense artistic approach.
Meli's art opens up a new dimension in the spectrum of familiar perspectives, leading the viewer into the macro world and linking it indirectly to the universe of cells and chemical elements. Meli's paintings reflect amorphous, dynamic life that is undeniable in its non-figurative nature and yet, full of vitality. Just as the microscope transformed our perception of the natural world, Meli uses macro photography to focus on details of her monumental paintings to rework them into individual pieces of art. Thus creating a whole from the part which provides her with a starting point to display an infinite range of scattering, creating an "ocean-like" experience where we are given the feeling of an endless field of vision. As the horizon is not the end of the ocean the frames do not set endings for Meli's paintings. At the same time, this continuous flow not only makes the boundaries of the pictures futile, removing their specific framed function but also creating arbitrariness in the search for the natural character of coincidence. Meli's art pieces assume an endless space that would be impossible to reproduce in a picture, making arbitrary snipping the optimal solution. This does not imply a lack of composition, as it takes a conscious and well-considered creative process to achieve the desired effect, and artists are often hard put to avoid giving a contrived feel to their work.
The brilliant way that Meli merges the medium of painting with the opportunities offered by technology is a special feat. The expansion allows viewers to observe the unobservable which alter the concept of the organic whole. Creating the image that everything is in motion, everything is made of vibrations whilst leaving the viewer questioning whether the tiniest components of her work are still yet to be discovered. These continuous, melodic flows fill Meli's works with life. The way Meli's pictures are viewed is unusual. Expansion brings the viewer closer to the paint as well as the material. The character of the paint remains in motion due to the doubts surrounding the identity of the material and the digital editing distorting its plasma-like character. The fundamental nature of painting and the endless possibilities of graphic editing dominate the surface of the pictures, making each piece unique, not only in this respect but also in shape and colour.
The finished works radiate the emotions of the artist in an expressive manner and, once absorbed, of the viewer as well. Without the need for words, the colours and various patterns bring viewers into a space made up of impressions, suggestions and emotions in constant vibration, as though viewers are watching a fascinating dance. This strange, eventful sight, that is impossible to define, attracts the eye with a suggestive strength, offering viewers the opportunity to become purely engrossed for no set reason.
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text:
Sally Absher Running for 4th District School Board Seat
By design on March 23, 2014 Comments Off on Sally Absher Running for 4th District School Board Seat
Photo by Dan Andrews. Sally Absher, Candidate for 4th District School Board Seat, attended a rally for education held earlier this month at Market Square.
By Ken Lay
Sally Absher is hoping to make some positive changes in the Knox County School System. She is running for the Knox County Board of Education's District 4 seat; and her platform is simple:
"I think we need more local control of our schools and I think we need to let educators make education decisions and not bureaucrats who haven't been in the classroom for 30 or 40 years or those who have never been in the classroom as a teacher at all," Absher said. "I'm a communicator and the main reason I'm running is that I feel that there has been a total lack of communication between our current school board member and her constituents. School board members should be accountable to their constituents; however, the current 4th district school board member has become a cheerleader for the superintendent. The superintendent works for the school board and the school board is supposed to work for We, the People."
Absher places great importance on communication.
"I'm involved in a door-to-door campaign and you only have a few minutes to engage folks, so I give them a card that has all of my contact information," she said. "It has my e-mail address and my phone number and I tell them to contact me with their questions or concerns."
Recently some veteran teachers have taken early retirement from Knox County Schools. The exodus was prompted by the current school superintendent and the board's implementation of Common Core Standards and convoluted evaluation process.
"That's another important reason that I decided to run; high-quality teachers are leaving Knox County Schools or leaving the profession all together," she said. "Teachers don't mind being evaluated, what concerns them is the way in which they're being evaluated."
Absher's commitment to communication has gone far beyond returning phone calls and e-mails.
"I have been attending all of the parent organization meetings in my district and I am telling everyone that I am here to listen," she said. "While I have seen a lot of good things going on, I have also encouraged the parents and teachers to voice their questions and their concerns."
"We always need to celebrate what is good about our schools but we also need to fix what's wrong and not just sweep those things under the rug."
Sally Absher Running for 4th District School Board Seat added by design on March 23, 2014
Mayor Burchett calls on School Board to 'sunshine' security meeting
Publisher's Position: School Board Races: A Referendum on McIntyre?
Trainor's Meltdown, Monday's School Board Meeting


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The Most Expensive Chocolate For You To Indulge In
by LuxuryLife Staff Writer | Jul 11, 2019 | Chocolates | 0 comments
The world's most expensive chocolate is a subject of fascination to people who have fallen under the spell of this special food. We are featuring four unique chocolate products that truly rate among the most expensive chocolate in the world. But these chocolates are not the kind you go out and buy for yourself when you need a little pick-me-up. They are likely to be chosen for gifts or even as special prizes or awards. Everything about them says expensive, from their price tags to their unique packaging.
But for those who want an actual taste of this kind of luxury, we are also showcasing five chocolate brands that produce some of the most expensive chocolates available. These are products of exceptional chocolatiers with long-standing traditions as well as some who are relative newcomers to the world of chocolate.
Comparison Table
The Most Expensive Chocolate in the World
To'ak Chocolate - $260
Knipschildt Chocolatier's Madeline Truffle - $250
DeLafee Gold Chocolate Box (8 chocolates) – $ 330
Debauve & Gaillas's Le Livre – $ 550
Where Can You Find the Most Expensive Chocolate to Indulge In?
Teuscher of Switzerland
Norman Love - Fort Myers
Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker
Vosges-Haut Chocolate - Chicago
Preview
Image via: toakchocolate.com
To'ak Chocolate
Check Price
Image via: chocopologie.com
Knipschildt Chocolatier's Madeline Truffle
Image via: Delafee.com
DeLafee Gold Chocolate Box (8 chocolates)
Image via: debauve-et-gallais.com
Debauve & Gaillas's Le Livre
Image via: teuscherchicago.com
Image via: normanloveconfections.com
Image Source: Amazon.com
Image via: Pixabay.com
There is the most expensive chocolate and then there is the most expensive chocolate that you can indulge in. This list of four of the most expensive chocolates in the world will make other, more accessible and lower-priced chocolates seem like bargains. These chocolates are conversation pieces even more than they are chocolate edibles. Each would make a wonderful gift for the person who otherwise may seem to have everything.
At $260 for a 50g/1.76 ounce piece of chocolate, this To'ak Chocolate Bar may well be the most expensive pure chocolate in the world. Its only ingredients are cacao and sugar. But the cacao is from the Arriba cacao trees that are on the verge of extinction. It took two years to make 574 of these small chocolate bars. They are packaged beautifully and the bar itself is a work of art with a whole cacao bean showcased in an indentation in the middle of the bar. The chocolate is accompanied by a pair of tweezers so it won't be contaminated and nothing will interfere with the pure taste of the chocolate. The bar is packaged in a wooden box numbered by the harvest and filled with cacao bean husks.
To'ak also has a line of beautifully boxed chocolates that showcase the wonders produced in Piedra de Plata, Ecuador.
Visit Site
Knipschildt's La Madeline au Truffle has been named the most expensive chocolate in the world by Forbes Magazine. This single chocolate truffle, selling for $250, helps them hold their place of honor. The truffle is made with 71% single bean chocolate, truffle oil. heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla which then surround a rare French Perigord truffle. The process takes 24 hours of folding the ingredients to produce this treasure.
This truffle is made to order and will ship within 14 days of ordering. It only has a shelf life of seven days. The truffle is manufactured by master chocolatier Fritz Knipschildt, whose workshop is at the back his cafe in Norwalk, Connecticut. Fortunately, it's possible to sample Master Knipschildt's chocolates at real-world prices.
DeLafee of Switzerland has merged two luxury products into beautiful, unique chocolates - the highest quality chocolate and 24 or 23 karat gold dust or flakes. The gold is applied by hand to the chocolates. This box of 8 is beautifully packaged in a wood box lined with silk with a vintage Swiss gold coin enhancing the presentation.
This box of eight is just one in a selection of individual pieces and assortments, all combining chocolate with gold or silver.
French chocolatier Debauve & Gaillas's Le Livre was created to celebrate the company's 200th anniversary. The assortment of bonbons, truffles, gold coins, white chocolate bars, and chocolate chips are packaged in a beautiful gold embossed leather book - LeLivre. The look of this package is reminiscent of the 16th century, but this company has taken a modern approach to getting the word out about their chocolates. Their website details and offers for sale a wide selection of chocolates made in the same tradition as the LeLivre collection but at somewhat lower prices.
Image via: Unsplash.com
The top list features fabulous chocolates that are as much art object as edible. They may make the perfect gift for someone special but are not likely to be a chocolate lover's choice for a personal indulgence. There are fabulous chocolates at somewhat more reasonable prices; still expensive but easier to justify once in a while to satisfy that urge for a truly decadent, delicious chocolate.
Godiva Chocolates may be the best-known brand featured in this list, This 90+-year old Belgian chocolatier has marketed itself through Godiva retail locations and selected placements in upscale retail stores. They have literally brought Belgian chocolates to the world. Godiva is known for its truffles and other beautiful chocolates packaged in their signature gold boxes, but the company started with pralines. Godiva has built its product line to include a very broad range of chocolates including recent additions of artisan chocolates made with interesting ingredients like Tasmanian honey and Mexican hot chocolate. Some Godiva products are available online and others are available only in their retail outlets or through the website.
The Teuscher chocolate tradition started more than 70 years ago in a small town in the Swiss Alps. Founder Dolf Teuscher traveled the world to find the finest cocoa, marzipan, fruits, nuts, and other ingredients for his candies. Through years of experimenting, he developed the recipes for which Teuscher is famous. Today hundreds of varieties of chocolates are made based on the original recipes that have been passed from father to son. Teuscher chocolates use the finest ingredients and use no preservatives or additives. These chocolates are flown to Teuscher stores around the world each week from the company's present location in Zurich to assure the freshest inventory. In the U.S. these chocolates are available through the Teuscher store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
Norman Love describes chocolate as his passion. He and his partner have realized his dream of producing visually stunning as well as delicious chocolates. Their unique technique involves hand-painting or air-brushing designs into the chocolate molds before they are filled with finest of chocolates from Belgium, France, and Switzerland. These imported chocolates are paired with an array of interesting, fresh ingredients including passion fruit, ginger, caramel, raspberry puree and many more. These distinctive chocolates are available at retail locations in the Fort Myers-Naples area of southwest Florida and by phone or online ordering. The company is headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida.
Scharffen Berger Chocolate Marker specializes in dark chocolate. The brand had its start in San Francisco in 1997 and drew on the experience of one of its founders who was a winemaker. Their manufacturing process and their development as a chocolate maker is a fascinating story detailed on their website. They track down cacao beans all over the world and process them through the fermentation and roasting stages. They perform all the steps from bean to finished product. Chocolate is made in small batches with their artisanal manufacturing methods. Their products include ready-to-eat chocolate bars as well as a variety of baking chocolates and cocoas.
Voges-Haut Chocolate owner and chocolatier Katrina Markoff chooses every spice, flower, and chocolate used her chocolates. Ingredients are flown in from around the world and include rare spices and flowers. Katrina learned French confectionary at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and through global apprenticeships. Her brand is distinguished by beautiful and unusual combinations ranging from Mexican vanilla bean and Argentinean dulce de leche premium truffles to a set of three molded smoked chipotle Day of the Dead skulls. These chocolates are works of art. A good selection of Vosge-Haut chocolates are available through Amazon as well as the full offering on the website.
The most expensive chocolate in the world is the product of chocolatiers, some of whom have decades of experience and tradition to build on, and some of whom are modern artisans and artists venturing into the exciting and challenging world of chocolate. All the chocolate products and chocolate lines we have described are luxury items of the highest order. The four small chocolates that command prices in the hundreds of dollars may never be something you want to purchase, but just knowing about them is fun and interesting. The expensive brands that are more likely to tempt chocolate lovers both for gift purchases and for treats for themselves are a good introduction to the classic and modern trends available in today's chocolate market.
Featured Image Source: Pixabay.com


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Q: Defining and calling function in Haskell FP Complete online IDE Is this not the correct way to define a function in fpcenter in Haskell ? :
-- | Main entry point to the application.
module Main where

-- | The main entry point.
main :: IO ()
main = do
    putStrLn "Welcome to FP Haskell Center!"
    putStrLn "Have a good day!"

let exp x n | n == 0 = 1
 | n == 0 = 1
 | n == 1 = x
 | even n = exp (x * x) m
 | odd n = x * exp (x*x) (m-1)
where m = n `div` 2

It displays src/Main.hs@12:2-12:3 parse error on input | at line      | n == 0 = 1
The function is correctly defined when added to Prelude.
Update : error message screenshot attached -

A: let is not used for top-level bindings (look at main). Simply write:
exp x n
 | n == 0 = 1
 | n == 1 = x
 | even n = exp (x * x) m
 | odd n = x * exp (x * x) (m - 1)
 where m = n `div` 2

Also, when you do use let or let-in, it follows the same layout rules as do for its block of bindings—the block must be indented as much as the first item in the block. People usually indent things in one of two ways:
let
  a = 2
  f x y
   | x < y = x
   | otherwise = y

let a = 2
    f x y | x < y = x
          | otherwise = y

I prefer the former style, because it does not require changing whitespace as often.