The Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) project of the World Bank reports aggregate and individual governance indicators for 212 countries and territories over the period 1996–2007, for six dimensions of governance:
* Voice and Accountability
* Political Stability and Absence of Violence
* Government Effectiveness
* Regulatory Quality
* Rule of Law
* Control of Corruption

The southern Indian state Karnataka has been chosen as the pilot location to implement the central government’s National Unique Identity (UID) project. The aim of the UID programme is to provide an identity card for every citizen to establish citizenship and address security concerns…

'The Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are a ‘make or break’ moment for whether the G20 deal will benefit the millions of children and adults struggling to get an education, according to a new policy report from the Global Campaign for Education (GCE). “Education on the Brink” shows that without significant changes to the IMF architecture and removal of conditionalities, the poorest nations will remain unable to lift themselves out of recession. Ed more...

'The increasing demand for reliable measures of governance has resulted in a tremendous growth in indicator sources, which are used to measure the performance of governments, the quality of public institutions, as well as people’s perceptions of various aspects of governance. This users’ guide brings together both ‘where to find’ and ‘how to use’ material on these sources.'

'This Users’ Guide provides basic information on various institutions engaged in establishing and identifying governance indicators generally used in the Philippines.

It does not prescribe or endorse any indicator or any one set of indicators, but briefly catalogues the institutions and agencies in the Philippines having sources of information that can serve as indicators of governance in the country.

The guide also presents and assembles data on the institutions generating possible gov more...

'The hype about mobile technology for development work is going on the rise. It's not for granted. More than four billion worldwide mobile subscriptions - with the fastest growth trend in developing countries - sounds like a great opportunity to reach and interact with broader groups of people, including the poor. But putting aside the m-euphoria let's explore the role for mobile technology in the field of governance.'

The purpose of this working paper, a think piece on governance in water services, is twofold. First, it aims to provide a basis for discussion and debate as to how the Department for International Development (DFID) should improve its approach to governance in water services.1 Second, it aims to develop a more comprehensive and structured approach to the analysis and the development of governance in water services by applying DFID’s current governance thinking at the sector level. The paper th more...

'As the World Bank hosts Extractive Industries Week, the story of the Mae Moh coal plant in Thailand shows why early community engagement is critical.'
Source: WRI, 2009

'In the mid-1980s, the Australian government embarked on the first initiative to analyse government budgets from a gender perspective. In 1995, South Africa and the Philippines became the second and third countries to attempt gender-responsive budget exercises. By 2003, there had been similar initiatives in more than sixty countries, spanning every continent. This paper uses the gender-responsive budgeting approach to explain how governments and donors can promote gender equality in education th more...

'The concept of mutual accountability refers to the establishment of working relations based on respect, fulfilling commitments, being transparent about development objectives, and accounting for decisions, actions and results. This paper focusses on how mutual accountability in development aid is understood and how it works in practice in Afghanistan, while also examining the challenges involved in achieving mutual accountability in aid relationships. The paper concludes that mutual accountabil more...