Social Funds
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48147 Public Disclosure Authorized ________________________________________ Social Funds: Accomplishments and Aspirations Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Social Funds, June 5-7, 2000 ________________________________________ Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Edited by Antony Levine Public Disclosure Authorized September 2000 World Bank Foreword Thirteen years since the Bank financed the first social fund in Bolivia, social funds have taken root in 50 countries. They are supported by US$3 billion of World Bank investments and an additional US$3 billion from other sources. Branching out from their origin as emergency employment and social infrastructure programs, social funds now finance initiatives as diverse as women’s literacy projects, HIV/AIDS education, and disability rights campaigns, while maintaining their core mission of alleviating poverty through provision of social infrastructure and services in a demand-driven, participatory manner. The growing importance of social funds has created an important opportunity as well as an obligation to bring together social fund managers and experts for a second international social funds conference to take stock of where we stand, what we know and how to chart a further course. The three-day conference held in Washington June 5-7, 2000 proved both exciting and fruitful. While buoyed by the promising preliminary results from impact evaluations, the conference participants heeded admonitions not to rest on their laurels. Instead, they discussed, in a spirit of collegial rigor, how to improve the social fund model in the face of international and national development realities. More than a conference of practitioners, this meeting exemplified the power of social capital, becoming a gathering of friends that solidified bonds between social fund supporters around the world. With budding evidence of the efficacy of social funds, the World Bank is proud to extend its continued support to social funds and to their regional networks. Social funds should continue to provide an important plank in the World Bank’s efforts to assist nations to eradicate poverty. We hope this report of the conference proceedings inspires both enthusiasm and introspection, helping to nurture new growth for social funds as they strive to meet the development challenges of a new century. Eduardo Doryan Vinod Thomas Vice President Vice President Human Development Network World Bank Institute World Bank World Bank i ii Table of contents Foreword ..........................................................................................................p. i Outline of contents............................................................................................p. iv Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................p. v 1 Overview and Recommendations..............................................................p. 1 Backdrop to conference p. 1 Second international social funds conference p. 3 Challenges and recommendations p. 4 2 Poverty Alleviation Backdrop .....................................................................p. 9 Keynote address p. 10 World Development Report 2000/1 p. 17 Three-pillar framework p. 17 Human development perspective p. 20 3 Evaluating Social Fund Performance Across Countries............................p.23 Findings from the study p. 24 Preliminary findings p. 25 Do not become complacent p. 37 Discussion points p. 38 4 Policy Context ............................................................................................p. 41 Decentralization p. 42 Social risk management p. 51 Community-driven development p. 61 Institutional sustainability p. 69 Donor participation p. 71 5 Marketplace................................................................................................p. 73 HIV/AIDS p. 74 Vulnerable groups p. 76 Cultural assets for poverty reduction p. 78 Gender p. 80 Monitoring and evaluation (MIS) p. 81 Post conflict/post-disaster reconstruction p. 82 Social capital p. 84 Microfinance and income generation p. 86 Corruption and governance p. 88 Community contracting p. 90 6 Regional Networks.....................................................................................p. 93 Africa (ASIFNET) p. 94 Eastern Europe and Central Asia (ECAnet) p. 95 Middle East and North Africa (MENANET) p. 96 Latin America and the Caribbean (Red Social) p. 97 Appendices.......................................................................................................p. 101 1: List of participants p. 101 2: Agenda p. 114 3: Relevant websites p. 118 iii Outline of Contents This Report records the proceedings and findings of the Second International Conference on Social Funds: Evolving in the New Millenium held in Washington, D.C. from June 5-8, 2000. Convened by the World Bank’s Social Protection Unit and the World Bank Institute, the Conference brought together 277 government officials, social fund managers, development experts and academics from 61 countries. They took stock of 13 years of experience in implementing social funds and debated strategies to improve and expand the social fund model. The Report begins with a brief overview of the history of social funds and of the two international social fund conferences. Describing the backdrop against which social funds operate, the Report next highlights the keynote address by World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn then outlines varying perspectives on general poverty alleviation strategies presented by one of World Bank’s World Development Report 2000/1 co- directors and a representative from the United Nations Development Programme. Sharing preliminary findings from a landmark impact assessment of social funds, the Report conveys empirical evidence that details the success and shortcomings of social funds. Research found that social funds reach poor communities and often the poorest households, produce significant positive impact on some social indicators, sustain infrastructure better and, in some but not all cases, complete projects for less money. Despite their historic success, social funds must contend with a transforming policy environment. This Report details discussions and recommendations about the implications of decentralization, the importance of developing social funds within a broader social risk management framework, the promises and pitfalls of community- driven development, the need to develop institutional sustainability, and strategies to secure and manage donor participation. To complement the plenary meetings and strategic sessions, the conference held a “Marketplace” comprised of 10 workshops on various thematic and operational issues. Overviews of these workshops, on HIV/AIDS, vulnerable groups, gender, post- conflict/post-disaster reconstruction, social capital, microfinance and income generation, corruption/governance, cultural assets, community contracting, and monitoring and evaluation are presented. The Report concludes with a brief description of the meetings and recommendations of the four regional social fund networks covering sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and North Africa. Three appendices provide a list of participants, the conference agenda and relevant websites. This Report, as well as Conference background documents and other related resources, is available on the social funds website which can be accessed from www.worldbank.org/sp. iv Acknowledgements This conference would not have been possible without the support and assistance of many different people and organizations. We would like especially to express gratitude to the following people and groups: Opening Session: James D. Wolfensohn (President, World Bank), Eduardo Doryan (Vice President, Human Development Network), and John Middleton (Vice President, Director, World Bank Institute). Presenters: Abdulkarim Al-Arhabi (Managing Director, Yemen Social Fund), Kevin Healy (Inter-American Foundation), Selim Jehan (Deputy Director, Human Development Report Office, United Nations Development Programme), Sam Kakhobwe (Executive Director, Malawi Social Action Fund), Nora Lustig (Deputy Director, World Development Report), Cosmas B. Mambo (Project Corodinator, Zambia Social Recovery Project), Anek Nakabutara (Executive Director, Thailand Social Investment Fund Office), Carlos Noguera Pastora (Executive Director, Nicaragua Social Investment Fund), Boris Popadiuk (Executive Director, Moldova Social Investment Fund), and Paul Smoke (Associate Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Regional network representatives: AFRICATIP: Magatte Wade ASIFnet: Sekou Maiga, Cosmos Mambo ECAnet: Gagik Khachatryan MENAnet: Laila Gad, Abdulkarim Al-Arhabi Red Social: Blanca Lilia Garcia López Conference workshop organizers Ana-Maria Arriagada, Anush Bezhanyan, Nat Colletta, Samantha de Silva, Philippe Dongier, Pamela Dudzik, Kreszentia Duer, Katrinka Ebbe, Yasser El-Gammal, Margaret Goodman (IDB), Keith Hansen, Daniel Kaufman, Karen Mason, Deepa Narayan, Laura Rawlings, Susan Razzaz, Lynne Sherburne-Benz, Bachir Souhlal, Wendy Wakeman, and David Warren. Conference organizers: Sevil Etili, Katya Gutierrez, Marianne Leenaerts, Surat Nsour, Junko Saito, Lalia Semmoune-Gallo, Erika Veizaga, and Kimberly Zellars. Conference steering committee members: Anush Bezhanyan, Laura Frigenti, Qazi Azmat Isa, Steen Jorgensen, Qaiser Khan, Dinah McLeod, Laura Rawlings, and David Steel. We