Over the last decade, building control systems in Europe have undergone significant changes. Many countries have introduced private elements in their building control process. This smart lesson highlights some of the choices that the Czech Government had to make when trying to privatize building...

International Finance Corporation (IFC) was very active in the Republic of Korea immediately after the Asian financial crisis erupted in 1997. IFC reestablished operations in Korea and opened a local office in October 1998, and closed it in late 2002 after Korea recovered from the crisis. At the...

Despite the large potential of the agricultural sector in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, production is still limited by a lack of technical knowledge and, in many cases, an unwillingness to change agricultural practices inherited from Soviet times. The problem has more than one cause: poor...

When International Finance Corporations (IFC's) advisory services strategy evolves, it can lead to major program changes. This requires good risk management, because clients, donors, government, partner organizations, and staff are affected. A good strategy, coupled with solid management and...

Every good organization around the globe firmly espouses the benefits of sound risk management. Certainly, the recent financial crisis has underscored this imperative. Yet it is remarkable how elusive an effective risk management function can be for many organizations. This is definitely the...

This paper focuses on a very familiar and important aspect of many advisory services projects - 'raising awareness.' There are many reasons for undertaking this activity; some of the most common include marketing, while others may relate to educating the wider public on the availability of a new...

In recent years, a growing emphasis has been put on results measurement and also on using hard data to evaluate and steer policy. Given the significant efforts in many countries to simplify business entry, this has led to an interest in using data from business registries to compare the number...

In February 2006, the government of Liberia invited the World Bank Group to work with the country to implement a comprehensive multiyear advisory services program. The program is designed to support the growth of a vibrant domestic private sector in Liberia that can create employment, increase...

Although trade liberalization can create jobs and raise incomes, these benefits are easily undermined if excessive costs and delays hinder trade transactions - reducing a country's export competitiveness. This note shows how Tunisia embraced information and communications technology (ICT) to...

When designing and implementing a project in a conflict-affected country, some of the conflict's more obvious impacts-damage to infrastructure and energy supplies, are apt to immediately come to mind. However, based on the experiences with the Kosovo privatization program, there are additional...