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Social Development Themes
The Social Development Department of the World Bank coordinates several thematic work programs. These include Community Driven Development, Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction, Indigenous Peoples, Involuntary Resettlement, Participation and Civic Engagement, Social Analysis and Policy and Social Capital.
Community Driven Development
Community Driven Development (CDD) is broadly defined as giving control of decisions and resources to community groups. CDD frameworks link participation, community management of resources, good governance and decentralization. CDD is directly relevant across sectors for provision of goods and services that are within the management capacity of community organizations.
The Community Driven Development Group of the World Bank works to increase the understanding of community driven development and its role in poverty reduction, to improve the overall quality of lending programs using community driven techniques, and to find ways to effectively scale-up community driven activities in the World Bank’s client countries.
Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction
The World Bank views conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction as critical to its mission of poverty reduction. The Bank's response to conflict has evolved from a focus on rebuilding infrastructure to a more comprehensive approach, which encompasses the promotion of economic recovery, addressing social sector needs, assisting vulnerable groups, building institutional capacity, and restoring social capital. Specific efforts also support mine action, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants, and reintegration of displaced populations.
The Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Unit in the World Bank is responsible for promoting this agenda both inside the Bank and externally with partners, by conducting research and providing analysis on conflict and development to support country units working in conflict-affected countries.
The Post-Conflict Fund managed by the CPR unit makes grants to a wide range of partners for assistance to conflict-affected countries. Grants are focused on the restoration of the lives and livelihood of war-affected populations, with a premium placed on innovative approaches to conflict, partnerships with donors and executing agencies and leveraging resources through a variety of funding arrangements.
Indigenous Peoples
The Indigenous Peoples Group in the World Bank aims to promote Indigenous Peoples' development and to ensure that the development process fosters the full respect for the dignity, human rights and uniqueness of Indigenous Peoples.
Involuntary Resettlement
The Involuntary Resettlement team in the World Bank helps identify, plan, implement, and monitor involuntary resettlement programs in Bank-assisted projects with the objective of minimizing displacement, offering opportunities to displaced persons to participate in the design and implementation of resettlement programs and assisting them in their efforts to improve, or at least restore, their income and standards of living after displacement.
Participation and Civic Engagement
Participation is a process through which stakeholders influence and share control over development initiatives and the decisions and resources which affect them. Civic Engagement refers to the process through which citizens and citizens' organizations and networks engage in public debate and action to seek to achieve this.
The Participation and Civic Engagement Group develops methods and approaches that encourage stakeholders, especially the poor, to influence and share control over priority setting, policy making, resource allocations and decisions that affect their lives.
Social Analysis
Social analysis enables the World Bank to assess whether a proposed program or operation is likely to meet its social objectives and to recommend measures that will ensure that these objectives are met. This involves examining the project's socio-cultural, institutional, historical and political context, and stakeholder views and priorities, and including as many relevant stakeholders as feasible in the project cycle. Good social analysis can thus broaden social support for economic and social development.
The Social Analysis and Policy Team works to mainstream social analysis within World Bank financed projects and programs and to apply social analysis as an integral part of project and program cycles, by developing social analysis approaches and tools and providing assistance in their application.
Social Capital
Social capital refers to the norms and networks that enable collective action. Increasing evidence shows that social capital is critical for poverty alleviation and sustainable social and economic development.
The Social Capital team within the Community Driven Development thematic work program is developing tools and guidance to help World Bank operational staff enhance social capital in Bank-financed projects.
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