Working with the World Bank Group in fragile and conflict-affected states : a resource note for United Nations staff

Strong partnerships and shared expertise are essential for delivering results in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS), in which political, security, humanitarian, and development activities must be integrated to promote sustainable peace and development. Close collaboration between the United Nations (UN) and the World Bank Group (WBG) promotes a more effective and sustainable international response in these contexts by linking diverse United Nations activities and capacities with the WBG’s financing, longer-term development perspective, and economic and thematic expertise, in addition to the mobilizing power of both as multilateral institutions. With this understanding, the 2008 UN-WB partnership framework for crisis and post-crisis situations sets out principles for engagement in natural disasters as well as FCS. Its operational annex, agreed by the UN Development Group (UNDG) and the WB, establishes additional guidelines for coordinated response. Building on these commitments, the UN and WB adopted a strategic results framework (SRF) for UN-WB partnership in FCS. The SRF aims to: (i) improve regional and country-specific collaboration; (ii) strengthen institutional cooperation and communication on policy and thematic issues; and (iii) enhance operational policies, frameworks, and tools to facilitate cooperation and cross-financing. This resource note aims to help UN staff to better understand the WBG and work more effectively with it in FCS.