Challenges in Web Governance in a Complex International Organization: The Case of the World Bank Robert Valantin Third Web4Dev Conference UN, New York 20-22 November 2006

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Challenges in Web Governance in a Complex
International OrganizationThe Case of the World
BankRobert ValantinThird Web4Dev
ConferenceUN, New York20-22 November 2006
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The World Bank and the Bank Group

• World BankThe International Bank for
  Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and
  the International Development Association (IDA).
• Affiliates International Finance Corporation
  (IFC)
• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
  International Centre for Settlement of Investment
  Disputes (ICSID)
• Membership184 countries
• HeadquartersWashington, DC, and more than 100
  country offices
• Staff Approximately 10,000employeesin offices
  around the world
• EstablishedJuly 1, 1944during a conference of
  44 countries in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire

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The Web _at_ The World Bank

• The External Web helps businesses, civil society,
  client governments, investors, job seekers,
  journalists, parliamentarians, youth, and
  students to help them to achieve their
  development-related objectives
• The Intranet provides Bank staff with easy access
  to a wide variety of practical information useful
  to their work, as well as an environment to
  initiate different kinds of transactions related
  to travel, time recording, leave, services
  (translation, visitor passes, etc.), operational
  lending (PCNs, PADs, ISRs, etc.).
• Extranets such as Client Connection and the
  Online Media Briefing Center provide restricted
  access to specialized information for specific
  groups.

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The External Web _at_ The World Bank

• In one six-month period, the External Web served
  some 45 million pages views to over 6.5 million
  individuals and recorded 8.2 million visits.In
  any month, it attracts about a million unique
  visitors, who view eight million pages during 1.4
  million visits.
• Over 300,000 downloads are recorded each month.
• Bank staff account for about 7 percent of page
  views
• The Banks internal content management system has
  logged over 175,000 content items on 1,283 sites
  since 2003. These items were published by 932
  individuals.
• In 2005 alone, over 76,000 content items were
  published. A small number of publishers tend to
  carry the burden 86 percent of the content
  items are posted by 26 percent of publishers.

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The External Web _at_ The World Bank

• For additional details on the Banks External Web
  site and findings from our recent Web in Review
  
• ? See Nick Harrisons presentation From Good to
  Great Managing an Effective International Web
  Site provided in the Web4Dev conference
  materials as a resource

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A challenge for the Banks Web

• The challenge for the Bank is to provide a
  state-of-the-art, reliable Web presence with
  interesting, fresh, and relevant content covering
  the large variety of countries, topics, projects
  and activities in which the Bank is engaged while
  meeting the information and transactional needs
  of a very diverse set of clients and users within
  the Bank and around the world. (Robert
  Valantin)

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Current Approach

• Utilize the Banks technological infrastructure
  and organizational base, using common tools,
  institutional systems, guidelines, and
  look-and-feel while maintaining an essentially
  decentralized (VPU-based) system for content
  production, quality control, management, and
  resourcing.
• VPUVice Presidential Unit (i.e. a department
  in the Bank

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Current Approach Web Publishing Policy

• Management sponsorship
• Formal clearance for External Web content
• Guidelines style, naming, site management, etc.
• Common technical platform (and exceptions)
• Site archiving
• User feedback
• Reporting
• Accessibility
• Access to Bank publications
• Enforcement

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Current Approach External Web Goals

• Provide a coherent, easy-to-use-and-navigate
  entry point into the World Bank and its knowledge
  resources and development activities
• Provide authoritative information on key
  development issues through research, project
  findings, lessons learned, datasets, etc.
• Support development practitioners in their work
  through online communities, relevant knowledge
  products, training opportunities, and other means
• Facilitate better Bank operations through
  streamlining business processes, increasing
  transparency, and customer care
• Play a global advocate role for development
  issues by communicating with educating the media,
  students teachers, the general public
  interested in development issues, and other
  stakeholders
• Carry out best practice in website management
  (design, architecture, policy, management,
  governance)
• Exchange lessons learned in using the Web for
  development (e.g. Web4Dev!) and develop joint
  products and activities through partnerships.

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Current Approach Some Institutional Groups

• Information Policy Council (IPC) and Business
  Sponsors Group (BSG) two formal governance
  mechanisms which review requests for IT-related
  capital funding, including capital spending for
  the Web
• E-Publish Working Group more formal
  (representative) group which governs
  development of the E-Publish tool
• Regional Webmasters Group informal group of
  Webmasters representing Bank regions work on
  issues of common interest (e.g. look-and-feel
  for regional and country pages)
• Central Web teams (in ISGEXT and in other VPUs)
  see the next slide
• Web Community informal group of people working
  on the Web in the Bank

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Current Approach Web Teams

• Small Central Web Teams in EXT and ISG manage
  common issues, policy, guidelines, oversight
  (enforcement), plus selective content quality
  enhancement efforts, site reviews, Web Community
  events/training, business sponsorship/requirements
  /coordination of development of corporate
  systems/applications for the External Web.
• Other Teams in ISG handle the Intranet and
  Extranets.
• Technical teams in ISG handle common content
  management platform (E-Publish), databases,
  servers ISP
• Web teams in each VPU actually create content and
  sites following overall guidelines and using
  resources provided by their own management

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One VPUs Approach

• Over to
• The Case of South Asia
• by
• Daria Lavrentieva

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Issues with the current approach

• Need for an overall Bank (Group) Web Strategy in
  the context of a Bank (Group) Information
  Strategy and IT Strategy
• Need for clearly identified/responsible Web
  Business Sponsors in VPUs to ensure strategic
  business value of sites, adequate resourcing,
  monitoring of use and effectiveness, and
  archiving Bank Web Policy
• Need for effective institutional oversight of
  content quality and monitoring of adherence to
  standards/policies
• Better integration of the Intranet, the External
  Web and Extranets and integration within The
  Bank Group -- has potential for additional
  synergies.

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Issues with the current approach

• Multiplication of sites (language sites,
  different sites dealing with similar content),
  and duplication of content are not efficient
  e.g. there are 13 sites that address trade,
  published by 8 different Units
• Most traffic (77 percent of page views) is served
  on 10 percent of the sites.
• The system is supply-driven/organized vs.
  demand-driven/organized.
• How to balance the desire to make information
  widely available (the Banks Disclosure Policy)
  with the need for quality control?
• How to build in technological innovation while
  dealing with complex institutional systems Are
  we ready for Web 2.0?
• ? Need for more clearly defined and active
  (pro-active?) governance

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A key question

• Should the Bank change its overall approach to
  content from decentralized, supply-driven
  (sites-based) approach to something else?
• A model where VPUs and others contribute
  content which is shareable and reusable
• A model where suppliers and users of content
  help design customizable delivery mechanisms
  for the content
• A model which actively uses metrics to inform the
  choice of content and allocation of resources?
• A model which supports technological innovation
  and encourages user-involvement and partnerships?

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And despite all of the challenges and issues

• Somehow it all works and not too badly at
  that!
• The Web system in effect mirrors the
  organizational structure of the Bank and ways
  that the Bank works.

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Functions that are required of Web Governance

• 1 Web-related strategy and policy development and
  review
• 2 Content policy and editorial focus
• 3 Monitoring and evaluation
• 4 Technical enhancements and improvements
• 5 Management oversight.

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1. Web strategy and policy development and review

• Define the Banks objectives for use of the Web
  in light of the Bank Groups mission and current
  priorities and policies.
• Develop an overall Web strategy for the Bank
  Group covering both internal and external Webs
  in the context of overall Information and IT
  Strategies (which also need to be developed).
• Selectively review VPU-level strategies and
  implementation plans and share best practices
  with a view to harmonizing these.
• Review the Banks Web Publishing Policy and make
  changes as appropriate.

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2. Content policy and editorial focus

• Review existing content-related/editorial
  policies and guidelines and recommend changes as
  appropriate.
• Review proposed major changes to the overall site
  design.
• Suggest major new content features and themes.
• Develop guidelines for linkages to external sites
  and to potential external partners (e.g. private
  sector)
• Develop guidelines for cooperation on Web
  content-related matters with other international
  development organizations.

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3. Monitoring and evaluation

• Review periodic reports on the overall site and
  on sets of sites (e.g. by VPU, network, theme).
  Such reports would cover both quantitative and
  qualitative measures.
• Review annual reports of major components of the
  Banks Web (e.g. the Web in Review for the
  External Web), and make recommendations as
  appropriate.
• Monitor compliance with the Web Policy. Provide
  appropriate incentives and dis-incentives.

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4. Technical enhancements improvements

• Review input from the Web community and other
  sources to identify promising strategic changes
  in approach/technology for the Web at the Bank.
• Assess the impact of proposed significant changes
  to overall system architecture to the Web
  Community in the Bank and users.
• Provide guidance on major technological
  investments related to the Web and suggest
  priorities.
• Act as a catalyst for innovation and technology
  development

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5. Management oversight

• Review Web-related requests to central Bank
  budget, capital investment, and knowledge
  management processes.
• Maintain an overview of Bank-wide resourcing of
  the Web (based on inputs from the various units
  involved)
• Liaise with other Information and IT governance
  processes as appropriate.
• Serve as ambassadors to Management (both
  VPU-level and Senior Management) to ensure
  support for Bank-wide policies and initiatives.
• Report back to the Web Community.

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Reactions from South Asia

• Over to Daria for comments

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Some parting thoughts

• Does it even make sense to use Web
• as a differentiator any more ???
• The Web is just another interface between
  information repositories and business processes
  within the Bank, and users both inside the Bank
  and outside.

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Some parting thoughts

• The Web is a set of software applications and
  tools. Its development and funding are governed
  by the existing processes covering all IT
  investments.
• The Web is a collection of content. It adheres
  to standards and guidelines which cover various
  aspects of information at the Bank. It should
  be governed by whatever mechanisms are put in
  place for governing them. Key aspects include
  the Banks Disclosure Policy, the Records
  Management Policy, and the proposal for
  Information Governance

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Some parting thoughts

• The Web is a distinct medium for information
  delivery, communication, and transactions. It is
  covered by the Banks Web Policy and related
  guidelines.
• As a part of the World Wide Web, the Banks Web
  adheres to technical standards and industry
  practices. As a leading development agency, the
  Bank collaborates both formally and informally
  with other organizations, both private and public
  sector, to increase the availability, reach and
  usefulness of its information and that of the
  development community more generally.

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THANK YOU!

• Robert Valantin
• Manager, Development Information
• World Bank
• RValantin_at_worldbank.org