The Bank has agreed to publish Country Assistance Strategies (CAS) – the documents which set out the Bank’s multi-year lending plans – once they have been discussed by the Board and if the borrower government requests it. In addition the Bank will also release a Public Information Notice (PIN) summarising the CAS‘s key elements.
Preparation of CASs will also be coordinated with election cycles so that they will be prepared every 4-5 years rather than every 3 years and will be produced according to clear guidelines on the scope of policy content (e.g., gender, environment). Interim CAS progress reports (CASPRs) will be issued as the programme is implemented.
NGOs welcomed the decision to improve transparency but pointed out that more significant civil society participation in producing the CAS can only occur if a draft or summary CAS is released before it is approved by the Board. This will require the Bank to be more proactive.
