The UK’s Department for International Development has just started producing an Institutional Strategy on the World Bank. This document, which will set out UK’s short – and medium-term objectives for the institution for the coming years, will replace the existing strategy drafted in 1998-99. This process has just started internally and Bretton Woods Project is facilitating civil society input.

The paper will address questions such as where the Bank fits into the international system and what is its unique role, what effectiveness issues need to be tackled, what is the momentum for institutional and corporate change and how can the UK affect further change. The guidance for producing such strategies includes important issues such as unfunded mandates, staff incentives and how divided is the organisation’s membership.