New policy makes World Bank information more accessible to the public

THE WORLD Bank will implement starting this Thursday a new policy that will allow the public to access its reports as part of the agency’s efforts to promote transparency and accountability.

Called “Access to Information (AI),” the new policy will open the bank’s data archives which contain approximately 17,000 documents and reports (of which 370 are Philippines-specific) dating back from 1948 until 2005.

“This initiative will not only increase people’s access to information, but also help stimulate evidence-based policy making in developing countries like the Philippines,” WB country director Bert Hofman said in a statement released yesterday.

“Researchers, analysts, and policy makers could use these data to analyze development challenges at fresh angles.”

The new policy was approved on Nov. 17 last year after external and internal consultations held in 33 countries including the Philippines, and through the bank’s external Web site from March until June 2009.

“This policy is a basic element of improving governance among our 186 member countries and development partners. It would also serve as a challenge to widen the road to access better storage of information,” WB portfolio and operations manager Maryse Gautier said in a discussion-forum yesterday.

Among the documents and reports which may be accessed by the public include around 900 world development indicators for 210 economies from 1960 to 2009.

Also available are: data submitted on global development finance including recent trends and tables; over 60 millennium development indicators; daily and monthly global economic monitoring; measures of business regulations; private participation in infrastructure database; governance matters; gender statistics; and health nutrition population statistics.

Despite the wide array of documents opened to the public, the WB said it will still restrict the disclosure of some information due to the harm it may cause like reputational damage, financial loss, and reduced ability to perform functions.

Data which cannot be released are personal information; communication of executive director’s offices; data from the board ethics committee; attorney-client privilege; security and safety information; disclosure policies from inspection panels, reports from the office of the integrity vice presidency, independent evaluation group, and sanctions group; confidential client or third-party information; corporate administrative matters; deliberative information prior decision; and financial information such as estimates of future borrowings, forecasts, analysis, and transactions.

Documents, such as minutes of board committee meetings, summaries of discussions, annual reports of board committees, and other board papers prepared before July 1 may only be accessed after five years.

Other documents like transcripts of board meetings and minutes of restricted executive sessions of the board may be accessed after 10 and 20 years, respectively.

Asked if member countries can refuse disclosing some documents, WB senior external relations officer Leonora A. Gonzales said a written consent is necessary to keep information provided in confidence by a member country.

“This ensures that the government of that country is still in a good position to decide on which may be disclosed to the public or not — as long as they do not necessarily overwrite the entire policy,” she said.

The public may access the documents and reports thru the Internet at the Web site http://data.worldbank.org beginning on July 1. — Mary Joy Katrina R. Contreras, Businessworld