
World Bank Group: South-South & Triangular Cooperation Featured Partner
Vision and Objectives
The World Bank Group (WGB) and the global development community increasingly recognize that knowledge sharing, or peer-to-peer learning, is a powerful instrument to share, adapt and scale-up what works in development, using the convincing power of peers – and their practical knowledge. South-South peer learning at the political level inspires and motivates leaders to implement reforms, while at the technical and operational levels it serves as an avenue for exchanging practical ‘how-to’ knowledge for improved project design and implementation.
South-South Cooperation (SSC) is a country-led and country-owned way of exchanging resources, technologies and knowledge. Consequently, since the beginning of the century, emerging economies and other MICs have mobilized substantial financial resources, while also invested in their institutional and operational arrangements to provide SSC and share knowledge with peers and partners around the world. This dynamic context provided an outstanding opportunity for the WBG to expand, deepen and continuously fine-tune its menu of support options for country-led SSC, particularly in the area of knowledge sharing.
Watch video above: Knowledge management methodologies developed on urban transformation by the World Bank, harnessed by Colombia’s ACI Medellin.
Featured Good Practices

Knowledge exchange on Governance Structures for Business Environment Reforms in Afghanistan – Lessons from Morocco: Lucas Menut/ World Bank
The WBG has been one of the institutions pioneering programmatic approaches to supporting South-South knowledge exchanges, for instance through dedicated trust funds, capacity development suites for knowledge sharing institutions and high-level events on country-led knowledge hubs, all of which are of high value for the country efforts to scale up SSC and knowledge sharing, while also mainstreaming SSC support in a practical and concrete manner. As part of the Agenda 2030 and in line with the twin goal of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity, the WBG expects to scale up its support to country-driven knowledge sharing. This will be done in full awareness of SSC’s potential to mobilize highly relevant, practice-proven and locally adapted solutions improving country capacities and service delivery of its clients and of the WBG itself.
Role of the WBG in South-South Cooperation & Country-led Knowledge Sharing
The WBG is among the multilateral institutions that have advanced most in mainstreaming support to SSC and knowledge sharing in its strategies and operations in practical ways:
The World Bank Group Strategy that was adopted in 2014, focused on the ambitious goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. The Strategy leverages the combined strength of the WBG institutions and their unique ability to partner with the public and private sectors to deliver customized development solutions backed by finance, world class knowledge and convening power.

Reproductive Health: Tanvir Murad Topu/World Bank

Photo de famille: Paul Elomo / World Bank
Forward Look: A Vision for the World Bank Group in 2030
The WBG’s “Forward Look: A Vision for the World Bank Group in 2030”, shapes a common view among shareholders on how the WBG can best support the development agenda for 2030. The Forward Look identifies knowledge as a core driver that is key to the WBG’s comparative advantage.
The Forward Look underlines the essential contribution of knowledge for development and emphasizes the key role of the South-South Facility as a mechanism that helps clients apply relevant knowledge to developmental challenges.

The WBG is mainstreaming its South-South cooperation work into the broader knowledge exchange activities. Apart from being a strong broker and voice for support to SSC and knowledge sharing in international fora, the WBG offers the following opportunities to clients interested in setting up and expanding their SSC agenda:

South-South Experience Exchange Facility

Art of Knowledge Exchange

Organizational Knowledge Sharing (OKS) Program
Since July 2019, the South-South Facility is housed is the Development Economics Knowledge and Strategy Unit, in the World Bank’s Development Economics Vice Presidency (DEC). DEC is the WBG’s premier research and data arm. Under the leadership of the Chief Economist, DEC shapes the Bank’s research and knowledge agenda and enhances understanding of development policies and programs by providing intellectual leadership and analytical services to the Bank’s core operations, policymakers, and the broader development community.
With support from development partners, DEC has been able to invest in the production of global public goods in research and data, build the evidence base for holistic and systematic design of development financing and policy instruments, and empower governments, businesses and citizens by building capacity and sharing lessons and good practices for actionable learning.

Strengthening Capacity and Knowledge on Management of Protected Areas of Croatia – Lessons from Costa Rica: Natasa Vetma/World Bank
Featured News

UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15), 25 April – 8 May 2022
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Twenty-Second Global Meeting of the Regional Seas Programme, Seychelles, 25 – 27 May 2022
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Stockholm+50, 2 – 3 June 2022, Sweden
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Seventh review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy
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Featured Publication

The Art of Knowledge Exchange: A Results-focused Planning Guide for Development Practitioners
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The Art of Designing and Implementing Study Tours
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Becoming a Knowledge Sharing Organization
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Trading Together — Reviving Middle East & North Africa Regional Integration in the Post-COVID Era (World Bank, 2020)
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More Resources

Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals 2020

World Development Indicators

Worldwide Governance Indicators
