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The 2013 World Bank  was released this week, highlighting how the Bank¡¯s Access to Information Policy has provided the framework for the institution to emerge as a global leader in transparency and openness. 

Focused on ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity, the Bank is committed to sharing its data and global knowledge with all stakeholders, including borrowing governments, citizens, donor partners, civil society, academia, media and the private sector.

¡°Timely data and information are essential to making good decisions,¡± said Kyle Peters, vice president of Operations Policy and Country Services. ¡°The Bank¡¯s Access to Information Policy is about making information available so people can provide feedback and play a constructive role in shaping the future of their communities.¡±

Access to information allows stakeholders to use Bank data, to conduct their own analysis, or to collaborate with the Bank in analyzing and studying development issues. This creates new opportunities to find and deliver innovative local solutions.

Bank clients can use open aid data to integrate aid resources into their national budgets, and to better coordinate donor interventions within their borders. These goals are crucial to ensuring that the Bank continues to help clients meet the toughest development challenges.

Public Access: The Access to Information Policy allows public access to any information in the Bank's possession that is not on a list of exceptions, enabling the Bank to proactively release information to the public. Information can be obtained in person at the or through in-country . Each Bank office is an excellent source of information, with each country maintaining a web page with project information and a network of professional staff to help citizens with their requests.

Web Access: The majority of users access information through the Bank website. The public can openly and freely access information on Bank operations, including the Projects and Operations portal, which provides detailed information on more than 11,000 lending projects, and the with more than 150,000 documents available. The Bank also makes available to the public development and financial data,  including through , which allows public access to more than 9,000 development indicators and more than 1,200 survey datasets, and , which includes financial data on World Bank Group activities. For users on the go there is even an for iPhone and iPad and a for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. 

Filing an Access to Information Request: The Bank has taken Access to Information Policy implementation seriously. For information that is not available on the Bank¡¯s website, the public may an Access to Information request at no cost. In FY 2013 the Bank received approximately 700 new public access requests, 89% of which were completed. The inflow of requests is managed by teams within the Bank according to formal procedures to encourage the prompt processing of requests.  In cases where information falls under an exception, requesters can file an appeal through a formal .

Governance Framework: ¡°The Bank has continued to reinforce a strong governance framework for the AI Policy,¡± notes Anne-Marie Leroy, senior vice president and Bank Group general counsel. The policy established two bodies to hear appeals, the Access to Information Committee and the Access to Information Appeals Board. A new chair of the Access to Information Committee was recently appointed Mariam Sherman, Bank director of results, openness and effectiveness. Last fall, the World Bank Group President Bank selected three new to serve on the AI Appeals Board.

The Bank will continue to open up its data and knowledge, and will encourage governments to do the same, allowing stakeholders ¡ª especially the poor ¡ª to fully understand this information, participate in development processes, and hold governments and development providers accountable. Ultimately, the true test of effectiveness is how the Bank uses this evidence to change the lives of over a billion people in extreme poverty.  Being more open about what the Bank does do and what the Bank knows is an important step in building a more prosperous and equitable world.