This report reviews 24 out of 202 Bank projects that involved nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in order to identify ways to improve Bank-NGO collaboration. It identifies five functional categories of NGO interaction with the Bank along a public-private continuum, based on the varying degrees...

This paper is a review of the book BREAKTHROUGHS!. The book presents case studies of 12 products and services; five consumer durables (cars, VCRs, walkmans, microwave ovens, Nike shoes); three services (Federal Express, Chem Lawn, Nautilus); two health care items (Tagamet, Cat Scans); an...

This paper compares and contrasts Tokyo's innovation structure with the industrial districts model and the international hub model in the literature on urban and regional development. The Tokyo model embraces and yet transcends both industrial districts and international hub models. The paper...

The paper reviews the origins and evolution of the Training and Visit (T&V) extension system, which was promoted by the World Bank in 1975-98 in over 50 developing countries. The discussion seeks to clarify the context within which the approach was implemented, and to analyze the causes for its...

This paper reviews the work of Sweden's International Aid for Solidarity and Humanity (SHIA), and umbrella association of Swedish organizations of people with disabilities, and derives lessons, and good practices on disability-related activities. SHIA emphasizes supporting human rights, while...

The Latvian economy made great strides in recovering from the economic shock of the early transition and the adverse aftereffects of the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Nevertheless, Latvia faces serious challenges to its future growth and prosperity despite these impressive achievements and the...

While a private sector exists in every society, the nature of its involvement in family planning service delivery varies widely across countries. This paper reviews the role of the private sector in family planning and discusses how much more of the demand for contraception can be met through...

The author focuses on how urban policies and the clustering of creative industries has influenced urban outcomes. The set of creative industries include those with output protectable under some form of intellectual property law. More specifically, this sub-sector encompasses software,...

Budgets for extension services have been reduced in many countries. One response to these reductions in public services in some countries has been to privatize extension services - with extension services provided for a fee, by either public agencies or private companies. Under the new approach,...

Many population, health and nutrition (PHN) programs are designed to elicit behaviour changes in poor people living at the geographic and social peripheries. Few programs specifically target the disadvantaged, however, and research about clients focuses mainly on routine statistics rather than...