How the World Bank became Agile

This article is written by G. Edward DeSeve, Coordinator Agile Government Centre, National Academy of Public Administration.

The move toward agile government practices is taking place in agencies large and small around the world.

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The World Bank has undertaken an “Agile Journey” that streamlined bank operations, met customer needs for more timely action and saved money.

“Adapting Agile Principles: Toward a More Nimble World Bank" , 2016-2020

The World Bank’s Mission is “Ending Extreme Poverty.” This mission resonates with the staff at the Bank and provides a strong direction for their work.  However, the way the Bank works sometimes hinders accomplishing its mission.

The Bank is comprised of 189 countries and operates in 130 locations around the world.  In 2015, an engagement survey found that 86 percent of the roughly 17,000 staff indicated that they were proud to work at the Bank but only 26 percent believed that the Bank made decisions in a timely manner.

This concern by staff was reflected in the fact that:

• Projects were slow to reach the Board from initial conceptualisation;

•  Redundant reviews slowed implementation,

• Documents were overly long and complicated,

• There was little collaboration,

• Large ineffective meetings proliferated and managerial span of control was too great.

To deal with these concerns, senior management at the Bank instituted the “Agile Bank Program in 2016.”  Both The Bank’s clients and its leaders recognised the need for faster responses and quicker execution, more flexibility and responsiveness.

The debate about the Agile Bank Program was seen as a good thing. Tension meant that the initiative was still alive and positive initial results held promise

The model for the Bank’s Agile Journey was the 2001 “Agile Manifesto” developed for software development.  The Manifesto distilled the approach into four values:

• Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

• Working software over comprehensive documentation

• Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

• Responding to change over following a plan

The leadership of the Bank was heavily engaged in developing the Agile Bank Program. Chief Operating Officer Kyle Peters and his senior adviser Qahir Dahani worked to develop a version of agile practices suited to the Bank’s own operations. They created a group of “Agile Fellows” to launch three pilots and serve as champions within the Bank. A steering committee of Bank directors and vice-president provided top management assistance.

The Agile bank

While the Bank’s senior leaders wanted to see some fast, specific wins, they knew that it would take much longer to generate real cultural change and improve delegation and collaboration. The techniques used to create these wins were:

• Value mapping

• Cross functional teams

• Sprints

• Pulse Surveys

According to an analysis prepared by Peters and the Boston Consulting Group, early results of the Agile Bank Program were promising.  Positive outcomes included:

• Decreases in “Moderately Unsuccessful” ratings

• An increase in time redeployed to higher value-added activities

• A reduction in project preparation time

• An estimated $8 million in cost savings per year

Continuing to measure impact remained difficult.  Were positive results from the new ways of working?  The positive changes could have been caused by increased resources, attention to the pilots, or leadership involvement.  The Agile Bank Program was not without its sceptics.  Linking the program to direct results on the ground was difficult and rewards for participants were not always clear.

The debate about the Agile Bank Program was seen as a good thing. Tension meant that the initiative was still alive and positive initial results held promise.

Even supertankers change course

The World Bank Agile Government Program case study gives us important lessons in how to implement Agile Government Principles in real time at a very large agency. Both successes and challenges can inform others who undertake their own Agile Journey.

If you would like more information about the Agile Government Principles or assistance with your own Agile Program, contact  j.mitchell@NAPAWash.org.

This is a summary of the case study developed by the Institute for Successful Societies at Princeton University and a graphic depicting the relation of the Bank’s “Journey”.  The lessons from the World Bank Journey can be read in full at the National Academy of Public Administration’s Agile Government Center. — G. Edward DeSeve

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