The World Bank Policy on Access to Information October 19 and 20, 2011

Open Development Initiatives Open Data Sharing tools and essential information on the global economy and the Bank’s operations Open Knowledge Enabling researchers, students, local communities to collect data, measure results, increase knowledge Open Solutions Working together to devise development solutions Access to Information Greatly increasing public access to Bank information and documents

openness, transparency accountability Tools and knowledge resources for openness, transparency and accountability

Access to Information transparency “Ten years ago, we were only starting to speak about transparency. Freedom of Information Policy Today, the World Bank is the only multilateral institution with a wide- ranging Freedom of Information Policy.” - President Zoellick (April 6, 2011) The Peterson Institute for International Economics

Access to Information Policy Highlights:  Maximizing access to information  Clear list of exceptions  Safeguarding the deliberative process  Procedures for disclosing information  Right to Appeal  Simultaneous disclosure of some Board papers  Declassification of certain types of information (after 5, 10, or 20 years)

Access to Information FROM (previous disclosure policy)  An established set of disclosable information and documents  Limited disclosure via the web  Did not allow the public to appeal Bank decisions that deny disclosureFROM (previous disclosure policy)  An established set of disclosable information and documents  Limited disclosure via the web  Did not allow the public to appeal Bank decisions that deny disclosure TO  Access to all Bank documents, unless it falls under the list of exceptions  Allows disclosure of some Board papers before the Board discussion  Encourages public ownership of Bank operations  Allows sharing Bank’s global knowledge  Features an Appeals ProcessTO  Access to all Bank documents, unless it falls under the list of exceptions  Allows disclosure of some Board papers before the Board discussion  Encourages public ownership of Bank operations  Allows sharing Bank’s global knowledge  Features an Appeals Process

Ten Policy Exceptions (Restricted Information)

Key Stats: July 2010 – June 2011  26,000+ Bank documents released to the public  800,000+ visits to the Bank’s public information database  640,000+ documents downloaded by the public  4 million public page views to the Access to Information web site  The Policy on Access to Information was the second most popular downloaded document by the public  700 public information requests were made to the Bank (84% of requests completed; 80% completed within 20 working days)

Request for World Bank Information For information that is not available on the Bank’s website, the public may submit an information request:  through the Access to Information portal at worldbank.org/wbaccess  in-person at the InfoShop—701 18th Street, NW, Washington, D.C , or  through in-country public information services ⇨ Include a detailed description of the information requested: title, publication dates, and any other helpful details to identify the requested information.

Access to Information: One Year Review / 2011 Bank Fund Annual Meetings

Resources For Access to Information (AI) Resources, visit to view and download:  AI Policy Booklet  AI Staff Handbook  AI InfoFinder Mobile App  AI FAQs  AI Brochure  List of Public Information Centers and much more!