World Bank Policies
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The World Bank has established policies and procedures that help ensure its operations are economically, financially, socially, and environmentally sound.   Policies have been developed for such areas as funding, contracting, disbursing, disclosure, safeguards, and participation.  They are codified in the World Bank's Operational Manual. They are subject to extensive review while being formulated, and to compliance monitoring once approved.  CSOs have been formally consulted on major policies introduced or updated by Bank staff in recent years such as loan conditionalities, forest management, information disclosure, indigenous peoples, resettlement, and development lending.  These consultations have occurred via face-to-face meetings, video conferences, or via a web-based discussions.  The Bank is actively working to improve the quality of these consultations to ensure that they result in improved policies and programs. This section of the website provides information on specific elements of the World Bank’s Policy on Disclosure of Information, and on the two mechanisms set up by the World Bank to assure compliance with its policies – Inspection Panel and Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman. Over the past two decades the Bank's Board of Directors has adopted numerous policies and procedures to guide Bank work in the many areas in which it workds.  Many of these policies are being reviewed in order to be updated, simplified, and further mainstreamed in Bank operations and to be adopted by the Bank's government-partner agencies.  Thus Operational Directives are being converted to Operational Policies, Bank Procedures, and Good Practice notes. Most Recently Changed Operational Policies (OPs) OP 8.00 - Rapid Response to Crises and Emergencies - March, 2007 OP 4.11 - Physical Cultural Resources - July 2006 OP 4.10 - Indigenous Peoples - July 2005 OP 13.20 - Additional Financing for Investment Lending - May 2005 OP 4.00 - Piloting the Use of Borrower Systems to Address Environmental and Social Safeguard Issues in Bank-Supported Projects - March 2005 OP 8.60 - Development Policy Lending - August 2004 OP 1.00 - Poverty Reduction - August 2004 OP 4.12 - Involuntary Resettlement - revised, April 2004 OP 6.00 - Bank Financing - April 2004 OP 8.10 - Project Preparation Facility - revised, April 2004 OP 11.00 - Procurement - revised, April 2004 OP 13.25 - Use of Project Cost Savings - revised, April 2004