GPRBA and the World Bank organized a knowledge sharing event in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, May 15-17, 2019.  We brought together partners, clients and donors to the field in Ethiopia (where PforR projects are prominent) to get their perspective on RBF and see what’s on the pulse of other organizations in terms of RBF. About 90 attendees participated in the forum,  including staff from across the World Bank Group, key players in results-based financing (from organizations such as SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), Enabel, the African Development Bank (AfdB), the European Commission, the Brookings Institution, Instiglio, and the Social Finance and the Education Outcomes Fund) representing major organizations from around the world; clients from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Myanmar; and local representatives from the donor community.

Given our renewed strategic focus to provide greater flexibility in the financial instruments that we use, getting this insight from others was critical. The agenda included deep dives into the different category of instruments such as PforR, Impact Bonds, Performance-based Contracts, and sectors and themes where RBF is prominent (energy, water and sanitation, health, education) and challenging (fragile situations and climate change).

The event also included a site visit to Adama, Ethiopia, about 100km east of Addis Ababa. The project site represents results from a PforR project and served as a living laboratory for results-based financing.  A half-day field visit to the Ethiopia Local Government Development Project II (a P4R operation) was also organized in collaboration with the Ethiopia Urban team which gave good exposure to the participants on RBF financing in a local government development context.

GPRBA will continue to be important as a leader in designing and testing new approaches in addition to being a convener for knowledge– stay tuned for annual events to continue the conversation.