The Matrix System at Work - Independent Evaluation Group - World ...

APPENDIX G
PROFILES OF THE BANK’S SIX REGIONS
across all countries in the Region, as well as coordinating all SDN sectors in one
country grouping (although not based in the field). While this responsibility
technically continues, it was not found to be manageable in practice.
9. The third model has been tested in the Africa Region. In this model, the Region
was split up into several sub-regions, with a sector manager covering several sectors
rather than one. This resulted in several sector managers for the same sectors. In
most sectors, this sub-regional structure was seen to result in a lack of vision and
consistency within individual sectors and was ultimately abandoned. Today it is
maintained in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network (PREM),
where there are four sub-region-based sector managers that cover all PREM sectors,
and the Financial and Private Sector Development Network (FPD) where the Region
is split by two sector managers.
DECENTRALIZATION
10. The degree of decentralization varies significantly by Region. East Asia and the
Pacific and South Asia, Regions far from headquarters, are highly decentralized
with roughly two-thirds of staff based in the field. Among the two, East Asia and
Pacific is more tilted toward internationally recruited staff (IRS), with half of all IRS
staff based in the field. South Asia, perhaps with its legacy of high capacity but
lower cost local staff, is more tilted toward locally recruited staff in the field. In
these Regions, all country directors are based in the field. South Asia is beginning to
move sector managers to the field; East Asia and the Pacific already locates many
sector managers in the field.
11. Among the least decentralized Regions are Latin America and the Caribbean,
Europe and Central Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa. Most of the
countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are within a time zone of Washington
and so communication with headquarters is not an issue. Moreover, travel to the
Region is shorter and cheaper than for any other Region. And even though capacity
is high among potential staff in the Region, labor costs are also very high. In Europe
and Central Asia, just a quarter of projects are managed from the field, and barely
half of country directors—four of seven— are field-based. In these Regions, roughly
one-fifth of IRS are located in country offices.
INTERFACE BETWEEN SECTOR AND COUNTRY UNITS
12. None of the several structures adopted by the Regions for sector units has
addressed one item of concern: the large span of control for sector managers. Most
sector managers have a wide span of control of staff and countries—as much as 90
staff for the sector manager of Agriculture and Rural Development in Africa. In
addition, sector managers can have either a wide span of control of countries which
makes it difficult to lead the policy dialogue in each of them, or a wide span of
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