More than 150 faculty members from UBC and other western Canadian universities
took part in a two-day workshop with World Bank senior officials on campus recently
to explore ways of working together to help developing countries achieve sustainable
growth.
“This was a unique, unprecedented initiative on the bank’s part,” says workshop
organizer Prof. Tony Dorcey of the Institute for Resources and Environment.
“It was an incredible opportunity to hear directly from senior officers about
the bank’s plans going into the next century and how UBC researchers could support
them.”
The bank was attracted to UBC because of its research strengths, especially
in Asian countries, says Tim Cullen, World Bank senior adviser of external affairs.
“We knew we could get valuable feedback from academics,” he says. “Also, if
our work is to be understood in Canada, we couldn’t find a more influential
group to speak with.”
Seventeen UBC researchers from the Liu Centre for International Studies, the
Sustainable Development Research Institute, the School of Community and Regional
Planning, the Institute of Asian Research, the Economics Dept. and the Faculty
of Commerce and Business Administration made presentations related to themes
for bank programs in the next century.
Topics included poverty eradication, sustainable development and natural resources,
environment and health, and megacities.
UBC President Martha Piper led some of the discussion concerning potential
World Bank/UBC collaboration, which could include areas such as applied research,
specialized training for officials of developing countries and operations evaluation.
The World Bank’s executive director for Canada, as well as Cullen and five
other senior bank members, travelled from bank headquarters in Washington, D.C.
to describe programs and priorities to UBC researchers.
Dorcey says the workshop has opened the door to becoming part of the World
Bank network.
“This workshop was an investment in the future,” says Dorcey, who has worked
with the bank on international waterways planning. “Our expertise relating to
developing countries could result in hands-on work on real problems in real
time.”
The World Bank promotes sustainable economic growth in developing countries
by providing loans, technical assistance and policy guidance.It is also a centre
of research in economics and development policy issues.
Canada is a non-borrowing member of the World Bank’s 181-country membership.
