Panel Participates at the 2024 IAIA Conference “Impact Assessment for a Just Transformation” in Ireland

The World Bank Inspection Panel team presented at the annual conference of the IAIA (International Association for Impact Assessment) held in Dublin, Ireland (April 24-27, 2024). The IAIA annual conference is a key event among impact assessment practitioners from around the world to provide an opportunity to share knowledge and experiences on a wide range of topics related to impact assessment.

More than 1,000 participants – largest in IAIA’s history – joined this 43rd annual conference, which was held under the theme: “Impact Assessment for a Just Transformation”. The Inspection Panel co-organized a session entitled, “Accountability, impact assessment and their capacity to transport projects” with four other independent accountability mechanisms of international financial institutions (IFIs). Participants from donor agencies, UN agencies, IFIs, and impact assessment practitioners etc., joined the session. 

During the session, the Panel Chairperson Mark Goldsmith led a discussion group focusing on climate change, and presented the Panel case with Investigations Officer Camila Jorge do Amaral on Togo: West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project (P162337), Additional Financing (P176313) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) (P092289), along with the Office of the Compliance Advisor/Ombudsman of the IFC. Active discussion with the participants, who shared their experiences, centered around: options of alternatives; extension of timeframes to account for climate adaption programs with moving baselines; importance of taking in consideration of local-level social impacts, and meaningful consultation with affected population. 

Throughout the conference, the Panel team appreciated its engagement with participants from various disciplines and sectors on the timely topic of Just Transformation, and hopes to continue sharing lessons from its cases. 

Photo Courtesy: Ayako Kubodera, David Simpson