Sanjay Pradhan

Sanjay Pradhan is the Vice President of the World Bank Institute (WBI). He is an authority on governance and anticorruption issues, combining a distinguished research record with extensive operational experience. Previously, he served as the World Bank’s Director for Governance, where he led the development of the Bank’s Governance and Anticorruption Strategy, and provided strategic directions on improving governance and combating corruption.

Mr. Pradhan has held senior positions across key parts of the World Bank, including in the operational and research departments. He was the Manager for Poverty Reduction and Public Sector Governance in South Asia, and Europe and Central Asia, as well as Country Economist in East and West Africa. He was a principal author of the 1997 World Development Report, The State in a Changing World. He has also authored numerous publications, including articles, books, and policy papers. He has addressed major high-level forums including the European Parliament, the British House of Commons, and the BBC World Debate. Mr. Pradhan holds a PhD and a Bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.

Since joining as Vice President of WBI in 2008, Mr. Pradhan has led WBI through a far-reaching renewal, enabling it to provide innovative approaches to development. WBI’s mission is to strengthen the capacity of government and non-government stakeholders to collectively solve development challenges through three interlinked clusters of support: ‘Open Knowledge’ – connecting clients to global knowledge and learning; ‘Collaborative Governance’ – enabling clients to mobilize and coalesce for collaborative action; and ‘Innovative Solutions’ – scanning and incubating innovations. A few examples of WBI’s new platforms include ICT-enabled citizens’ feedback for monitoring public services through mobile phones and the internet and the Global Partnership for Social Accountability to build the capacity of civil society to integrate beneficiary voice in government programs. WBI has also established a brokering mechanism for South-South Knowledge Exchanges, and launched the World Bank’s e-Institute and the Mapping for Results initiative. Mapping for Results has enhanced the Bank’s transparency and results by geo-coding 30,000 IDA and IBRD project locations in 142 countries on maps meshed with results indicators, now extending to other donors through the Open Aid Partnership.

As vice president of WBI, Mr. Pradhan plays a key role in the current efforts to modernize the World Bank and turn it into a more open and effective institution, as part of the Open Agenda. He also plays a major role in supporting the Bank’s Knowledge Strategy.