The Investment Climate at the IFC is developing a program to further maximize the development impact of the Indicator-Based Reform Advisory project in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which has been running from 2009 to 2012. This new project integrates:
A flexible approach through a regional platform to deliver fast and flexible response to client requests for assistance in business environment reform.
A gender-focused approach to ensure that the role of women in business is acknowledged.
A governance approach to ensure greater transparency in regulation through appropriate governance mechanisms focused on uniform regulation implementation and high quality of government service.
The project will provide technical assistance to countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The assistance will follow a government request to improve the regulatory investment climate, and will consist in a memorandum on reform recommendations drawing from Doing Business sources and other indicators (Enterprise Surveys, Women, Business and the Law, etc). The findings of the initial memorandum will be complemented and validated through consultations with relevant stakeholders including the private sector. The recommendations will then be discussed with the government and other stakeholders to identify areas where reform impact could be substantial, assess the feasibility of reforms and identify needs for further assistance. Second generation reform assistance: second generation reform assistance will be provided to client countries where business environment reforms are already underway (mainly in the 15 economies where the project has already been active) to address performance weaknesses. The team will focus particularly on lowering the risks of doing business by increasing regulatory transparency and legal protections. The project will also focus on eliminating genderbased discrimination in the marketplace.
Knowledge sharing: the project will support peer to peer learning events that use investment climate indicators as a framework for reform discussions in order to promote best practices sharing across the region. Countries eligible for support from the International Development Association (IDA) and post-conflict affected economies will take highest priority in country engagements.