World Regions

First build the foundations: Shaida Badiee on governments’ misplaced aid policies

After nearly two decades running the World Bank’s Development Data Group, Shaida Badiee now works to help developing nations improve their data systems. And she has a clear message for […]

WTO appoints Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as new director general

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) appointed its first woman and first African director general, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on Monday. Okonjo-Iweala takes the helm after the Biden administration endorsed her appointment […]

Building for the future: delivering infrastructure for the post-COVID world

Infrastructure is key to economic recovery – but the pandemic has raised big questions around both public sector finances, and the kinds of infrastructure that will be required. At the […]

Layers upon layers: how financial data paints a picture of the pandemic

Governments have found new sources of real-time financial data that give a clear view of COVID-19’s impact on industries, businesses and workers. At the 2020 Government Finance Summit, top officials […]

Mental health during a pandemic: how to spot problems among your team

COVID-19 is triggering and exacerbating mental health problems across the world. Wellbeing consultant Ramin Salehi explains how to spot the signs that a colleague is struggling and embark on a […]

OECD audits global capacity to support government AI

The OECD has embarked on an exercise to benchmark the computational capacity needed by national governments, as they seek to develop state-sponsored artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to transform services or […]

Feeding the people, not the sharks: supporting citizens through the pandemic

Around the world, finance departments have found different ways of protecting workers and businesses during the COVID crisis. At GGF’s Finance Summit, senior leaders discussed which worked best – reaching […]

Reach every home: building universal digital services

Governments need strong digital infrastructure to provide citizens with online services and boost economic growth. At a GGF webinar, the panel considered how to develop national communications networks – and […]

Spare room superheroes: how finance departments met the pandemic threat

When COVID-19 struck, finance departments around the world sent their staff home – and asked them to put their economies into induced comas. At the Global Government Finance Summit, senior […]

Five interesting insights from the OECD’s governance report

The recent publication includes some surprising lessons for civil service leaders – arguing, for example, that some anti-corruption practices can be counterproductive Last month, the OECD published a report promoting […]