World Bank – Bureaucracy Lab - Washington, D.C.

The Bureaucracy Lab is an initiative jointly led by the World Bank’s Development Impact Group (DIME) and Governance Global Practice (GGP) which seeks to promote the use of evidence and technology in public administration reform.

The Global Initiative on Public Administration Reform (GIPAR) is the World Bank’s program of analytical and operational engagements, and global partnerships, on public administration reform. Public administration matters for the delivery of services, the provision of infrastructure, and the effectiveness of regulations. Public administrations also have an impact on fiscal sustainability and the competitiveness of the overall labor market given that the public sector is a large employer. 

The data and analytics arm of GIPAR is the Bureaucracy Lab. The Lab, which is a partnership between the Governance Global Practice and the Development Impact Evaluation Department (DIME), has significantly advanced the evidence base for public administration reform through:

1. Global datasets: The Worldwide Bureaucracy Indicators (WWBI), produced by the Lab, is the most comprehensive global dataset on public sector employment and wages, and is being continuously updated; and the Global survey of public servants is an initiative to measure a set of personnel management practices in governments cross-nationally.

2. Country-specific diagnostic instruments: Analysis of micro-payroll data to inform wage bill management and public sector compensation reforms; and institutional capability assessments through representative public employee surveys that measure a variety of aspects of personnel management and worker motivation.