A panel discussion with Steve Denning, Andrea Kucey, Frannie Lautier, Mohamed Muhsin, and Jean-Louis Sarbib.
Hybrid event: Sponsored by the WBG History Thematic Group
The Knowledge Bank initiative sought to reposition the World Bank as a global knowledge institution alongside its lending role. It expanded access to information through ICT investments, web platforms, and global programs, and elevated knowledge in development discourse. However, alumni and evaluators argue that gains lay more in packaging and dissemination than in new knowledge production. Knowledge work was weakly integrated into operations, incentives favored lending, and client demand and ownership were limited. As a result, while access and openness improved, knowledge sharing was only partially embedded in frontline practice and development impact.
Panelists:
- Steve Denning is a pioneer of knowledge management, serving as the World Bank’s Director of Knowledge Management (1996–2000) and architect of the “Knowledge Bank” vision. Since 2000, he has advanced this agenda through bestselling books, extensive writing, and analysis explaining why AI firms—but not the Bank—realized that vision.
- Jean-Louis Sarbib is a development leader whose major contribution to knowledge management came as CEO of Development Gateway, advancing data-, technology-, and evidence-driven decision-making. Earlier, at the World Bank, he championed learning, human development, and institutional knowledge across regions.
- Mohamed Muhsin was the World Bank’s first Chief Information Officer and Vice President (1997), appointed by James Wolfensohn. He institutionalized IT-enabled knowledge management under the Strategic Compact, a transformation documented in a seminal Harvard Business School case on aligning knowledge, technology, and strategy.
- Dr. Frannie Léautier is a global finance and development leader known for embedding knowledge management in large institutions. At the World Bank Group and African Development Bank, she integrated operational learning, strategy, and evidence into infrastructure and financial decision-making. She now applies this expertise through board leadership, teaching, and global advisory roles.
- Andrea Kucey is the Manager for Knowledge and Learning, a horizontal unit within the World Bank Group’s newly integrated knowledge architecture under the Managing Director and Chief Knowledge Officer. In this role, she supports the WBG Knowledge Bank, including strengthening the internal ecosystem that empowers staff to curate, share, and apply knowledge for global solutions.
Moderator: Klaus Tilmes was one of the inaugural Network Knowledge Managers following Jim Wolfensohn’s 1996 call for a “knowledge bank” and later served on the Knowledge Strategy Group that reshaped the Bank’s knowledge agenda after the 2008–09 financial crisis. He now advises on digital transformation and co chairs the Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability at the U.S. National Academies. (Will attend in person)
Registrations:
In-Person (MC C3-214 / Library)
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