Financial Management Information Systems: 25 Years of World Bank Experience on What Works and What Doesn't (World Bank Studies)

Since 1984, the World Bank has financed 87 Financial Management Information System (FMIS) projects in 51 countries totaling over US $2.2 billion, of which US $938 million was for FMIS related information and communication technology (ICT) solutions. This study presents the World Bank?s experience with these investment operations to share the achievements and challenges observed, and provide guidance for improving the performance of future projects. The report is structured according to four overarching questions:

• What historical patterns emerge from World Bank financed Treasury/FMIS projects? This includes an analysis of project scope, cost, duration, design, objectives, and ICT solutions, among other aspects.
• How have such projects performed according to various criteria?
• What are the key factors that contribute to the success and failure of projects?
• What have we learned that could be useful for future projects?

The findings of this report are primarily based on the 2010 FMIS Database, which includes 55 closed and 32 active FMIS projects implemented between 1984 and 2010 (7 pipeline projects are also analyzed in some sections). The data was gathered primarily from internal World Bank documents and sources, and complemented with interviews with project teams. The Database contains a rich set of operational data and performance ratings for the benefit of the World Bank task teams, government officials and other specialists involved in FMIS projects. Compared to the previously prepared draft FMIS report in 2003 (Dorotinsky and Cho), this study is based on a broader set of projects and documents in analyzing the performance and outputs of the FMIS projects, and presents more in-depth analysis of the success and failure factors. Based on the findings of the current study, the interventions of the World Bank in the design and implementation of FMIS solutions have been reasonably successful in most countries.