The World Bank Group
Collaborating globally to improve human lives
Sub-Communities
Groups created
Courses
Content items created
A shared mission to strengthen development operations across 189 countries
The World Bank works in 189 member countries through more than 130 offices worldwide to reduce poverty and improve living standards. Through finance, analytical work and advisory services, teams design and implement projects across every region and sector. In fiscal year 2025, the Bank Group provided more than $118.5 billion in development support. To enable this complex global work, the World Bank built a network of communities of practice powered by Open Social. These communities connect people, expertise and lessons learned so teams can work faster, avoid repeated mistakes and improve project quality.
Why the World Bank chose Open Social
Before adopting Open Social, the Bank’s global teams faced time-zone challenges, scattered knowledge and limited continuity between events. Expertise was stored across email threads, drives and personal folders, making it difficult to access operational insight at the moment it was needed.
The Bank needed a trusted partner capable of supporting sensitive global operations. Open Social offered:
- Tailored, flexible community spaces that evolve with new needs
- A close partnership approach with co-design and continuous improvement
- Rigorous data protection suitable for sensitive government-related information
Open Social became a strategic partner aligned with the Bank’s standards, governance requirements and mission.
A partnership that goes beyond software
Zarko Palankov, Organizational Development Consultant at the World Bank Group, describes the value of Open Social:
“At the end of the day everything revolves around a project in a given country and how it impacts local populations. Communities of practice help us avoid repeating mistakes, move faster and improve the quality of those operations. [...] What matters is that it feels like we are doing this together. Open Social does not just provide a tool and walk away. They stay engaged, adapt to our needs and help us make the platform work for our communities.”
— Zarko Palankov
Open Social supports an environment where global teams collaborate continuously and build operational knowledge that drives better development outcomes.
Together, the World Bank and Open Social are creating digital infrastructure that supports stronger institutional learning, deeper collaboration and better development outcomes worldwide.
Connect. Collaborate. Thrive.