Trust in International Digital Content: Open Access and Access to Information at the World Bank

Abstract

Knowledge Management (KM) is an indispensable tool used by organizations to ensure digital repositories are credible, reliable, accessible and useful. The future can be made even more open and even more diverse based on genuine verified and dependable content which can be shared credibly as widely as possible for impact. One global organization has been progressively doing just that for many years. The World Bank’s Access to Information (AI) and Open Access (OA) programs aim to share the Bank’s information to the widest possible audiences in support of development around the world. While the policy on Access to Information is aimed at disclosing the Bank’s documents, reports and institutional information including its financing in as timely a manner as possible, the Bank’s policy on Open Access addresses itself to scholarly publishing at the institution including those it funds and published externally. Together these two policies form the Bank’s Open Agenda. This efforts transparency can only be considered real and credible if anchored on trust of the information sources, trust of the processes used to acquire and process them and trust in the delivery channels. This paper will explore trust of digital content at the World Bank Group and how this trust can be used in pursuit of achieving the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and opportunity for all.