Management Response to the 2021 Independent External Review of the World Resources Institute

The World Resources Institute (WRI) issued this management response to an independent external review conducted by OpenCities + Agulhas between April and November 2021. The document outlines WRI's acceptance of the review's findings regarding its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan and details planned institutional changes to improve impact measurement, research capacity, funding models, and the integration of social equity as the organization develops its next five-year strategy.

• WRI achieved 71% of its targets with one year remaining in its 2018-2022 Strategic Plan, and its operations did not materially slow despite the global pandemic.
• WRI acknowledges a need for a 'step change' in how it monitors and evaluates impact, including a requirement for greater prioritization and deeper strategic alignment within its portfolio. To address this, WRI is creating a new senior role dedicated to strategy and results and implementing a new monitoring and evaluation system developed specifically for the institute.
• The organization identifies a gap between its growth and its core institutional capacity, noting that increased flexible revenue is essential to achieve its objectives. WRI plans to hold a problem-solving roundtable with donors to discuss funding models and cost structure efficiency.
• WRI is working to further embed poverty, gender and social equity (PGSE) across the organization. While the review noted rapid acceleration in this area and integration within the ARI Africa strategy, WRI plans to implement further actions from its Equity Task Force, including political economy analyses and 'do no harm' assessments for all new initiatives.
• WRI aims to strengthen its global network to ensure it is 'equally high-performing in every geography,' with a specific focus on supporting a just transition at the country level in its next strategy. This includes a commitment to better align budget, staff, and strategy under a 'One WRI' approach.

APA

World Resources Institute (2022). Management Response to the 2021 Independent External Review of the World Resources Institute. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-02/2021-external-review-wri-management-response.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Management Response to the 2021 Independent External Review of the World Resources Institute. 2022. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-02/2021-external-review-wri-management-response.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=World Resources Institute |title=Management Response to the 2021 Independent External Review of the World Resources Institute |date=January 2022 |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-02/2021-external-review-wri-management-response.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{worldresourcesinstitute2022management, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Management Response to the 2021 Independent External Review of the World Resources Institute}}, publisher = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2022}, month = jan, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2022-02/2021-external-review-wri-management-response.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }