Knowing (in) organizations: calculative cultures and paradigmatic learning in the case of the World Bank

This paper explores the evidence culture in one of the key global knowledge institutions—the World Bank. Framing itself as a “Knowledge Ban,” the World Bank is a leading organization in data and evidence provision around poverty and inequalities, and as such, it shapes the broader evidentiary standards and knowledge infrastructures around the world. Drawing on a rich qualitative study of 46 semistructured interviews with experts working on poverty knowledge as well as document analysis of the key reports and strategic documents, this paper explores the manner in which the calculative evidence culture of the World Bank mediates the production of evidence and expertise within the institution. This paper explores the collectively formulated interpretative lenses that guide formative questions such as what counts as (good) evidence, how it is used in decision-making, and how to deal with uncertainty with data and evidence. By doing so, this paper makes two contributions to the literature on evidence-based policymaking. First, it provides a cultural lens to the production and use of evidence in policymaking, a lens that is significantly underdeveloped in the existing scholarship. Second, it addresses the question of evolving evidentiary standards and learning within knowledge organizations. By exploring how institutions “change their mind,” this paper provides a dynamic account of the evolving politics of knowledge within organizations.