Terms and Conditions

The Global Evaluation Initiative (GEI) is hosted by the World Bank, and as such follows the Bank’s rules, procedures and guidelines, including for its website.

GEI is a partnership program managed by the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank Group (WBG) maintains this web site (the "Site") as a courtesy to those who may choose to access the Site ("Users"). These Terms and Conditions of Use & Privacy Policy, including any guidelines and future modifications (collectively the "Terms and Conditions" or “Agreement”) govern the use of this Site and is a legal contract between Users and the IEG. User is fully able and competent to enter into these Terms and Conditions.

By registering with us or using or browsing the Site, User acknowledges that he has read, understood, and agrees to be bound by this Agreement. If User does not agree to these Terms and Conditions, User can stop using the Site at any time.

The Site is not directed to Users younger than 18 and is offered only to Users 18 years of age or older. If you are under 18 years old, please do not use the Site.

General Terms and Conditions.

1. The IEG is pleased to allow Users, subject to these Terms and Conditions, and also subject to more specific restrictions that may apply to specific material within this Site, to visit the Site and: (i) to use the blogs, bulletin boards, chat rooms, access to mailing lists, interactive games or other social media (collectively, "Interactive Tools"); (ii) upload or link comments, recommendations, forums, photos, videos, music, sounds, images, text, files, listings, logos, trademarks, postings, messages, tags and other content or material (collectively “Content”) through the Interactive Tools that may be available on this Site. Some Interactive Tools and other applications of the Site may: (i) ask the User to register and provide personal information such as name, gender, city, email address, school, work, employer or organizational affiliation, country of citizenship or residence according to Section 16 (the “Personal Information”); (ii) require the User to post information or allow the User to create new Content through the interaction with Interactive Tools. Users are not allowed to collect product or service listings or descriptions displayed here, and are not allowed to perform any derivative use of this Site for the benefit of a third party.

2. The IEG is an oversight entity of the World Bank Group, which is comprised of IBRD (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development); IDA (International Development Association); IFC (International Finance Corporation); MIGA (Multilateral Guarantee Agency); and ICSID (International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes).

Disclaimers, Limitations on Warranties and Representations, and Waivers.

3. The IEG specifically does not make any warranties or representations as to any third-party Content accessible via an Internet link or any Content posted by the User or by any third party. The IEG disclaims any warranty that the Site or Content will meet your requirements or be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that the Site or the server that makes the Site available is free of viruses or other harmful components. The IEG makes no guarantee regarding (a) the amount, timing and delivery of any clicks or impressions with respect to any Content or advertising on the Site. The IEG does not ensure that User Information and Content will not be lost, misused, forged, destroyed, intercepted, targeted in a cyber attack or subject to unauthorized access, disclosure or modification. The IEG takes no responsibility, and assumes no liability for any Information or Content posted by the User or any third party on the Site.

The IEG assumes no responsibility for monitoring the Site for inappropriate Content or conduct. If at any time the IEG chooses, in its sole discretion to monitor the Site, the IEG nonetheless assumes no responsibility for the Content of the Site, no obligation to modify or remove any inappropriate Content, and no responsibility for the conduct of the User submitting any such Content.

Use of this Site is at User's sole risk. Under no circumstances shall the IEG , any other member of the World Bank Group, or any other content provider, be liable for any loss, damage, liability or expense incurred or suffered which is claimed to result from use of or in connection with any activity in relation to this Site, or as a result of the transmission or disclosure of confidential or partially disclosed Content or Information (including, without limitation, anything (including any tools made available through this Site) that may personally identify the User or the User’s location) through the access to or use of this Site or any Interactive Tool or otherwise provided thereby, including without limitation, any fault, error, omission, interruption or delay with respect thereto as well as any loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, unauthorized distribution, modification or destruction of Content or Information provided or transmitted by User or forging of User’s e-mail.

Under no circumstances or legal theory, including, but not limited to, negligence, shall the IEG or any member of the World Bank Group, the Boards of Executive Directors, donors, contractors, employees, or any other Content provider, be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages, including, but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, cost of cover, goodwill, use, data, or other intangible losses (even if the IEG has been advised of the possibility of such damages), arising from or relating to this Agreement or the use or the inability to use the Site. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by the User from the IEG or through or from the Site shall create any warranty not expressly stated in these Terms and Conditions.

4. User specifically represents and warrants that, when accessing the Site: (i) User is 18 years of age or older; (ii) User will comply with all local, state, national and international laws, regulations, judicial or governmental orders and treaties that are applicable in the jurisdiction where the User is domiciled and/or accesses the Site (collectively “the Jurisdiction Laws”); (iii) User is solely responsible for any violation of the Jurisdiction Laws.

5. User specifically acknowledges and agrees that the IEG is not liable for any conduct of any User, including but not limited to violation of the Jurisdiction Laws. In this regard, User is solely responsible and liable for all actions, activities, acts and omissions taken via the User’s member account, User name and/or password, whether or not made with User’s knowledge or authority.

6. User specifically acknowledges and agrees that nothing in any agreement (or related policies) User may be subject to with any network creator or other party will alter, impair, supersede, amend or otherwise affect in any way any terms of this Agreement or any guidelines related thereto.

7. User represents and warrants that: (i) he owns or otherwise controls all the rights to the Information and Content uploaded or linked to his member account or through any Interactive Tool; (ii) he has the right to grant the license set forth in Section 23; (iii) the Information and Content uploaded or linked to his member account or through any Interactive Tool are accurate; (iv) by the supply of the Information and Content to the IEG, User does not violate this Policy and does not infringe the privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, contract rights or any other rights of any person or entity; (v) he agrees to pay for all royalties, fees, and any other monies owing to any person or entity by reason of any Content uploaded or linked to his member account or through any Interactive Tool.

8. This site may contain advice, opinions, and statements of various content providers. The IEG does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of: (i) any advice, opinion or statement provided by any information provider or content provider; (ii) any Content or Information provided by any User of this site or other person or entity. Reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement, Content or Information shall also be at User’s own risk. Neither the IEG nor its affiliates, nor any of their respective agents, employees, information providers or content providers shall be liable to any User or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error, omission, interruption, timeliness, loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, unauthorized distribution, destruction, completeness, deletion, defect, failure of performance, computer virus, communication line failure, alteration of, or use of any Content or Information herein, regardless of cause, for any damages resulting there from.

9. As a condition of use of this Site, User agrees to indemnify the IEG, other members of the World Bank Group, its affiliates, and all content providers from and against any and all actions, claims, losses, damages, liabilities and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of User's use of this Site, including without limitation any claims alleging facts that if true would constitute a breach by User of these Terms and Conditions. If User is dissatisfied with any material on this Site or with any of terms and conditions of use of this Site, User's sole and exclusive remedy is to discontinue using this Site.

10. Nothing in this Site shall be construed, implicitly or explicitly, as containing any investment recommendations. The IEG, an entity of the World Bank Group, is not registered under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Accordingly, nothing in such Site constitutes an offer of or an invitation by or on behalf of the IEG to purchase or sell any shares or securities nor should it be considered as investment advice.

11. User may elect in User’s sole and exclusive discretion to interacting with other users and/or the general public in order to participate in this Site. User specifically acknowledges and agrees that any such actions or activities, including but not limited to interacting with other users or the general public are performed entirely and exclusively at User’s own risk. User specifically acknowledges and agrees that User may elect not to participate in the Site at any time, including any actions, activities or interaction with other users.

Links to third-party web sites and use of Interactive Tools

12. This Site may contain links to third-party web sites. The linked sites are not under the control of the IEG and the IEG is not responsible for the Contents of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site. These links are provided only as a convenience, and the inclusion of a link does not imply endorsement of the linked site by the IEG.

13. This Site may contain Interactive Tools. User specifically acknowledges and agrees that he is solely responsible for the Content that he uploads or links to his member account and transmits to other Users through the Interactive Tools as well as for his interactions with other Users. User agrees to use the Interactive Tools only to send, receive and post messages and material that are proper and related to the particular content area. By way of example, and not as a limitation, User agrees that when using an Interactive Tool, User shall not do any of the following:

Defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of privacy and publicity) of others.
Publish, post, distribute or disseminate any defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent or unlawful Content.
Upload or attach files that contain software or other material protected by intellectual property laws (or by rights of privacy of publicity) unless User owns or controls the rights thereto or has received all necessary consents.
Upload or attach files that contain viruses, corrupted files, or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another's computer.
Delete any author attributions, legal notices or proprietary designations or labels in any file that is uploaded.
Falsify the origin or source of software or other material contained in a file that is uploaded.
Advertise or offer to sell any goods or services, or conduct or forward surveys, contests, or chain letters. Download any file posted by another User of a Forum that he or she knows, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally distributed in such manner.
Create a false identity for the purpose of misleading others.
Disrupt the normal flow of communities or negatively affects other Users' ability to participate in communities.
Contact anyone who has asked not to be contacted or “stalk" or otherwise harass anyone.
Violate any Jurisdiction Laws.
Violate or infringe upon any intellectual property rights, rights of publicity or privacy or any other rights of the IEG or of any other person.
Gain unauthorized access to the Site, other Users' member accounts, names, passwords, personally identifiable information or other computers, websites or pages, connected or linked to the Site or use the Site in any manner which violates or is inconsistent with these Terms and Conditions.
Modify, disrupt, impair, alter or interfere with the use, features, functions, operation or maintenance of the Site or the rights of use and enjoyment of the Site by any other person.
Constitute or promote Information or Content that User knows is false or misleading, furthers or promotes illegal activities or conduct that is abusive, threatening, obscene, defamatory or libelous.
Transmit "junk mail," "chain letters," or unsolicited mass mailing, instant messaging, "spimming," or "spamming".
Post Information or Content that includes restricted or password only access pages or hidden pages or images (those not linked to or from another accessible page).
Solicit or collect personal data including telephone numbers, addresses, last names, email addresses, passwords or personal identifying information from other Users or other third parties.
Promote commercial activities and/or sales without prior written consent from the IEG such as contests, sweepstakes, barter, advertising, or pyramid schemes.
Include a photograph or video of another person without that person's consent.
Knowingly communicate with any User under the age of 13 or communicate in an inappropriate manner with other Users.
Circumvent or modify, attempt to circumvent or modify, or encourage or assist any other person in circumventing or modifying any security technology or software that is part of the Site.
Perform any automated use of the system, such as, but not limited to, using scripts to add friends or send comments or messages.
Use the member account, User name, or password of other User at any time or disclose his or her password to any third party or permit any third party to access his or her member account.
Sell or otherwise transfer his or her member account or User name.
Use the Site in a manner inconsistent with these Terms and Conditions or with any applicable laws and regulations.

14. User acknowledges that exchanges on Interactive and Social Media Tools are public and not private communications. Further, User acknowledges that chats, postings, conferences, e-mails and other communications by other Users are not endorsed by the IEG, and such communications shall not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by the IEG. The IEG reserves the right for any reason to edit and remove without notice any Contents of the Interactive Tools received from Users, including without limitation e-mail, blog comments, and bulletin board postings.

Copyrights and Content posted by User.

15. The Content of this web site is copyright protected under United States and International Laws. Unauthorized use of the Content is strictly prohibited.

16. User grants the IEG a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, fully sub-licensable and transferable right to use, reproduce, modify, delete, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such Posted Information throughout the world in any media. User grants the IEG the right to use the name that User submits in connection with such Posted Information, if the IEG chooses. User agrees not to contest any use or reproduction that the IEG or World Bank Group may undertake of the Posted Information. User grants the IEG a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, fully sub-licensable and transferable right to publish, translate, distribute and display his/her name, photograph, likeness and part of his personal information according to Section 15.

User hereby agrees that if his or her Posted Information is removed from the Site, the IEG shall retain the rights granted in this Section, as provided in Section 22.

The IEG may choose to use Information and Content to compile profiles for statistical purposes and may choose to trade with such profiles and statistical data, as long as the profiles or statistical data cannot be linked to any specific data subject, including User, by a third party.

17. Term. This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless and until User member account is terminated as provided herein. User is entitled to remove his Content, Posted Information and cancel his/her member account at any time. In this case, the IEG retains the license rights as provided in Section 22 and in the Rules.