“Expert Answers” is the World Bank Group’s flagship video series focused on the latest news and analysis in the international development sector, with a view to enlightening and entertaining a broad, cross-cultural, globally engaged audience.
Each episode centers around a big topic in the world of global economics and poverty alleviation, with the aim of helping broad audiences understand the “how and why” of the biggest issues the world faces today. The series distills often arcane, abstract and complex topics into 5-7-minute episodes through an engaging conversation with a leading expert.
In its first year, the series has examined global obesity and malnutrition, the impact of remittances on poor communities, and the gendered effects of COVID – among many other topics.
The series’ interviews have been effective in capturing the attention of large audiences by explaining the complicated subject matter in ways that are accessible and relevant to everyday viewers. The high-energy conversational and editing styles work to keep audiences engaged on topics that they may otherwise pass over, feeling that the topics were too technical or academic.
“Expert Answers” has a fast-paced aesthetic matched with an informal tone. Supporting each episode are hours of meticulous technical planning, editorial wrangling, and a staff committed to communicating the World Bank’s mission, data, and knowledge in an engaging and accurate way.
Despite its conversational feel, each episode is deeply researched. Scripts and interview questions are formulated, written, rewritten, refined and ultimately approved with an eye towards communicating these topics in a way that is both accurate and relatable to audiences.
From its start, the series has aimed to ask tough questions of the experts it features, not to “catch them out”, but to cut through opaque and complex jargon often found in the international development sector so that audiences feel they are getting an honest and transparent window into the World Bank Group and its work.
“Expert Answers” has been deeply impactful in growing and informing different audiences about the nature of global poverty as well as the work of the World Bank and the broader international development community. Our viewership metrics suggests that the first several episodes of “Expert Answers” have received nearly half a million views across YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn. However, the number of views rises substantially when other streaming platforms, such as Twitter and the World Bank website, are included. Furthermore, the first few “Expert Answers” episodes have been shared by viewers several hundred times across streaming platforms, resulting in the accumulation of an even greater widespread, diversified audience.
“Expert Answers” has proven itself to be an effective platform for communicating not just the work of the World Bank Group, but the nature of global poverty and the work that is being done to address it. Almost all episodes are underpinned by interviews that ask and answer tough questions about the forces at play in global economics. In many cases, guests point to new or relevant data that underscores their analysis and claims to encourage viewers to explore more resources and research on development topics that spark their curiosity and passion.
