The files in this series contain correspondence, reports, and other records establishing policies and procedures for the publication and dissemination of World Bank research products. The files were maintained successively by the Development Policy Staff (DPS), the Economics and Research Staff (ERS: primarily by Research Administrator Deepak Lal and Policy Advisor Dennis N. de Tray), and finally by Research Administrator de Tray in the Policy, Planning, and Research Staff.

Subjects covered include: the establishment and funding of the Bank Research Documentation Center (BRDC) as the primary depository of research documentation on projects funded by the World Bank Research Program, 1980 - 1984; the selection of topics for the next several editions of the World Development Report, 1985 - 1988; the costs of producing the Bank's main periodicals on research, 1986; and general discussions of the types of publications best suited for the dissemination of information about the research program. Specific documentsin the files include: copies of key documents (Terms of Reference; agenda and minutes of meetings), 1985 - 1987, for the Comparative Studies Coordination Committee and its successor, the Research Coordination Committee; the July 1984 draft of the report of the Committee on Economy-wide Modeling in the Bank (filed under Model Review Committee); a copy of Bela Balassa's August 1987 Report on World Bank Research and the voluminous comments from Bank staff on that report (filed under Review of Bank's ResearchProgram); briefing papers used in an ERS presentation by ERSVP Anne Kruger to the Executive Directors, December 1986; correspondence and intra-DPS and ERS memoranda outlining policies concerning the publication of products of the Bank's staff (filed under Publication Policies); and a copy of the October 1984 preliminary report of the Subcommittee of BRAG [Bank Research Advisory Group] on dissemination of the Bank's research output (filed under Research Dissemination).