The series consists of records related to the project monitoring and evaluation function of the Operations Evaluation Department (OED). The majority of the records in the series are final audit reports for individual, Bank-sponsored projects and records related to the creation of those reports. Reports date from the beginning of OED and its project evaluation activities in 1973. OED-authored reports include Project Performance Audit Reports (PPARs) and Performance Audit Reports (PARs). Reports completed byoperating departments and submitted to the OED include Project Completion Reports (PCRs), Project Completion Notes (PCNs), Implementation Completion Reports (ICRs), and Implementation Completion Notes (ICNs). The PCRs can be characterized as either reports that required and received an audit by the OED or as pass through PCRs which OED division chiefs determined did not require an audit. In the case of the latter, Notes of Record are sometimes included to explain why an audit was not required. The series also consists of background materials and working files created or collected during the preparation of audit reports. These records include: correspondence; memoranda; staff appraisal reports; reports and recommendations sent to the Executive Directors for approval of the loans or credits; loan or credit agreements that were executed; annotated audit drafts; project progress reports; and field notes. In some cases, working files related to audits and report preparation are those accumulated by specific evaluation officers in OED.
The types of records that accompany the final evaluation reports vary, as procedural requirements changed over the years. OED evaluating officers created files for all completion reports and audit reports for which they were assigned responsibility. Most of the pre-1982 working files containing PCRs and PPARs reflect procedures put in place by the Bank between 1973 and 1979. The time frame for completion of PCRs after final disbursements of loans / credits varied as did the extent ofthe involvement of operating departments and clients in their preparation. In the mid-1970s, the PCR was to be prepared within six months of final disbursement by the Bank's Regional Vice-Presidency of the country in which the project took place. Information for the PCR was gathered from project files, supervision reports, and discussions in the field between Bank and Government officials associated with the project. However, before 1976 the majority of the PPARs prepared by OED evaluating officers were for projects for which no PCR had been prepared.
In 1976, procedural changes required all PCRs to be sent through the Director-General, Operations Evaluation (DGO), without OED comment to the Executive Board along with the PPAR. In addition to the PCR, the PPAR working files from 1976 onward include: the Terms of Reference for the OED audit mission; the Back-to-Office Report from the mission; PPAR drafts; comments on the drafts from Bank officials in the Region, Government officials and representatives of businesses or institutions involved in the project; and copies of transmittal letters accompanying the PPAR. Loan or Credit Agreements, Staff Appraisal Reports, and Reports and Recommendations by the Bank President for loans and credits, most of which are of earlier date than the other records in the file, are included in some PCR and PPAR files. By the end of 1979, OED conducted abbreviated audit reviews for about half of the PCRs it received. The working files for these passed-through PCRs usually contain: a memorandum addressed to the Regional Vice President indicating that based on the OED review of the PCR an audit would not be performed; comments on the PCR; a final draft of the PCR sent for printing by OED; a copy of the printed PCR forwarded to the Executive Board; and copies of the transmittal letters used in the OED distribution of the printed PCR.
At the beginning of fiscal year 1983, a new system of selective project performance auditing was introduced which required that 40 to 50 percent of projects be audited. PCRs were selected for audit according to whether they were for: large, complex, or innovative projects; projects an Executive Director proposed for performance audit; projects with high lending priority; projects which were first in a given sector / sub-sector for a country or last in a series; or a series of projects subject to a combined audit. OED division chiefs were given responsibility for determining the projects to be audited and for making decisions on pass-through PCRs. Some files for projects which OED did not audit contain: a Summary Note explaining the reasons for the pass-through decision and evaluating the quality of the PCR; a copy of the draft PCR; comments regarding the draft PCR from the client country; a Pass-Through PCR Unit Cost Sheet tracking OED staff time allocated to the project; memoranda and letters transmitting a final copy of the PCR to the Executive Directors, the Bank President, and officials of the client country; and a final copy of the PCR. Found in other working files for post-fiscal year 1983 is the Note of Record, which was prepared by the OED evaluating officer after review of the PCR with the division chief. It contained the reasons for the pass-through decision. The Note of Record assessed the project as described in the PCR in terms of its objectives, scope, implementation, costs, and sustainability. It was distributed only to the Director of OED (OEDDR), the OED Library, the working file, and the OED annual review coordinator. Also found in some workingfiles with the Note of Record is the Project Information Form (PIF) used to input data about the project into OED's database for use in annual reviews and studies. Results for all PCRs were reported to the Executive Board.
New guidelines for completing PCRs were put into place effective July 1, 1989. Most of the PCRs in the OED working files after this date have a different format from earlier prepared PCRs. Parts I and II of the report were prepared by the Regional Office and Part III was completed by the client. Some working files include Project Completion Notes (PCNs) which were prepared in lieu of PCRs for projects for which: the loan was never signed by the client; the Bank withdrew the loan; disbursement was very fast or ahead of schedule; no PCR was ever completed; or for which there were no implementation issues. The decision to create the PCN was based on a review of the Staff Appraisal Report prepared before the loan or credit was granted, internal Bank memoranda, minutes of Board discussions, supervision reports, and interviews with staff. The PPAR was carried out on the basis of the recommendation for audit made by OED at the time of review of the PCR. The contents of the PPAR working file remained largely unchanged from earlier periods but some PPARS for cluster audits (i.e. audits of multiple projects) were included.
By 1994, operations staff (also called Regional staff) evaluated all completed operations for which they were responsible and OED audited a representative sample of completed operations. For last supervision missions departing after July 1, 1994, Regional staff was required to prepare an Implementation Completion Report (ICR) or Implementation Completion Note (ICN) similar to the earlier PCN. Issues encountered during implementation, achievements, and the economic rate of return, were among the factors covered in the ICR. Contributions from client agencies (whole reports or comments) were attached to the ICR. Co-financiers were invited to participate in evaluations in which they provided funding. All ICRs were to be completed within six months of the final loan / credit disbursement. By 1997, about 25 percent of completed projects were audited by OED. Like the earlier PPARs, Project Audit Reports (PARs) were field-based and incorporated the views of client countries and major stakeholders. Projects were subject to audit if they were: large and complex; innovative or had unusual features; controversial, with issues unresolved during the ICR evaluation; first in a series or expected to offer especially strong lessons; suitable to be analyzed together with similar projects; useful for providing building blocks for sector or country evaluation study; or requested by Executive Directors.
The ICR, PCR, PCN, and ICN working files for the mid-1990s and later generally contain the printed report, a PIF and control sheet, drafts of the DGO's evaluative memorandum regarding the report or note, a copy of a memorandum from OEDDR transmitting the draft evaluative memorandum to the relevant Country Director, and comments from the Bank's Regional staff on the draft. Some files contain the OED-ICR-Review-Evaluation Summary which recommended for or against an audit of the project. Projects were evaluated for outcome, sustainability, institution development, Bank performance, and client country performance based on information in the ICR and PIF. Correspondence with Regional and other Bank staff and with officials in client countries regarding their comments on the draft report can also be found in the files. Some files contain copies of intra-OED electronic messages commenting on the draft evaluative summary and on the review process. A few of the files contain background documents records such as Staff Appraisal Reports (as was the case for PCR files for earlier periods).
In addition to draft and final copies of the reports, the PAR files for this period typically include: Initiating Memoranda; Terms of Reference (TOR) addressed to OED evaluators designated to travel to the field to conduct the audit; letters to Government officials and others related to the project announcing the mission to develop the report; Back-to-Office Reports from the audit mission; and comments on the draft audit report. Comments from the OED audit panel and an Audit Panel Review form can be found in some files along with drafts of the DGO's evaluative memorandum, a PIF and cover sheet, and copies of letters transmitting the final printed copy of the PAR to officials in the client country. Some of the PAR files contain copies of related background materials such as the Staff Appraisal Report and the Loan Agreement.
The review and audit activities of regional operations and the OED were conducted for the projects of all sectors. These include:
*Education- Primary; secondary; tertiary; vocational; technical
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Health and nutrition Specific disease and HIV/AIDS prevention and management; population projects
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Water Sewarage and drainage; sanitation; water supply; water pollution control; flood control
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Agriculture Commodity production; livestock development; fisheries development; research; support services; marketing
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Human resources Extension and training; social sector management; science and technology
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Rural development Rural roads; rural electrification
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Urban development Urban engineering; air pollution; urban management
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Telecommunications General sector
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Energy and power Power generation; refinery engineering; energy efficiency; oil field development; gas transport and distribution; oil, thermal, and gas exploration and development; pipeline rehabilitation
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Transport Navigation; railways; highways; rural roads; aviation; ports
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Finance and trade Private sector finance projects; financial rehabilitation projects; economic management and public enterprise; technology development projects; small and medium enterprise projects; development banks; export development; shipping; imports program; debt and debt service
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Industry Foundry modernization; small-scale industry; fertilizer production; mining and other extractive sector projects; pulp and paper engineering; public enterprise assistance; natural resource management; forestry; off-shore development
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Infrastructure Housing; construction projects
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Reconstruction and emergency Earthquake and flood recovery; drought relief
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Tourism General sector
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Structural adjustment Public sector reform loans; adjustment loans and credits; trade policy adjustment
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Client capacity building Technical assistance loans; central government administration projects; planning support
Evaluations of non-sector and multi-sector projects are also included.
The series also consists of evaluative reports and related materials created by OED staff that are not PARs or PPARs and are not related specifically to individual projects. These include: staff appraisal reports initially developed for the projects; reports and recommendations sent to the Executive Directors for approval of the loans or credits; materials related to a study by Carl Jayarajah entitled Overview Study: World Bank Support for Small and Medium Industry; a draft of correspondence related to a proposed Review of Lessons Learned in Railway Projects (RLLRP) for the OED Lessons & Practices publication; an approach paper, drafts, and background materials for Review of the World Bank Experience with Electric Power Generating Facilities (1985); a draft study outline, Terms of Reference, and supporting materials for the 1987 - 1989 study Columbia: An Evaluation of Bank Lending to the Colombia Power Sector between 1970 and 1986 along with the March 1991 final study report; the approach paper and draft of the 1988 - 1989 country case study World Bank Support for Rural Roads Maintenance - Philippine Case Study; a draft of Senior Evaluator Jan de Weille's March 1992 report Annual Review, Project Performance Results for 1991 - Transport; the approach paper and drafts of the June 30, 1994, grey cover sector review (Report 13291) Rural Electrification in Asia: A Review of Bank Experience; records related to a study of the Bank's involvement in Mexico's power sector over four decades; background materials for Study of Adjustment Lending in Sub-Saharan Africa (Oct. 1996 - July 1997) including an approach paper, preliminary draft, draft speech prepared for the Director-General, Operations Evaluation, and copies of related reports; the report Case Study of World Bank Activities in the Health Sector in Mali accompanied by a memorandum from OEDST inviting the DGO and other OED personnel to a meeting review regarding the study; working files of evaluator Basil Coukis which include annotated copies of PCRs and PPARs as well as background materials such as loan guarantee agreements, staff appraisal reports developed for loan or credit applications, progress reports, background correspondence, and field notes used in the preparation of evaluations; and two reports concerning trade policy reform for Mexico, Mexico: Trade Policy Reform, World Bank's Support for Trade Liberalization Program by Yalcin M. Baran (Sept. 15, 1989) and Overview Study: World Support for Small and Medium Industry issued by the Projects Department of Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Office (June 24, 1986). Finally, the series consists of records related to the OED's problematic review of the Thirteenth Indian Railway Project (Credit 582-IN). The files contain the April 1979 PCR, various versions (dating from 1981 to 1986) of the PPAR, and correspondence regarding the project. The first and the subsequent draft PPARs for this project were controversial and found to be inadequate for various reasons. The controversy led President Clausen to appoint a special audit team for the Railway Project and to request a reevaluation of OED internal procedures. Materials related to the subsequent review as well as to the OED evaluation are included; the latter includes: intra-OED correspondence; correspondence with Transportation Department staff, the South Asia Regional Office, and Indian government officials; and minutes of a Joint Audit Committee meeting and Executive Directors' meeting.