Series consists of various records maintained by the Education Sector Board of the Human Development Network (HDN) that was launched in September 1996. The Education Sector Board was one of the first sector boards to operate ahead of the Bank-wide reorganization in July 1997 that created networks to link staff working in the same sectors throughout the Bank.

The sector board was chaired by the sector director of the Human Development Network Education Team (HDNED). Maris O'Rourke was the first to serve in this position (1996 - 2000), followed by Director Ruth Kagia (tenure 2001 - 2008). The board was comprised of staff drawn from the network as well as representatives from the regions, Development Economics Department (DEC), International Finance Corporation (IFC), and World Bank Institute (WBI) and was managed by a sector manager. Accountable to the HDN Council led by the Human Development Network Vice Presidency, the board was supported by a secretariat. Records in the series reflect the responsibilitiesof the board in setting the strategy for the Bank's work in the sector, endorsing business plans and budget, ensuring the regions and anchor perspectives were coordinated, overseeing the outreach and partnerships for the sector, and vetting grant and trust fund proposals for quality, consistency, and prioritization with sector objectives.

A large portion of the series consists of meeting records including minutes, agenda, and reports from 1996 to 2006. There are records for one 1996 meeting held in December and a gap in the meeting records exists between 2004 and 2005. Some of the minutes contain handwritten annotations. Occasionally minutes are filed with copies of correspondence to the Office of the President or HDN Council, conference invitations and agenda, course outlines, draft and final discussion papers, external reports or newsletters, and other items. The minutes reflect discussion and decisions taken on various initiatives and topics such as: special grant proposals; preparation of reports or sector strategy; data and trends presented by sector staff including decline in education lending; external conferences and other events held by partners; quality assurance; Human Development Week event activities; fiscal year business plan and budget; staff training and development; awards programs; Bank reorganization; and various internal administrative matters. The minutes also specify follow-up actions to be taken.

The series also consists of chronological files of the sector board (1995 - 2000, with agap between mid-1998 and 1999), sector manager chronological file (2001 - 2002), and several correspondence and external correspondence files in liaison with the Office of the President (EXC, 2002 - 2005), specifically Wolfensohn (1996 - 1998), executive directors (1996 - 1997), HD Council (1996 - 1997), and the network's predecessor, Human Development Department (HDD) front office (1996 - 1997). The EXC correspondence files contain the incoming correspondence and log sheet with instructions, the response prepared by HDNED director or staff on behalf of the director, and emails between staff regarding draft responses that were sometimes jointly drafted with the input of other Bank units.

Subject files maintained by the sector board (1995 - 1999) also comprise the series. Files contain internal memoranda, external correspondence, and other records that relate to strategy, budget, funding, personnel, knowledge management, communications for the 1997 Human Development Network launch, Evaluation Learning Group, partnerships with external organizations, Development Grant Facility (DGF), and specific sector topics such as distance education and technology. There are also files related to the HDN Council that contain minutes of the HD Council meetings attended by O'Rourke and correspondence outlining directives from the HDD VP for the action of the sector board and regarding the launch of the networks including staffing matters. Correspondence is primarily between O'Rourke and other education sector senior staff such as Jeffrey Waite and Nick Burnett and includes all-in-1 messages and email hard copies, internal memoranda, and facsimiles. The correspondence is occasionally filed with internal reports such as working group and portfolio performance review reports, strategy papers, Terms of Reference, handwritten notes, and various other records.

An additional set of records relate to sector strategy, quality, governance, and partnerships (2000 - 2003). Strategy files contain draft business plans, Terms of Reference,issues notes, sector board minutes, framework or working papers, concept note reports, guidelines, executive summaries, and other reports. Strategic areas include Education for All Fast Track Initiative (EFA-FTI), HIV/AIDS, user fees in primary education, adult basic education, early child development, science and technology, and other themes.

Quality review records maintained by the sector board relate to the Quality Enhancement Review (QER) process for Bank-financed education projects at entry, quality training, and portfolio monitoring. The QER was initiated by the sector board in fiscal year 1999 and organized by the Quality Promotion Team, HDNED, in close collaboration with the Quality Assurance Group (QAG) and the regions. The purpose of the QER was to provide professional advice for country and task teams to enhance the quality and impact of projects and economic sector work (ESW). The files titled "Quality" contain: QER guidelines and overview documents; list of QERs FY2001 to 2003; QER panel roster; Terms of Reference; reports; and email hard copies regarding requests for QER by task team leaders (TTLs) and provision of quality training courses in collaboration between HDNED and Human Development Network, Health, Nutrition and Population Team (HDNHE) and HDNVP. The records pertaining to portfolio monitoring include quarterly reports, FY2002 retrospective report, and email hard copies between HDNED staff Omporn Regel and HDN Operations Officer Hongu Yang from HDNHE Lead Specialist Christopher Walker. Also included are four QER files related to Water and Sanitation and two related to Environment Sector Board QER that were presumably kept as reference.

Series consists of records documenting HDNED and previous units support to the Bank's lending and project activities within the education, training, and employment sector. Records are organized into subject files and contain details on Bank loans and credits and interaction with units in the various regions.

The earliest records in the series were maintained by the Project Related Training Program (EDCPT) staff of the Education Department created in July 1983. The unit provided operational support to theregional transportation, public utilities, and agriculture divisions on matters related to project-related training (PRT) which primarily involved developing advanced courses and instructing sector staff on project design and implementation. In February 1985, EDCPT became the Project Related Training Division (EDTPT) under the renamed Education and Training Department and was terminated in July 1986. Records cover the period from 1982 to 1986 and include: preliminary draft guidelines; copies of internal memoranda, many to EDT director; policy notes; discussion papers; and a copy of the 1978 Operation Evaluation Department (OED) Review of Bank Operations in the Education Sector report. Specific topics covered, but not limited to, include: guidelines for project related training components in transportation projects; an approach to manpower development for the transport sector; guidelines for designing training components in agricultural and rural development projects; and United Nations Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) Cooperative Program review. EDPT records were primarily created by Senior Training Adviser Augustin Alberti, Division Chief Lennart Swahn, and Senior Training Adviser H.W. Barker.

The series also contains records related to the Quality Enhancement Review (QER) panel's work on various education projects managed by operational task teams, and a review of the World Bank Institute Education Training program. The QER panel was first instituted for HDN projects in Fiscal Year 1999. QER broadly followed the Quality Assurance Group (QAG) methodology to improve the quality of projects but functioned as an independent group of senior colleagues who conducted the project preparation review with the task teams.

QER records were created between 2000 and 2007 apart from a file containing a 1997 report. Senior Education Specialists Juan Manual Moreno, Yidan Wang, and other HDNED served as QER panel members with typically two or three other colleagues from the region's education units. QER panels were not always represented by HDNED staff but in the case of these records, the panel reviews were jointly sponsored by the Education Sector Board and QAG. Records contain panel Terms of Reference, agenda or interview schedule, draft project concept notes, project appraisal documents (PADs), aide-memoires, issues papers, minutes of review meetings, back-to-office reports, project data tables, country profiles, external strategy papers and reports, previous QER reports, and other reference material collected by the panel to support its review. Most files do not contain a final panel review report. Among the several projects represented in the files are West Bank and Gaza Higher Education (P083767) and Montenegro Education Project (P084597).

There are also files regarding sector plans, sector strategy, and country and lending information. Sector plan files relate to the Fast Track Initiative (2002 - 2005) and include Education for All and Fast Track Initiative (EFA-FTI) proposals and plans produced by member countries across multiple regions. Education sector strategy records (1999) contain an implementation plan, chapters, annexes with data tables and figures and maps outlining education lending, and two hard copy emails between HDNED Adviser Jeffrey Waite and Anja Robakowski-Van Strolen. Finally, there is a file containing country information divided by region with country action plans and supporting data on the status of education and Bank assistance in each country.

Series contains a variety of records mostly maintained by the HDNED Knowledge Management unit responsible for producing or disseminating education sector information products and responding to client requests. Records in the series take the form of reports; project lesson reports; newsletters; presentation slides; correspondence; and supporting documentation.

A significant volume of records is comprised of Bank reports (primarily Quality Enhancement Review [QER] reports), newsletters, and publications related to country education projects (1999 - 2004). Numerous countries are represented from all regions, particularly European and Central Asia as well as the Middle East and South Asia.

The series also contains records related to presentations and visits of Director Maris O'Rourke including her 1998 visit to the United Nations, presentations to the Human Development Council HDN, and other external presentations on the Bank and education. Several presentation files contain transparency slides, and a small number of these include the hard copy slides with presentation notes. Some slides appear to be prepared as templates for presenters to customize for audiences while others were prepared and used for specific presentations.

Other subject files cover: economics of human resources and economic analysis of education projects (1994 - 1999); the role of the World Bank in education as well as in education research and evaluation (1996 - 1998); structural adjustment and education (1997); knowledge management (1997); education strategy (1999); sector board's work program and budget (1999); and a small volume of conference and workshop papers such as for Quality of Economic and Sector Work (ESW) Workshop (2002).

Records regarding the World Education Forum, Dakar (2000) contain: email hard copies between O'Rourke and Steven Commins (External Relations); attached reports and Education for All (EFA) planning meeting summaries centered around communications and public relations; draft outline for President Wolfensohn speeches; back-to-office reports of O'Rourke and successor Director Ruth Kagia; and draft conference reports.