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Records of the Latin America and Caribbean Regional Vice Presidency

  • WB IBRD/IDA LAC
  • Fonds
  • 1947-2008

This fonds consists of records created by the departments and vice presidencies that were responsible for World Bank operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Country operational records

The majority of the records of this fonds are country operational records. These records broadly consist of project records relating to the negotiation and administration of loans and general country records relating to economic and sector study. These records were created by Area Departments (1947-1972), Country Departments (CDs, 1972-1997) and Country Management Units (CMUs, 1997-) as well as Regional project departments (1972 - 1987), technical departments (1987 - 1997), and sector departments (1997 - ).

Project records

Records related to the Bank's projects overseen by the LCR are contained in the "Country operational records" series. These records relate to investment, structural adjustment, and other development projects financed, co-financed, or managed by the Bank. Note that projects funded or co-funded by external bodies such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), national governments, and trust funds and which were executed by the Bank are also included.

Information about specific projects from their conception through negotiation and completion is found in this series; records relating to all phases of the World Bank Project Cycle are included here. Project records contained in this fonds were created by both the unit identified as the designated record keeping unit within the Region and, in smaller number, the Regional units that provided project support. Included are records relating to not only completed projects but also to abandoned projects (i.e. projects that were abandoned in course of preparation or that failed to gain Board approval) and suspended projects (i.e. approved projects, including those partially disbursed, which have been suspended and not resumed). Records related to the discussion and negotiation of projects that were never initiated are also included.

Correspondence files make up the bulk of the project records and relate to the identification, preparation, appraisal, negotiation, approval, supervision, disbursement of funds, completion, and review of each individual project. Correspondence is in the form of letters, memoranda, telexes, and faxes. Accompanying materials most often include aide-memoires, minutes of meetings, Terms of Reference, back-to-office reports, etc. Correspondence is between the Bank and government officials, ambassadors, institutions, and consultants.

Project records may also include: Project Files documents; Project Implementation Index File (PIIF) documents; executive project summary/project concept documents; annual progress reports; supplemental documents; consultant reports; supervision reports; and final versions of mandatory reports. Note that reports included in this fonds are occasionally available through the Bank's Projects & Operations site. A small amount of project-related newspaper clippings, financial statements, photographs, hand-written notes, maps, engineering plans, and copies of loan agreements and related documents may also be found, as well. External documents received from borrowers, governments, consultants, etc., including studies, reports, plans, specifications, Project File documents, PIIF documents, etc., are also included.

Country Economic and Sector Work (ESW) records

General country files are also included in the "Country operational series". These refer to background correspondence and other records of the Region's support activities for IBRD/IDA lending programs, other than those maintained for individual loans and credits. These relate to economic, social, and sector work study and analysis and the development of sector and country programs, policies and strategies. Specifically, these records might relate to: capital markets; indebtedness; investment law; missions to the country; technical assistance; disbursement; government relations; inquiries; local bond issues; country liaison; programs and missions; resident representatives; Country Program Papers (CPP) preparation; and Project Implementation Review (PIR). Records relating to and filed according to the various sectors of investment are also included. In each series, sector files may include but are not limited to: agriculture; education; energy; industrial development and finance; industry; population; health; nutrition; telecommunications; tourism; transportation; urban development; water and sewage; and social development. General country filerecords take the form of correspondence, memoranda, minutes of meetings, notes for files, briefing papers, back-to-office reports, aide-memoires, briefing papers, and reports. Records relating to analytical and advisory activities (AAA) and the related collection of data for these activities may also be included.

Country-specific records relating to country program management are also included in the country operational record series. These records were maintained primarily by the Country Department headquarter units and were used to document Bank Group assistance planning and strategy for each country. Records may pertain to the creation of Bank reports such as: the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS); Country Briefs; Country Strategy Papers; Country Economic Memoranda; Medium Term Framework Papers; and policy statements. These records take the form of: agendas; briefings and reports of country team meetings; final versions of reports; and background materials used in the preparation of reports. Briefing papers prepared for Annual Meetings and other reports to management may also be included.

Also included are informational records related to each country and to development issues specific to that country. These records primarily contain externally created reference material, although a small amount of internally generated material (such as speeches and addresses and material related to internally sponsored conferences and seminars) may also be included. Reference materials may include: lists of government officials; information on external consultants; newspaper clippings related to country matters; press releases related to Bank and country activities; correspondence with government officials and/or ministries; and documents related to the operations of field offices in the country. Also included, in small amounts, are books, journals, magazines, articles, extracts, directories, manuals, handbooks, guides, and dissertations originating from elsewhere in the Bank Group or of external origin. Topics include common development sectors (agriculture, transportation, education, etc.) as well as: resettlement; indigenous peoples; participation; Global Environment Facility (GEF); World Bank operation policies; country politics, legislation, and economic situation; and natural resource management. Also includes some reports and other resources relating to countries and regions outside of Latin America.

Regional operational records

Operational records related to the Latin America & Caribbean region are also includedin this fonds. Included are the project records of projects that span more than a single country, such as the founding of new regional banks, the establishment of a common market, tourism projects, and the creation of regional infrastructure, such as roads, ports, electric power generation and telecommunications. The types of project-related records are similar to those described in the "Country operational records" series section above. Also included are general records related to economic, social and sector work study and analysis and the development of sector and regional programs, policies and strategies. In terms of topic and form, these records are similar to the general records of the country operational series described above; this includes records related to sector study and development and analytical and advisory activities (AAA). However, records relate to either the region as a whole or to multi-country areas of the region. Also included are records relating to multilateral institutions that worktogether with the Bank.

External aid coordination

Series consists of records relating to the development and implementation of aid coordination activities not specific to projects, such as cofinancing arrangements, donor meetings, consultative group meetings, and Country Team meetings. Records originate in country and sector departments and relate to cooperative relationships between the Bank Group and donors, cofinanciers, development agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other concernedorganizations. Specifically, records may relate to: collaborative development assistance; Bank-sponsored seminars and conferences; cofinancing and trust funds; the Consultant Trust Fund Program (CTFP); and external funding for consultants. Records may include: copies of agreements and other legal documents; initiating briefs; reports and memoranda concerning disbursement of cofinanced funds; periodic reports to cofinanciers; and other related materials.

The series also contains records documenting the establishment, proceedings and activities of the consultative groups convened and chaired by the Bank to assess and coordinate external financial assistance and which the Bank provided secretarial support to. These include the Colombia Consultative Group (1962) as well as consultative groups for Brazil (1966), Peru (1966), Bolivia (1977), Honduras (1988), Guatemala (1989), El Salvador (1991), Nicaragua (1994), Haiti (1996), and Costa Rica (1998). Many of the consultative groups met bi-annually for several successive years or longer than a decade such as Colombia and Peru, with Bank staff leading smaller sector or local consultative meetings in between the bi-annual donor group meetings. Files contain a large body of correspondence between the country department staff, the chairman who was typically the Area of Country Director, and members of the consultative groups including the recipient country. Correspondence includes copies of outgoing memoranda and letters, cables, original letters from member government officials (some addressed to the Bank President), notes to the file, minutes of pre-consultative group meetings, sector, and/or local meetings organized by country staff in between consultative group meetings, and drafts of documents. Topics covered by the correspondence include policies and practices of the consultative group; its origins and establishment; changes in membership or participation; pledges and terms of aid by donor countries; and collaboration with International Monetary Fund and other multilateral participants or observers.

Also included are the set of official meeting documents of the Bank-chaired consultative groups aforementioned that contain: preliminary meeting summaries, notice of meeting, agenda, list of delegates, Bank-authored or government authored memoranda or economic reports and policy papers, Chairman's report of proceedings, transcripts or verbatim proceedings, participants statements, and press release. Meeting files also contain small amount of administrative correspondence authored by Secretary's Department or the Area or Country Department concerning meeting preparations, distribution of documents, or announcements about participants in attendance of the meetings.

There is also a smaller volume of files relating to consultative meetings of other organizations including the Guyana-led aid group and the Caribbean Group for Economic Cooperation in Development (CGCED) in which the Bank participated beginning in the early 1970s as well as CGCED sub-group consultative or other donor meetings chaired by the department.

Departmental reference materials

Reference materials maintained by Regional departments are included in this fonds. Topics include the various development sectors as well as Bank operational topics such as: project identification; loan procurement; consultants; exports; macroeconomic stability and growth; and private sector assessment.

Department directors' project records (reference)

Project file reference copies maintained by the CD and CMU directors' front office are also included in this fonds. These include project-related records circulated from project managers to the departments for information, monitoring, review, or input. These records are arranged by project and then, in most cases, by project cycle component or phase.

Departmental directors' chronological files

Also included are chronological files created and maintained by the directors of CDs and CMUs. Specifically, the records of directors from LCC7C (Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay) and LCC1C (Mexico) are included; records date from 1992 to 1998.

Business plan and budget management records

Fonds includes records relating to business plan and budget management (i.e. planning, implementation, monitoring, and review) activities of the Region. The VP's Chief Administrator's annual budget records are contained in this fonds. These records include Business Plans covering three-year periods as well as Retrospective Reviews. Multi-volume annual budget files created by the Region's budget and administrative units are also included. Records relating to the budgets of Country Departments are also included primarily in the form of correspondence and budget reports and tools. Budget records created by both the Regional VP and Country Departments relating to country field offices are included. A small number of the Region's Budget Committee records from between 1996 and 2000 are also contained in the fonds.

Management and oversight of unit functions

Records relating to the management and oversight of the Region's functional responsibilities, work program, and policy development are included in this fonds. Topics include: work program development; unit policy and procedures; agency structure and organization; management improvement studies; coordination and direction; departmental reviews; Regional objectives and operational directives; and staffing. Records include: work program agreements and monthly reports; research program materials; general correspondence; various task force records including some final reports; unit reviews; LAC evaluation and restructuring records; records of the Region's Resource Management Group; and general correspondence. Records relating to the Funding Coordinators Group (trust funds) are also included.

Front office administration and oversight of field offices

Fonds also includes those records maintained in the Region's front office relating to the activities of the Region's field offices. Records may include: correspondence; reports; and contracts. Records may also relate to: establishment agreements; leases; renovation; capital budget; local staff; resident representatives; mission statement; and other information of substantive nature. Records were created between 1978 and 1993.

VP chronological files

Fonds includes the chronological files of the Region's VP S. Shahid Hussain for the years 1990 to 1992.

Front office reference material

A variety of front office reference material is included in this fonds. This includes a collection of reports and articles created between 1987 and 1995. Topics include: development; governance; Bank-Fund collaboration; Bank operations; information technology; communications; and human resources. Records take the form of: photocopied articles; Bank-authored reports including task force reports; Bank Executive Director memoranda; reports from external institutions; workshop publications; and seminar reports. Also included are subject files of the LAC front office. Records date from 1977 to 1993 and cover a variety of topics related to sector development, operations, budget, other Bank units, and external institutions.

UNDP liaison

Fonds contains records relating to the Region's cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with respect to development planning. Included are UNDP authored country programme records relating to LCR countries. Other reports authored by the UNDP are also included as is correspondence between the Bank concerning development activities in member countries in the Latin America and Caribbean region. Records are organized by country and date from 1981-1996. Note that project records from projects funded in whole or in part by the UNDP but executed by the Bank are included in the country and regional operational record series.

Communications

Also included are records related to the Region's communications activities. These consist of press releases authored by the World Bank dating from 1949 to 1997. Files are arranged by country and relate to: relations between the Bank and member country; projects fundedby the Bank; and other pertinent topics.

Committee records

Fonds contains records relating to a number of committees, task forces, working groups, etc., that establish, recommend, or monitor implementation of policy and procedures and on which the Region or its units are represented or about which they are kept informed. Included are the Reorganization Steering Committee (1988), Evaluation Monitoring Implementation Committee, Operational Committee, and LCR's Office of the Director Filing Project committee.

Training, seminar, and workshop planning and management

Fonds includes records related to the establishment, organization, proceedings, and output of conferences, meetings, seminars, and training organized by LCR units. Records include back-to-office reports, presentation notes and outlines, planning materials, reports, and correspondence. Many of the records relate to events undertaken in conjunction with the World Bank Institute (WBI). Records relating to training, seminars, and workshops organizedby the Region's Environment Unit (LATEN) between 1992 and 1995 are also numerous. These events were organized for both Bank staff at headquarters and at country offices as well as for member governments and other institutions and groups.

Information technology management

Also contained in this fonds are records related to the management of information technology strategy for the Region. Included are files related to regional information strategy such as the LAC Enterprise Network pilot, the LAC communications link, imaging and the IRIS system, and files on LAC modernization and restructuring.

Latin America and Caribbean Regional Vice Presidency