Records of the East Asia and Pacific Regional Vice Presidency
- WB IBRD/IDA EAP
- Fonds
- 1947 - 2008
Note that the countries included in the East Asia and Pacific Region fonds fluctuated over the years; countries were moved from one Region to another and Regional Vice Presidencies were merged and separated. The only significant impact this had on the records of this fonds is the exclusion of Burma/Myanmar's operational correspondence previous to 1987. As described in the "Administrative History" field above, Myanmar was moved into EAP unofficially in 1987 and officially in 1991.
Also note that this fondshas been provisionally arranged into one sub-fonds and twelve series. Sub-headings are used to break the content of this field up according to sub-fonds and series. For a complete list of the provisional series, see the "System of Arrangement" field below.
Asia operational correspondence (sub-fonds)
The majority of the records in the Asia operational correspondence sub-fonds are the result of a records management decision implemented by the central files classification system and then, after 1972, by the Regional Information Service Centers (RISCs). Two "Operational correspondence - Asia" classes of records were created in which records related to Asian regional lending and programming, economic and sector work, and reference were filed together regardless of unit of origin. Records were thus created by the units of the various Asia and East Asia regional department and Vice Presidency iterations, including: department heads, and, after 1972, Vice Presidents; Country Program Department heads and staff; and Projects/Technical Department heads and staff. Note that records of the Technical Departments (AST) units that were shared by SAR and EAP between 1991 and 1997 are included in these records. See 2.3 for further elaboration.
Records relate to a variety of topics that pertain to operations in the Asian region and to individual countries. These include: Bank missions to Asian countries; potential and ongoing projects; conferences attended by Bank staff; investment promotion; technical assistance in the region; UNDP projects; operations policy; external debt; audits; co-financing; Economic Development Institute (EDI); Project Implementation Review (PIR); and sector research and policy work. Records related to multilateral institutions with which the Bank has a relationship are included. Institutions include: the Asian Development Bank (ADB); Private Investment Corporation of Asia (PICA); Asian Institute of Economic Development; the Colombo Plan; the Mekong Committee; and the South Pacific Commission.
Also included in this sub-fonds are a small number of records created by the Asia Vice Presidency (ASI) during its existence between 1987 and 1991. These records were not transferred to the Asia RISC and were thus not classified according to the RISC classification system. Records include correspondence and reports related to UNDP projects (specifically RAS/86/160 - Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Development) as well as records related to regional Economic and Sector Work (ESW) maintained by the ASI Front Office from 1987 to 1991. Lastly, records of ASI Chief Economist Oktay Yenal are included. The majority of these records are correspondence from Yenal to ASI Vice President Attila Karaosmanoglu in which Yenal provides comments and advice. Note that while Yenal's records cover the entire period of ASI's existence (1987-1991), a small amount also relate to Yenal's time as Chief Economist of EAP from 1984 to 1987; during this time he was also reporting to Karaosmanoglu and the records are similar in character. A file containing Yenal's speeches from between 1989 and 1991 is also included.
Country operational records
The majority of the records in this fonds are country operational records. The records in the "Country operational record" series 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 Economic Department (1946-1952), Technical Operations Department (TOD), Projects Department (1965-1972) and Regional project departments (1972 - 1987), technical departments (1987 - 1997), and sector departments (1997 - 2009).
Records related to the Bank's projects overseen by EAP 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 but which were executed by the Bank are included.
Records relating to all phrases phases of the World Bank Project Cycle, from conception through negotiation and completion, are found 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, theRegional 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, fund disbursement, completion, and review of each individual project. Correspondence is in the form of letters, printed email, 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, contractors, and consultants.
Project records may also include: Project Implementation Index File (PIIF) documents; executive project summary/project concept documents; annual progress reports; supplemental documents; Project Completion Reports (PCRs, also known as Completion Reports); consultant reports; supervision reports; and final versions of mandatory reports. 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, contractors, consultants, etc., including studies, reports, plans, specifications, PIIF documents, etc., are also included.
General country files are also included in the "Country operational records" series. These refer to correspondence, topical and subject files, and other records of the Region's support activities for IBRD/IDA lending programs, other than those maintained for individual loans and credits. Records 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; co-financing; Consultative Groups; aid groups; country liaison; 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 file records take the form of correspondence, memoranda, minutes of meetings, notes for files,back-to-office reports, aide-memoires, briefing papers, and reports. Records relating to other analytical and advisory activities (AAA) and the related collection of data for these activities may also be included. These records may include research material in the form of surveys and spreadsheets and guides created or used for analysis or processing of data.
Country-specific records relating to country program management and aid coordination 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; external reports; meeting summaries and notes; and background materials used in the preparation of reports. Briefing papers prepared for Annual Meetings and other reports to management may also be included. Materials generated from aid coordination activities not specific to projects, such as co-financing arrangements, donor meetings, Consultative Group meetings, and Country Team meetings, may also be included.
Also included are informational records related to each country and to development issues specific to that country. Much of the topics covered in these records are focused on various development sectors. 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.
Regional operational records
Operational records related to the East Asia and Pacific Region are also included in 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 external institutions that work together with the Bank through research, co-financing, and other endeavors. These include: the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development; the Asian Development Bank; the Private Investment Corporation of Asia; the Mekong Committee; Asian-Pacific Telecommunity (APT); Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific; Asian Institute of Technology (AIT); Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); International Labor Organization (ILO); United Nations (UN) and its various funds and programmes; and the World Health Organization (WHO).
External aid coordination
Series consists of records relating to the development and implementation of aid coordination activities not specificto projects, such as co-financing 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 donor members, cofinanciers, development agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other concerned organizations. 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 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 theBank provided secretarial support to. These include consultative groups for Malaysia (1965), Thailand (1966), Korea (1966), Philippines (1971), Burma - Myanmar (1976), Papua New Guinea (1988), Indonesia (1992, previously the Intergovernmental Group on Indonesia in which the Bank participated), Vietnam (1993), and Cambodia (1996). Many of the groups met bi-annually for several successive years, some continuing over decades as in the case of Philippines.
Consultative group files contain a large body of correspondence between the country department staff, the chairman who was typically the Area or Country Director but on occasion was the Regional Vice President, 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 or aid group; its origins and establishment; changes in membership or participation; pledges and terms of aid by donor countries; and collaboration with International Monetary Fund (IMF) 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 donor meetings chaired by the department, as well as consultative meetings or roundtables chaired by other organizations outside of the Bank including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in which the Bank participated.
Departmental reference materials and subject files
Non-country specific reference materials and subject files maintained by regional departments including both country departments and sector units are included in this fonds. Topics include the various development sectors as well as Bank operational topics such as: policy development; project identification; loan project procurement; consultants; exports; macroeconomic stability and growth; and private sector assessment. Reference materials may originate from elsewhere within the Bank or external to the Bank and may include: books; journals; magazines; newspaper clippings; articles; extracts, directories; manuals; handbooks; guides; Bank reports; dissertations. Subject files related to sector related associations are also included. These records may include: reports published or disseminated by associations; correspondence between the Bank and associations; meeting related records; and coordination records.
Department directors' chronological files and project records (reference)
Chronological files created and maintained by EAP Department directors are included in this fonds. These may include incoming and outgoing correspondence, copies of reports, and copies of other records created or received within the unit. Project file reference copies maintained by the CD, CMU, or Sector Family directors' front office staff 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.
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. These records include annual budget files created by the Region's budget and administrative units as well as Business Plans covering three-year periods and Retrospective and Mid-Year Reviews. Records relating to the budgets of Country Departments are 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 (these offices also go by the names "resident mission", "field office", or "country office.") Records related to the quarterly VP Business Review Meetings are also included. Records include correspondence related to final budget and accrual reports
Management and oversight of unit functions
Records relating to the management and oversight of the Region's country and technical departments' 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; procedural and budget guides; management team meeting records; management retreats; records related to the 1987 and 1991 reorganizations of the Asia Region and subsequent reorganization of the Technical Departments; and general correspondence. Records related to regular operations Vice Presidents' meetings are also included.
VP Chronological files
Fonds includes the chronological files of Vice President Russell J. Cheetham from 1994 to 1996. Records maintained by Cheetham's successor, Jean-Michel Severino, are alsoincluded. Note that Severino's records, from 1997 to 1999, are organized by country. (See Related Units of Description in this description for location of other EAP VP chronological files.)
Front office administration of field offices
Fonds includes those records maintained in the Region's front office relating to the administration and management of the Region's field offices. Records may include: correspondence; reports; establishment agreements; leases; contracts; Internal Auditing Department (IAD) reports; ad hoc reports related to staff issues in country offices; and other information of substantive nature. Records may relate to: renovation; capital budget; local staff; resident representatives; mission statement; job grading; and staff reassignment.
Conferences, meetings, and seminar organization and/or attendance
Fonds includes records related to the establishment, organization, and output of conferences, meetings, seminars, and training organized or attended by EAP staff. Records related to the Bank's Spring and Annual Meetings are also included. With regard to events organized or sponsored by the Region, records may relate to identification and selection of themes, topics, and speakers in addition to other planning, administrative, and logistical topics. Events organized by the Region can include both events internal to the Region (Country Assistance Strategy [CAS] retreat, Sector Manager's retreat, Regional Management Business Meeting, Regional Vice President and Country Directors' retreat, EAP and country office town hall meetings, etc.) and external (Executive Forum's East Asian Economic Forecast; World Bank Corporate Day meetings; World Bank Strategic Forums; MD/VP Business Review Meetings).
Records related to smaller or one-time meetings are also included. This includes meetings with a various individuals including government officials, representatives of institutions, academics, and other Bank staff. Records of these meetings may include the notes and memoranda of the Regional Vice President.
Committee Records
Fonds contains records relating to a number of temporary and standing committees, task forces, working groups, etc., on which the Region or its units are represented or about which they are kept informed. Activities of these committees generally include the establishment, recommendation, or supervision of policy and procedure. Other committees internal to the Regional VP or Country Department relate to research and sector work. Records may include terms of reference, agenda, agenda papers, decisions, member lists, supporting or background documentation, and minutes and reports.
Front Office Reference Material
A variety of front office reference material is included in this fonds. Topics include: development (including specific sector work); regional and country economic and political issues; corruption; governance; Bank-Fund collaboration; Bank operations; Asian Development Bank (ADB); post-conflict reconstruction; performance indicators; information technology; communications; privatization and private sector development; co-financing; consultants; Operations Evaluation Department (OED); human resources; the Quality Assurance Group (QAG); World Development Report (WDR); Global Environment Facility (GEF); and World Debt Tables. Records take the form of: photocopied articles; Bank-authored reports including task force reports; copies of Bank Executive Director memoranda; reports from external institutions; workshop publications; and seminar reports. Records received from other Bank Vice Presidencies are also included.
Briefing books and travel records
Fonds also consists of briefing books prepared for senior officials in preparation for visits to East Asia and Pacific countries as well as for meetings and seminars. Books wereBriefing books were created by EAP units including VP staff and were prepared for EAP senior officials as well as other senior Bank staff including World Bank presidents and Executive Directors. Briefing These books commonly contain: program of country visit; countryoverview; World Bank Group activities; visit and meeting briefs; project meeting briefs; as well as other World Bank authored reports which serve as background information. In some files, travel information accompanies or is part of the briefing books. This is especially true for records related to the EAP Vice Presidents.
East Asia and Pacific Regional Vice Presidency