Country project files

The fonds includes country project files from 1984 to 2002. The country project files include extensive records related to Structural Adjustment Loans (SALs) and Sector Adjustment Loans (SECALS) administered for individual countries. PRMEP inherited the responsibility to review and coordinate sector adjustment operations and Country Assistance Strategies (CASs) from the Development Policy Group (DPG) of DEC in 1997. Many of the records created prior to PRMEP include records from the following units: the Country Policy Department (CPD); the Economic Advisory Staff (EAS); and DPG. The SAL and SECAL related records in the country project files include: memoranda; aide-memoires; Terms of Reference; back-to-office reports completed for pre-appraisal and post-appraisal missions for SALs and SECALS; Country Strategy Paper (CSP) mission reports; SALs and SECALS program performance audit and progress reports; initiating memoranda for SALs and SECALs; country project proposals; Loan Committee meeting minutes regarding the approval and progress of SALs and SECALs of a particular country; and loan agreements. Correspondence and memoranda within the country projects files primarily include communications from staff in units responsible for maintaining and reviewing structural adjustment operations and country strategies, including: CPD from the years 1984 to 1987; EAS from the years 1987 to 1991; and DPG from the years 1991 to 1997. Much of the correspondence and memoranda are also communications between CPD, EAS, DPG and Regional VPs, Directors, and economic staff regarding the planning, status, review, and approval of country SALs/ SECALs and country strategies. Other communications are between units from the Development Economics Vice Presidency (DEC), and Regions regarding collaboration on SALs or SECALs.

Records created after 1997 in the country project files include correspondence and memoranda between the following parties: the PREM VP; the PRMEP Director; Regional VPs, Directors, and economicstaff; the Development Research Group (DECRG); the Development Prospects Group (DECPG); the Operations Evaluation Department (OED); members of the Regional Operations Committee (ROC); members of the Operations Policy Committee (OPC); and the Managing Director of Operations (MDOPS). The memoranda and correspondence primarily focus on review and approval of Country Assistance Strategies (CASs) and structural adjustment operations specific to countries. Draft CAS reports, SALs/SECALs reports, SALs/SECALs project information, and Memoranda of the President regarding CASs are also included with extensive comments by the above mentioned parties. Meeting minutes and agenda from OPC and ROC regarding review and approval of CASs and SALs /SECALs specific to a country are also included. The country project files focus on numerous types of SALs/SECALs administered in a country for various sectors, including but not limited to : Financial Sector Adjustment Loans (FSAL); Financial and Enterprise Sector Adjustment Loans (FESAL); Agricultural Sector Adjustment Loans (ASAL); Economic & Financial Adjustment Loans (EFAL); and Social Security Sector Adjustment Loans (SECAL).

Management and organization

The fonds also consists of management and organization records for PRMEP and its successor the Economic Policy and Debt Department (PRMED) from 1997 to 2005. This includes: Economic Policy (EP) Sector Board meeting minutes; business plans; work programs and budget records; staffing records; and workshops, seminars, and professional development training session records. The records also include broader PREM Network organization and management records, including: PREM Council meeting minutes; memoranda; PREM retreat records; and PREM Week planning records. Records detailing PRMEP collaboration with DEC and its subordinate units the Development Research Group (DECRG), the Development Prospects Group (DECPG), and the Economic Development Institute (EDI) are also included. These consist of: correspondence and memoranda between the DEC Vice President, DECRG, DECPG, and PRMEP; economic data, statistics, and policy reports produced by DECRG, DECPG, and PRMEP; Knowledge Management System (KMS) records related to the management of PRMEP's website and economic data and systems in collaboration with DECRG and DECPG; planning records for proposed economic research coordinated by DECRG, DECPG, and PRMEP; and economic training planning records organized jointly by EDI and PRMEP. Correspondence and memoranda related to PRMEP's participation in Bank-IMF Annual Meetings and involvement with the annual publication of the Bank's World Development Report (WDR) are also included for the years 1998 to 2000.

Project and operational support

The fonds also consists of project and operational support records for PRMEP from 1997 to 2004. This includes thematic group planning records and country project planning and budget records related to economic sector work (ESW). The records also relate to the development of DEC/PREM Country Performance Ratings and Indicators, later renamed the Country Policy and Institutional Assessments (CPIA), and the subsequent implementation of CPIA in the regions. The Country Performance Ratings and Indicators, and CPIAs are assessment and diagnostic tools used to assess a country's policies, institutional frameworks, and structural issues. They are intended to help inform concessional lending decisions and resource allocation for the Bank's International Development Association (IDA) - eligible countries and aids in the preparation of CASs. The records related to Country Performance Ratings and Indicators, and CPIAs include: PRMEP Sector Board meeting minutes regarding the development of country performance ratings, indicators, and CPIA; memoranda and correspondence primarily sent from the PRMEP Director to the PREM VP, the DEC VP, Bank Managing Directors, DECRG and DECPG staff, Regional VPs and economic staff, and staff from other Bank Networks; reports outlining purposes, procedures, and timetables for country performance ratings, indicators, and CPIA; lists of Country Performance Ratings and Indicators, and CPIA assessments performed for countries between 1997 to 1999; CPIA assessment questionnaires; CPIA Report on the 1998 Ratings; and CPIA Guidelines for Completion.

External partnership and liaison

The fonds also includes records related to PRMEP's partnerships and liaison with external organizations outside of the Bank from 1997 to 1999. The series primarily includes records related to partnerships and liaison with the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and others. This includes records related to PRMEP's involvement with the WTO Integrated Framework for Trade-Related Technical Assistance (IF) program launched in October 1997, and the WTO Ministerial Conference held in Seattle, WA in 1999.

Records related to PRMEP's involvement with the IMF include: records related to drafting of joint IMF/Bank Board Papers; participation in joint IMF/Bank liaison Committees; participation in the joint IMF/Bank Enhanced ESAF/IDA Low Income Countries Program; and collaboration on countries affected by the East Asia Financial Crisis of 1997.

PRMTR briefing books for senior officials

The fonds also consists of briefing books prepared for senior officials by staff from the International Trade Department (PRMTR) from 2002 to 2005. The briefing books were prepared for the following senior officials: PREM Vice President Goband Nankani; Managing Director Jeffrey Goldstein; and Bank President James Wolfensohn.The briefings were prepared prior to international trade related conferences, seminars, and meetings, and consist primarily of the following: World Bank produced papers and reports related to international trade; meeting minutes and agenda; invitations to meetings; programs; agendas; itineraries; logistical information; issues to be addressed; and other pertinent information.

Operational monitoring and evaluation

The fonds also consist of records related to operational monitoring and evaluation activities performed by the Operations Evaluation Department (OED) and the Quality Assurance Group (QAG) in their evaluation of economic sector work (ESW) and adjustment operations performed by PRMEP and its collaborative partners for the years 1998 to 2004. This includes records related to the OED annual publication of the Annual Review of Development Effectiveness (ARDE) and the QAG annual publication of the Annual Report on Portfolio Performance (ARPP): both Bank-wide evaluations assessing operational work across Bank operations. The ARDE and ARPP records include drafts and copies of the reports, and memoranda regarding comments on the reports from the PREM VP, PRMEP Director, and other PRMEP staff. Other OED and QAG evaluations more specific to PRMEP and Regions economic sector work (ESW) and adjustment operations are also included, and consist of drafts and copies of reports with extensive comments and review from the PREM VP, PRMEP Director, Regional staff, and Operations Policy and Country Services Vice Presidency (OPCVP) staff. Meeting minutes, agenda, and memoranda are also included regarding the Committee on Development Effectiveness (CODE) of the Executive Board of Directors, and the Operations Vice Presidents (OVP). CODE and OVP both reviewed OED and QAG evaluation papers and reports, including ARPP and ARDE, and the records detail the review of various papers and reports.

Operational policies and directives review and reform

The fonds also includes records related to operational review and reform activities performed by the Operational Policy Committee (OPC) and the Managing Directors Operations Policy and Strategy Group (MDOPS) from 1997 to 2000. The OPC and MDOPS records relate to the review and reform of numerous Bank-wide operational policies and directives relevant to the areas of financial reform, sector strategies, Country Assistance Strategies (CASs), adjustment lending, and structural policy reform from 1997 to 1999. The records include OPC meeting minutes and agenda; approach papers regarding reform to operational directives (ODs) and operational policies (OPs); and correspondence and memoranda between OPC members, the PREM VP, PRMEP Director, members of DEC, the MDOPS Director, and Bank Managing Directors.

Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative records

The fonds also consists of records related to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative launched in 1996. The records were created and maintained by the Debt Initiative Group (AFTD1) from 1996 to 2000 and its later successor the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Unit (PRMHP) from 2000 to 2003. The records include country project files consisting of multilateral debt restructuring agreements for eligible HIPC countries produced from Paris Club meetings; debt data and financial statistical reports produced by multilateral development banks (MDBs), bi-lateral creditors, and the World Bank; and original point, completion point, and Poverty Reduction and Strategy Paper (PRSP) documents relevant to a specific country.

The HIPC records additionally contain extensive briefings prepared by AFTD1 and PRMHP for senior Bank officials, including: President James Wolfensohn; Managing Director Sven Sandstrom; PREM Vice Presidents Masood Ahmed, Kemal Dervis, and Gobind Nankani; Africa Region (AFR) Vice Presidents Jean-Louis Sarbib and Callisto Madavo; and the Latin America and Caribbean (LCR) Vice President David de Ferranti. The briefings were prepared prior to HIPC conferences, seminars, and meetings, and consist of HIPC progress reports,background information on the HIPC Initiative, updates, and agenda. Incoming and outgoing correspondence between the same parties as well as Axel van Trotsenburg of AFTD1 and PRMHP are also included. External correspondence files are also maintained by PRMHP for the World Bank officials mentioned above. These files are primarily sent from participating HIPC Initiative NGOs, MDBs, and bi-lateral creditors, and subsequent responses between the involved parties are maintained by PRMHP. The HIPC records also include handwritten letters sent to President Wolfensohn from individuals from NGO and civil society organizations advocating for the Bank to take more immediate action on eliminating external debt in heavily indebted poor countries.

The HIPC Initiative records relate to the extensive collaboration between the Bank, IMF, MDBs, and NGOs. This includes chairman's summaries and meeting minutes for MDB meetings held jointly by the Banks Executive Directors of the IDA and the IMF. Records are also maintained for MDBs, such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), and consist of incoming and outgoing correspondence, debt data, and financial statistics regarding the status of numerous HIPC countries. The records also include IMF Executive Board documents regarding the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF), the IMF's HIPC Initiative implementation unit. Reports, agenda, press releases, correspondence, and meeting minutes arealso included from numerous workshops, seminars, meetings, and summits held with NGO organizations, such as Oxfam International, Debt Relief International (DRI), and European Network on Debt and Development (EURODAD).

Middle Income Countries (MIC) Working Group records

The fonds also includes records related to PRMEP's involvement with the Middle Income Countries (MIC) Working Group from 2003 to 2005. The MIC Working Group sought to bolster support to MIC eligible countries under IBRD lending operations. The Working Group consisted of representatives from the Operations Policy and Country Services Vice Presidency (OPCVP), the Financial Sector Vice Presidency (FSEVP), the Bank Networks, and the Regional VP Offices of the Bank. PREM departments, including PRMEP, played a role in the Working Group. The MIC records include correspondence and memoranda primarily between the PREM VP, PRMEP Director, OPCVP staff, FSEVP staff, and Bank Managing Directors. Meeting minutes and agenda are also included for Working Group meetings, but also for Executive Board of Directors meetings regarding progress and reports on MIC Action Plans. Papers, reports, presentation material, drafted action plans, and Memoranda from the President prepared prior to meetings are also included.