Series - Technical assistance

Turkey - General - Correspondence Nigeria - Agricultural Development Bank - Documents - set Nigeria - Agricultural Development Bank - set INDONESIA : IBRD resident mission - set Kenya - General - Correspondence Sierra Leone - Land Transport Survey - SIL/66/506 - Correspondence KENYA - Kenya 3 Tana River Basin / Kenya 29 Water Master Plan - Correspondence KENYA - Miscellaneous Correspondence - No. 1 - 16

Identity area

Reference code

WB IBRD/IDA EXT-10

Title

Technical assistance

Date(s)

  • 1959 - 1986 (predominant 1973 - 1983) (Creation)

Level of description

Series

Extent and medium

72.82 linear feet of textual records

Context area

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Most of the records were transferred to the Archives by the International Relations Department's Technical Assistance Division (TAD) in several transfers between 1977 and 1980. Additional technical assistance files were maintained by the Non-Regional Information Center (NRIC) that was established in 1978 to manage the records created by non-operational units including the External Relations' International Relations Department (IRD); these were transferred to the Archives in 1994.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

The series contains records relating to technical assistance projects that were managed by the International Relations Department's Technical Assistance Division (TAD) and its predecessors. The functions of technical assistance coordination and United Nations liaison were the responsibility of the Technical Assistance and Liaison Department (TAL) from 1946 to 1961. TAL was terminated in 1961 and these functions were transferred to the Technical Assistance Division (TAD) of the Development Services Department and subsequently to the External Relations Vice Presidency as part of the newly formed International Relations Department (IRD) in 1973. Records in this series are predominantly from 1973 to 1983.

The majority of the records in this series relate to technical assistance projects that are almost entirely funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) or its predecessor, the UN Special Fund (UNSF), but administered and executed by the Bank. A very small portion of the series relates to technical assistance directly supporting Bank Group lending operations.

Records document TAD and its successor TAL's role in coordinating technical assistance between the Bank's operating departments and UNDP and UN or, for Bank-funded projects, between project consultants and Bank departments. Records consists of correspondence and supporting documents that cover the appraisal and negotiation of proposed projects in addition to the project's administration. Topics include: payments and use of funds; budget revisions; TA consultants contract arrangements; and project evaluation and reporting.

Correspondence is between TAD and the respective World Bank regional or sector departments or vice presidencies, UNDP and other UN officials, senior government officials, and project manager consultants and includes copies of outgoing memoranda, letters, telexes and cables. The correspondence is filed with project documents and includes: proposals and plan of operation; contracts; externally-produced reports, many issued by UNDP; Bank project evaluation draft reports and final reports; newspaper clippings; and occasionally plans and diagrams. A portion of country files that are labelled 'Miscellaneous' contain correspondence and supporting proposals for projects requested by the government for UNDP assistance and were sent by UNDP officials for Bank comment.

Also included in the series are IRD correspondence files relating to general technical assistance administration and procedures. Records include copiesof outgoing memoranda between IRD senior staff including Director Shirley Boskey and successor Shahid Javed Burk as well as TAD Chief Vincent J. Riley, senior advisors, and other Bank staff. Some correspondence is authored by IRD Directors or other senior staff to be sent by World Bank President McNamara or Clausen, or Vice President of External Relations Jose Botafogo. A portion of the correspondence is also with external bodies including UNDP officials. Series also contains semi-annual reports on the Bank's technical assistance activities and other ad hoc reports as well as files related to UNDP's annual General Council meetings (1975-1976).

Although the technical assistance function was transferred from IRD to the regional vice presidencies in 1981, a few correspondence files in this series extend to 1986 and reflect IRD's continuing function in advising on operational activities with UNDP and UN bodies. Files from this period contain copies of outgoing memoranda and reports about technical assistance projects managed by UNDP, discussion of the relationship of technical assistance advisors with UN Resident Coordinators, and communication on country projects as well as a copy of World Bank Technical Paper WTP23 "Twinning of Institutions: Its Use as a Technical Assistance Delivery System", released in 1984.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

Accruals are not expected.

System of arrangement

Original order of the records has been maintained. Project records are mostly arranged by country and then by project.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Records are subject to the World Bank Access to Information Policy.

Conditions governing reproduction

Records are subject to the Copyright Policy of the World Bank Group.

Language of material

  • English
  • Spanish
  • French

Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

An inventory list is available here.

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

  • See Central Files fonds - Operational policy and procedures (WB IBRD/IDA ADMCF-04) for other records relating to technical assistance including the Technical Assistance Committee papers.

  • See Records of the Office of Operations Policy (WB IBRD/IDA OP) for records related to the coordination of technical assistance activities including liaison with the UNDP starting from 1982.

  • See Records of the Office of External Relations -- Liaison with external organizations (WB IBRD/IDA EXT-08) for additional records relating to World Bank Group collaboration with UNDP and other international organizations.

  • See Records of the Office of Operations Evaluation -- Completion Reports and Audit Reports (WB IBRD/IDA OPE-06) for records relating to monitoring and evaluation of technical assistance projects.

  • See the Projects and Operations Database for profiles of all the World Bank's approved projects. In addition to final reports and contextual information specific to each project, lists of archival record folders can be found for many projects.

  • See Records of the Water Sector -- Training material (WB IBRD/IDA WAT-03) for records related to water initiatives in the 1980s; technical assistance was executed by the Technology Advisory Group (TAG).

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Internal World Bank Group Archives rules

Disclosure status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

18 November 2019

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

Accession area