119.68 linear feet of textual records

Series consists of records related to collaborative activities and partnerships between the Social Development Department units and external organizations, primarily civil society organizations (CSOs). A CSO is defined by the Bank as any nonprofit or voluntary citizens' group which is organized on a local, national or international level and includes non-governmental (NGO) and nonprofit organizations. The records reflect CSO participation in the design and implementation of development projects and their advocacy to influence Bank policies and practices.

Most records in this series were maintained by the Social Policy and Resettlement Division, Environment Department (ENVSP) and later the NGO Unit of the Social Development Department (SDVNG) established in 1997. There are also records originally created by the International Economic Relations units in the Strategic Planning Department (SPRIE), and External Relations Department (EXTIE), as well as the Operations Policy Department Policy Group (OPRPG) NGO units in the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. Some earlier material from 1924 and into the 1970s was collected retrospectively for reference purposes.

Records are comprised of incoming and outgoing correspondence with CSOs, NGOs, and bilateral aid agencies related to attendance at meetings or events, requests for financial assistance, collaborative initiatives, and information sharing. Also includes correspondence with international organizations including UN agencies, internal memoranda, Bank discussion papers and external reports, back-to-office reports, Terms of Reference, conference and workshop programs and proceedings, proposals, speeches, articles, and press clippings.

A large volume of records consist of civil society and NGO engagement files (1976 - 1994) that are organized by country or subject. These records relate to various activities in collaboration with the Bank or activities carried out by the CSOs independently. Records include correspondence between the Bank and NGOs or government aidofficials as well as technical materials, Bank and NGO reports, and material on workshops and conferences. Subject files cover topics such as debt, Baker Initiative, IDA replenishments, environment, gender, governance, resettlement, capacity building, social forestry, United Nations (UN) agencies, CSOs and NGOs in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Italy, Africa, Latin America, and other selected countries.

Also included in the series are records of NGO-World Bank Committee meetings and collaboration (1980 - 1993) that was the precursor for the functional units later established to manage NGO engagement. There are also meeting records of the NGO-World Bank Steering Committee that determined and monitored the work program of the full NGO-World Bank committee. Other NGO-related topics (often in the form of chronological files) include participation and monitoring in Bank lending, Bank strategy on NGOs, and conferences, seminars, and workshops.

Many records also concern participation (1988 - 2002), that is, the promotion of methods and approaches to involve stakeholders in development initiatives. Specific records include regional action plans, poverty assessment studies, and internal and external reports. There are also records concerning activities of the Bank-wide Learning Group on Participatory Development created by OPRPG and predecessors. These participation records were created primarily by Division Chief Aubrey Williams, OPRPG and were transferred to and closed by SDV. There are also files related to the World Bank Participation Sourcebook, developed under the direction of Gloria Davis (ENVSP).

Original order of the records has been maintained. Records are arranged by subject or country.

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

Records are subject to the Terms of Use for the World Bank Group Archives Textual Records.

• English

• Spanish

• French

• See Records of the Social Development Sector - Trust fund management (WB IBRD/IDA WB_IBRD/IDA_87-02) for records related to the coordination and administration of grants and trust funds to support partnership programs and Bank-NGO meeting records.

• See Records of the Social Development Sector - Knowledge and learning events (WB IBRD/IDA WB_IBRD/IDA_87-03) for additional records related to Bank-organized conferences, workshops, and other related social development sector events.

• See Records of the Office of External Relations - Liaison with external organizations (WB IBRD/IDA EXT-08) for additional records reflecting the Bank's engagement with United Nations organizations, international bodies, civil society, and NGOs as well as general policy and analysis work undertaken by the International Relations Department (IRD). While some of these records were originally maintained in the Bank's central recordkeeping system until 1987 and arranged in this EXT series, others were created after EXT resumed partial responsibility for liaison in 2002. For more details, see the administrative history of this fonds.

• See Central Files - Liaison with external organizations, individuals, and United States (WB IBRD/IDA ADMCF-08) for records maintained in the World Bank's central recordkeeping system related to the Bank's external liaison function for the years 1969 to 1971.

• See the "Sector Departments" section of the List of Fonds) for additional records related to partnerships and program collaboration with external organizations (including NGOs) that the various departments engaged in within their specific sectors.

Internal World Bank Group Archives rules

19 February 2026