Welcome to the PIC site of the World Bank Romania!

Welcome to the PIC site of the World Bank Romania!

The Public Information Center of the World Bank is located at the Central University Library in Bucharest. For information, please contact: Cristina Zirimis, at czirimis@worldbank.org.

Our Mission is to bring the World Bank closer to the Romanians by developing  a strong partnership between the Bank and the citizens, the real beneficiaries of the World Bank’s operations  in Romania.

The Public Information Center (PIC) of the World Bank Romania is expected to play a key part in  disseminating information about the World Bank Group activities to the wider public. Being the interface of the World Bank, the PIC  provides accurate, reliable, and on- the-ground information to meet the emerging needs of the Romanian audiences.

This is in support of the World Bank's policy of disclosure about its activities and open access to its documents.

More on the World Bank's Information Disclosure Policy

WHO BENEFITS FROM THE PUBLIC INFORMATION CENTER SERVICES?

The Public Information Center is open to the public. No fee is required to use the PIC. Users can access information from the Internet, thousands of World Bank publications and other development related materials.

WHAT SERVICES ARE OFFERED?

The Public Information Center's services include: 

• Online access to World Bank project documents, reports, and publications.
• Access to development and research sites on the Internet.
• Access to a special collection of CDs and videotapes on development.
• Access to development-related publications by international institutions, governments, and NGOs.
• Access to an extensive cataloguing system, the online catalogue (OPAC) of the Central University Library (BCU) in Bucharest.
• Access to the online databases of the World Bank. More information is available on the site of the Joint World Bank and IMF Library.

WHAT REPORTS AND DOCUMENTS ARE AVAILABLE?

Among the Reports and Documents available at the Public Information Center are:

• Project Information Documents (PIDs).  These are documents that give brief summaries of evolving projects. They are updated and expanded as the project preparation proceeds.
• Project Appraisal Documents (PADs).  These contain descriptions of a project and the plan for its implementation, including procurement procedures. They are made available to the public after presentation to the World Bank's Board.
• Economic Sector Reports. These include macroeconomic analysis of Romania's economy, analyses of major economic sectors and other reports on specific issues, such as poverty assessments, etc.
• Environmental Assessments (EAs).  EAs are detailed studies required for projects likely to have significant impact on the environment. Such studies are available before the final appraisal of the viability of the project.
• Loan (or Development Credit) Agreements. These are records of loan amounts and terms and conditions on which the loan is made. They also record the borrower's general commitment to the project objectives. The agreements are made available to the public after the loan agreement is signed and declared effective or ready for disbursement.
• Bidding and consultant documents. These provide guidelines for borrowers and their implementing agencies in the procurement of goods, works and consulting services.
• UN Development Business. A United Nations publication that publishes general procurement notices for goods, works, and services to be procured through international competitive bidding for each Bank-financed project.

WORLD BANK PUBLICATIONS AND DOCUMENTS ONLINE

Many World Bank reports, publications, and other documents related to Romania are available online to read free of charge. The Bank has also a statistics  portal where extensive data is available.

PURCHASING WORLD BANK PUBLICATIONS

World Bank reports and publications on Romania are available for purchase online.They can also be purchased through our local distributor, Books Unlimited.  

On the shelves of PIC visitors can also find publications of IFC and MIGA. PIC’s visitors benefit from items published by other national and international institutions, which frequently deliver magazines, reports, books or studies.

The documentation covers major topics like: development&growth, transition, privatization, reducing poverty, fight against corruption, education, agriculture, environment, EU accession as well as social policy, infrastructure, trade and finance.

PIC also promotes partnership, by collaborating closely with similar bodies from other institutions, like public administration, civil society, universities, the EU Delegation in Romania or the United Nations Development Program.

In Romania, the World Bank has two depository libraries, at the Institute for World Economy in Bucharest, at the Central University Library, “Lucian Blaga” in Cluj and at the library "Mihai Eminescu" in Iaşi.

More information is available at the Public Information Center of the World Bank, Infoshop.