IMF Archives: Finding Aids
IMF Institute Records
Date(s): 1949-1990, predominant 1974-1987 |
Context
Name of Creator: IMF Institute
Administrative/Biographical history: The International Monetary Fund's formal training program was established in 1950 at the recommendation of the Managing Director, Camille Gutt. Five trainees nominated by their member countries attended the first specialized course, in balance of payments techniques offered in September 1950, which was followed by the general course in January 1951. In 1963 a Staff Review Committee was formed to address the issue of increasing training demands. As a result of the Committee's recommendations, the IMF Institute was inaugurated May 1, 1964 as a new department with the goal to centralize and expand IMF training facilities. Administered by a Director reporting to the Managing Director, the mandate of the IMF Institute is to provide training in macroeconomic analysis and policy to officials employed by government agencies of IMF member countries. The first courses offered in 1965 were Financial Policy and Analysis and Balance of Payments Methodology, the former delivered as separate English and French components. As is the practice today, course participants are typically nominated by their member country and applications are considered by the Admissions Committee of the IMF under the chairmanship of the Deputy Managing Director. The Institute covers all costs associated with travel and stay for participants of courses and seminars as part of its technical assistance program. Training activities are carried out by the Institute's own resident faculty which increased over the years from 10 full-time economists in 1968 to 26 economists by 1986. Several other IMF departments participate in the training progam of the Institute, including Fiscal Affairs, Research, and Statistics, usually in the capacity of providing lecturing assistance. Guest speakers from international or governmental organizations or universities are occasionally invited to lecture on subjects within their special expertise.
The number of courses and seminars offered by the Institute have multiplied substantially since its inception. In the Institute's second year of operation in 1966, the first expansion of training activities took place in order to meet increasing requirements from member countries. In this year, the Institute organized a special six-week course in English by invitation only for senior officials who had recently joined the IMF. The first Balance of Payments courses in French and Spanish were also held. Training in Arabic language began in September 1985 with the course on Techniques of Economic Analysis (TEA). In 1988 and 1989, a second review of the IMF Institute was undertaken under the auspices of the Review Committee which included streamlining of the core program among its key recommendations. In 1990, the ten week Techniques of Financial Analysis and Policy course was instituted to replace both TEA (introduced in 1982) and the flagship course Financial Analysis and Policy (FAP).
From its early beginnings, and increasingly in the mid-1980s, the Institute has provided in-the-field training assistance to national and regional training centres, particularly in newly-emerged member countries. The external training program of the Institute encompasses seminars on financial proramming and related policy issues, lecturing assistance, and, on an occasional basis, institution building. Seminars are tailored to the needs or interests of a single country, or small group of countries, and are usually held over a two-week period. Aside from providing courses and seminars, other functions of the Institute have included arranging briefings to official government visitors to IMF headquarters, and providing economics training to IMF staff which was a program started in 1998.
Directors of the Institute include: Frans A.G. Keesing (1964-1967), Gérard M. Teyssier (1967-1991); Patrick B. de Fontenay (1991-1998), Mohsin S. Khan (1998-2004), Leslie J. Lipschitz (2004-present).
Content and structure
Scope and content: Fonds consists of multiple-media records which document the major operations and activities of the IMF Institute since its establishment in May 1964 as well as the early training program of its predecessor, the Training Committee from 1949 to 1963. Records of the Immediate Office (1963-1989) document the arrangement and delivery of economics courses and seminars at headquarters and abroad, collaboration with other international and regional training institutions and IMF departments, and its divisions as they were established. The fonds also comprises records created by the Institute's English Division (1979-1990) relating to course content.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information: Records of the Institute's former French Division and Arabic Division were appraised and destroyed in accordance with the IMF Institute retention schedule. The Division records consisted mainly of copies of staff chronological files and course working files which are retained in the Immediate Office records. Files of the English Division which were not already found amongst Immediate Office were retained as the 'master' language copy.
Conditions of Access and Use
Conditions governing access and reproduction: Records created from 1986 or earlier are open according to the Archives Access Policy. Files will be screened by reference staff for any time restrictions.
Language/script of material: English, French, Spanish, Arabic
Under the Policy on Access to the IMF's Archives only archival materials that are 20 years old or older are open to researchers.
For re-use of digital archival documents where available, it is the responsibility of the individual to obtain permission from the copyright owner.