The World Bank open access research guide

This blog post is a part of the International Open Access Week blog series. 

Duncan Omole, Knowledge and Information Officer in ITS Knowledge and Information, explains why the World Bank Open Access Research Guide is a good starting place for researchers looking for information by and about the Bank:
 
The World Bank Group 2017 Open Access (OA) week theme is “Open in order to eradicate extreme poverty.” The World Bank Group Library supports the World Bank Group’s mission by supplying evidence-based data driven information and knowledge.
 
The World Bank’s Open Access Research Guide is one of the most important sources of this information. Why? Links to several World Bank Group Open Agenda Initiatives are found on the guide’s landing page. The World Bank’s Policy on Access to Information, the World Bank Group Finances, and Corporate Procurement Awards ($250K and above) are among the most important of these.

Other vital sources of information here are the World Bank Open Knowledge Repository (OKR) and the World Bank Group Archives Oral History Program.
 
External sources such as the Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook (OASIS), the Africa Portal and ORCID, a unique digital author identifier round up this page. Four more tabs follow: The Journals, Databases, Data & Statistics and News and Media update pages. 

The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Access to Global Online Research in Agriculture (AGORA) and Journals Online (JOLs) project are some of the most important sources you will find in the Journal’s tab. 

In the Database tab, you will find the World Bank Documents & Reports (D&R), which provides access to all publicly available World Bank operational documents (project documents, analytical and advisory work, and evaluations), formal and information research papers, and most World Bank publications. The World Bank Projects & Operations portal contains information on World Bank projects and procurement. 

The Data and Statistics tab has statistics from all the major international agencies. Among these are the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The News and Media Updates tab has the most up to date and recent developments in the Open Access space.
 
With this rich collection of World Bank group and other sources, the World Bank Open Access Research Guide is your true companion for comprehensive online Open Access resources.