THE INSTITUTO DE FOMENTO Y ASESORIA MUNICIPAL (IFAM) IS IN THE FIRST STAGE OF A PROFOUND ALTERATION OF ITS SYSTEM OF PLANNING AND CARRYING OUT ITS WORK. THE CHANGES WILL REQUIRE CAREFUL STUDY AND DISCUSSION, BUT AT THE SAME TIME THERE MUST BE DECISIONS AND ACTION WHICH WILL CLARIFY THE ENDS AND IMPROVE THE MEANS OF REACHING THEM. THE TWO PRIMARY ENDS ARE UTILIZING CREDITS AS A MEANS OF CARRYING OUT A BROAD PROGRAM OF MUNICIPAL REFORM AND IMPROVING THE CAPACITY OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT TO MEET THE NEEDS OF RURAL PEOPLE. THESE ENDS WILL BE MET BY: (1)INTRODUCING A MORE CONSOLIDATED, COORDINATED PROGRAMMING SYSTEM IN IFAM; (2)UTILIZING THE SHARPER FOCUS OF THE PROGRAMMING SYSTEM AS A BASIS FOR EVALUATING CHANGES ATTHE MUNICIPAL LEVEL; AND (3)INSTITUTING EVALUATION AT THE PROJECT LEVEL, FOLLOWED BY SUBSEQUENT STUDIES AS WORKS ARE PUT INTO OPERATION. THE EVALUATOR RECOMMENDS THAT IFAM PLAN TO SLOW DOWN ITS RATE OF REGULAR ACTIVITY DURING THE NEXT SIX MONTHS AND CONCENTRATE ON DEFINING SPECIFIC TARGETS FOR MUNICIPAL DEVELOPMENT AS A BASIS FOR A LONG-RANGE PROGRAM. THE EVALUATOR PROVIDES AN ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON: (1)THE INTERNAL PROGRAMMING AND EVALUATION SYSTEM; (2)POTENTIAL AND LIMITATIONS WITH RESPECT TO RURAL PROJECTS; (3)PROJECT BENEFIT STUDIES; AND (4)JOINT MUNICIPAL PLANNING.
