Audit of the Asia component of the forestry/fuelwood research and development project (no. 936-5547)

The audit covers the period 6/85-9/90. The Asia component has been successful in establishing a research network, producing improved research methods and tools, and training forestry researchers. Winrock International, the implementing agency, has completed 15 of 18 planned activities. Most progress has been in supporting biological research and sharing information among forestry researchers, while little has been done to ensure that this research will be disseminated to and used by small farmers. However, a few shortcomings have been uncovered with respect to the S&T Bureau"s management of the project. (1) Most steps in the procurement process were performed correctly, but A.I.D."s negotiations with Winrock did not fully comply with requirements. The contract negotiator did not establish pre-negotiation objectives and did not document the reasons for $2 million in negotiated cost increases. Moreover, the award of a subcontract to Auburn University involved an apparent conflict of interest on the part of a Winrock consultant, who while still employed by Winrock, recommended that the subcontract be awarded to Auburn and that he personally be involved in implementing the subcontract on Auburn"s behalf. (2) The Bureau"s monitoring, reporting, and evaluation system has been inadequate in the following ways: project files are incomplete, trip reports are not prepared, project implementation reports do not compare planned and actual outputs, and no PES was prepared for the 1988 evaluation. (3) Policies respecting vehicle use are inappropriate, since Winrock does not use A.I.D. mileage rates and does not consider home-to-office travel to be personal use of vehicles.