Audit of USAID/Thailand"s private voluntary organization co-financing II project (project no. 493-0342)

and indigenous PVO"s in Thailand and to strengthen the institutional capability of (especially) Thai PVO"s to implement such SP"s. Audit covers the period 10/85-9/88 and is based on detailed review of 6 of the project"s 17 SP"s. The project is generally promoting PVO activities which address either the self-development needs of the disadvantaged or issues of environmental protection. It is impossible, however, to determine the progress and impact of the SP"s due to the absence of adequate USAID/T reporting and evaluation processes. The Mission has not insisted on progress reports from the PVO"s, and needed baseline studies and planned evaluations have fallen by the wayside. Mission actions to correct this situation are recommended. The project has not significantly strengthened indigenous PVO"s, although several of the initially planned strengthening activities - workshops, conferences, financial reviews, technical training - were conducted. In 1987, further strengthening efforts - specifically targeted to individual PVO"s - were provided under a grant to Private Agencies Collaborating Together/SVITA Foundation, with mixed results. In 1988, the Mission sounded out eight U.S. PVO"s for possible help in this area, but only two responded and both were rejected because they failed to demonstrate a clear understanding of the Thai PVO context. It is recommended that the Mission develop a specific plan to strengthen PVO"s in areas of identified weakness. Brief status reports are provided on the six SP"s reviewed during the audit - the Friends of Women"s World Banking of Thailand, Vocational Skills Training, YWCA Training, Hilltribe Training, the Television Series on the Environment, and the CARE Children"s Health and Environmental Magazine.