C.C.I.C. institutional development (OPG)

External evaluation covered the period 8/85-10/89. The project assisted the CCIC in reorganizing its professional management staff around three councils of volunteers. Although improvements in internal coordination/communication and overall strategic planning are needed, the reorganization was successful. The volunteer councils completed most of the activities contained in CCIC"s action program, which covered industrial development and trade, international trade and transportation, government and membership affairs, and the Visitors" Bureau. Unfortunately, the achievements of these activities are not quantifiable, since the grant failed to establish clear targets. Nonetheless, the project has yielded an excellent return to the country, the North Coast Region, CCIC members, and USAID/H. The CCIC maintains good working relations with export and investment groups and excels in dialogue with the public sector, but it has not developed a formal network with other organizations. CCIC membership increased almost 100% between 1985 and 1988 and funding was raised for about two-thirds of the cost of a multiple-use auditorium. Nonetheless, CCIC is experiencing a cash flow problems, which is a direct result of financing undertaken for construction activities. Nor are the planned physical improvements (including auditorium construction) incomplete. At current levels of operation, the achievement of financial self-sufficiency by the PACD will not occur. An action decision is to design a follow-on project (later identified as 5220363). The following is the project"s key lesson learned: the project grant, which included a loan design for physical improvement assistance but lacked a plan for obtaining economic self-sufficiency, may have contributed to CCIC"s economic woes.