CARIBBEAN INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Evaluation covers the period 8/78-8/80 and is based entirely on a contracted special evaluation (PD-AAG-336-C1) to which it is attached. Project progress to date has been slow and outputs are not on target. This is primarily due to a year"s delay in establishing administrative and operating procedures which, now in place, are too time-consuming and complex than is warranted by the level of technical assistance (TA) provided. CDB has not implemented adequate reporting and recording procedures, and coordination between the administrative office and the field project officers has been weak. Moreover, CDB has not allocated sufficient staff to administer and promote TAF with the result that there have been minimal attempts to market TAF"s resources among member nations. The evaluators" recommendations were to: (1) formalize and streamline administrative procedures; (2) restructure the present TA organization; (3) strengthen the TA system data base and improve reporting systems; (4) introduce essential marketing activities; (5) examine TAF criteria and funding constraints; (6) review current approval policies and decentralize authority where possible; (7) establish planning, programming, and evaluation mechanisms; and (8) train staff in effective system operation. To date, CDB has agreed to establish a TA unit with additional staff and to revise its administrative procedures. Additional project officers have been placed in Antigua, Dominica, and Grenada and two more will possibly be hired for St. Vincent and St. Kitts. The primary lesson of the project is a recognition of the substantial time required to establish a new, viable unit within an established institution. A more sound approach would be to allocate project funds directly to the staffing needed to establish an effective unit.