Community initiated development (CID) program : mid-project evaluation

Midterm evaluation covers the period 7/90-6/92. The project is a sound, well-managed program of impressive achievements that will exceed its target of 250,000 beneficiaries, most of them economically disadvantaged. Progress in the two major components -- Community Sponsored Development Activities (CSDA) and Small Economic Activities Development (SEAD) -- has been as follows. CSDA, aimed at building ENGO capacity to establish and manage local infrastructure and community service projects, has made excellent progress. The program has undertaken 561 of a targeted 600 projects, mobilized LE 1.61 million of a targeted LE 2.16 million in local cash and in-kind contributions, and benefitted 236,910 individuals against a target of 200,000. While women"s participation is short of target, this is attributable to in-country conditions, not the project. ENGO leaders widely commend the project"s approach, saying that the training has significantly enhanced their competencies in executing and promoting CSDA-type projects; objective evidence corroborates these claims. Community conferences organized by ENGOs and project staff as a public forum for needs assessment have been a seminal event in ENGO-community relations and in ENGO capacity building. The project should now expand ENGO management training and development education extension. The SEAD component, aimed at building ENGO capacity to establish and manage credit programs in support of small/microenterprises, has also made impressive progress; all major targets should be met or exceeded by the 6/93 PACD. Priority indicators -- e.g., loan repayment rates, percentage of loan funds active, interest rates, volume of delinquent loans -- meet or closely approach SEAD"s ambitious targets, while secondary indicators -- e.g., number of loans disbursed, women as a percentage of potential borrowers -- should be at least 80% of target. Demand for loans is high and most ENGO credit funds are effectively managed; financial controls are in place and well-utilized. More broadly, SEAD has promoted participatory decisionmaking, increased ENGO membership, improved ENGO program management and community relations, and expanded ENGO outreach to the poor. The major issue now is to ensure sustainability by remedying deficient ENGO support for community volunteers and their role in credit outreach to women. A negative note in the project has been CARE"s inability to develop the capacity of Regional Federations (RFs) to sustain training and support for ENGOs when CARE withdraws. This has been due, however, to the RFs" own lack of commitment. Given this, CARE should emphasize strengthening the capacity of ENGOs to sustain the programs themselves. The major recommendation is to extend the project at least 6-12 months and preferably 18 months; an abrupt end would be detrimental to the sustainability of project outcomes.