Conventional energy management and training

Evaluation covered the period 4/84-5/86 and was based on document review and interviews with staff of USAID/M, ONAREP, and the Williams Brothers Engineering Company, Inc. (WBEC), the prime contractor. Both external and internal problems have hindered the project. External factors have included a dramatic drop in world oil prices and unexpectedly small returns from the exploration of hydrocarbon reserves in the Meskala region; the latter has resulted in declining coordination with related projects funded by the World Bank. Internally, staff changes within the WBEC field team, ONAREP, and USAID/M project management, combined with delays in the start-up of several critical elements, weakened initial TA efforts. Internships and M.S. training are behind schedule due to ONAREP"s apparent difficulties in releasing key staff for lengthy training and a shortage of otherwise qualified candidates for U.S. training, although an ambitious training plan for 1986 could bring them up to date. Expenditures are below expected levels, due to adjustments in WBEC overhead and underruns in training expenses. The organizational nature of ONAREP has also had certain unfavorable consequences. While ONAREP has profited from the introduction of private sector management techniques and principles initially suggested by AID- and World Bank-financed studies and consultants, its ability to continually absorb management advice is limited. WBEC staff roles have evolved from being advisory to increasingly becoming operational within ONAREP, resulting in some divergence from the envisioned goals and appropriate role of A.I.D. A "model project" proposed by the evaluation team is unacceptable given ONAREP"s current structure. Also, technical data gathering and reporting systems need to be improved before private sector promotional activities can hope to be successful. The project has taught that technical advisors are most effective when assigned to roles clearly associated with areas of prime interest to the grantee. Action decisions are to narrow the project purpose to focus on promotion and exploration activities. TA for these activities should be increased, while training outputs and overall funding should be decreased. Across-the-board institution building was not agreed to be important.