Development is a joint effort : discussion paper on improving the effectiveness of USAID-funded technical assistance to Mali

Special evaluation, for which no time period is given, is based on document review and on site interviews with USAID/M, contractor, and Malian Government (GOM) personnel. Evaluation was prepared in response to audit findings that the host country contracting mode had reduced the effectiveness of AID-financed TA. Implementation delays have been very serious in most projects and are primarily to blame for reducing the effectiveness of AID-financed TA. The host country contracting mode was the main reason for neither the implementation delays nor the limited effect of TA, although it did contribute to delays in two projects. Rather, implementation delays and the reduced effectiveness of TA were due to: poor GOM-USAID/M coordination in project design; inappropriate attitudes toward GOM-USAID/M-contractor collaboration in project implementation; inadequate planning during project design and implementation; misunderstandings regarding the purpose, costs, and use of TA; cross-cultural communications problems; unqualified and poorly trained GOM project directors and USAID/M project managers; and the precipitous switch to the host-country contracting mode. A series of 47 recommendations are offered for improving GOM-USAID/M collaboration and communication; devoting more attention to project implementation; upgrading project management and the quality of TA personnel; deciding upon the use of the host country contracting mode on a case by case basis; and improving commodity procurement.