Development management in Africa : experience with implementing agricultural development projects

This paper reviews and analyzes management experience in six A.I.D. agricultural and rural development projects in Africa. Section 1 examines the scope and seriousness of development management problems faced by public and private organizations in implementing projects, and describes procedures for evaluating experience in Africa. Section 2 presents a conceptual framework for evaluating development management; the framework identifies four factors which affect management - policy, design, contextual factors, and internal management (the latter including organizational structure, administrative procedures and practices, resource inputs management, and human resources management). The framework is then used, in Sections 3-5, to order findings from evaluations of the six African projects. The lessons learned from the projects and their implications for enhancing development management are summarized in Section 6. A major lesson learned is that projects are affected by numerous factors which vary from country to country; therefore a practical strategy for project managers is to determine how their projects differ from others and decide which management strategies that worked effectively in another country or project may be appropriate for their projects. (Author abstract, modified)