Evaluation of PACT Private Agencies Collaborating Together

Special evaluation is based on a review of project documents and on visits and interviews at 19 representative projects. By sucessfully funding several excellent and many satisfactory projects (50 in all), providing 171 Support Activity Grants and technical assistance, and supporting conferences and seminars, PACT, an agency with 15 U.S. and 5 LDC members, is successfully fulfilling its obligations. As to cost-effectiveness, some projects were exemplary, but others less impressive; A.I.D. must further investigate this issue. PACT's presence in the grant process does, as hoped, improve the design and performance of projects, especially those of an experimental kind, as PACT devotes much effort to working with applicants to plan and administer projects. PACT's diverse membership is a resource to be maintained. Most of the agencies visited were content with PACT's involvement in the funding/assistance process, but conflict was occasionally found, especially with PACT member agencies. To address these conflicts, the evaluators recommend that: the fact-finding process which PACT uses with applicants be better focused and more limited; efforts be made to cultivate goodwill between PACT and sponsoring agencies rather than to increase LDC membership in PACT; automatic second and third year funding be permitted; and PACT criteria for projects be refined. Also recommended is rationalizing the travel and workload of PACT regional representatives. The tenor of the times demands that PACT establish and maintain a closer working relationship with A.I.D. Missions, many of whom wish to control the funding process for all AID-funded activities in their respective countries. PACT should also promote increased collaboration between U.S. PVO's and LDC agencies. This will not be easy, as LDC agencies appear unenthusiastic about finding U.S. collaborators.