EVALUATION OF THE INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE CENTER; A FINAL REPORT

THE CONFERENCES MAY BE GROUPED INTO THREE MAJOR CLASSIFICATIONS: GENERAL/MOTIVATIONAL; TECHNICAL/MEDICAL; AND COUNTRY-SPECIFIC/PROBLEM-SPECIFIC. FINAL FINDINGS INDICATE THAT THE DIALOGUES ARE GENERALLY WELL-ADMINISTERED AND PRODUCTIVE. MOST PARTICIPANTS HAVE FOUND THEM TO BE USEFUL AND INFORMATIVE. THERE TEND TO BE TWO TYPES OF PARTICIPANTS, WHOSE EXPECTATIONS, NEEDS, AND REACTIONS DIFFER. THOSE WHO WERE FAMILIAR WITH THE AREA OF FAMILY PLANNING WERE MORE INCLINED TO ANTICIPATE A FORUM WHICH WOULD BE CONDUCIVE TO AN EXCHANGE OF IDEAS. THEY PREFERRED FEWER LECTURES AND MORE INFORMAL SESSIONS. IN CONTRAST, THOSE WHO WERE NOT FAMILIAR WITH FAMILY PLANNING AS A PROFESSION EXPECTED TO BE INFORMED BY THE DIALOGUES. THEY PREFERRED A FORMAL STRUCTURE WITH MORE LECTURES. THIS DICHOTOMY APPEARS TO BE RECOGNIZED BY THE AIDC AND AID. ALONG WITH THE TREND TOWARD MORE TECHNICAL/MEDICAL AND COUNTRY-SPECIFIC/PROBLEM-SPECIFIC CONFERENCES, WHICH HAVE DICTATED INVITING PARTICIPANTS MORE ACTIVELY INVOLVED WITH FAMILY PLANNING, THERE HAS BEEN EVIDENCE OF A TREND TOWARD MORE TIME SCHEDULED FOR DISCUSSION AND EXCHANGE OF IDEAS. TRENDS TOWARD MORE TECHNICAL/MEDICAL AND COUNTRY-SPECIFIC/PROBLEM-SPECIFIC CONFERENCES, THE EMPLOYMENT OF POPULATION EXPERTS, THE PROVISION OF BRIEFING MATERIALS, THE SCHEDULING OF MORE INFORMAL DISCUSSION TIME, THE IDENTIFICATION OF HUMAN AND MATERIAL RESOURCES IN FAMILY PLANNING, AND THE PROVISION OF MORE COMPLETE FOLLOW-UP SHOULD BE CONTINUED AND PERHAPS EVEN EXTENDED. THE EVALUATORS MADE 30 RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT THE DIALOGUES.