EVALUATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM OF THE PLANNED PARENTHOOD ASSOCIATION OF THE CHICAGO AREA

EINHORN AND TERRENCE P. TIFFANY, NOVEMBER 11, 1977. THE MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE EVALATION ARE: (1) THE PROGRAM IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE CONTRACT SCOPE OF WORK; (2) TRAINING IS OF HIGH QUALITY AND STAFF AND CONSULTANTS ARE COMPETENT PROFESSIONALS SENSITIVE TO CROSS-CULTURAL DIFFERENCES AMONG PARTICIPANTS; (3) TRAINING IS CONSISTENT WITH OVERALL USAID GOALS AND OBJECTIVES; (4) RAPID FLEXIBILITY OF RESPONSE TO USAID'S REQUEST FOR HIGHLY INDIVIDUALIZED AND SPECIALIZED TRAINING IS A UNIQUE STRENGTH OF THE PROGRAM WHICH IS PROBABLY NOT AVAILABLE ELSEWHERE; (5) THE CONTENT OF THE TRAINING APPEARS TO BE APPROPRIATE TO THE REAL NEEDS OF THE PARTICIPANTS; AND (6) THE STAFF HAVE DEMONSTRATED INNOVATIVENESS AND WILLINGNESS TO EXPEND EXTRA ENERGY IN MEETING NEW PROGRAM NEEDS. TRAINING OFFERED TAKES TWO BASIC APPROACHES. THE FIRST CONSISTS OF INDIVIDUALLY TAILORED PROGRAMS WHICH CUT ACROSS SUBJECT AREAS DEPENDING UPON THE PARTICULAR NEEDS OF THE PARTICIPANT. THE SECOND IS THE "CANNED" OR BLOCK TRAINING APPROACH WHERE UNIFORM INSTRUCTION IS OFFERED TO A GROUP OF PARTICIPANTS INTERESTED IN A SPECIFIC SUBJECT AREA SUCH AS ADOLESCENT FERTILITY. THE PROGRAM DID ATTEMPT A FOLLOW-UP STUDY BY QUESTIONNAIRE WAS LOW (ABOUT 10%) WHICH PRECLUDED ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS. THUS, THE FIRST ATTEMPT AT LONG-TERM EVALUATION WAS LARGELY UNSUCCESSFUL. THE EVALUATORS DISCUSSED AND MADE 15 RECOMMENDATIONS RELATING TO CONTRACT COMPLIANCE, TRAINING ACTIVITIES, THE IMPACT OF TRAINING, AND NEW TRAINING PROPOSALS. THEY ALSO MADE 5 GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS, THE PRIMARY ONE BEING THAT THIS CONTRACT SHOULD BE RENEWED.