Evaluation of the Peace Corps small project assistance (SPA) program, volume 1 : evaluation report

The evaluation covers the period 1983-88 and is based on data from projects in the African, Inter-American, North African, Near East, Asian, and Pacific regions. The program is meeting its objective of promoting grassroots development. Projects have met an average of about 75% of their objectives and obtained an 85% sustainability rate. Specific findings about success are as follows. (1) Projects have been most successful when they have incorporated community members in project planning and management; projects in which Peace Corps volunteers act alone have been unsuccessful. (2) Projects that have focused on capital equipment or construction have been more successful than those involving institution building or capacity building and skills transfer. (3) Projects requiring recurrent costs had lower success rates than those without such costs. (4) Success was generally independent of technological complexity. Peace Corps/A.I.D. collaboration in the program has generally been good. However, administrative difficulties have occurred at the country level concerning the movement of funds and accounting systems and procedures. Not all country agreements fully detail the mechanisms for the disbursement to and replenishment of program funds, and for the disbursement to and accounting for individual projects. At times, this has resulted in a slowdown or temporary halt to the replenishment of program funds. Funds for individual project have usually been disbursed in a timely manner, but delivery of the funds is sometimes delayed. Additional constraints to project funding are timeframe and cost. For example, a common restriction at the country level is that projects may not be undertaken by PCV's until they have been working at their jobs for a certain period of time (e.g., 6 months), or immediately prior to their close of service date. Projects are limited to a maximum of $10,000, but many receive only $1,000 or less. In FY87, for example, the mean funding level was $2,057. However, program funds are often supplemented by community funds and in-kind contributions, and generally represent less than 50% of total project costs. The program's effect on the perception of the Peace Corps by host country government agencies has been largely positive. The Peace Corps is generally viewed as a development agency (as opposed to a donor agency) and as a source of community support complementary to local government agencies.