Evaluation report of the results of the technical assistance provided by the technical assistance services of the Caribbean to the Dominican Development Foundations, Inc.

Special evaluation, which focuses on TA provided the DDF by the Technical Services of the Caribbean (TSC), covers the period 9/79-8/82 and is based on document review and interviews with experts. TSC helped the DDF: structure its new Financing Division; design a system of economic and financial programming; and evaluate its arts and crafts program and its development model. Direct beneficiaries were the Controllers and the Office of Management of Social and Financial Services, especially in regard to group loan criteria, credit guides, project preparation, and loan analysis and decisionmaking. TSC also produced documentation valuable for a DDT training program and improved/adapted certain forms, guides, and procedures (e.g., organizational chart). The arts and crafts program, however, needs a fuller evaluation than TSC has time to provide. Particularly needed is an indepth study of rural and social organization. The DDT has already implemented 65-70% of TSC's recommendations, which still, however, need to organized into an integrated whole. Some problems remain. The loan recovery rate, for example, is still low (70%), apparently as a result of the inadequate marketing of crops produced with DDT credit, lack of DDT follow-up (especially on technical productive aspects), and lack of internal controls in the groups receiving credit. Although the groups have formed specialized teams to address these issues, they remain quite undeveloped; the marketing committees in particular lack negotiating power. TSC's insistence on a Competitive Point of DOP 10,000 for an average group of 17 producers has led the DDT to grant requests beyond the administrative capacities of the groups. The DDT clearly needs to determine the financial status of individuals in the groups more rigorously. It also needs to develop an adequate information system; analyse the rationality of its investments and its economic, cultural, and social impacts; and determine whether it is principally a social or financial agency. Editor's Note: The document on which this abstract was based was either very badly translated from Spanish or was written by someone with inadequate knowledge of the English language.