EVALUATION REPORT; STERENGTHENING THE SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL CAPABILITIES OF DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

ABOUT 60 DEFINABLE ACTIVITIES WERE IMPLEMENTED UNDER THE CONTRACT. WITH ONLY ONE OR TWO EXCEPTIONS, NONE OF THE ACTIVITIES WAS LARGE ENOUGH TO BRING ABOUT OBVIOUS AND DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE CHANGES IN AID OR THE LDC'S. THE PANEL AGREED THAT THE PAST PERFORMANCES OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCE (NAS) HAS BEEN GOOD, HAS LAID A FOUNDATION FOR PROVIDING ADVICE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY RELATED TO DEVELOPMENT, AND SHOULD BE CONTINUED. HOWEVER, IN DEVELOPING A NEW PROJECT, CARE SOULD BE TAKEN TO INSURE THAT OBJECTIVES AND THE METHOD FOR FURTHER EVALUATION BE CLEARLY DEFINED. THE PANEL AGREED THAT THE REPORTS, WORKSHOPS, ETC OF THE PROJECT HAVE BEEN A SIGNIFICANT SOURCE OF HIGH QUALITY INDEPENDENT AND OBJECTIVE ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. A POSITIVE THOUGH UNMEASURABLE PRODUCT OF THIS PROJECT IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SCIENTIFIC NETWORK THROUGH WHICH LDC SCIENTISTS CAN BE IN REGULAR CONTACT WITH THEIR COLLEGUES COMPLETELY OUTSIDE OF GOVERNMENT CHANNELS. THE PANEL FEELS THAT PAST PERFORMANCE HAS BEEN WEAK IN THE AREAS OF PLANNING/PREPARATION AND FOLLOW-UP/EVALUATION. THE PANEL MADE 33 RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS IN PROJECT DESIGN, PROJECT PERFORMANCE, AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND CONTRACTING.