FINAL REPORT OF AN EVALUATION OF LATIN AMERICAN CONFEDERATIONS OF CREDIT UNIONS (COLAC)

THIS WOULD GIVE COLAC TWO YEARS TO CONCENTRATE ON INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT: RECRUITMENT, STATISTICS, MOBILIZATION OF ALTERNATE SOURCE FUNDS, PRODUCTION CREDIT, AND FEDERATION RELATIONS. THERE ARE ABOUT 25 OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS, MANY OF WHICH DEAL WITH PROJECT-SPECIFIC PROCEDURAL AND PERSONNEL MATTERS. MORE GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE: (1)COLAC SHOULD DEVELOP UNIFORM GUIDELINES TO BE USED THROUGHOT THE COOPERATIVE MOVEMENT; AND (2)COLAC SHOULD PERFORM PERIODIC LOAN APPRAISALS. THE EVALUATORS REVIEWED THE 1973 LOG FRAME AND SUGGESTED REVISIONS AND ADDITIONS. THEY FOUND THAT MOST OF THE INDICATORS OF SATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE HAD BEEN MET OR EXCEEDED BUT POINTED OUT THAT THE LACK OF DATA AND FAILURE TO IMPOSE REALISTIC TARGETS DIMINISHED THE VALIDITY AND USEFULNESS OF THE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS. THEY CONCLUDED THAT COLAC, IN ADDITION TO SHIFTING TO AN INTERMEDIATE CREDIT INSTITUTION, HAD PROVIDED TRAINING AND OTHER ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES DURING 1974 WHICH SPELLED CONTINUED GROWTH TO FEDERATIONS. THE REPORT DISCUSSES SOME OF THE CHANGES IN THE MOVEMENT: MORE MODERN ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS PRACTICES, THE RISE IN PROFESSIONALISM OF PERSONNEL, AND GREATER DEPENDENCE ON EXTERNAL CAPITAL AND FINANCING. THE REPORT ALSO CONTAINS A SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT ON CREDIT UNIONS IN SIX LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES BASED ON THE EVALUATORS' FIELD VISITS.