Human resources development assistance (HRDA)

The evaluation covered the period FY88-3/90 and focused on programs in Kenya, Zaire, Tanzania, Senegal, and Guinea. The project is making progress toward targets, uses innovative implementation approaches, and is responsive to emerging needs that cannot be accommodated by other projects. In the countries visited, training of women is exceeding its 35% target, and Mission enthusiasm is evident in the large number of buy-ins. The project"s management structure is decentralized and flexible. African training institutes are being strengthened through pairing arrangements and presentation of joint activities with U.S. institutes. The principal negative finding is that the management information system has not progressed due to poor contractor performance. As a result, project progress cannot be reliably measured; third-country training is hampered by a lack of information and information exchange regarding the quality of institutions; project administration and field training suffer from insufficient information flow between A.I.D./W and Missions; and evaluation indicators have not been developed to help training officers measure project impact on post-training job performance, employment, and economic growth. In addition, public sector training lacks focus and integration with private sector development, private sector training needs assessments have an urban bias, and Mission training officers require additional professional training.