Interim evaluation of development support training project, USAID/Pakistan

Interim evaluation covers FY82-85 and is based on document review and interviews with project, USAID/P, and GOP staff and with trainees. The project has had a highly successful start. Three training organizations (NIPA/Karachi, PIM, and the Training Wing of the Pakistan Audit Department) have received TA in developing plans of action for training programs. Of the 34 management training courses, seminars, and workshops planned, 15 have been conducted with positive results. There have been over 400 participants, most of them through add-on activities serving other USAID/P projects. These add-on programs appear to be a highly successful, efficient way to use participant training resources. Finally, English as a Second Language (ESL) training has been provided to those participants who require it. Despite these achievements, the project faces serious constraints. Most seriously, it lacks the financial and personnel resources needed to meet its targets and take advantage of emerging opportunities. The project has reached a phase in its institutional development, management training, and ESL components - all of which are currently understaffed - which provides A.I.D. with a unique chance to change management practices in the strategic private enterprise, agriculture, and energy sectors. Increased opportunities for training of women are also beginning to develop. Other problems are: (1) policy differences regarding jurisdictional responsibility and procedural bottlenecks within the GOP will make it impossible for participant training goals to be reached; (2) the GOP (especially at the provincial level) lacks a comprehensive process for linking training needs and opportunities to the career growth of individuals and to organizational growth and strengthening; and (3) the private sector goals of the project, and of USAID/P generally, lack a clear focus. An important lesson learned is that GOP does not share USAID/P's enthusiasm for short-term participant training because it feels that short-term U.S. training is not easily adaptable to Pakistani conditions and that it represents a superficial attitude toward Pakistan.