Interim evaluation of the human resources development assistance project (698-0463)

The project has strengthened the human resources base in Lesotho by providing training to key management and operational personnel in strategically located institutions throughout the economic spectrum. Training activities have succeeded in upgrading targeted organizational staff capabilities and increasing knowledge and skills in critical public sector management areas. The relevance of the project is attested to by employers, entrepreneurs, participants, business service organizations and the government. The greatest impact thus far, in terms of numbers of persons trained, has been in the project"s outreach to small- and medium-sized business owners in rural areas countrywide. The project is well on its way to reaching its 80% target for private sector development training. The project has already substantially exceeded its 50% goal for the participation of women in training activities. Overall, the project has supported training for more than 350 Basotho. In-country training accounts for more than 90% of project activities. A concerted effort has been made to utilize local training resources and third country African training institutions to the maximum extent possible. Project shortcomings relate to the slow pace at which activities have been initiated and the absence of requests from several targeted institutions. The underlying factors are multifaceted, but some of the issues that impinge negatively on the project"s process are systemic grantee management and organizational constraints and lack of clarity about project objectives and the types of activities that may be supported. (Author abstract)