MARGINAL/SEMI-ARID LANDS PRE-INVESTMENT STUDY

MID-POINT REVIEW HELD TO DISCUSS AND CRITICALLY EVALUATE PRELIMINARY 2 VOLUME REPORT PREPARED BY THE JOINT KENYAN-AMERICAN TEAM. THE GOVERNMENT OF KENYA (GOK) WAS LATE IN PROVIDING ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROJECT CAUSING MINOR DELAYS IN START-UP TIME. COUNTERPARTS ARRIVED ONE MONTH AFTER US TEAM. GOK HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO PROVIDE A COUNTERPART FOR THE US SOCIOLOGIST, AND THIS HAS MADE HIS JOB MORE DIFFICULT. US TEAM HOUSED IN USAID BUILDING TILL JULY AWAITING GOK-PROVIDED OFFICE SPACE. VEHICLES NOT ADEQUATELY PROVIDED UNTIL JULY. THESE PROBLEMS DID NOT,HOWEVER, INHIBIT PROGRESS OF TEAM TOWARDS MEETING ITS OBJECTIVES. ORIGINAL US TEAM LEADER RETURNED TO US AFTER 5 MONTHS FOR PERSONAL REASONS. POSITION PROMPTLY FILLED, BUT CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP RESULTED IN PROBLEMS. TEAM"S RESOURCES INVENTORY WORK HAS A NUMBER OF DATA GAPS AND OMISSIONS. A CONSIDERABLE REVISED AND MORE SUBSTANTIVE INTRODUCTORY/SUMMARY STATEMENT IS REQUIRED. TEAM NEEDS TO REVISE AND COMPLETE ITS WORK IN THE EASTERN PROVINCE WITH A VIEW TOWARDS FINALIZING THE RESOURCES INVENTORY. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES WILL BE REQUIRED TO ASSURE SATISFACTORY COMPLETION OF THE WORK. TEAM"S PROJECT IDENTIFICATION EFFORT JUDGED UNSATISFACTORY. PROJECTS ARE NOT WELL WRITTEN AND DO NOT APPEAR TO BE WELL THOUGHT OUT. THE US TEAM LEADER SEEMS TO HAVE PLAYED MERELY AN "EDITORIAL" ROLE. TEAM SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE AGGRESSIVE AND THOROUGH IN ITS DATA GATHERING. TEAM NEEDS TO GIVE MORE SYSTEMATIC TREATMENT TO INFORMAL ON-THE-JOB TRAINING OF ITS COUNTERPARTS. PROBLEMS HAVE NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED IN SUFFICIENT TIME TO RESOLVE THEM AND ARE NOT AGGRESSIVELY PURSUED TO A SUCCESSFUL SOLUTION. LESSONS LEARNED INCLUDE: THAT IN A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY STUDY SUCH AS THIS, THE PERFORMANCE OF THE TEAM LEADER IS CRUCIAL TO PROJECT SUCCESS, AND THAT A MID-POINT REVIEW OF SUCH A STUDY IS VALUABLE. THE WORK PLAN WILL BE REVISED BY THE TEAM LEADER, AND USAID MAY THEN AMEND THE CONTRACT BY PROVIDING ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.