Mid-term evaluation report : family planning training support project, Centre for African Family Studies (CAFS), Aug. 20 - Sept 9, 1987

The evaluation covered the period 8/85-9/87. General project management has been good but the project"s main focus, training, has been especially well done. A new course in communications has been developed and the current curriculum (including the communications course) is being given in French. To include more opportunities for practical training, two courses will be extended by 1 week. CAFS trainees express satisfaction with the training and feel they have been able to successfully apply their knowledge. On the negative side, however, CAFS, because of its heavy training load, has not provided follow-up TA to national FP programs as planned. This TA, which would also serve to improve CAFS training by exposing instructors to actual situations, will be emphasized during the final year of the grant. It is unclear whether the project design is valid. Most agencies involved with CAFS endorse a regional training approach (except CAFS" parent organization, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, which supports a more grassroots approach), and demand has been strong; however regional programs also must supply in-country TA, which has not yet been available from CAFS. In addition, efforts should be made to identify how individuals trained by CAFS actually deliver services. As CAFS" activities financed by other donors have contributed to an enhanced potential for self-reliance, the IPPF plans to re-examine its fiscal commitment to CAFS and clarify the extent of CAFS" autonomy, a move which may require A.I.D. to support more of CAFS" core costs. Finally, experience suggests that a new regional training institution needs at least 5 years to mature and achieve all of the objectives expected of CAFS. A project extension is recommended. The project teaches several lessons. (1) Institutions that specialize in one thing, e.g., training, do not easily convert to other organizational types, e.g., TA providers, regardless of the intent of project designers. A heavy burden falls on the project monitor to constantly urge the organization to move toward a new approach. (2) For a training institution to do more TA and follow-up, more human and financial resources must be provided than have been provided to CAFS. (3) Regional training institutions in Africa must able to provide training and TA in both French and English. Although costs are greater in Francophone Africa than in Anglophone Africa, so is the need for FP training. (4) A training institution is dependent on the calibre and motivation of its staff; thus, project management should pay careful attention to staff needs.