Mid-term evaluation : strengthening institutional development through private voluntary organizations/co-financing III (SID), 497-0364

Mid-term evaluation covers the period 1991-94. In comparison to its predecessors, this project has put more emphasis on strengthening fewer PVOs/NGOs in fewer, more carefully selected program areas. The project has awarded 41 grants to 13 U.S. and 12 Indonesian NGOs/PVOs in Mission priority areas such as democratic pluralism/community participation, environment, HIV/AIDS prevention, advocacy, maternal and child survival, and urban informal sector/micro-enterprises. However, while there has been success in reducing the total number of grant transactions to about 10 a year, there has been less success in shifting to the more focused approach envisaged in the original design. Nor has the use of umbrella grants significantly reduced the Mission's management burden. Specific problems have included, inter alia: a poorly designed logframe which has negatively affected subproject design, implementation, and monitoring; an overly complex management information system; failure to include specific institutional strengthening objectives in subproject designs; insufficient staff training; and inadequate dialogue between USAID/I and Indonesia's PVO/NGO community. Also, earlier grants directed a large proportion of resources to sectoral rather than institutional development activities. Despite these problems, progress is being made. The project has already helped grantees and sub-grantees to: implement strategic planning for the first time; restructure staff to achieve more effective and efficient operations; initiate and revise internal policy/reporting and control systems; increase the proportion of internally generated funds; and upgrade staff skills in general and in financial management. In addition, project management and the Mission's newly formed Office of Community and Civic Participation (OC2P), which took over the project in 1993, have recently introduced a number of management changes and new initiatives, including: (1) matching the logframe to standardized reporting forms; (2) increased attention to gender sensitivity and Women In Development issues in grant selection; (3) increased decentralization of authority to project officers; (4) correction of the imbalance of project funds allocated to Indonesian NGOs/PVOs; (5) an increase in the number of advocacy and democracy projects; and (6) research to identify more NGOs/PVOs active in advocacy and democracy. As a non-bilaterally funded project, delivering assistance through PVOs/NGOs, the project is uniquely poised to help the Mission achieve its strategic objectives by the year 2000. The principal recommendation is that it be extended to that year at the current level of financial assistance.