Opportunities Industrialization Centers International (OICI) institutional development grant proposal submitted to : United States Agency for International Development

(OIC/I), to upgrade its institutional capability to design, implement, and evaluate non-formal employment and training programs in selected LDC"s. OIC/I will implement the project with short-term U.S. consultant help. Phase I will involve research and data collection to determine the state-of-the-art in project development processes and guidelines. The following sector assessment approaches will be analyzed: (1) social demand; (2) needs for national development; (3) manpower needs; (4) economic returns; and (5) employment generation. After indepth analysis, OIC/I management will determine the sector assessment approach or combination of approaches to be utilized. In Phase II, feasibility study teams will visit and study 16 countries and rank them as to suitability for an OIC-type program. In conducting the feasibility studies, OIC/I will use a community-based self-help model containing such elements as: outreach, intake, counseling, feeder, occupational skills, training, job development, placement, and follow-up. Eleven of the 16 countries will be chosen for funded proposals in Phase III. In Phase III, OIC/I will prepare and submit 11 proposals to AID and other funding agencies. Staff will receive in-service training in proposal preparation. Consultants will revise and improve OIC/I"s management information system. OIC/I will conduct two internal evaluations of project progress. The evaluations will assess the degree of successful adaptability and institutionalization of the OIC model in the target communities. Near the end of the grant period, OIC/I, AID, and a third-party consultant will conduct a joint evaluation of goal achievement. AID will fund 90% of project costs. OIC/I staff will provide 92.7 man-months of technical assistance. Local interest groups will raise seed money to be used also to defray incorporation expenses and to assist teams during field visits.