Post evaluation report of the NAFEO [National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education]/USAID cooperative agreement no. DAN-5055-A-00-8053-00

The project was implemented by the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO). Ex-post evaluation covers the period 9/88-5/94. NAFEO accomplished its basic purpose: the constant exposure, promotion, and marketing of HBCUs" capabilities resulted in increased participation of HBCUs in USAID TA contracts and subcontracts, research grants, and faculty linkage agreements and exchange programs. The project"s five major activities (information processes, overseas travel, fellowships, special tasks, and agreement management by NAFEO) were a good choice of interrelated, mutually dependent actions, which proved effective in accomplishing the project purpose. One of the most effective activities was direct contact between HBCUs and USAID Missions, both overseas and via campus visits by Mission officials. In sum, USAID"s use of an intermediary institution to provide a single point of contact, a conduit for the flow of information, marketing of HBCU capabilities, management and coordination of workshops and conferences, etc., was an effective and efficient way for USAID to address the mandates of the Gray Amendment and Executive Orders. The project was not without shortcomings. The cooperative agreement with NAFEO did not establish any baseline data, or quantitative or qualitative measures that would have provided a more precise basis for NAFEO and USAID to assess progress. In addition, the primary beneficiaries of the project, the HBCUs, in many cases did not (or chose not to) understand that it was their responsibility (not NAFEO"s) to actively pursue and follow-up on the opportunities provided through project activities. Moreover, there are significant differences among the HBCUs as to their desire and commitment to participate in international development programs and their institutional structures and experience in international activities. Some are committed and experienced in international work, but many others have neither added the international dimension to their curricula nor made efforts to pursue contracts or grants to move into the international assistance arena. Some HBCUs felt the program did not benefit smaller schools and that overseas travel did not include enough schools and included too many high officials of HBCUs and NAFEO. However, now that the services are no longer being provided, many HBCUs miss the advocacy role of NAFEO and the NAFEO network. Also, some HBCUs feel that the focus on HBCUs brought about through the project seems to have waned since the project ended; the availability of a responsive single point of contact is missed. The evaluation recommends that the activities implemented in this cooperative agreement be continued -- expanded to include other minority institutions -- with explicit emphasis on increasing the number of institutions actively involved in USAID programs, providing much more TA to individual institutions, and expanding the geographic areas covered.