PROGRAM FOR TRANSFER OF TECHNOLOGY (PTT); FINAL EVALUATION REVIEW

This final contracted evaluation, attached to a PES (PD-AAI-424-A1), covers the period 1/76-8/80 and is based on review of files and documents and numerous onsite interviews. A total of 315 industries (especially food industries), 222 institutions (especially those of governments), and 21 individuals were contacted by field representatives (FR's) from the implementing agency, the Central American Institute of Research and Industrial Technology (ICAITI). PTT impact on small businesses was small, however, due to the latter's greater need for capital than for technology services and the high cost of ICAITI services. (Even with these costs, ICAITI will have to increase its overhead rate from 80% to 100% to break even with the PTT program.) U.S. technical support contractors benefitted the project greatly, especially by training FR's, but had no opportunity to perform the technology function designed for them -- a situation that should be remedied in Phase II. By establishing an ICAITI technology transfer system in all five CA countries, the project enabled ICAITI to expand vertically for the first time in its history, although this expansion is now being threatened by political unrest in the region. ICAITI's ability to promote coordination with other institutions such as the Organization of American States was impressive. Despite these achievements, the original project concept--to disseminate hard-to-obtain technical knowledge to CA industries for a fee--remains largely untested. Reasons for this include ICAITI's refusal to hire senior consulting engineers at originally budgeted salary levels; the project design's lack of professional specifications for FR's; lack of user receptivity to FR services; and lack of an information system determining PTT impact on end-users. Besides the latter, recommendations focus on decreasing project costs and stressing service to small enterprises.