PVO co-financing

PVO"s in Sri Lanka. The evaluation (PD-AAT-972) was based on review of documents (especially on subprojects - SP"s), interviews with USAID/SL project officials, and visits to 43 SP field sites and PVO offices. The project is achieving its purpose. It has exhibited strong and fairly effective collaboration with local communities, effectively involved and benefited women (8 SP"s focus on women and 8 others have a high percentage of women participants), promoted microenterprises in 2 projects, and has had positive impacts related to all project objectives except appropriate technology. No negative impacts were identified. Management of the project has been sound and good relationships exist with PVO"s. SP"s are well-monitored; there is immediate follow-up whenever problems develop. There is a good balance of firmness and flexibility in dealing with changes requested by PVO"s. The SP"s approved have been well within project objectives; however, there are informal unwritten criteria which are important in Mission decisions and which are not consistently applied nor adequately communicated to PVO applicants. Some PVO"s have difficulty with various SP management activities (e.g., project design, proposal preparation, reporting, accounting, evaluation). These problems could be addressed more deliberately. Although the project purpose is being achieved within existing grants, the range of Sri Lankan PVO"s funded has been narrow. Most funds have gone to a fairly small number of PVO"s which have developed the capacity to manage relatively large projects. The project has not realized its potential for strengthening national and regional PVO"s. Nor has it developed a mechanism to give very small grants to local community-based organizations, of which Sri Lanka has many. Key action decisions are to: (1) continue assistance to PVO"s for another 5 years; (2) arrange workshops for PVO"s on project preparation, implementation, and the promotion of microenterprises; (3) fund an umbrella organization to provide micro-grants to community-based PVO"s; and (4) expand the number of PVO"s receiving grants. Included with the ES are the project officer"s comments on the evaluation findings.