Regional management education institutions in Central America and Mexico

A.I.D. should therefore strengthen and expand its Regional Office for Central America and Panama (ROCAP) to enable it to vigorously promote regional ties and national development by supporting two institutions that serve as active symbols of mutual interest among member nations: the Central American Institute of Business Administration (INCAE) and the Central American Institute of Public Administration (ICAP). So concludes this review of the management training institutions serving Central America and Mexico. Included are reviews of the history, programs, curricula, leadership, staffing, and physical facilities of INCAE and ICAP and of the historical rivalry between them; of the possible role of Costa Rica"s Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences and Mexico"s National Institute of Public Administration in promoting regional development; and of the region"s current political circumstances in relation to possible U.S. policy initiatives. ROCAP, it is suggested, should develop a series of joint INCAE/ICAP projects (which could include other institutions as well) specifically designed to strengthen institutional capacity and management capability in the region. Such projects might include: (1) a survey of regional management needs over the next decade and the institutional resources available to deal with them; (2) a survey of the roles, functions, performance, and management resources of the numerous regional organizations in Central America; (3) a project to identify ICAP and INCAE alumni and organize them into management improvement associations; (4) a program to support national institutes of administration and to create them where they do not exist; (5) a project to identify rural development needs and ways to meet them through better management; and (6) an executive development program for top government leaders. Project teams should be comprised of members of the two or more institutes involved, with team leadership given to the institution primarily responsible for the project. Cooperation between INCAE and ICAP, it is noted in conclusion, could help to end the mutual rivalry that to date has worked against INCAE"s acceptance as an official regional institution.