Report on the interim evaluation of the human resources and institutional development (HRID) project (612-0230)

The evaluation covers the period through 4/90. Early indications are that project activities will produce desired results in most instances. Those activities most successful to date include strengthening of university-based training/education programs, advancement of women, and strengthening of organizations supporting the development of small- and medium- scale enterprises. Participant training, on the other hand, is weak in post-training planning, and proposals are vague about processes to keep trainees in contact with their organizations while in long-term training. Use of TA is proceeding well, although there is concern that efforts may not be institutionalized by the PACD. The project's general strategy of linking human resource development to institutional needs assessment seems to be working well with the University of Malawi, but is somewhat problematic for government agencies. Within the agencies, the wide variation in roles and tasks, as well as frequent staff transfers, make analysis and planning much more difficult. The agencies are also unaccustomed to the strategy, since donor support for human resource development has historically been tied to individual, rather than organizational interests. Difficulties have also been experienced in initiating management development activities, due to unrealistic assumptions regarding the project's capacity and commitment to undertake such activities. Also, while the Project Coordinating Committee is operating effectively, the subcommittee structure has not performed as expected and is in a state of limbo. A key recommendation is to develop an action plan for the remainder of the project, including a monitoring and evaluation system which allows all parties to monitor their progress in a timely and efficient manner. Several lessons were learned. (1) Projects based on a "process" model should be designed -- as this one was not -- so that the project itself becomes a learning experience for the organizations involved. (2) Such projects also need to begin small and proceed slowly, making sure everyone is "on board". This project started big, failed to test some key assumptions (e.g., that key development agencies would countenance serious institution building), and has not listened adequately to some of the key actors. (3) Projects need to pace their activities to determine whether the process is working. Offering total project funds at the start of the project can lead, as it did in this project, to unrealistic expectations among potential grantees, pressure for spreading funds to resource-poor agencies, an initial flood of paperwork, and lack of funding for future needs.