REPORTS OF CONSULTANTS FOR THE EVALUATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL FERTILITY RESEARCH PROGRAM; IFRP - AID/CSD-2979

IT APPEARS TO BE PERFORMING AN EXCELLENT JOB IN TESTING PROMISING DEVELOPMENTS AND IN ASSISTING THE INTRODUCTION OF INNOVATIONS, TWO OF ITS THREE OBJECTIVES. IT IS DIFFICULT TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF CURRENT IFRP TECHNIQUES IN DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION, ITS THIRD OBJECTIVE. THE DISTRIBUTION OF PREPRINTS AND SELF-PRINTED PAPERS APPARENTLY REACHES A LIMITED BUT HIGHLY SELECTED AUDIENCE. GREATER EFFORTS SHOULD BE MADE TO CONTINUE THE WORK OF PRESENTING CONCURRENT WORKSHOPS, OR HAVING CONTRIBUTOR PRESENTATIONS AT REGIONAL MEETINGS WHERE THEIR WORK CAN BE DISCUSSED AND DISSEMINATED IN THE AREA. CONTRIBUTORS WORKSHOPS AND MEETINGS APPEAR TO BE POPULAR AND VALUABLE TO THE COOPERATING CENTERS AND SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED. IT WOULD BE DESIRABLE IF MORE OF THESE COULD BE APPENDED TO REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS. A NUMBER OF PROBLEMS APPEARED DURING THE SITE VISITS, SOME RELATED TO THE SEPARATION OF IFRP FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AND OTHERS TO INDIFFERENT PROCESSING OF COMMUNICATIONS FROM CONTRIBUTORS. THE EVALUATORS DISCUSSED THEIR SPECIFIC FINDINGS AND OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE PROGRAM AT NORTH CAROLINA, LONDON, LJUBLJANA, CAIRO, ASSUIT, BANGKOK, SINGAPORE, JAKARTA, DEN PENSAR, SEOUL, AND THE CONFERENCE AT PALM SPRINGS. THEY ALSO MADE GENERAL OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ABOUT CLINICAL ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM AND ABOUT ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS SUCH AS RECORD KEEPING, FISCAL MANAGEMENT, AND RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CONTRIBUTORS AND IFRP.