Training for development

External evaluation covered the period 1985-7/90 and was prepared in light of a proposed project amendment. The project provides a necessary service and should be continued, with the following improvements. (1) Training opportunities should be expanded to include university studies and selected agricultural fields. (2) Short-term training should be made more relevant to the project purpose. (3) Improved guidelines must be established to handle: English language requirements, salary payments to participants by private sector sponsors, participant contributions to training costs, and a more equitable geographic and gender distribution of trainees. (4) The assumption regarding Eastern Bloc training should be reviewed before it is included in the project amendment. (5) The discontinued democratic awareness and seminar components should be re-examined for their relevance to the project. (6) Cost containment guidance should be more specific and applied more consistently for long-term participants, while short-term training should be reviewed more carefully to eliminate candidates not contributing significantly to the project purpose. (7) The project manager should receive training to develop more efficient, cost-effective management practices. (8) A project management information system should be introduced and project files reviewed. Three major lessons were learned. (1) Participant training can influence macroeconomic policy and private sector development when participants are limited to those who can truly contribute to the project purpose. (2) Clear guidelines regarding participant selection, cost containment, and fields of study must be consistently applied. (3) Assurance must be provided to public sector participants that they will be able to return to their jobs after completion of training. Action decisions ratify many of the above recommendations, while limiting the fields of study addressed by the project to economics, business administration/finance, and public administration.