TRAINING OF FAMILY PLANNING MANAGERS

This special evaluation, which is attached to a PES (PD-AAG-660-B1), covers the period 9/77-3/80 and is based on site visits, interviews with trainees, and a review of files. The Center for Population Activities (CEFPA) has met its contractual obligations. CEFPA has a strong board and dedicated staff who have developed a good relationship with their counterparts and USAID's. Its organizational experience and flexibility should not be lost to A.I.D. Still, upgrading the scheduling and staffing of training programs and holding debriefings after each training event are recommended. To date, 255 LDC family planning personnel have been trained in 11 training events. Although it is premature to judge the long-range effects of this training, its impact so far has been limited. More country-specific training materials are needed and trainee selection criteria must be made more stringent; candidates in Mauritius were unsatisfactory. CEFPA also needs to develop an effective follow-up to its programs and a better needs assessment. Trainees claimed that the training, while useful, was difficult to apply due to host country bureaucratic procedures, unsympathetic advisors and the shortness of the training time. In Nepal, planning and the delegation of authority were cited as the most frequently applied skills, while in Mauritius, the use of communication and management skills was cited. Institutionalization of the training function within counterpart agencies, Family Planning-Maternal Child Care in Nepal and the Mauritius Family Planning Association, will not occur. This is due not only to the organizational and functional problems within the two agencies, but also to a perception of training as a reward and a lack of staff commitment. The latter, in turn, has been due to CEFPA's failure to coach top staff in the use of trained supervisors. Expansion of CEFPA's technical assistance function to include such coaching is one of several actions recommended as a way to pursue institutionalization more vigorously.