UNANTICIPATED CONSEQUENCES OF A.I.D. PROJECTS: LESSONS FROM IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR PROJECT PLANNING |
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| Authors: | Kurt Finsterbusch Warren A. Van Wicklin III |
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| Affiliation: | Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland. He has authored Understanding Sociul Impacts, Social Re- search for Policy Decisions (with Annabelle Bender Motz) and Organiza- tional Change as a Development Strategy (with Jerald Hage). Two of his recent articles co-authored with Warren Van Wicklin, I11 are "The Contribution of Beneficiary Participation to Deuelopment Project Effectiveness," Public Administration and Deve1opment, "Beneficiary Partic ipationin Development Projects: Empirical Tests of Popular Theories," and Economic Deuelopment and Cultural Change.;doctoral candidate in the Political Science department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has co-authored articles on the role of beneficiary participation in development projects. His research interests include private voluntary organizations and U.S. foreign aid policy towards Central American and the Caribbean. |
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| Abstract: | We examine lJ.S. Agency for International Development project designs as described in pre-project design documents arid compare them using document review protocols to project outcomes as described in project impact evaluation reports for 40 projects. From this we draw three major conclusions concerning project designs: (1)most are unrealistic – estimated outputs greatly exceed actual outputs at the same time that considerable cost overruns occur, (2) they do not adequately assess the feasibility of the implementation, maintenance, and use of the project and its outputs, and (3) they do not adequately assess potential negative impacts. In light of these shortcomings we offer several recommendations for consideration and testing. |
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