Evaluating the impact of international training for development in Zaire: A case study of the studies and planning service, the Department of Agriculture, Zaire

The impact of international training for development was assessed with a research strategy which combined elements of a case study approach and a quasi-experimental design. Data collection and analysis were carefully documented to allow verification from beginning to end. The aim was to create a case providing substantive results on impact of training while testing the methodology in a way that would allow comparison in the future and with other cases. The research focused on training in the U.S. for fifty-three staff members of the Studies and Planning Service, Department of Agriculture, Zaire, in the U.S. between 1977 and 1983. The participant-trainees studied at U.S. universities and/or the International Statistics Program Center, the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The majority earned masters degrees in either agricultural economics or agricultural statistics. The results indicate that international training has had an impact at three levels hypothesized--individual, organizational and institutional--and also beyond the Studies and Planning Service. Individuals inside and outside the organization confirmed that the knowledge and skills of the trainees were enhanced by training. Data were collected from multiple sources using multiple methods in order to create a "chain of evidence" which helped to show the role of training, particularly in producing the outputs of the organization. Although the Studies and Planning Service has lost some technical capacity as trainees have moved on to new positions, SPS has gained influence at the policy level and in program and project management in the agricultural sector through the trainees who have taken significant positions within the agricultural sector. Macro-economic policies and the lack of agricultural policy in Zaire have severely constrained micro-institutions, such as the Studies and Planning Service, from realizing their potential. However, this study confirms that it is possible to develop and to sustain an increasingly productive organization--a microclimate of development--within a harsh and hostile environment. Without policy changes, the sustainability of such micro-institutions is unlikely.