Panama project 525-0239 · 1986

Evaluates project to found and develop the Investment Council of Panama (ICP) to promote foreign investment in Panama. External mid-term evaluation covers the period 1983-85 and is based on document review and interviews with Government of Panama (GOP), USAID/P, ICP, and business representatives and ICP clients. ICP's performance has been unsatisfactory and is far from meeting the project purpose and targets. Reasons for this lack of success relate to a combination of factors, both internal (e.g., poor management, lack of market research) and external (e.g., the Panamanian political situation). ICP has failed to adhere to project design and to comply with TA and training plans, and has shown a tendency to view the Project Agreement as illustrative rather than definitive. ICP is currently in a state of institutional disarray, having failed to establish a viable organizational structure and a stable, professional management team. For example, although GOP contributions increasingly fell short of those planned, the fact that even A.I.D. funds remained largely unspent points to management problems. The original project design was faulty in many of its assumptions crucial to project suc

Source: DEC abstract, PD-AAX-308 (1986). The source's own text.