Haiti: Incentives To Improve Basic Education (IIBE)--Project Bilaterial d'Education (PROBED). Midterm Evaluation.

Haiti's Incentives to Improve Basic Education (IIBE) or Project Bilteral d'Education (PROBED) program seeks to stimulate improvements in educational quality and efficiency in private primary schools. The program surpasses other efforts because of: (1) unusually thorough preparation; (2) rapid assumption of management by Haitians; (3) a participatory management system; (4) midpoint transformation from contract to grant structure; (5) contractual links with beneficiaries; and (6) selective links with the public sector. To continue institutional development, IIBE should assess the budgetary and training needs of personnel, coordinate the examination of individuals and unit functions, and allocate resources for the development of the independent sector. To optimize school service delivery, IIBE should accelerate the integration of computer services, impose limits on class size, and adhere to performance contracts. To enhance research and development (R&D), IIBE should facilitate feedback mechanisms, clearly define the research focus, and designate individual responsibility for R&D efforts. Coordination with other donors should be promoted through specific targeting of multilateral assistance, developing formal contacts in a low-profile manner, and establishing contacts only with organizations sharing IIBE's objectives. IIBE must also take steps to enhance program management by creating vertical institutional structures to cope with increasing system complexity and cost. (Contains 54 references.) (TEJ)