In the second, Evaluation of Agricultural Research in Latin America and the Caibbean , by Horton and Borges-Andrade, the analysis indicates that evaluation concerns have broadened over time from external accountability to encompass management decision making and in some cases organisational learning. However, evaluation continues to be the weakest phase in the management cycle. In capacity-building projects, design activities cannot end when implementation begins. Capacity-building efforts should prepare managers to deal with complexity, uncertainty and change. In capacity-building efforts, it is essential to collaborate rather than patronize.
Organizational assessment is a complex social process, intertwined with organizational politics.
In designing capacity-building projects, it is essential to involve managers and staff members in assessing needs and opportunities. Action-learning strategies offer great potential for capacity building. Training is most effective when it is designed to serve a purpose within an organizational change process. It is concluded that capacity building is more a process of social experimentation than of social engineering. Management systems cannot be imported, but need to be developed within organizations.