Reports
Human Resource Development Assistance of the United States: the Role of Participant Training Program
1998 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages 75-90
Details
1998 Volume 7 Issue 1 Pages 75-90
This paper aims to analyze the structure of human resource development assistance of the United States. The United States has emphasized technical assistance in its assistance policy since 1950s when the United States launched foreign aid to developing world. In accordance with its policy strategy, the participant training program was regarded as its vital element and set up from the beginning. Since then, many participants have come to the United States for their studies or training from all over the developing world.
In this study, the survey was conducted with the aim of evaluation of the program. Based on the data of the responses of the questionnaires, in addition to descriptions of reports which were published by government agencies, it is suggested that the participant training program enjoy good evaluations. Two important factors are pointed out: one is the concrete and clear goal of the program, especially for the skills and knowledge. The other is high standard level of higher education in the United States.
However, a lot of evaluation reports of the participant training program indicate the lack of internal efficiency of the program implementation system within USAID. The lack has resulted in the vague and weak status of assistance policy.
The educational exchange program is the U.S. acceptance program of foreign students and researchers, and is the other module of human resource development assistance at higher education level. However, the educational exchange program is mainly for student and reseatchers of developed countries on the contrary of other developed countries programs. Therefore, the participant training program has constituted a critical role in the human resource development assistance of the United States.
As mentioned above, the participant training program has occupied the vague and weak position, then the program has been controlled by the short-term assistance policy objectives. As it is obvious that human resource development needs long-term investments in developing countries, the U.S. would be required to rebuild the structure of the human resource development assistance.
