This report contains the findings and lessons of the final evaluation of three DFID programmes in Latin America: the Latin America Markets and International Trade (LAMIT) programme; the Political Systems and Public Sector (PSPS) programme and the ENLACE social inclusion programme. The LAMIT and PSPS programmes were the principal components of the Latin America Regional Assistance Plan (RAP) whose implementation began in the early months of 2005.
Given that this evaluation is taking place at a relatively early stage for all programmes and that the outcomes or results from each may need more time to make themselves felt, the evaluation is intended to assess whether each programme is ‘on track’ on the basis of ongoing progress and the achievement of milestones, rather than to determine whether objectives have been reached in full.
The evaluation is based on field visits carried out in the second half of 2008 to Washington, DC and to the Department for International Development (DFID) regional offices (Central America, the Andes and Brazil), as well as documentary analysis and interviews undertaken in London. The findings for LAMIT and PSPS are discussed jointly in Section 2 of the report; the ENLACE programme is addressed separately in Section 3. In addition, the report contains a final section (Section 4) highlighting key messages and lessons that emerge from DFID’s experience in Latin America with these programmes. Separate annexes with more in-depth information on the PSPS and LAMIT programmes, as well as on the Washington-based Trust Funds (TFs) for those two programmes and broader issues on relations between DFID and the IFIs, are also included.
