A Study On The Project Evaluation Of Usaid Foreign Aid In Higher Education Of Africa

The call of the effectiveness in educational international aid is increasing.As far as our country is concerned,the China International Development Cooperation Agency has been established,and its supervision and evaluation responsibilities are clear.In recent years,our country’s aid evaluation agencies were established and the number of China-Africa higher education cooperation projects is up,which have increasingly highlighted the importance of higher education aid project evaluation.The United States Agency for International Development(USAID)is the first official aid agency in the United States.It has nearly 60 years of theoretical and practical experience in aid and aid project evaluation for African higher education projects,which is of reference significance for our country to establish a ChinaAfrica higher education cooperation project evaluation mechanism.This research takes the USAID’s evaluation of higher education aid projects in Africa as the research object,and uses the literature method,text analysis method,and interpretation content analysis method to study the theory and practice system of the United States Agency for International Development’s evaluation of higher education aid projects in Africa.The characteristics and shortcomings of USAID’s evaluation of higher education aid projects in Africa.USAID’s assistance to higher education in Africa has roughly gone through four stages:foundation,turning,reflection,and development.At the same time,the evaluation of higher education aid projects in Africa by USAID has gradually formed an evaluation theoretical system and different stages of evaluation.USAID has established an evaluation theoretical system for the evaluation of higher education aid projects in Africa,including evaluation purposes,evaluation standards and evaluation methodology.First of all,USAID’s purposes are accountability and learnability for the evaluation of higher education aid in Africa.Second,USAID’s evaluation of higher education aid in Africa has formed evaluation standards that include the concept of international education aid,the "United States Agency for International Development Education Policy" and feminist in evaluation standards.Finally,USAID widely uses two evaluation methods: the logical framework method and the theory of change for the evaluation of higher education aid in Africa.The specific practice of USAID in evaluating higher education aid in Africa is divided into two stages: planning and implementation.The planning stage includes five steps: selection of evaluation type and evaluation team,formulation of evaluation standard,selection of evaluation teammate,arrangement in evaluation schedule,and commissioning of evaluation project.The implementation stage includes five links: application of evaluation methodology,collection of evaluation data,analysis of evaluation data,writing of evaluation reports and application of evaluation data.Therefore,the characteristics of the evaluation of higher education aid projects in Africa by USAID have become clearer.At first,its evaluation system is complete.Moreover,its evaluation focuses on multi-party participation,the scientific methods of data collection and using the diagnostic,formative and summary functions in evaluation.However,USAID also has certain problems in the evaluation of higher education aid in Africa,such as ignoring the adaptability in evaluation of the recipient country,the redundant evaluation process which hinders the implementation of the project,and the inconsistency between the transparency of the evaluation presentation and the evaluation results.Finally,the goals,principles,and concepts of China and US assistance programs for higher education in Africa are different.However,USAID’s project evaluation of higher education aid in Africa has five implications for our country’s project evaluation of higher education aid in Africa.First,the evaluation goals are consistent with the overall goals of China’s assistance to higher education in Africa.Secondly,going beyond the evaluation criteria of development aid and highlight the transferability of China’s experience.Thirdly,emphasis is placed on the scientific nature of data collection in the evaluation process.Then,focusing on the richness of assessment types.At last,establishing an evaluation model according to the project category.