69 



Direct forms of aid, whose objective is to effect prompt increases 

 of a nation's available productive resources, include: 

 The provision of grants and loans; 



The supply of surplus agricultural commodities; nonagricul- 

 tural grants in kind; counterpart funds and military and defense 

 support.^^ 

 Technical assistance, a major form of direct aid, is loosely defined 

 as the diffusion of American skills and know-how. It consists of — 



(1) Providing a recipient nation with U.S. technical experts 

 to furnish advice and instruction in long- and short-range pohcy 

 matters ranging from public administration to managerial organi- 

 zation and the development of improved rice strains; 



(2) Executing demonstration projects; 



(3) Providing equipment and materials for demonstration 

 projects; and 



(4) Bringing foreign nationals to the United States to receive 

 technical training in American universities and Federal agencies.^^ 



Almost 20 years of experience in economic assistance programs to 

 the underdeveloped world ^^ shows quite conclusively that the tasks 

 of a bilateral or multilateral program for the development of a nation 

 in transition are both numerous and complex — much more so than had 

 been anticipated by decisionmakers in 1950.-^ ]Many constraints 

 deriving from the political, economic, social, and technical conditions 

 of both the donor and the recipient nation are important in shaping 

 U.S. technical assistance programs. Each aid program must match 

 each form of assistance, each project and program, to the particular 

 problems faced by that nation in fostering its growth. Although the 

 problems faced by economies in transition differ from one country to 

 another depending upon resource potential, history, political culture, 

 and traditions, certain impediments are common to all. The 



2-' Study No. 1. The Objectives of U.S. Economic Assistance Programs by the Center for International 

 Studies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. January 1957. In U.S. Congress. Senate. Special Committee 

 To Study the Foreign Aid Program. Foreign aid program: Compilation of Studies and Surveys, prepared 

 under the direction of * * * pursuant to S. Res. 285, 84th Cong., and S. Res. 35 and 141, 85th Cong. Pre- 

 sented by Mr. Green. July 1957. 85th Cong., 1st sess. S. Doc. No. 52. (Washington, U.S. Government 

 Printing Office, 1957), p. 39. 



23 See Jack Baranson. The Challenge of Underdevelopment. In Melvin Kranzberg and Carroll W. Pursell, 

 Jr. Technology in Western Civihzation, vol. II (The University of Wisconsin Press, 1967) , pp. 516-531. There 

 are diflering concepts of what a technical assistance program is and of what it sliould attempt to accomplish. 

 For a discussion see: f U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Foreign Relations. Organization and Adminis- 

 tration of Technical Assistance Programs. Staff Study No. 2, Subcommittee on Technical Assistance Pro- 

 grams. 84th Cong., 1st sess. Committee print. (Washington, D.C, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1955), 



p.n. 



"■* Since World War II, the United States has been involved in many bilateral and multilateral programs 

 to disseminate technical knowledge and skills. Among them are its participation in the United Nations 

 and specialized agencies, such as the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, 

 (UNESCO); Food and Agriculture Organization, (FAO); and the International Labor Organization, (ILO); 

 etc.; the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, (OECD); the multilateral body whose 

 objective is to close the technology gap between the United States and the nations of Western Europe: 

 the Alliance for Progress, operative for the nations of Latin America; and numerous programs of dn-ect and 

 developmental assistance implemented through the Agency for International Development (AID); and 

 the military assistance programs (MAP) implemented by the Department of Defense. Additional aid is 

 provided by private U.S. business organizations, religious and philanthropic groups, and developmentally 

 oriented foundations and business concerns. 



=5 A study conducted for the Senate Committee on Government Operations ui 1966 reviewed the opera- 

 tions of the Agency for International Development in Chile. Conclusions and recommendations for improve- 

 ment of AID operations in Chile and throughout the world were generated. Many of these problems were 

 overlooked in the tecluiical assistance legislation enacted in 1950. Prime among them are: (1) The size of 

 the U.S. assistance program must be tailored to the nation's ability to absorb an influx of funds; (2) a method 

 must be devised for coordination of international assistance; (3) AID should utilize the past experiences 

 and recommendations of its programs and personnel; (4) The United States must develop a means for 

 mobilizing specialized skills in a timely manner; (5) Research is needed in niral development; (6) AID 

 personnel should be familiar with the language and culture of the nation in which they are working; (7) 

 An effort should be made to gage the host government's commitment to a project; (8) "Perhaps the most 

 urgent requirement for a sound foreign assistance program is to damp expectations all around with respect 

 to what foreign aid can accomplish?' (U.S. Congress. Senate. Committee on Government Operations. 

 U.S. Foreign Aid in Action: A Case Study. Submitted by Senator Ernest Gruening to the Sub- 

 committee on Foreign Aid Expenditures (pm'suant to S. Res. 182. 89th Cong.) (Washington, U.S. Gov- 

 ernment Printing Office, 1966), pp. 122-124). 



