CEPAR's Director, Dr. Nelson Oviedo

Initially, CEPAR conducted its own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. LearnLink supplemented it with a participatory SWOT and staff survey that focused on CEPAR’s communication capabilities and flows. While these assessments were instructive about needs and wants, the organization’s adoption of ICTs for sustainability was slow. This is not surprising in an environment where ICTs for development are not the primary focus and where communication connections are poor. In the end, some survival strategies compatible with ICTs were adopted, but they did not correspond to the Task Order timeline, and CEPAR found itself facing national crises, the imminent end of USAID’s support, and the loss of its Communication and Informatics departments’ heads and their specific technical leadership.

Outcomes
The most lasting result of the Task Order was not the enhanced computer capacity but the hands-on training and visioning imparted by INCRE and LearnLink experts. CEPAR now has a sensitized, trained cadre of professionals as well as connectivity resources to provide reliable, quality information on topics of population, health, and social development in Ecuador. CEPAR is positioned to encourage dialogue and consensus and to affect change in social policy.

The CEPAR information technology staff was trained and easily became proficient on all connectivity and network management operations. Training included the use of a variety of software programs, routine operation and communication via email, web searches on the Internet, and production of web-suitable materials. Moreover, CEPAR extended the training to its partner organizations that lacked electronic facilities, an action that moved CEPAR in the direction of more meaningful networking.