Program Planning and Development

Program planning and development of technical assistance must take place at the level of the recipient country. Once the resources for technical assistance available to a coun try are determined, the government itself must identify its needs and establish its priorities—whether the assistance is to come from local, international, or bilateral sources. The "country programing" procedures under which the United Nations Expanded Program for Technical Assistance is estab lished annually have helped to strengthen the program plan ning machinery of recipient countries. The single purpose, voluntary nature, and multilateral management of the United Nations program make it peculiarly acceptable as an instru ment for assisting in creating and strengthening local institu tions including ministries and other bodies responsible for planning and programing. The Expanded Program has also been successful in undertaking projects involving several recipient countries in major joint programs. While the United Nations program has an important place in technical assist ance, its financing has not kept pace with growing bilateral programs of the United States, the USSR, and other countries. It may therefore be desirable to emphasize the possible role of the United Nations program in the process of development and co-ordination of other technical assistance activities.