Summary: Foreign governments that have received projects under the United Nation's (UN) Technical Cooperation Program are generally satisfied with the program, have found most of the projects useful, and have generated the money to expand many project activities. Nevertheless, the criteria governing the program are vague and do not reflect all of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's goals for the program. Since the program activities GAO reviewed were not responses to urgent or unforeseen needs, the governing bodies could have programmed them in advance, along with other usual budget activities, through their established programming procedures. Programming would increase the governing bodies' influence over the distribution of program resources. GAO also found management weaknesses in the program, such as delays in hiring and buying equipment, lack of compliance with purchasing requirements, and the absence of impact evaluations. Financial management weaknesses included delaying the release of unused funds from completed projects, carrying over large amounts of unobligated program funds from one biennium to the next, and charging expenses on new projects to earlier unused appropriations. The Food and Agriculture Organization has taken some corrective measures, but the governing bodies have not required information on their results or additional corrective actions.
