Recognizing the limitations of the economies of Caribbean states within a global trade and geopolitical environment, the countries of the Caribbean have pursued regional and international cooperation and economic integration. In 2009, the UK Government, through the Department for International Development (DFID), launched the Caribbean Aid for Trade and Regional Integration Trust Fund. Dubbed CARTFund, the program was designed to operate as a demand-driven “basket fund,” providing grants on a by-request basis to eligible national and regional public and private sector organizations to support activities aligned with Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and/or Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) implementation.
Momentus (formerly IFCL) was engaged by DFID to undertake an evaluation of the CARTFund. We used multiple research methods to determine the effectiveness of the fund to promote the implementation of the EPA and CSME programmes across 32 regional and national projects supporting a wide array of stakeholders, ranging from government EPA implementation units to tourism promotion associations and artisans.
