The methods presented here are therefore directed at assessing the adequacy of
management structures and governance processes as these relate to generally accepted international standards and experience. Their primary purpose is to find ways to improve program design and implementation, assess the effectiveness of the coastal management strategies that are being promoted and to make administrative adjustments in response to what is being learned. Such governance capacity
assessments examine these issues not only from the perspective of a given project
but in light of the course of events and experience of the place where a coastal
management initiative is being undertaken. There is an emphasis upon the linkages
among past and present coastal governance initiatives in the place. Their purpose,
therefore, differs from those of most performance evaluations which focus on
judging the quality of project execution and the degree to which project or program
outputs and activities have been achieved as these relate to the project or program
objectives as defined by an individual initiative.