Course List Classic

With a main focus on health and education, the course deals with the interplay between infrastructure, human development, economic performance, and environmental factors. This includes a (comparative) analysis of the situation in different countries and a discussion of quality assurance procedures in (a) the provision of traditional infrastructure and (b) the health and education sectors. The course concludes with the analysis of market failures and an evaluation of infrastructure, health and education policies considering the relevant SDGs.

The course analyses the evolution and the current state of affairs of international development cooperation through global and regional interstate organisations. Emphasis is also given to more recent developments and the potentials of South-South cooperation in comparison to established modes of governance across the North- South divide.

Gender as an analytical category has become an integral part of the policies of all major international development organizations. Against this background, the module starts with an introduction into theoretical approaches to the field of gender and development. Closely linked to these theories, it analyzes the evolution of gender policies in the context of development. Simultaneously, the module introduces the relevant international agreements and obligations in the field. Making the connection between theory, legal framework and praxis, it informs about the main concepts of gender in development cooperation. Against this background, the module gives insight into gender sensitive approaches in different contexts like government development cooperation, humanitarian aid or development activities of NGOs. This is illustrated with reference to important fields such as work, social policy, public life or conflict.

Upon completion of this course, participants understand the complex and interrelated structure of development projects and programs. For this purpose, students will explore all phases of the project cycle: the identification and design of projects, the resource scheduling incl. funding and procurement, the identification of risk and prevention of fraud, as well as monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of projects. Furthermore, students learn about the project frameworks of the World Bank and the UN. In order to be enabled to take on the role of a project manager, students will be equipped with hands on training in a project management software and are required to develop a proposal for the appraisal of a development project.

Upon completion of this course, participants know the main methods and functions of development program and project evaluation. After an introduction in the statistical software package R (open source) they have applied an own quantitative impact evaluation based on real world data. Furthermore, the managerial aspects concerning the implementation of impact evaluations within the project cycle are covered as well. Hence, this course equips you with all skills that help you to implement impact evaluations in practice and probably lays the foundation to become a successful evaluation team leader in your future career.

The course is designed as a series of game workshops to provide the participant with the required knowledge, practical instructions and continues feedback and consultations. The aim is to develop high quality innovative evidence-based project proposals with joy and ease.